Another world Game Developers in Japan`s 1991

Sunday, 28 October 2001.

Despite the growing rumours that ZEPS 4 was unfinished, delayed, or perhaps even trapped inside some kind of development disaster, ZAGE continued behaving as though nothing unusual was happening.

The company did not respond to the rumours.

It did not release an official statement.

It did not reveal new hardware specifications, controller designs, launch dates, or even a proper image of the console.

Instead, ZAGE casually released two new games near the end of October.

The release date was chosen deliberately to match the Halloween season, giving players something frightening and something much lighter to enjoy during the same weekend.

The two games were completely different from each other.

The first was Resident Evil 3, Team IZAN's newest survival-horror title for ZEPS 3.

The second was Bloons TD, ZAGE's first fully standalone tower-defense game for PC.

At first, the combination appeared strange.

One game placed players inside a ruined city filled with zombies, limited ammunition, dark corridors, and a terrifying monster that refused to stop chasing them.

The other involved colourful monkeys throwing darts at balloons.

But that unusual contrast worked surprisingly well.

Players who wanted a serious Halloween experience could spend the night trying to survive Resident Evil 3.

Players who wanted something more relaxing could defend paths from increasingly ridiculous waves of balloons.

Many people simply bought both.

Bloons TD was especially interesting because it represented ZAGE's first major attempt to transform tower defense from a custom-map genre into a complete standalone game.

Tower-defense games were not entirely new in this world.

Warcraft III already had several popular custom maps built around the concept, with Element TD becoming one of the most famous examples it's created by ZAGE. Since Warcraft III itself was developed by ZAGE.

Element TD had developed a strong following among strategy players.

The basic idea was simple enough for almost anyone to understand. Enemies followed a fixed route across the map, while players constructed towers beside the path to stop them. Each tower possessed different attack properties, ranges, speeds, costs, and elemental strengths.

The deeper strategy came from deciding where to place the towers, which upgrades to purchase, and how to prepare for later waves without wasting too many resources early.

Some Warcraft III players spent more time inside tower-defense custom maps than they did playing ordinary competitive matches.

That popularity convinced Zaboru that the genre deserved a proper standalone release.

However, he did not want Bloons TD to feel like a small experimental project that had simply been separated from Warcraft III.

The original Bloons TD he remembered from his previous life was extremely simple when it first appeared in 2007. It had limited tower choices, straightforward maps, and far fewer systems than the later games in the series.

That version had been charming, but it would feel too small as a commercial ZAGE release in 2001.

Because of that, the ZAGE version combined the accessible identity of Bloons with several more advanced ideas inspired by Element TD and other custom-map tower-defense games.

The result was a colourful strategy game that appeared easy at first but became surprisingly deep once the later rounds began.

The premise remained wonderfully ridiculous.

Players controlled a community of monkeys attempting to protect their territory from waves of invading balloons known as Bloons.

Nobody knew why the Bloons were attacking.

Nobody knew why the monkeys had developed such advanced defensive technology.

The game did not waste time explaining it.

The balloons followed winding paths across jungles, villages, rivers, mountains, temples, laboratories, and strange floating islands. If too many Bloons reached the end of the path, the player lost lives.

To stop them, players placed different monkey towers around the map.

The basic Dart Monkey remained the cheapest and most recognisable unit. It threw darts at nearby Bloons and worked well during early waves, but its range and attack power became limited later.

The Tack Shooter attacked in several directions at once, making it effective near corners or circular paths where Bloons remained inside its range for longer periods.

Bomb Towers fired explosive projectiles that damaged multiple targets, though certain Bloons resisted ordinary explosions unless the player purchased the correct upgrade.

Ice Monkeys slowed groups of Bloons, allowing nearby towers more time to attack them.

Super Monkeys were extremely powerful but expensive, firing projectiles at incredible speed and becoming even more dangerous through later upgrades.

Several new towers were also introduced much earlier than in Zaboru's previous world.

The Boomerang Monkey attacked multiple Bloons along a curved path.

The Monkey Buccaneer could only be placed on water, giving maps with rivers and lakes entirely different strategies.

The Monkey Engineer built small automated devices and could repair nearby structures during special challenge modes.

The Alchemist threw chemical mixtures that weakened Bloons or strengthened nearby monkeys.

The game also included elemental towers inspired by Element TD.

Fire towers dealt powerful damage over time.

Water towers slowed enemies and worked especially well near other elemental defenses.

Lightning towers could strike several Bloons in a chain.

Earth towers attacked more slowly but dealt heavy damage to reinforced enemies.

Players did not need to understand every tower immediately. The early maps introduced them gradually, allowing beginners to learn the basics before the game began mixing multiple enemy types together.

That accessibility became one of Bloons TD's strongest qualities.

A child could understand the basic objective within a minute.

Place monkeys.

Stop balloons.

Do not let them reach the end.

