Zool (8-bit)

From Sega Retro

For the Sega Mega Drive version, see Zool.

n/a

  • Master System
  • Sega Game Gear
    EU/JP
  • Sega Game Gear
    US

Zool SMS Title.png

Zool GG Title.png

Zool GG US Title.png

Zool
System(s): Sega Master System, Sega Game Gear
Publisher:
Sega Game Gear
GameTek (US)
Sega Master System
Sega Game Gear
Gremlin Graphics Software (EU)
Sega Game Gear
Nisshou Iwai Infocom (JP)
Developer:
Genre: Action[1][2][3]

















Number of players: 1
Release Date RRP Code
Sega Master System
EU
27075-50
Sega Master System
UK
£29.9929.99[5][4] 27075-50
Sega Game Gear
JP
¥3,8003,800 T-149017
Sega Game Gear
US
$39.9539.95 T-83048
Videogame Rating Council: GA
Sega Game Gear
EU
123018-50
Sega Game Gear
UK
£29.9929.99[7][4] 123018-50
Non-Sega versions

Zool or Zool: Ninja of the Nth Dimension, known as Zool no Yume Bouken (ズールのゆめぼうけん) in Japan, is a platform game developed by Gremlin Graphics for the Commodore Amiga and ported to a number of platforms, including the Sega Master System and Sega Game Gear in 1994. The 8-bit versions of the game have different level layouts and music.

Story

While investigating a disturbance in the nth dimension, Zool is caught in a vortex and crashes his ship in a strange land. He learns that the evil Krool has conquered a number of worlds, including the one he has found, and that he must free these worlds from Krool's grip in order to make it back home.

Gameplay

The game is a platformer in which players control the gremlin ninja Zool. Zool moved with Left and Right and jumps with 1. He can defeat enemies by jumping on them. He can also attack by punching and shooting a ranged projectile with 2. He can kneel with Down and does a kick and fires his shot with Down+2. He continues punching or kicking by holding 2. He can fire his shot in mid-air by pressing 1 after the apex of the jump. He performs a spin attack by pressing 1 before or at the apex of the jump. He grabs on to walls when he jumps onto them and can climb them with Up and Down. He cannot climb walls by jumping up them in this version of the game. Pushing Down while running does a sliding attack.

The objective of each stage is to collect 99 items (whose design varies depending on the world), whereupon the goal reveals itself and an arrow in the corner of the screen points the way to it. Unlike the Mega Drive version, power-up items such as extra lives also count toward this total. Stages contain more items than are necessary to complete them.

Zool has three hit points and loses one whenever he takes damage from an enemy. When he runs out of hit points, he can only take one more hit before losing a life. Zool starts each stage with full health. If enemies are defeated when Zool is not at full health, they drop a flying heart that heals Zool for one hit point if he catches it. Each stage is timed, and Zool loses a life if he runs out of time. He retains all of the items he has collected if he loses a life.

Items

Zool SMS, Items.png
Heart
Restores a hit point for Zool. Dropped by enemies when they are destroyed if Zool is not at full health. It floats away and must be caught before it leaves.
Zool SMS, Items.png
Bomb
Destroys all enemies on the screen.
Zool SMS, Items.png
Jumping Zool
Temporarily gives Zool an enhanced jump.
Zool SMS, Items.png
Shield
Temporary makes Zool invincible.
Zool SMS, Items.png
Two Zool
Creates a "shadow Zool" that follows Zool and mirrors his movements, including his attacks, for a duration.
Zool SMS, Items.png
1-Up
Awards the player an extra life.
Zool SMS, Items.png
Goal
Ends the stage. Only appears if the player has found the necessary amount of collectibles.

Worlds

Each world contains four different stages, with the fourth stage solely consisting of a boss fight.

The level designs are different between the Master System and Game Gear versions.

