Zool

Encyclopedia : Z : ZO : ZOO : Zool

Zool is a British computer game originally produced for the Amiga by Gremlin Graphics as a rival to Sega's Sonic the Hedgehog. It was heavily hyped upon its initial release in 1992, including being bundled with the newly launched Amiga 1200, although not the AGA version with enhanced graphics which followed later.

Gremlin said that the name Zool did not refer to the supernatural entity Zuul from the film Ghostbusters.

Zool is "a ninja from the nth dimension" who is forced to land on Earth. In order to gain ninja ranking he has to pass seven lands. The game is a pure arcade platform game, relying on smooth, fast moving gameplay, colorful graphics and a popular soundtrack by Patrick Phelan which overlaps with the Lotus 3 soundtrack and has inspired several modern electro/techno remixes.

Zool contains a number of embedded games, including several arcade games, a scrolling space shooter and a game accessible only by making Zool play a certain tune on an in-game piano.

Reviews were extremely positive, possibly partly because the need was felt for the Amiga to have a flagship game to rival Sonic (Superfrog was also such an attempt, released about the same time). However some criticism was aimed at the blatant and pervasive advertisements in the game for Chupa Chups, the lollipop company, displayed in the first four levels (known as 'Sweet Zone').

Zool 2

The sequel, surprisingly entitled Zool 2, was very similar gameplay-wise, but with improved graphics and an attempt at a plot. It received generally high review scores, but did not make an impact the way its predecessor had.

The nemesis in the game was named Mental Block, a play on the British English use of the word "mental", a colloquial synonym for crazy.

Zool 2 added the option to play as Zool's female counterpart, Zooz. The two characters played similarly, although there were some subtle differences in their abilities. Most notably, Zool could destroy parts of the scenery that Zooz couldn't, and vice versa, resulting in a slightly different route through the level.

External links

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