<s>
Set	O
in	O
a	O
future	O
where	O
an	O
alien	O
race	O
from	O
the	O
fictional	O
planet	O
Owagira	O
are	O
threatening	O
to	O
wipe	O
out	O
humanity	O
after	O
multiple	O
failed	O
attempts	O
to	O
defend	O
Earth	O
against	O
their	O
attacks	O
,	O
players	O
assume	O
the	O
role	O
of	O
cyborg	B-Application
mercenaries	B-Application
recruited	O
by	O
the	O
United	O
Nations	O
in	O
a	O
last-ditch	O
effort	O
to	O
overthrow	O
the	O
invaders	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Out	B-Application
Zone	I-Application
received	O
positive	O
reception	O
from	O
critics	O
since	O
its	O
release	O
and	O
has	O
been	O
praised	O
for	O
its	O
visuals	O
,	O
sound	O
design	O
,	O
gameplay	O
,	O
multiplayer	O
,	O
challenge	O
and	O
overall	O
intensity	O
but	O
some	O
lamented	O
the	O
lack	O
of	O
a	O
console	O
release	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
spiritual	O
successor	O
,	O
FixEight	B-Application
,	O
was	O
released	O
for	O
arcades	O
in	O
July	O
1992	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
As	O
of	O
2019	O
,	O
the	O
rights	O
to	O
the	O
title	O
is	O
owned	O
by	O
Tatsujin	B-Application
,	O
a	O
company	O
founded	O
in	O
2017	O
by	O
former	O
Toaplan	O
member	O
Masahiro	O
Yuge	O
and	O
now-affiliate	O
of	O
Japanese	O
arcade	O
manufacturer	O
exA-Arcadia	O
alongside	O
many	O
other	O
Toaplan	O
IPs	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Out	B-Application
Zone	I-Application
is	O
a	O
science	O
fiction-themed	O
vertically	O
scrolling	O
run	O
and	O
gun	O
game	O
reminiscent	O
of	O
Commando	B-Application
and	O
Ikari	B-Application
Warriors	I-Application
,	O
where	O
players	O
assume	O
the	O
role	O
of	O
two	O
cyborg	B-Application
mercenaries	B-Application
hired	O
by	O
the	O
United	O
Nations	O
through	O
seven	O
increasingly	O
difficult	O
levels	O
,	O
each	O
with	O
a	O
boss	O
at	O
the	O
end	O
that	O
must	O
be	O
fought	O
before	O
progressing	O
any	O
further	O
,	O
in	O
a	O
last-ditch	O
effort	O
to	O
overthrow	O
an	O
alien	O
race	O
from	O
the	O
planet	O
Owagira	O
from	O
invading	O
Earth	O
as	O
the	O
main	O
objective	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Players	O
fights	O
enemies	O
on	O
foot	O
,	O
moving	O
upward	O
through	O
the	O
level	O
,	O
and	O
are	O
equipped	O
with	O
a	O
number	O
of	O
bombs	B-Device
at	O
the	O
start	O
,	O
which	O
obliterates	O
any	O
enemy	O
caught	O
in	O
its	O
blast	B-Device
radius	I-Device
,	O
however	O
player	O
characters	O
are	O
not	O
rendered	O
invincible	O
for	O
any	O
time	O
period	O
after	O
using	O
a	O
bomb	B-Device
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
semi-automatic	O
forward	O
gun	O
shoots	O
forward	O
no	O
matter	O
which	O
way	O
players	O
move	O
,	O
but	O
shoots	O
three	O
bullets	B-Application
in	O
a	O
slight	O
spread	O
each	O
time	O
the	O
fire	O
button	O
is	O
pressed	O
,	O
while	O
the	O
all-direction	O
laser	O
fires	O
in	O
the	O
direction	O
of	O
movement	O
,	O
creating	O
a	O
sweep	O
of	O
bullets	B-Application
as	O
the	O
player	O
character	O
changes	O
direction	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Another	O
gameplay	O
feature	O
is	O
the	O
energy	O
bar	O
;	O
Similar	O
to	O
Wonder	B-Application
Boy	I-Application
,	O
players	O
must	O
remain	O
aware	O
of	O
the	O
energy	O
bar	O
,	O
which	O
constantly	O
runs	O
down	O
at	O
a	O
steady	O
pace	O
and	O
can	O
only	O
be	O
refilled	O
by	O
collecting	O
"	O
E	O
"	O
icons	O
scattered	O
throughout	O
the	O
stage	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
game	O
hosts	O
a	O
number	O
of	O
hidden	O
bonus	O
secrets	O
to	O
be	O
found	O
,	O
which	O
is	O
also	O
crucial	O
for	O
reaching	O
high-scores	O
to	O
obtain	O
extra	O
lives	O
,	O
as	O
well	O
as	O
cameos	O
of	O
characters	O
from	O
other	O
Toaplan	O
games	O
such	O
as	O
Flying	B-Application
Shark	I-Application
,	O
Truxton	B-Application
and	O
Zero	B-Application
Wing	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Getting	O
hit	O
by	O
enemy	O
fire	O
,	O
colliding	O
against	O
solid	O
stage	O
obstacles	O
,	O
falling	O
off	O
the	O
stage	O
or	O
running	O
out	O
of	O
energy	O
will	O
result	O
in	O
losing	O
a	O
life	O
,	O
as	O
well	O
as	O
a	O
penalty	O
of	O
decreasing	O
the	O
characters	O
 '	O
firepower	O
and	O
speed	O
to	O
his	O
original	O
state	O
and	O
once	O
all	O
lives	O
are	O
lost	O
,	O
the	O
game	B-Application
is	I-Application
over	I-Application
unless	O
the	O
players	O
insert	O
more	O
credits	O
into	O
the	O
arcade	O
machine	O
to	O
continue	O
playing	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Although	O
there	O
is	O
an	O
ending	O
,	O
the	O
game	O
loops	O
back	O
to	O
the	O
first	O
