The original Zool came out in 1992 for the Amiga computer, with the game being ported to several home consoles and other computers of the time period. It’s not exactly the most loved platformer ever made, so it’s a little surprising to see it get a remaster with Zool Redimensioned.
Zool Redimensioned intends to take the original Zool and remaster it for the modern age. This is quite definitely a remaster and not a remake or a reboot, it uses many of the games original assets, but increasing the field of view massively and the smoothness of the gameplay. It really makes a difference compared to the original, actually being able to see what’s coming up helps out a lot. This was based on the Mega Drive version of the game, which will explain why it plays so close to that version.
Zool Redimensioned features 28 levels, and as it’s a traditional computer platformer, these levels are largely full of random stuff. One level is full of sweets, another is full of toys or of plants that have come to life, it’s that sort of thing. There’s no real coherence in the level design, but that’s to be expected of an Amiga platformer from the UK. It also no longer features the chupa-chups that were very prominent in the original, probably due to licensing.
Redimensioned is actually quite a fun game. I wasn’t expecting to like it too much as I wasn’t a huge fan of the original, but the quality of life upgrades really do make a difference. It’s made by Sumo Digital Academy, which is a group of developers within Sumo Digital mainly composed of young graduates, with this company intending to give them an introduction to actually releasing full games. I think they’ve done a good job with this remaster, they’ve managed to upgrade it in all the ways you might expect, but keep it faithful to the original, which is important in a remaster. Those looking for a complete remake should look elsewhere.
That’s not to say the game isn’t without it’s frustrations. They changed the scale of all the characters and enemies in order to fit modern HD displays, which brings with it some problems, as on some levels the hazards can be extremely tiny and difficult to see, especially at speed. Additionally, because the game is so full of random enemy designs, it can sometimes be tricky to know what is supposed to be an enemy and what is supposed to be a collectable, leading to some moments of annoyance. The game plays at a very smooth 60 fps, and the controls are extremely tight, so when you do die you don’t often blame the game, which is exactly right for a platformer. Some of the later bosses can be a little difficult, but luckily the refined controls keep things moving.
Having said that, I did enjoy my time playing this game. I beat the full Redimensioned mode in about an hour, which isn’t too bad for a platformer of this age. I blasted through all the levels, so if you’re someone who likes to collect everything it will take you a fair bit longer. There is also a classic mode which is a lot harder, and doesn’t feature the modern niceities of being able to restart at the same level after you die, so if you’re a hardcore gamer that level may inspire. It also features an emulated version of the Sega Megadrive port of the game, which is a somewhat strange inclusion and I think the Amiga version would have been a better include.
It’s currently sitting on steam at £7.99, which I think is a fair price overall, and I would recommend to anyone who is a fan of early 90’s computer or amiga platformers, as the charm those games brought, this one still manages to retain. It has a lot of fun, nostalgic gameplay, and I think it’s worth the cost of entry.
You can purchase the game on Steam here. If you’re interested in other retro revival style games, why not check out Am Madness.
