Zool PC (1993)

You will unzip the file with the winrar program.





When a certain blue hedgehog hit the scene in 1991, he sent a ripple through the gaming landscape worldwide. Sonic The Hedgehog revolutionized the genre of jump-’n-runs throughout. Suddenly, everyone wanted in on this new phenomenon. Now, platform games had to be fast and vast, and levels had to be explored in all directions, not just from left and right. The boom that followed not only push the Genesis forward in North America, it was also felt across the Atlantic, all the way to Europe, where home computers still were the favorite gaming platforms. In the early nineties, one platform in particular was predominant in the UK and the rest of central Europe: the Commodore Amiga, and it was there where a certain mascot was born. One that local gaming magazine soon hailed as a new hero to rival the blue blur: Zool, Ninja of the Nth Dimension.

Zool arrived on the Amiga 500 home computer in 1992, and became an instant hit in Europe. Gaming magazines heaved praise upon praise on the platform’s new lead video game hero. In turn, the home computer versions of the game almost outsold the Mega Drive sales of Sonic 2 in his home country Great Britain. Zool became so popular that Commodore for a short time even considered to make him the official mascot of the ill-fated Amiga CD32 system (a deal that allegedly fell through because Gremlin didn’t manage to finish the game in time for the console’s release). Taking that into consideration, it seems only natural that the ninja should make the move over to the Genesis to try and beat his rival Sonic where it counted: on his home turf. The port was made, and when Zool arrived on the Sega flagship, the battle was on!

Before I dig into this game, let me make one thing clear: gaming magazines of the time always referred to the main character as an ant, possibly because his black ninja attire gave his body a rounded, almost segmented appearance. But black ants don’t have just four limbs, green skin or frigging EARS, do they? So what kind of creature is Zool supposed to be? Well, he’s the protagonist of a mascot-based platformer, and the software company that created him is called Gremlin Graphics… I think you can figure that one out yourself from here on out. (Oh and by the way, sadly the character is completely unrelated to Z’uul, gatekeeper of Gozer the Gozerian…)