stage	O
after	O
completing	O
the	O
last	O
stage	O
as	O
with	O
previous	O
titles	O
from	O
Toaplan	O
,	O
with	O
each	O
one	O
increasing	O
the	O
difficulty	O
and	O
enemies	O
fire	O
denser	O
bullet	B-Application
patterns	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
With	O
the	O
threat	O
of	O
annihilation	O
looming	O
over	O
,	O
Earth	O
's	O
United	O
Nations	O
receive	O
a	O
message	O
from	O
an	O
alien	O
elder	O
within	O
their	O
alliances	O
about	O
the	O
existence	O
of	O
an	O
ultra-elite	O
mercenary	B-Application
unit	O
named	O
"	O
Out	B-Application
Zone	I-Application
"	O
at	O
a	O
remote	O
region	O
of	O
the	O
Milky	O
Way	O
galaxy	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Known	O
as	O
"	O
Space	O
Entrepreneurs	O
"	O
and	O
renowned	O
for	O
their	O
fighting	O
skills	O
by	O
other	O
alien	O
alliances	O
,	O
Out	B-Application
Zone	I-Application
takes	O
sides	O
with	O
no	O
one	O
and	O
are	O
willing	O
to	O
fight	O
any	O
wars	O
for	O
the	O
proper	O
price	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Under	O
desperation	O
and	O
as	O
a	O
last-ditch	O
effort	O
to	O
counterattack	O
Owagira	O
's	O
military	O
force	O
,	O
the	O
UN	O
requests	O
Out	B-Application
Zone	I-Application
's	O
service	O
,	O
guaranteeing	O
the	O
UN	O
member	O
nations	O
 '	O
entire	O
annual	O
budget	O
as	O
payment	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
With	O
negotiations	O
complete	O
,	O
two	O
very	O
powerful	O
cyborg	B-Application
mercenaries	B-Application
belonging	O
to	O
Out	B-Application
Zone	I-Application
volunteer	O
for	O
the	O
mission	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Out	B-Application
Zones	I-Application
soundtrack	O
was	O
composed	O
by	O
Tatsuya	O
Uemura	O
,	O
who	O
also	O
created	O
the	O
sound	O
effects	O
while	O
Naoki	O
Ogiwara	O
served	O
as	O
designer	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
For	O
the	O
first	O
stage	O
's	O
music	O
,	O
Uemura	O
revealed	O
in	O
response	O
to	O
a	O
user	O
on	O
Twitter	B-Application
that	O
the	O
main	O
melody	O
was	O
originally	O
composed	O
based	O
on	O
Taiyō	O
ni	O
Hoero	O
!	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Out	B-Application
Zone	I-Application
was	O
released	O
in	O
arcades	O
worldwide	O
in	O
August	O
1990	O
by	O
Tecmo	O
,	O
Romstar	O
and	O
Toaplan	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
On	O
October	O
21	O
of	O
the	O
same	O
year	O
,	O
an	O
album	O
containing	O
music	O
from	O
the	O
title	O
and	O
Snow	B-Application
Bros	I-Application
.	I-Application
was	O
co-published	O
exclusively	O
in	O
Japan	O
by	O
Scitron	O
and	O
Pony	O
Canyon	O
,	O
featuring	O
an	O
arranged	O
song	O
composed	O
by	O
Uemura	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Unlike	O
several	O
other	O
releases	O
by	O
Toaplan	O
,	O
the	O
title	O
remained	O
exclusive	O
to	O
arcades	O
and	O
did	O
not	O
receive	O
any	O
official	O
port	O
to	O
home	B-Device
consoles	I-Device
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
April	O
2020	O
,	O
M2	O
announced	O
a	O
new	O
version	O
of	O
Out	B-Application
Zone	I-Application
as	O
part	O
of	O
their	O
M2	O
ShotTriggers	O
publishing	O
label	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
was	O
first	O
announced	O
to	O
be	O
released	O
on	O
the	O
Nintendo	B-Application
Switch	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Out	B-Application
Zone	I-Application
received	O
positive	O
reception	O
since	O
its	O
release	O
,	O
becoming	O
a	O
well	O
regarded	O
title	O
from	O
Toaplan	O
in	O
recent	O
years	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Likewise	O
,	O
RePlay	O
reported	O
Out	B-Application
Zone	I-Application
to	O
be	O
the	O
fourteenth	O
most-popular	O
arcade	O
game	O
at	O
the	O
time	O
in	O
North	O
America	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Likewise	O
,	O
David	O
Wilson	O
of	O
Your	O
Sinclair	O
praised	O
the	O
frenetic	O
gameplay	O
,	O
although	O
he	O
drew	O
comparison	O
with	O
Mercs	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
spiritual	O
sequel	O
,	O
FixEight	B-Application
,	O
was	O
released	O
in	O
July	O
1992	O
for	O
arcades	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
more	O
recent	O
years	O
,	O
the	O
rights	O
to	O
the	O
game	O
,	O
its	O
spiritual	O
follow-up	O
and	O
many	O
other	O
IPs	O
from	O
Toaplan	O
are	O
now	O
owned	O
by	O
Tatsujin	B-Application
,	O
a	O
company	O
named	O
after	O
Truxton'''s	O
Japanese	O
title	O
that	O
was	O
founded	O
in	O
2017	O
by	O
former	O
Toaplan	O
employee	O
Masahiro	O
Yuge	O
,	O
who	O
are	O
now	O
affiliated	O
with	O
arcade	O
manufacturer	O
exA-Arcadia	O
.	O
</s>
