Gates of Zendocon

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Gates of Zendocon is a horizontal scrolling shooter for the Atari Lynx. It was developed by Epyx and published by Atari Corporation (North America and Europe), with Mumin Corporation handling the Japanese release. It came out in 1989 in North America and Europe, and on December 23, 1989 in Japan.

In the game, you pilot an unnamed space fighter trapped in a web of interconnected universes by an evil spider named Zendocon. The goal is to travel through teleportation gates, defeat Zendocon, and recruit friendly alien allies along the way. The adventure spans 51 non-linear levels called “universes,” filled with Zendocon’s forces. Friendly aliens you rescue assist you on your journey. If your ship is hit, you’ll lose damage points and can lose components like the laser tip or engine until the final hit destroys you. There’s also a hidden level where you can earn high scores by destroying the faces of the game’s creators.

The game was designed and programmed by Peter M. Engelbrite, who previously worked on Atari 2600 conversions of other titles. Development began before Lynx hardware existed; Engelbrite even built an Apple II emulator to prototype the game’s graphics. It eventually ran on actual Lynx hardware, though early versions ran slowly. Composer Alex Rudis contributed to the soundtrack, and other contributors, including Lynx co-inventor RJ Mical, were involved in various capacities.

Gates of Zendocon was one of the Lynx’s launch titles, alongside California Games, Blue Lightning, and Electrocop. The Japanese version came with a Japanese instruction manual. The game debuted at the International Summer CES in 1989 and was later well received for its presentation, originality, and gameplay, though some critics criticized the sound.

Reception highlighted the game’s solid action and variety, with STart noting it would mainly appeal to shoot-’em-up fans, while IGN’s Robert A. Jung gave it 7 out of 10, praising the overall package.

In 1993, Atari considered porting Gates of Zendocon to the Jaguar using its engine, but the project never moved forward after Bethesda Softworks’ Christopher Weaver declined to pursue it.