However, the higher difficulties demanded much more careful planning.

Every tower had two upgrade paths.

A Dart Monkey could become a long-range sniper capable of targeting Bloons anywhere within a large area, or it could become a faster attacker throwing multiple darts at once.

The Tack Shooter could develop into a rapid blade machine or a slower tower that released powerful fire waves.

The Ice Monkey could specialise in freezing large groups or weakening frozen enemies so that other towers dealt more damage to them.

The upgrade choices allowed the same tower to serve different purposes depending on the map and the player's strategy.

Placement also mattered enormously.

Towers positioned near tight corners could attack the same Bloons for much longer.

Long-range towers worked best near the centre of maps where their vision covered several sections of the path.

Explosive towers became more valuable in areas where Bloons gathered closely together.

Support towers were most effective when placed near several offensive units instead of standing alone.

Many beginners initially placed towers wherever they found empty ground.

They usually survived the early waves.

Then the stronger Bloons arrived.

The enemy variety increased steadily.

Red Bloons were slow and required only one hit.

Blue Bloons contained red Bloons inside them, meaning that destroying the outer layer released another target.

Green and yellow Bloons moved progressively faster.

Black Bloons resisted explosive damage.

White Bloons resisted freezing.

Lead Bloons ignored ordinary sharp attacks, forcing players to use explosives, fire, or specialised upgrades.

Regenerating Bloons slowly restored destroyed layers if they remained alive for too long.

Camo Bloons could not be targeted by most towers unless the player purchased detection upgrades or built specialised support structures.

The first appearance of Camo and Lead Bloons caused enormous frustration among players who had built armies consisting only of Dart Monkeys.

There even cameos of Zabo-man he will appear in the sky using red balloons flying around the stages.

The later rounds introduced enormous reinforced Bloons that moved slowly but required hundreds of attacks to destroy. Their arrival often transformed a peaceful defense into complete chaos.

Bloons TD also introduced several game modes beyond the normal campaign.

The standard mode asked players to survive a fixed number of waves while gradually unlocking new towers and upgrades.

Endless Mode continued indefinitely, allowing players to test how long their defenses could survive as the Bloons became faster, stronger, and increasingly absurd.

Challenge Mode introduced unusual restrictions.

Some maps allowed only one tower type.

Others limited the player's money or removed the ability to sell towers.

Certain challenges required players to survive using only elemental defenses or defeat a specific wave without losing a single life.

A cooperative mode allowed two players to defend the same map through Steam. Each player controlled a separate pool of money and could build only inside their assigned territory, forcing them to coordinate tower placement and upgrades.

This mode immediately created arguments between friends.

One player would carefully save money for a Super Monkey.

The other would spend everything covering the map with cheap Dart Monkeys.

Some players cooperated brilliantly.

Others discovered that tower defense could destroy friendships almost as efficiently as fighting games.

The game included ranked challenge boards through Steam, but ZAGE kept the main experience casual. Players could compare completion times, highest endless rounds, and challenge scores without being forced into serious competition.

Replays could also be saved and shared, allowing players to study unusual strategies.

One player completed an advanced map using almost nothing except Ice Monkeys and Bomb Towers.

Another filled an entire map with basic Dart Monkeys simply to prove it was possible.

Visually, Bloons TD used a bright and clean cartoon style.

The monkeys had exaggerated expressions, the Bloons bounced cheerfully along the paths, and every tower upgrade changed the unit's appearance. A basic Dart Monkey might begin with nothing but a dart and simple clothing, then eventually receive specialised equipment, goggles, armour, or more advanced weapons.

The game avoided visual clutter as much as possible.

Even when dozens of towers were attacking hundreds of Bloons, players could usually understand what was happening. Strong sound effects indicated when dangerous enemy types entered the map, and the interface clearly displayed tower ranges, upgrade costs, damage types, and targeting priorities.

Players could instruct towers to attack the first Bloon, the last Bloon, the strongest target, or the weakest target.

That small feature created much deeper strategies.

A powerful sniper could focus on the strongest enemies while faster towers cleaned up weaker Bloons.

Explosive towers could target the first group to create damage near the front.

Support towers could prioritise special enemies before they reached the main defense.

The game was inexpensive compared with ZAGE's major console releases, which helped it spread quickly through Steam. Many players purchased it simply because the idea looked amusing.

Then they lost several hours without noticing.

The phrase "one more round" became extremely common.

A player would finish a map and decide to attempt the next difficulty.

Then they would unlock another tower.

Then they would test one upgrade.

Then they would realise it was already past midnight.

Bloons TD received strong reviews, though critics understood that it was not intended to compete with enormous cinematic games.

Reviewers praised its accessibility, tower variety, upgrade system, colourful presentation, challenge modes, and surprisingly deep strategy. Many considered it one of the best examples of how a custom-map genre could become a complete standalone product.