Zool SMS, Stage 1.png

Zool SMS, Stage 1 Boss.png

  • Zool SMS, Stage 1.png

  • Zool SMS, Stage 1 Boss.png

The Sweet World

Zool SMS, Stage 2.png

Zool SMS, Stage 2 Boss.png

  • Zool SMS, Stage 2.png

  • Zool SMS, Stage 2 Boss.png

The Music World

Zool SMS, Stage 3.png

Zool SMS, Stage 3 Boss.png

  • Zool SMS, Stage 3.png

  • Zool SMS, Stage 3 Boss.png

The Fruit World

Zool SMS, Stage 4.png

Zool SMS, Stage 4 Boss.png

  • Zool SMS, Stage 4.png

  • Zool SMS, Stage 4 Boss.png

The Fairground World

Zool SMS, Stage 5.png

Zool SMS, Stage 5 Boss.png

  • Zool SMS, Stage 5.png

  • Zool SMS, Stage 5 Boss.png

The Toy World

Versions

This version of the game is considerably more forgiving in difficulty than the Mega Drive version since there are not as many enemies, healing hearts are much more plentiful, and Zool has a long period of invulnerability after being hit.

Localised names

Also known as
Language Localised Name English Translation
English Zool: Ninja of the Nth Dimension Zool: Ninja of the Nth Dimension
English (US) Zool: Ninja of the Nth Dimension Zool: Ninja of the Nth Dimension
Japanese ズールのゆめぼうけん Zool no Yume Bouken

Production credits

Master System version

  • Main Code: Siz
  • Additional Code: Richard Stevenson
  • Music Composition: Patrick Phelan
  • Sound: Krisalis Software
  • Art: Michael Hirst, Ade Carless, Greggs, Pete Daniels
  • Map and Level Design: Mike Lister, Michael Hirst
  • Project Manager: Tony Casson
  • Development Manager: James North-Hearn
© Gremlin Graphics, 1993
Source:
In-game credits
Zool SMS credits.pdf
[8]

Game Gear version

Gremlin Graphics
  • Main Code: Siz
  • Additional Code: Richard Stevenson
  • Music Composition: Patrick Phelan
  • Sound: Krisalis Software
  • Art: Michael Hirst, Ade Carlesss, Pete Daniels, Greggs
  • Map and Level Design: Mike Lister, Michael Hirst
  • Project Manager: Tony Casson
  • Development Manager: James North-Hearn
GameTek
  • Producer: Van Collins
  • Packaging: Wendy Weber
  • Manual Editing: Stacey Ruderman
  • Art Director: Stephen Curran
  • Production Manager: Sherry Kross
  • Quality Assurance: Bobby King
Source:
US manual
Zool GG US Manual.pdf
[9]

Magazine articles

Main article: Zool (8-bit)/Magazine articles.

Promotional material

Logo-pdf.svg
Print advert in Computer & Video Games (UK) #145: "December 1993" (1993-11-15)
Logo-pdf.svg
Logo-pdf.svg
Print advert in Computer & Video Games (UK) #146: "January 1994" (1993-12-15)
Logo-pdf.svg
Logo-pdf.svg
Print advert in Consoles + (FR) #25: "Novembre 1993" (1993-1x-xx)
Logo-pdf.svg
Logo-pdf.svg
Print advert in Video Games (DE) #1993-12: "12/93" (1993-11-22)
Logo-pdf.svg
Logo-pdf.svg
Print advert in Sega Magazin (DE) #7: "Juni 1994" (1994-05-11)
Logo-pdf.svg

Physical scans

Master System version

Sega Retro Average 
Publication Score Source
{{{{{icon}}}|L}} Division by zero.
Based on
0 review
Sega Retro Average 
Publication Version Score
Joypad (FR) PAL
94
[10]
Mega Force (FR)
93
[11]
Player One (FR)
65
[12]
Sega Power (UK) PAL
78
[13]
Sega Pro (UK) PAL
78
[14]
Sega Master Force (UK) PAL
70
[15]
Todo Sega (ES)
77
[16]
Sega Master System
79
Based on
7 reviews

Zool (8-bit)

Master System, EU
Zool SMS EU Box.jpg
Cover
Zool SMS EU Cart.jpg
Cart

Game Gear version

Sega Retro Average 
Publication Score Source
{{{{{icon}}}|L}} Division by zero.
Based on
0 review
Sega Retro Average 
Publication Version Score
Beep! MegaDrive (JP) NTSC-J
55
[17]
Consoles + (FR)
86
[18]
Computer & Video Games (UK)
79
[19]
Famitsu (JP) NTSC-J
48
[20]
Game Players (US) NTSC-U
65
[21]
GamePro (US) NTSC-U
85
[22]
Gamer (GR)
82
[23]
Joker (SI)
87
[24]
Player One (FR)
66
[25]
Sega Power (UK) PAL
78
[13]
Sega Pro (UK) PAL
75
[26]
Sega Zone (UK) PAL
90
[27]
Todo Sega (ES)
82
[16]
VideoGames (US) NTSC-U
70
[28]
Sega Game Gear
75
Based on
14 reviews

