Zombies Ate My Neighbors might be the greatest horror video game ever. It’s not scary in the traditional sense but no other game better played off of our favorite horror tropes and characters – all without getting slapped with an insane amount of lawsuits. Those evil dolls? Yeah, they’re Chucky. That chainsaw-wielding dude in the hockey mask? Yup, that’s Jason, even though Mrs. Voorhees’ baby boy never used one. From there, we’ve got vampires, werewolves, reptilian men, aliens, giant creatures, pod people, blobs, and more running around neighborhoods, shopping malls, factories, pyramids, castles, and anywhere else you’ve already seen in classic horror flicks. But one figure that pops up at random isn’t exactly known for horror flicks – and that’s George Lucas, whose LucasArts developed the game.
A lot of people don’t know this, but George Lucas actually has a cameo in Zombies Ate My Neighbors, appearing in the level “Monsters Among Us”, categorized as a “credit level” as it’s revealed only after you defeat the game’s final boss, Dr. Tongue. But there he is, as this level is set in the offices of LucasArts, the company that developed Zombies Ate My Neighbors. So why don’t more people know about this cameo? Well, because the game is insanely hard! Heck, I’ve played the game off and on since Konami released it back in 1993 and still haven’t conquered it without codes (damn you, Snakeoids!). While I did come across the level through roms and discovered the cameo years ago, we have to give credit to Laser Time for giving us proof.
Unfortunately for some, you can’t use your water pistol, weed-whacker or magical crucifix against Lucas, as he is just part of the scenery and – as in real life, probably – unkillable. So what is he up to? After you save the tourists snapping pictures of him, he tells the characters, “Welcome to LucasArts Games and now get back to work.”
Getting back to work not only entails saving your neighbors but also taking time to scope out everything and everybody within the walls, which are covered in cobwebs. Taking a walk around, we see assistant animators, musicians (Joe McDermott and George Sanger), artists (key LucasArts figure and later Pixar employee Steve Purcell), and even the head of LucasArts Kelly Flock – no, literally, it’s his giant floating head watching over the studio! One employee even has his own head on the body of a dog, a little nod to 1978’s Invasion of the Body Snatchers. With all of that going on — especially in a level that most people will never play — you have to appreciate the (dr.) tongue-in-cheek devotion.
Did you play Zombies Ate My Neighbors? How far did you make it?