Video game makers now universally accept that the nostalgia market is substantially more profitable than previously thought. You don’t obtain mind-blowing numbers, but you may use intellectual property that has been off the market for a while and has a low value to earn income without exerting a lot of economic effort. Not everyone can afford to enter that industry due to how expensive developing new triple-A games have become. Many individuals don’t even want to do it because of the risks required and the fact that even many “rich” publishers are avoiding it in favour of predatory economic models where you can make far more money with little effort.
Reissues, remakes, and remasters have therefore become increasingly common over time, which, if you will, is also a sign of the creative stagnation that the industry is going through (but this, as they say, is another story). In light of this scenario, it is not surprising that I was required to write a review of Zool Redimensioned in 2021. This game is a remastered version of an infamous Amiga platformer that was buried in the graveyard of abandoned franchises.
A bit of history
1992 saw the release of Zool: Ninja of the “Nth” Dimension by Gremlin Graphics. Game programmer George Allan narrates in the book “Zool was formed when Ian (Stewart, one of the founders of Gremlin Graphics ed) saw the scrolling demo I was working on after Switchblade II,” according to Commodore Amiga: A Visual Compendium. It didn’t take long for him to collaborate with visual artist Ade Carless on the first game idea. Although I can’t even recall if I played at the time or more Sonic, it’s just a collecting game that was influenced by Mario and those characters.”
Even though it was already the 1990s, technical innovation frequently led to the creation of video games, particularly in the West. Amigans were craving a quick platformer that called to mind a Sega game, and Allan had just the scrolling to make it happen when it needed to.
Despite all of his flaws, the author played Zool at the time and adored him. Overall, it was a solid platformer created by a well-respected and well-known programmer on the European market who had previously worked on beloved action games like Venus: The Flytrap and the aforementioned Switchblade II (the original was not his ).
The first N-dimension ninja adventure did not struggle to capture our minds because of this. Amigans were also encouraged by the sector magazines, which they incensed quite a bit, and they instantly lauded it and gave it a place in our memories as the masterpiece that it was not.
Zool gameplay today
Zool Redimensioned is comparable to a large patch that was released more than two decades too late. It was made by someone who visited every vintage gaming forum where the game was discussed and then worked with the programming to make the best possible version after compiling old fans’ requests. In reality, it would be sufficient to simply mention every invention in order to complete the assessment because each one is a response to a particular need that can be found in conversations among aficionados.
The gameplay itself is still a traditional 2D platformer with a fast pace, levels and enemies set in bizarre worlds (a world of candy, a world of musical instruments, a world full of toys, etc.), but the shot is now much wider and shows a larger portion of the area in which it is located; Zool can double jump, which is very helpful in some situations; the physics have been revised to make the controls less slick, and the graphics of the game have been improved.
It should be made clear that the Megadrive version serves as the starting point instead of the Amiga version, which will no certainly offend some people.
All the additional changes have been made with the intention of increasing accessibility, i.e., making life simpler for new players (who will likely ignore it, but it’s always effective to give yourself a contemporary tone even when you’re operating blatantly nostalgically). The changes are also intended to address the issues mentioned above. For instance, the levels have been changed to help the action flow more smoothly; achievement-related collectables have been added; and instead of constantly having to start over from the beginning after quitting the game, it is now possible to restart from the level achieved.
For gamers who don’t want to give in to modern conveniences, there is also a hardcore mode that is similar to that of the original Zool (but they will have to do it anyway because some modifications cannot be eliminated).
What is not working
This is Zool Redimensioned’s main flaw, but it does work overall. What remains, despite the alterations, is a well-made platformer with well-made stages, uninteresting bosses, and a general direction without distinctive flashes. It has been stripped of its period and the original yearning of an ageing generation.
The “technical fact” that gave rise to him—the drive to advance technology, make what was previously thought to be impossible conceivable, and create a game around it—is what he needs most. He lacks this and lacks it badly. It was a formula that allowed for the production of both massive amounts of rubbish and remarkable goods. The final line is that Zool was a good game and is still an excellent game in Zool Redimensioned.
The issue is that all of his models have changed through time, sometimes for the worse, but they have stripped away the external gaze that gave rise to them. The only thing left is an antique video game that stops saying anything as soon as you start thinking about it for what it should be and never will be—an old dusty and fixed horn phonograph for collectors of vintage stuff.
In the end, Zool Redimensioned is undoubtedly a fun and well-designed platformer that will appeal to fans of retro gaming and the history of obscure or underappreciated video games. Its strengths are evident, and Sumo Digital Academy’s remastering effort has largely succeeded, for whatever that may imply.
Conclusion Zool Redimensioned is not unattractive or poorly made. It is a Zool in top form, complete with all the updates fans have sought over the past thirty years, and is unquestionably delightful for the duration of its run.
