Zool: Ninja of the Nth Dimension

An alien ninja in the shape of a wheezing black blob with big eyes and a red sash – that is Zool, the hero the British company Gremlin Graphics cast in the early nineties as the Amiga's answer to Sonic and Mario. When the title appeared on the Amiga CD32 console, players got a brisk platformer whose main asset was speed and a frenetic pace: Zool can climb walls and ceilings, shoots at enemies and tears through levels like a hurricane.

Mechanically, Zool stands on the classic combination of jumps, collecting power-ups and dispatching foes, but what sets it apart is precisely its insistence on acrobatics. Clinging to walls and dashing quickly between platforms gave the game a distinctive rhythm that, on the Amiga's more powerful hardware, revved up into a smooth and colourful spectacle. The levels were thematically varied and packed with detail, which made the title one of the more visually striking platformers on its platform.

The development context is especially interesting here. The early nineties were a time when every computer and console was seeking its own flagship mascot character capable of competing with the Japanese stars. Zool was meant to fill this role on the Amiga, and Gremlin Graphics invested corresponding marketing ambitions in him. The CD32 version made use of the CD-ROM medium and the higher capabilities of the console, which was the pinnacle on the Commodore market before the company's collapse.

Culturally, Zool is tied to the era of so-called mascot platformers and also to the debate about product placement in games – the brand the title was linked with belongs among the frequently cited examples of period commercialisation. For Amiga owners it nonetheless became one of the symbols of what a home computer could pit against the console giants.

The Amiga CD32 was a 32-bit console based on the technology of the Amiga 1200, and Zool was among the titles meant to demonstrate that a solid catalogue was heading its way. Today the game is interesting mainly as testimony to the ambitions of the British games scene and to what the effort to create competition for Sega and Nintendo looked like in a field where home computers still played first fiddle.

Why play it: If you want a taste of a fast platformer from the golden era of the Amiga and to get to know one of the best-known European gaming mascots, Zool is a brisk and visually rich ride.