Zarzon Official Cover

Zarzon

🏢 SNK 📅 31 Dec 1981
Standing as one of the earliest and most historically significant arcade releases from legendary developer SNK (Shin Nihon Kikaku), SNK and Taito released Zarzon (originally titled Satan of Saturn in Japan) in 1981, challenging players to defend an orbital station against multi-tiered alien waves of dive-bombing Saturnian birds, flying pods, and energy shield barriers before confronting the mystery mothership.

🎬 Deep Vision & Technical Analysis

🌆 Atmosphere & Visual Direction

Authentic vintage visual direction representing landmark era aesthetic standards.

⚡ Action Pacing & Physics Engine

Systemic interaction and engaging pacing designed for historical immersion.

🎯 Performance & Launch Trajectory

An essential milestone preserved in masterclass gaming archival standard.

Zarzon, released in Japan as Satan of Saturn, is a 1981 fixed shooter video game developed and published by SNK for arcades. The game was released in North America by Taito. The gameplay is a variation of Space Invaders.

Hamster Corporation released the game as part of their Arcade Archives series for the Nintendo Switch and PlayStation 4, as well as their Arcade Archives 2 series for the Nintendo Switch 2, PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S in August 2026.

Gameplay

The goal is to fly a spaceship to Saturn, then destroy as many Satans as possible. Additional bonus points can be accumulated by destroying the comet or attacking dragonflies. An additional spaceship is rewarded if the players score reaches 5,000 or 10,000 points. If the attacking UFOs or enemy rockets are destroyed points will be scored. The game progresses through 4 different screens.

The arcade cabinet has one joystick to move the spaceship left to right and guide the missiles.

Legacy

The Zarzon upright arcade cabinet appeared in the 1983 film Joysticks.

Notes

References

External links

  • Zarzon, Satan of Saturn at the Killer List of Videogames
  • Zarzon, Satan of Saturn at Coinop.org
  • FAQ Archived 2011-06-04 at the Wayback Machine at IGN