A maze-game spin-off set in the Fantasy Zone universe. Original concept but less accomplished than the main shooter series. Worth exploring for variety but clearly secondary in the saga.
Your verdict
Category
Puzzle1 player3+
Description
Fantasy Zone sequel featuring Opa-Opa navigating a maze of interconnected corridors. Published by Sega, released in Europe in 1987. Opa-Opa in a maze of corridors with enemies to eliminate. Second Fantasy Zone on Master System.
Fantasy Zone - The Maze review
4/5
Art direction
★★★★★
"Striking"
4/5
Music
★★★★★
"Excellent"
1/5
Story
★★★★★
"Anecdotal"
The move to a top-down maze requires entirely rethinking the character, now shown face-on and reduced to a compact shape to move through narrow corridors. The settings take up the series' pastel palette but apply it to geometric layouts, rounded walls and coloured junctions, the imagery of a board game rather than of a world crossed.
The themes keep the series' cheerfulness but adopt much shorter loops, suited to boards you often restart, and the accompaniment comes down to detached notes that never clutter the listening. The pickup jingles are tuned to the piece currently playing, so an efficient run produces an extra melodic line.
Gameplay
"Solid"
Fun
"From the very first seconds"
Opa-Opa trades free shooting for a Pac-Man-style maze: gobbling dots, shaking off pursuers and clearing each board reinvents the series' colourful world. The blend surprises and pleasantly refreshes the formula, between route strategy and reflexes. Cute and clever, this cheerful spin-off offers a catchy challenge you restart with a smile.
Addictiveness
"Captivating"
Difficulty
"Balanced"
Lifespan
"Short"
Technical info
💾0,06 MB📅01/01/1987
Published by Sega
Fantasy Zone - The Maze (Master System) price, value & rarity
A Fantasy Zone spin-off reimagined as a maze game, where Opa-Opa navigates interconnected corridors like a stylised Pac-Man. Its desirability rests on that unexpected reworking of a shooter license into a maze game, singular within the franchise, and its European release. Collectors seek this title for its originality within the Fantasy Zone series and its place in the PAL library.
Is Fantasy Zone - The Maze still worth playing in 2026?
A surprising variation on Fantasy Zone, The Maze swaps the horizontal shooter for a maze game where Opa-Opa clears interconnected corridors by eliminating enemies, in the spirit of Pac-Man. The marriage of the series' pastel world and maze chase gameplay works better than you would think, carried by the intact visual charm and a well balanced positioning challenge. The surprise of the genre shift is its appeal. For a Fantasy Zone fan curious about this excursion or a retro maze game fan, the title keeps an unexpected charm.
