<s>
Zed	B-Application
Blade	I-Application
is	O
a	O
horizontally	O
scrolling	O
shooter	O
arcade	O
video	O
game	O
developed	O
by	O
NMK	O
and	O
originally	O
published	O
by	O
SNK	O
on	O
September	O
13	O
,	O
1994	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
was	O
the	O
only	O
game	O
to	O
be	O
created	O
by	O
NMK	O
for	O
the	O
Neo	B-Application
Geo	I-Application
platform	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Set	O
in	O
a	O
futuristic	O
sci-fi	O
setting	O
,	O
players	O
assume	O
the	O
role	O
from	O
either	O
of	O
the	O
three	O
playable	O
characters	O
in	O
an	O
attempt	O
to	O
overthrow	O
an	O
army	O
of	O
enemies	O
led	O
by	O
the	O
on-board	O
supercomputer	B-Architecture
at	O
the	O
automated	O
Yggdrasil	B-Application
space	O
station	O
and	O
seize	O
full	O
control	O
of	O
it	O
once	O
again	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Although	O
it	O
was	O
initially	O
only	O
launched	O
for	O
the	O
Neo	B-Application
Geo	I-Application
MVS	I-Application
(	O
arcade	O
)	O
,	O
Zed	B-Application
Blade	I-Application
was	O
later	O
re-released	O
by	O
Hamster	O
Corporation	O
through	O
the	O
ACA	O
Neo	B-Application
Geo	I-Application
series	O
for	O
various	O
consoles	O
in	O
2017	O
,	O
including	O
the	O
Nintendo	B-Application
Switch	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Conversions	O
for	O
both	O
Neo	B-Application
Geo	I-Application
AES	I-Application
(	O
home	O
)	O
and	O
Neo	B-Device
Geo	I-Device
CD	I-Device
were	O
planned	O
and	O
even	O
previewed	O
but	O
neither	O
received	O
an	O
official	O
release	O
to	O
the	O
public	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Zed	B-Application
Blade	I-Application
has	O
garnered	O
mixed	O
critical	O
reception	O
since	O
its	O
original	O
release	O
in	O
arcades	O
from	O
reviewers	O
who	O
felt	O
mixed	O
towards	O
several	O
aspects	O
of	O
the	O
game	O
such	O
as	O
the	O
colorful	O
but	O
generic	O
visuals	O
,	O
unremarkable	O
weapons	O
system	O
,	O
short	O
length	O
and	O
low	O
difficulty	O
,	O
although	O
most	O
praise	O
was	O
given	O
to	O
the	O
music	O
and	O
some	O
critics	O
noted	O
it	O
to	O
be	O
its	O
main	O
highlight	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Zed	B-Application
Blade	I-Application
is	O
a	O
horizontally	O
scrolling	O
shoot	O
'	O
em	O
up	O
game	O
similar	O
to	O
Gradius	B-Application
III	I-Application
and	O
Last	B-Application
Resort	I-Application
,	O
where	O
players	O
assume	O
the	O
role	O
from	O
either	O
of	O
the	O
three	O
playable	O
characters	O
(	O
master	O
sergeant	O
Uncle	O
Beard	O
,	O
sergeant	O
Ms.	O
Charlotte	O
and	O
corporal	O
Swift	O
Arnold	O
)	O
with	O
their	O
respective	O
space	O
fighter	O
crafts	O
through	O
eight	O
stages	O
that	O
take	O
place	O
on	O
a	O
futuristic	O
sci-fi	O
setting	O
across	O
the	O
Solar	O
System	O
in	O
a	O
last-ditch	O
effort	O
to	O
stop	O
the	O
invasion	O
against	O
humanity	O
on	O
Earth	O
led	O
by	O
Yggdrasil	B-Application
's	O
on-board	O
supercomputer	B-Architecture
with	O
his	O
army	O
of	O
enemies	O
and	O
regain	O
full	O
control	O
of	O
the	O
unit	O
once	O
more	O
as	O
the	O
main	O
objective	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
noteworthy	O
gameplay	O
aspect	O
of	O
the	O
title	O
is	O
that	O
prior	O
to	O
starting	O
,	O
players	O
can	O
arrange	O
the	O
weapon	O
system	O
of	O
their	O
picked	O
ship	O
in	O
the	O
character	O
selection	O
screen	O
,	O
some	O
of	O
which	O
have	O
their	O
speed	O
setting	O
already	O
pre-determined	O
,	O
by	O
choosing	O
between	O
three	O
options	O
for	O
frontal	O
shots	O
,	O
missiles	O
and	O
rear	O
shots	O
,	O
all	O
of	O
which	O
are	O
fired	O
by	O
pressing	O
the	O
A	O
button	O
and	O
controlling	O
the	O
ship	O
is	O
performed	O
with	O
the	O
joystick	B-Device
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
addition	O
to	O
the	O
three	O
main	O
weapons	O
,	O
players	O
are	O
also	O
equipped	O
with	O
set	O
number	O
of	O
bombs	B-Device
depending	O
on	O
the	O
ship	O
chosen	O
at	O
the	O
