#zantar

In the movie Wayne’s World, producer Benjamin Cain is having a meeting with arcade franchise owner, Noah Vanderhoff. 

Vanderhoff is describing a new (fictional) game in his arcades called “Zantar”. He gives a synopsis that Zantar is a gelatinous cube that eats warriors in a medieval village. Whenever Zantar eats a chieftain, players are supposed to ascend to a higher level. Only problem is there is no higher level, so “kids keep coughing up quarters”. The joke borrows from a real-life controversy with arcade game Smash TV and it’s fake “Pleasure Dome” level from two years prior (Wayne’s World released in ‘92, Smash TV in ‘90)

Wayne’s World somehow managed to get a video game for the NES, Super NES and Game Boy. In the Super NES version of Wayne’s World, Zantar is named the number one worst game that the guys had played in one of Noah’s arcades that week. 

In the game, Zantar pulls Wayne and Garth into a “video game” world where Wayne has to rescue Garth.

Zantar is nowhere to be seen except Zantar arcade cabinets that can be found in the “Gasworks” heavy metal bar level.

The final boss is revealed in World 4 Stage 2 and it’s ZANTAR!

The game isn’t all that great but props to the designers for finding a way to bridge the film and the game.