Earlier this week, ZUIKI started accepting preorders for the "Black Model" of the X68000 Z (available to pre-order internationally through Beep), and so, in order to coincide with this it held a special livestream celebrating the occasion over on the YouTube channel 4GamerSP.

On the livestream, a collection of hosts gave viewers a closer look at the Black Model X68000 Z and its various accessories (including its small LCD monitor) and made a couple of exciting announcements about some of the upcoming games coming to the miniaturized version of the classic Sharp computer.

So, we've rounded up all of this information below, all in one easily accessible place.

ZOOM Vol.1 Content

At the end of last year, it was announced that ZUIKI had partnered with the studio ZOOM to bring some of the latter's games to the X68000 Z and we now have a better idea of what the first titles are going to be.

As announced on the livestream, the ZOOM Vol. 1 collection will include the following two titles together on a single SD card:

  • Genocide (1989) - a sidescrolling action game featuring giant mechs battling each other across a post-apocalyptic landscape.
  • Phalanx (1991) - a horizontal shooter that puts players in the role of an ace pilot battling a swarm of aliens while investigating a distress signal.

The package is available for ¥5,478 via Amazon.jp and will launch on August 8th, ahead of the console's retail release. It looks likely, though, that Western players will have to find another way to import it or simply buy it secondhand given a lack of international shipping on the site.

X68000 Z Livestream ZOOM
Image: ZUIKI/4GamerSP

Exact Perfect Collection -1990～1994

In addition to the announcement regarding the ZOOM release, it was also revealed at the event that BEEP will be reissuing a bunch of Exact's games for Windows computers and X68000 Z.

This collection will be called the Exact Perfect Collection -1990～1994 and is currently slated to release on Windows sometime in Winter 2023. It will feature the following games:

  • Naious (1990) — a scrolling shoot 'em up about artificial intelligence gone astray
  • Aquales (1991) — another 2D mecha game that features a grappling hook and RPG-like mechanics
  • Etoile Princesse (1993) — a simple, top-down action RPG that's more in the vein of Pocky & Rocky than Zelda
  • And Geograph Seal (1994) — a proto-Jumping Flash, but with a heavy metal soundtrack and Star Fox-esque visuals

It's certainly an interesting collection of titles and covers some of the games we personally wanted to see reissued for the console back in January. We'll try and keep you updated with more news as soon as it is available. But for now, you can watch the trailer for the Windows version of the collection below:

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[source youtube.com]