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Revision as of 14:51, 15 October 2023

n/a

Ooze MD Title.png

The Ooze
System(s): Sega Mega Drive
Publisher: Sega
Developer:
Sound driver: GEMS
Genre: Action[1]

















Number of players: 1
Release Date RRP Code
Sega Mega Drive
JP 		¥5,8005,800 G-4134
Sega Mega Drive
US 		$49.9949.99[2] 1512
ESRB: Kids to Adults
Sega Mega Drive
EU 		1572-50
ELSPA: 3+ OK
Sega Mega Drive
PT 		MDJSE0142
Sega Mega Drive
UK 		£24.9924.99[3] 1572-50
ELSPA: 3+ OK
Sega Mega Drive
AU 		FTHE18SMC
OFLC: G
Sega Mega Drive
BR
Tectoy: Todas as Idades

The Ooze (ジ・ウーズ) is a Sega Mega Drive action strategy game developed by Sega Technical Institute and published by Sega. Released in 1995 to mixed reviews, the game is the last that STI would develop for the aging 16-bit platform.

Story

The Ooze, Introduction.png

Introduction

Dr. Caine becomes suspicious of the Corporation's behind-the-scenes research and scans its databases during an evening shutdown, discovering that the Corporation has successfully developed a hybrid plague so dangerous and fast-spreading it could wipe out humanity in a few days, and intends on infecting the entire planet by polluting the water supplies with it and extort billions of dollars from world governments to supply the cure.

Upon discovering this information, Dr. Caine was caught by the Director and his henchmen, and was injected with a glowing green substance with intentions of killing him. However, the substance had instead transformed him into a living puddle of toxic ooze. Filled with rage and a strange power, Caine now seeks revenge on the Corporation and the Director, intending to destroy them and prevent them from unleashing the plague upon the world, hoping to regain his humanity no matter the cost.

Gameplay

The Ooze, DNA Strands.png

Collected DNA strands

Taking place with an overhead point of view, the main character is a puddle of green ooze which can be moved about the play area with the D-Pad using an advanced fluid-like algorithm developed specifically for the game. The player must explore the maze-like levels to find switches to unlock different parts of the level before eventually finding the exit. Each level has three parts, the last of which contains a boss that must be defeated to open the exit. Levels contain hidden DNA strands that can be collected to earn the good ending.

Defeating organic enemies makes them drop pieces of ooze, which can be absorbed to increase the puddle's size. The size of the puddle acts as a form of health for Caine, though it also makes him a bigger target to attacks and hazards. Taking damage reduces the size of the ooze puddle. Levels include obstacles such as drains that devour the puddle. Attacking enemies involves stretching out the ooze puddle into a controllable "arm" whose length is provided by briefly shifting ooze from the main puddle, which is done with A. The punch can be extended longer by holding the button longer if the ooze puddle is large enough. It can be guided in multiple directions using the D-Pad, allowing it to navigate around obstacles to collect items or activate switches or to attack enemies without entering their direct line of fire. Levels also contain lighted poles that can be punched by the ooze to safely transport it between points. Small portions of the puddle itself can be shot as a projectile attack with B, as long as there is enough ooze to do so.

Caine loses a life if the ooze puddle is reduced too low or if the puddle’s head is attacked directly. The game ends if the player runs out of lives.

Items

The Ooze, Items.png
 Extra Ooze
Gives Caine more ooze.
The Ooze, Items.png
 Speed
Increases Caine's speed. The ooze turns yellow when it is active, and turns orange when it is about to run out.
The Ooze, Items.png
 Industrial Strength Toxin
Allows Caine to defeat organic creatures just by touching them. The ooze turns red when it is active, and turns black when it is about to run out.
The Ooze, Items.png
 Extra Life
Awards an extra life.
The Ooze, Items.png
 DNA Helix
Caine needs to collect all 50 of these to regain his humanity at the end of the game. Each level has 10 to find.
The Ooze, Items.png
 Waypoint
Serves as a checkpoint, allowing Caine to restart from it whenever he dies.

