Zool Redimensioned (PC) Review

It's very difficult to look at this through subjective eyes, with merely a mention of the name bringing back fond memories of janky joysticks, long nights, and Chupa Chups (licensing has removed these, which should demand a boycott of their products if nothing else). On first impressions staff working on bringing this to fruition seem to share those same feelings, and have created a faithful remaster, staying true to the original with some very welcome tweaks.

The most glaringly obvious and easily the best, is the decision to pull the camera back and give a clear view of obstacles and the level as a whole. Zool took the Hedgehog route, and ensured that every stage can be completed by taking multiple paths, which back in the beige days of gaming, were incredibly difficult to figure out with such a close-up view (not that most knew any better). Any mistake made now is purely on the player, and this goes for platforming too, with controls being far tighter and responsive than they ever were in the early '90s.

For the uninitiated, Zool has been tasked with fighting a multiversal threat after a crash landing by working his way through around eight levels that seemed to make a lot more sense for anyone playing this as a youngster. Back then it was simply accepted that a world dominated by lollies would lead to a music themed metropolis, and a banana infested jungle. These days, not so much. The levels pop with the brightness and imagery of a title born of its time, but for newcomers and gamers looking for some sense of coherency, this may be pretty jarring. Enemy types however have great variety and suit the environment (minus the bananas), with similarities to 2D platformers like the original Rayman that flourished in terms of enemy design.

Standard and Ultimate Ninja Mode are available, with the latter providing the real challenge by removing the new double jump, as well as forcing players to pick up a certain number of collectables before being able to progress. For Amiga vets this shouldn't provide any real challenge, but for new players it can become difficult to distinguish between item and enemy. Its very much a trial-and-error system that can become frustrating. Thankfully, other assists have been made available if just looking to dabble, with invincibility and infinite jumping on toggle.

The now standard features expected in a remaster are present in terms of sound and display, with the always welcome CRT filter option included, and also what feels like a vital addition of level select, allowing quick access to any collectable missed along the way. One bizarre addition, however, is an emulated version of the original. 'Fantastic!' Should be the cry of Zool'ers (copyright, yours truly) around the world, who get to play their beloved classic as intended. That is until they realise that the version Zool Redimensioned decided to go with is the vastly inferior Mega Drive version.

This may be due to the upcoming release of the Amiga mini, which will include the original Zool pre-loaded, but in all honesty, its better to forget that the Mega Drive version is even an option. It looks awful, and most importantly, its sound horrific. Zool had themes that no other platformer could touch in terms of greatness (all present and lovingly recreated in the remaster), and to hear them tarnished or left out completely is unforgivable. It's clear that developers Sumo Digital Academy wanted to add a bit of nostalgia in, but in truth have added something nobody asked for. It really wasn't needed when the core game that they have worked on is such a love-letter to the original.