Zool (8-bit)

Game Gear, JP
Zool GG JP Box Back.jpgNospine-small.pngZool GG JP Box Front.jpg
Cover
Zool GG JP Cart.jpg
Cart
Game Gear, US
Zool GG US Box Back.jpgNospine.pngZool GG US Box Front.jpg
Cover
Zool GG US Cart.jpg
Cart
Zool GG US Manual.pdf
Manual
Game Gear, EU
Zool GG EU Box Back.jpgZool GG EU BoxSpine.jpgZool GG EU Box Front.jpg
Cover
Zool GG EU cart.jpg
Cart
Zool GG EU Manual.jpg
Manual

Technical information

ROM dump status

System Hash Size Build Date Source Comments
Sega Master System
 ?
CRC32 9d9d0a5f
MD5 42fb44c9a2c82b8c4aef8191c1b5676f
SHA-1 aed98f2fc885c9a6e121982108f843388eb46304
256kB Cartridge (EU)
Sega Game Gear
 ?
CRC32 b287c695
MD5 db7dc3e8f0d46f0396af99a87ff0489f
SHA-1 8143c1d5e6c677ae5dd8143620b9fd02be8873f6
256kB Cartridge (US)
Sega Game Gear
 ?
CRC32 23904898
MD5 3c200f229978af32c223bccd65428426
SHA-1 40b68abd8f2419178ea2e0d02412c29306bff46c
256kB Cartridge (EU)
Sega Game Gear
 ?
CRC32 e35ef7ed
MD5 ff5f8ad2c620e25d2b028f2e1fed2b54
SHA-1 2c799ee084b858cb71cfaa7a3f6d3a4f364b6c43
256kB Cartridge (JP)

References

  1. File:Zool GG EU Box Back.jpg
  2. File:Zool GG JP Box Front.jpg
  3. 3.0 3.1 http://sega.jp/fb/segahard/gg/soft_licensee.html (Wayback Machine: 2013-01-01 20:24)
  4. 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 4.5 Sega Magazine, "April 1994" (UK; 1994-03-15), page 100
  5. Sega Master Force, "December 1993" (UK; 1993-11-11), page 23
  6. Sega Pro, "April 1994" (DE; 1994-03-23), page 47
  7. Computer & Video Games, "July 1994" (UK; 1994-06-15), page 67
  8. File:Zool SMS credits.pdf
  9. File:Zool GG US Manual.pdf, page 9
  10. Joypad, "Novembre 1993" (FR; 1993-1x-xx), page 126
  11. Mega Force, "Décembre 1993" (FR; 1993-12-10), page 106
  12. Player One, "Janvier 1994" (FR; 199x-xx-xx), page 116
  13. 13.0 13.1 Sega Power, "April 1994" (UK; 1994-03-03), page 62
  14. Sega Pro, "April 1994" (UK; 1994-02-24), page 48
  15. Sega Master Force, "December 1993" (UK; 1993-11-11), page 22
  16. 16.0 16.1 Todo Sega, "Marzo 1994" (ES; 1994-0x-xx), page 92
  17. Beep! MegaDrive, "August 1994" (JP; 1994-07-08), page 23
  18. Consoles +, "Mars 1994" (FR; 1994-0x-xx), page 155
  19. Computer & Video Games, "April 1994" (UK; 1994-03-15), page 79
  20. Famitsu, "1994-08-05" (JP; 1994-07-22), page 42
  21. Game Players, "Vol. 7 No. 2 February 1994" (US; 1994-0x-xx), page 74
  22. GamePro, "May 1994" (US; 1994-xx-xx), page 132
  23. Gamer, "Ianouários 1995" (GR; 1995-xx-xx), page 1
  24. Joker, "Maj 1994" (SI; 1994-xx-xx), page 21
  25. Player One, "Mars 1994" (FR; 1994-0x-xx), page 108
  26. Sega Pro, "April 1994" (UK; 1994-02-24), page 57
  27. Sega Zone, "March 1994" (UK; 1994-02-24), page 65
  28. VideoGames, "February 1994" (US; 1994-0x-xx), page 86


Zool (8-bit)

Zool SMS Title.png

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