Zool
From Sega Retro
- For the Master System and Game Gear versions, see Zool (8-bit).
| Zool | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| System(s): Sega Mega Drive | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
Publisher:  | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Developer: Gremlin Graphics Software | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Sound driver: Krisalis sound driver | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Genre: Action | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Number of players: 1 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Zool or Zool: Ninja of the Nth Dimension is a platform game developed by Gremlin Graphics for the Amiga in 1992 as an answer to the "mascot wars" of the early 1990s spearheaded by Super Mario Bros. and Sonic the Hedgehog.
The success of Zool saw it brought to a number of platforms, including the Sega Mega Drive in 1994.
A Japanese version, set to be published as Zool no Yume Bouken (ズールのゆめぼうけん) by Infocom was planned[5], but cancelled.
Contents
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 seven 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
Zool is a fast-paced platform game where players control the gremlin ninja Zool. Zool is moved with 
and 
and jumps with 
. He attacks by punching and shooting a ranged projectile with 
. He can kneel with 
and does a kick and fires his shot with +. He continues punching or kicking by holding , which can be used to break certain walls and provide access to areas. He can fire his shot in mid-air by pressing after jumping. He can also defeat enemies by jumping on them. Holding 
while jumping makes Zool perform a spinning attack. He grabs on to walls when he jumps onto them and can climb them with 
and or by jumping up them. Pushing while running does a sliding attack. Because of the fast pace of the game and the enemy placement, it is necessary to progress slowly and make use of the sliding attack to avoid taking too much damage.
The objective of each stage is to collect a certain amount of items and then find the exit beacon (a giant coin). The design of the items varies depending on the world; for example, they are CDs and cassette tapes in the Music World but various fruits in the Fruit World. Stages contain more items than are necessary to complete them. Some stages contain objects that can be destroyed with the spin attack that release more items. Some enemies burst into items after being destroyed. The status bar on the bottom of the screen shows how many more items need to be collected and also has an arrow that points to the direction of the exit. Each world contains four different stages, with the fourth stage having a boss fight before the exit.
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. Some enemies drop hearts that can restore a point of health, and Zool starts each stage with full health. 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
| Heart | |
|---|---|
| Restores a hit point for Zool. Sometimes dropped by enemies when they are destroyed. It flies away and must be caught before it leaves. | |
| Bomb | |
| Destroys all enemies on the screen. | |
| Jumping Zool | |
| Temporarily gives Zool an enhanced jump. | |
| Shield | |
| Temporary makes Zool invincible. | |
| Two Zool | |
| Creates a "shadow Zool" that follows Zool and mirrors his movements, including his attacks, for a duration. | |
| Clock | |
| Adds more time to the timer. | |
| 1-Up | |
| Awards the player an extra life. | |
| Goal | |
| Ends the stage if the player has found the necessary amount of collectibles. | |
| Restart Point | |
| Checkpoint where Zool is revived after losing a life. Stand in front of it and hold down to activate.
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Worlds
| The Sweet World | |
|---|---|
| The Music World | |
| The Fruit World | |
| The Tool World | |
| The Toy World | |
| The Fairground World | |
| The Desert Island World | |
History
Legacy
The game ends with a cliffhanger and hints at a sequel. While Zool was followed by Zool 2, it was not brought to a Sega system.
Zool Redimensioned, a remaster of the game, was released in August 2021. It was developed by Sumo Digital Academy and published by Secret Mode on the Steam platform. It was based on the Mega Drive version, which was included as a bonus.
Versions
Compared to the Amiga original, the Sega Mega Drive version runs faster and has multiple parallax scrolling background planes instead of the Amiga's typical "copper mode" color gradients.
Localised names
| 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
- Sega/Game Code: Paul Hiley
- Game/Frontend Code: George Allan
- Artists: Ade Carless, Paul Gregory, Damon Godley
- Music: Patrick Phelan, Krysalis
- Maps: Paul Gregory, Ade Carless, Tony Dawson, Paul Green
- Additional Help: Mick Lister
- Test: Lee Campbell, Tony Howe, Rob Millington, Simon Short
- Produced by: Mark Glossop
Magazine articles
- Main article: Zool/Magazine articles.
Promotional material
Physical scans
| Sega Retro Average | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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74 |
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| Based on 27 reviews | |
| Mega Drive, US |
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 Cart  Manual |
| Mega Drive, EU |
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 Cart  Manual |
| Mega Drive, UK (English-only manual) |
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| Mega Drive, AU |
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Technical information
ROM dump status
| System | Hash | Size | Build Date | Source | Comments | |||||||||
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1MB | 1994-01 | Cartridge (US) | ||||||||||
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1MB | 1993-09 | Cartridge (EU) |
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 GamePro, "March 1994" (US; 1994-xx-xx), page 50
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Mega, "January 1994" (UK; 1993-12-16), page 107
- ↑ Sega Force Mega, "January 1994" (UK; 1993-12-16), page 49
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Mega Action, "Christmas 1993" (UK; 1993-12-02), page 16
- ↑ Beep! MegaDrive, "January 1995" (JP; 1994-12-08), page 83
- ↑ SuperGamePower, "Abril 1994" (BR; 1994-0x-xx), page 45
- ↑ 1700 igr dlya Sega, "" (RU; 2003-03-10), page 275
- ↑ Beep! MegaDrive, "August 1994" (JP; 1994-07-08), page 21
- ↑ Consoles +, "Décembre 1993" (FR; 1993-1x-xx), page 146
- ↑ Computer & Video Games, "December 1993" (UK; 1993-11-15), page 89
- ↑ Electronic Gaming Monthly, "January 1994" (US; 199x-xx-xx), page 46
- ↑ Entsiklopediya luchshikh igr Sega. Vypusk 1, "" (RU; 1999-xx-xx), page 369
- ↑ Entsiklopediya luchshikh igr Sega. Vypusk 10, "" (RU; 2003-10-08), page 246
- ↑ Joker, "Maj 1994" (SI; 1994-xx-xx), page 21
- ↑ Sega Mega Drive Advanced Gaming, "January 1994" (UK; 1993-xx-xx), page 34
- ↑ Mega, "December 1993" (UK; 1993-11-18), page 48
- ↑ Mega Force, "Décembre 1993" (FR; 1993-12-10), page 100
- ↑ Mega Fun, "01/94" (DE; 1993-12-22), page 74
- ↑ MegaTech, "December 1993" (UK; 1993-11-20), page 64
- ↑ Mean Machines Sega, "January 1994" (UK; 1993-11-30), page 96
- ↑ Player One, "Décembre 1993" (FR; 1993-1x-xx), page 146
- ↑ Sega Power, "December 1993" (UK; 1993-11-xx), page 46
- ↑ Sega Pro, "November 1993" (UK; 1993-10-14), page 70
- ↑ Sega Zone, "December 1993" (UK; 1993-11-25), page 36
- ↑ Sega Force Mega, "December 1993" (UK; 1993-11-16), page 48
- ↑ Sega Force, "2/94" (SE; 1994-02-23), page 24
- ↑ Sonic the Comic, "February 4th 1994" (UK; 1994-01-22), page 12
- ↑ Todo Sega, "Diciembre 1993" (ES; 1993-xx-xx), page 56
- ↑ Tricks 16 bit, "Tricks Sega Gold 800 igr" (RU; 1998-03-20), page 236
- ↑ Video Games, "3/94" (DE; 1994-02-23), page 82
- ↑ VideoGames, "February 1994" (US; 1994-0x-xx), page 88
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