Zombies Ate My Neighbors

Zombies Ate My Neighbors is a top down action game developed by LucasArts and published by Konami. The theme and setting are inspired by many horror movies and the game is considered a tribute to the genre. The game was not a huge success at launch, but did go on to receive a cult following.

In Zombies Ate My Neighbors, the player can choose to play as either Zeke or Julie; in the two player simultaneous mode, each player controls a character. 

The game features 48 stages and 7 bonus levels that take place in suburban neighborhoods, shopping malls, pyramids, and other areas. The goal is to rescue all the “neighbors” from a stage. Enemies can kill the neighbors before the players can reach them. When at least 1 neighbor has been rescued, and the rest have been either rescued or killed, the door to the next stage appears.

Enemies include zombies, vampires, werewolves, demon babies, evil dolls, chainsaw wielding killers, and more.

Players start with a water gun, but can pick up more powerful weapons or grenades, and other items. Different weapons are more effective against particular enemies, such as crucifix for vampires, or silverware for werewolves.

The SNES version features a flamethrower as an exclusive weapon, but because of its censorship policies at the time (before the ESRB was created), all blood and gore effects where changed to ooze, and some enemies where changed to appear less violent (a lumberjack replaces the chainsaw killer).

Zombies Ate My Neighbors is available on Wii Virtual Console, and was followed up by a direct sequel entitled Ghoul Patrol for the SNES.