However, Bloons TD was not the main reason October 28 became such an important date for ZAGE.

That attention belonged to Resident Evil 3.

Team IZAN's newest horror game had been anticipated for months. Resident Evil 2 was already considered one of the greatest survival-horror games on ZEPS 3, so many players expected the sequel to follow the same successful formula without changing too much.

That was exactly what Team IZAN intended.

Resident Evil 3 did not abandon the classic fixed-camera system.

It did not transform into a fast action game.

It did not give players unlimited ammunition or remove the need to manage resources.

Instead, the developers refined almost every part of the existing formula.

The environments became more detailed.

Character animations improved.

The lighting became darker and more atmospheric.

Zombies reacted more naturally to damage, while their movement became less predictable. Ammunition remained limited, healing items were valuable, and careless players could easily waste resources before reaching the more difficult parts of the game.

The streets and buildings of Raccoon City pushed ZEPS 3 close to its visual limits.

Rain reflected across damaged roads.

Emergency lights flashed against abandoned vehicles.

Smoke moved through narrow alleys.

Broken shop windows revealed dark interiors that players could not fully see from the fixed camera angles.

The restricted camera system became one of the game's greatest strengths.

Players often entered a corridor while hearing footsteps somewhere outside the visible area. They could not immediately see what was approaching. They only heard the sound becoming louder.

Sometimes it was an ordinary zombie.

Sometimes it was something much worse.

Team IZAN understood that showing less could create more fear than giving the player complete control of the camera.

Resident Evil 3 also became slightly faster and more aggressive than the previous game. The player had more movement options, but enemies applied greater pressure. Encounters often occurred in tighter spaces, and the city's open streets did not always provide the safety players expected.

Then there was Nemesis.

Even before release, the enormous bio-weapon had dominated the promotional material. His burned appearance, heavy footsteps, unnatural strength, and repeated desire to hunt members of S.T.A.R.S. made him immediately memorable.

Players expected him to be frightening.

Most were still unprepared.

Nemesis felt far more dangerous than Mr. X from Resident Evil 2. He did not merely appear occasionally and walk toward the player at a predictable pace.

He chased.

He attacked violently.

He forced players through doors and into areas they had not finished exploring.

Sometimes he appeared after players had begun feeling safe. A wall would break. A window would explode. Heavy footsteps would suddenly enter the room.

Then came the voice.

"STARS."

That single word quickly became one of the most terrifying sounds in gaming.

Many players panicked the moment they heard it.

Some immediately ran in the wrong direction.

Others wasted ammunition firing wildly.

A few paused the game and refused to continue for several minutes.

Another player claimed that Nemesis had followed him through several rooms and destroyed his entire plan for conserving ammunition.

Someone else proudly announced that he had defeated Nemesis during an early encounter, only for other players to inform him that the monster would return.

He stopped posting afterward.

Resident Evil 3 received exceptional reviews.

Many critics considered it the best Resident Evil game ZAGE had created so far. It preserved the tension, puzzles, resource management, exploration, and fixed-camera horror of the previous entries while making the overall experience more intense.

Some players still preferred Resident Evil 2's slower atmosphere and dual-character structure.

However, a large portion of the audience believed Resident Evil 3 elevated everything that made the series successful.

The graphics were among the best ZEPS 3 could produce.

The city felt larger and more dangerous.

The enemies were more aggressive.

The pacing remained tense.

Most importantly, Nemesis gave the entire game a constant sense of psychological pressure.

Players never felt completely safe.

Even inside familiar rooms, many remained nervous that the sound of heavy footsteps might return.

Team IZAN had created a monster that followed players beyond the game itself. After finishing a session, some people still imagined hearing Nemesis walking behind them inside their homes.

ZAGE did not reveal too much about the game's deeper story during the launch period. The company preferred allowing players to experience the major encounters, decisions, environments, and surprises themselves.

That decision only increased discussion.

Players traded rumours about alternate events, hidden items, different routes, and whether certain encounters could be avoided.

Some claimed Nemesis behaved differently depending on the player's actions.

Others insisted the game secretly changed item locations.

Many of those claims were exaggerated.

A few were true.

For now, Resident Evil 3's enormous popularity was enough.

Together, Resident Evil 3 and Bloons TD created one of the strangest but most successful release pairings of the year.

One game terrified players with limited visibility, desperate survival, and a monster that refused to die.

The other made them panic because several colourful balloons escaped past their monkeys.

Both required careful planning.

Both punished poor decisions.

Both became extremely difficult when players underestimated them.

The releases also weakened the argument that ZAGE had become stagnant.

While forum users continued debating whether ZEPS 4 existed, ZAGE casually released another critically acclaimed horror game and helped establish an entire standalone strategy genre on PC.

The company still refused to reveal its next console.

And after October 28, players were left with one thing they really wanted to talk about. Somehow it's related to Zaboru "Taste" in Woman.

To be continued.

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