Levels

The Ooze, Stage 1-1.png

The Ooze, Stage 1-2.png

The Ooze, Stage 1-3.png

  • The Ooze, Stage 1-1.png

  • The Ooze, Stage 1-2.png

  • The Ooze, Stage 1-3.png

Toxic Dump

The Ooze, Stage 2-1.png

The Ooze, Stage 2-2.png

The Ooze, Stage 2-3.png

  • The Ooze, Stage 2-1.png

  • The Ooze, Stage 2-2.png

  • The Ooze, Stage 2-3.png

Waste Plant

The Ooze, Stage 3-1.png

The Ooze, Stage 3-2.png

The Ooze, Stage 3-3.png

  • The Ooze, Stage 3-1.png

  • The Ooze, Stage 3-2.png

  • The Ooze, Stage 3-3.png

Genetics Lab

The Ooze, Stage 4-1.png

The Ooze, Stage 4-2.png

The Ooze, Stage 4-3.png

  • The Ooze, Stage 4-1.png

  • The Ooze, Stage 4-2.png

  • The Ooze, Stage 4-3.png

Power Core

The Ooze, Stage 5-1.png

The Ooze, Stage 5-2.png

The Ooze, Stage 5-3.png

  • The Ooze, Stage 5-1.png

  • The Ooze, Stage 5-2.png

  • The Ooze, Stage 5-3.png

Plague Factory

Bonus level

The Ooze, Bonus Stage.png

Bonus level

There are ten different bonus levels hidden throughout the game where the player can attack rabbits to gain more ooze. The rabbits become hostile when the ooze gets near them and try to consume the puddle. These bonus levels are timed and end if time runs out.

History

Development

The Ooze is based on an algorithmically-generated cellular automaton. As such, the main character can be split apart and reformed like a viscous liquid. The gameplay is reminiscent of The Bitmap Brothers' game The Chaos Engine (called Soldiers of Fortune in the US). The art style evokes a cartoony (necessitated by the constraints of the medium) H.R. Giger. The story recalls The Toxic Avenger. The development team included people who later worked for Blizzard North on Diablo and Diablo II, including designer Stieg Hedlund. Some of the programming was fairly advanced for a 16-bit system; for example, the speed power-up effect was actually created by decreasing the viscosity of the character.

Legacy

The game is considered a cult classic. It was included in the Japanese version of Sonic Mega Collection in 2002 and in all versions of Sonic Mega Collection Plus in 2004. In the latter collection, it is unlockable in two ways. In the Xbox and PlayStation 2 versions, it can be unlocked if the user has a Sonic Heroes save. In all versions, it can be unlocked by playing any game on the disk for 30 hours.

In 2022, the game was included in the North American and European versions of the Mega Drive Mini 2.

Production credits

Main article: The Ooze/Production credits.
Source:
In-game credits
Ooze MD credits.pdf
[5]
Source:
Developer Mentions


Digital manuals

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    Mega Drive Mini 2 US manual

  • Mega Drive Mini 2 EU manual

Magazine articles

Main article: The Ooze/Magazine articles.

Physical scans

Sega Retro Average 
Publication Score Source
{{{{{icon}}}|L}} Division by zero.
Based on
0 review
Sega Retro Average 
Publication Version Score
1700 igr dlya Sega (RU)
60
[8]
Electronic Gaming Monthly (US) NTSC-U
39
[9]
Game Players (US) NTSC-U
64
[10]
GamePro (US) NTSC-U
43
[2]
Game Informer (US) NTSC-U
64
[11]
Joypad (FR)
70
[12]
Mega Force (FR) PAL
84
[13]
Mean Machines Sega (UK) PAL
79
[3]
Next Generation (US)
50
[14]
Player One (FR) PAL
82
[15]
Power Up! (UK)
75
[16]
Saturn Fan (JP) NTSC-J
61
[17]
Sega Pro (UK) PAL
81
[18]
Sonic the Comic (UK) PAL
70
[19]
Tricks (RU)
78
[20]
Tricks 16 bit (RU)
80
[21]
VideoGames (US) NTSC-U
90
[22]
Sega Mega Drive
 69
Based on
17 reviews