beginning	O
that	O
are	O
fired	O
by	O
pressing	O
the	O
B	O
button	O
,	O
while	O
its	O
firepower	O
can	O
be	O
increased	O
by	O
collecting	O
a	O
hyper	O
bomb	B-Device
upgrade	O
capable	O
of	O
dealing	O
maximum	O
damage	O
against	O
enemies	O
and	O
bosses	O
,	O
the	O
latter	O
of	O
which	O
are	O
fought	O
at	O
the	O
end	O
of	O
each	O
stage	O
in	O
order	O
to	O
progress	O
further	O
through	O
the	O
game	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Enemies	O
will	O
also	O
carry	O
extra	O
bomb	B-Device
stocks	O
and	O
hyper	O
bomb	B-Device
upgrades	O
as	O
well	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Getting	O
hit	O
by	O
enemy	O
fire	O
or	O
colliding	O
against	O
solid	O
stage	O
obstacles	O
will	O
result	O
in	O
losing	O
a	O
live	O
,	O
as	O
well	O
as	O
a	O
penalty	O
of	O
decreasing	O
the	O
ship	O
's	O
weapons	O
to	O
one	O
level	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
player	O
insert	O
more	O
credits	O
into	O
the	O
arcade	O
machine	O
to	O
continue	O
playing	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Zed	B-Application
Blade	I-Application
takes	O
place	O
in	O
a	O
futuristic	O
sci-fi	O
setting	O
where	O
mankind	O
has	O
managed	O
to	O
expand	O
into	O
the	O
stars	O
and	O
travel	O
to	O
every	O
planet	O
in	O
the	O
Solar	O
System	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
large	O
project	O
to	O
establish	O
a	O
space	O
frontier	O
was	O
started	O
with	O
the	O
development	O
of	O
an	O
automated	O
space	O
station	O
named	O
Yggdrasil	B-Application
,	O
which	O
is	O
controlled	O
by	O
a	O
state-of-the-art	O
supercomputer	B-Architecture
,	O
however	O
the	O
crew	O
of	O
the	O
Yggdrasil	B-Application
began	O
to	O
refuse	O
in	O
responding	O
any	O
of	O
the	O
incoming	O
communications	O
from	O
Earth	O
months	O
after	O
its	O
deployment	O
,	O
with	O
Yggdrasil	B-Application
suddenly	O
launching	O
attacks	O
against	O
Earth	O
through	O
usage	O
of	O
a	O
large	O
fleet	O
of	O
highly	O
developed	O
space	O
fighters	O
,	O
robots	O
and	O
war	O
machines	O
that	O
leads	O
to	O
the	O
enactment	O
of	O
"	O
Operation	O
Ragnarok	O
"	O
,	O
where	O
three	O
of	O
the	O
best	O
space	O
fighter	O
pilots	O
from	O
Earth	O
must	O
restore	O
order	O
by	O
seizing	O
control	O
of	O
Yggdrasil	B-Application
and	O
halting	O
the	O
invasion	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Zed	B-Application
Blade	I-Application
served	O
as	O
the	O
only	O
title	O
created	O
by	O
NMK	O
for	O
Neo	B-Application
Geo	I-Application
and	O
was	O
initially	O
only	O
launched	O
for	O
the	O
arcades	O
by	O
SNK	O
on	O
September	O
13	O
,	O
1994	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
Neo	B-Application
Geo	I-Application
AES	I-Application
version	O
was	O
announced	O
and	O
completed	O
but	O
never	O
released	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
Neo	B-Device
Geo	I-Device
CD	I-Device
version	O
was	O
also	O
announced	O
and	O
even	O
showcased	O
for	O
playing	O
to	O
the	O
attendees	O
at	O
SNK	O
's	O
booth	O
during	O
the	O
Winter	O
Consumer	O
Electronics	O
Show	O
in	O
1995	O
but	O
like	O
the	O
AES	O
version	O
,	O
it	O
was	O
never	O
released	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
game	O
has	O
since	O
received	O
a	O
re-release	O
in	O
2017	O
on	O
various	O
digital	O
distribution	O
platforms	O
such	O
as	O
the	O
Nintendo	B-Application
eShop	I-Application
,	O
PlayStation	B-Device
Network	I-Device
and	O
Xbox	B-Device
Live	I-Device
Arcade	I-Device
as	O
part	O
of	O
the	O
ACA	O
Neo	B-Application
Geo	I-Application
series	O
by	O
Hamster	O
,	O
its	O
current	O
rights	O
owner	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
North	O
America	O
,	O
RePlay	O
reported	O
Zed	B-Application
Blade	I-Application
was	O
the	O
fourteenth	O
most-popular	O
arcade	O
game	O
at	O
the	O
time	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Zed	B-Application
Blade	I-Application
received	O
mixed	O
reception	O
from	O
critics	O
since	O
its	O
initial	O
release	O
.	O
</s>