The Ooze

Mega Drive, JP
Theooze md jp cover.jpg
Cover
TheOoze MD JP CartTop 600.jpg
Theooze md jp cart.jpg
Cart
Ooze md jp manual.pdf
Manual
Theooze md jp innercover.jpg
Inner Cover
Mega Drive, US
TheOoze MD US Box Back.jpgTheOoze MD US Box Spine.jpgTheooze md us cover.jpg
Cover
Theooze md us cart.jpg
Cart
The Ooze MD US Manual.pdf
Manual
Mega Drive, EU
Theooze md eu cover.jpg
Cover
TheOoze MD EU Cart.jpg
Cart
The Ooze MD EU Manual.jpg
Manual
Mega Drive, PT
Ooze MD PT cover.jpg
Cover
Mega Drive, AU
TheOoze MD AU Box.jpg
Cover
Mega Drive, BR
Ooze MD BR cover.jpg
Cover
Ooze MD BR Cart.jpg
Cart
Mega Drive, ZA
TheOoze MD ZA Box Front.jpg
Cover
TheOoze MD EU Cart.jpg
Cart

Technical information

Main article: The Ooze/Technical information.

External links

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 https://sega.jp/history/hard/megadrive/software.html (Wayback Machine: 2020-07-20 09:51)
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 GamePro, "November 1995" (US; 1995-xx-xx), page 80
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 Mean Machines Sega, "January 1996" (UK; 1995-11-xx), page 67
  4. ↑ SuperGamePower, "Outubro 1995" (BR; 1995-xx-xx), page 13
  5. ↑ File:Ooze MD credits.pdf
  6. ↑ Sonic Xtreme FAQ by Chris Senn (2008-12-23)
  7. ↑ https://note.com/beep21/n/n5b3c49c00dd9 (Wayback Machine: 2023-03-29 06:47)
  8. ↑ 1700 igr dlya Sega, "" (RU; 2001-xx-xx), page 156
  9. ↑ Electronic Gaming Monthly, "September 1995" (US; 1995-0x-xx), page 35
  10. ↑ Game Players, "Vol. 8 No. 10 October 1995" (US; 1995-xx-xx), page 46
  11. ↑ Game Informer, "September 1995" (US; 1995-0x-xx), page 55
  12. ↑ Joypad, "Mars 1996" (FR; 1996-0x-xx), page 43
  13. ↑ Mega Force, "Mars 1996" (FR; 1996-0x-xx), page 72
  14. ↑ Next Generation, "October 1995" (US; 1995-09-19), page 125
  15. ↑ Player One, "Mars 1996" (FR; 1996-0x-xx), page 100
  16. ↑ Power Up!, "Saturday, February 17, 1996" (UK; 1996-02-17), page 1
  17. ↑ Saturn Fan, "1995 December" (JP; 1995-11-08), page 70
  18. ↑ Sega Pro, "January 1996" (UK; 1995-11-30), page 29
  19. ↑ Sonic the Comic, "24 May 1996" (UK; 1996-05-11), page 17
  20. ↑ Tricks, "Vypusk 8" (RU; 1996-xx-xx), page 27
  21. ↑ Tricks 16 bit, "Tricks Sega Gold 800 igr" (RU; 1998-03-20), page 130
  22. ↑ VideoGames, "October 1995" (US; 1995-09-19), page 80


The Ooze

Ooze MD Title.png

Main page | Maps | Credits | Hidden content | Magazine articles | Video coverage | Reception | Region coding | Technical information | Bootlegs


Sega Mega Drive
Prototypes: 1995-06-15 | 06-19 | 06-22 | 06-26 | 06-29 B | 06-29 | 07-03 | 07-28 | 07-31
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