| Introduction
There are still some enthusiastic reviews of Comix
Zone lying around the Internet, and what they all have
in common is acknowledging that it was one of "last
great SEGA games" ever released for the 16bit Genesis
(Megadrive). For many Sega Genesis fans, Comix Zone
not only featured some stunning beat'em action, it was
also one of the most highly original titles available.
The game's journey to the GBA, however, has not been
smooth. It was announced with much initial fanfare but
was released only earlier this year with little more
than a whisper. Let's see then if this old but highly
revered title still has what it takes to make it big
on the GBA's tiny screen.
GamePlay
Comix Zone has you playing as a comic book writer
who gets sucked into his own comic book world. All the
action takes place in various comic book frames and
challenges you to either battle it out with a number
of increasingly difficult foes or solve a variety of
puzzles. On completion, you'll be shown a yellow arrow
that indicates the direction or frame that is now open
to you to continue your journey.
What made this title unique for its time was that
occasionally, you get to choose alternative paths, thus
opening up a whole range of choices and possibilities.
Obviously, this gets less entertaining as you exhaust
the various routes but initially, it's an exciting and
incredibly satisfying aspect of the game.
In addition to your fighting skills, you also have
the ability to carry three bonus items and deciding
where and how to use them demands equal measures of
both planning and trial and error. The items that you
can carry not only include the usual weapons such as
knives and bombs but also your pet rat.
Carrying your pet rat around might seem useless initially,
but as you progress in the game, you'll soon discover
how handy the little fellow really is. I don't want
to give too much of the game away, so all I'll tell
you is that your rodent is pretty good at flipping switches
and getting at hard to reach places. He's also rather
irritating to enemies, biting at their ankles as they
pass, but as this inflicts only a minimum amount of
damage, it's not a tactic I'd advise you rely upon.
One important feature is the ability to carry your items
over to other chapters. As such, it's always a good
idea to catch up to your pet at the end of each section.
As in the Genesis version, there's no save or password
system used in Comix Zone. Instead, a simple 'continue'
is available, and trust me when I say you'll need it
because the game is really tough. It's important to
note though that the 'continue' only places you at the
beginning of the last chapter, so be prepared as the
challenge isn't really lessened much.
Comix Zone also features a multiplayer option which
allows you to battle it out with a friend against a
timer. This is fun but will require two copies of the
game to enjoy.
Controls
The developers have done a reasonably good job with
the control system and your character controls nicely
as he bounces around the various comic book frames with
great agility. You're also given a chance to choose
a variety of predefined control sets, which is good,
although I would have preferred the option to customize
my own controls.
Graphics
Although the game has had little in the way of cosmetic
enhancement since its first appearance on the Genesis,
it still manages to look wonderful on the GBA's tiny
screen. As a standard beat'em up, the animation is pleasing
with enough moves to satisfy most fans of the genre.
What you have to remember though is that the whole
story is set in a comic book world where the laws of
reality do not apply. As such, expect to see some pretty
quirky visual effects like enemies knocked flying through
the frames of the page and a giant hand erasing you
when you run out of health. Overall, there's nothing
to complain about the graphics and visuals in Comix
Zone, and fans of the game will be happy to see that
almost every visual aspect from the original has survived
the transition to the GBA.
Sound & Music
Most of the sound effects and music in the GBA version
has been ported from the 16 Bit original, but done with
enough care to make it impressive even by today's standards.
The game starts with a great little soundtrack, which
was no doubt cutting edge in the days of the Genesis.
Better still though are the various sound effects which
accompany the range of fighting moves and rather odd
happenings on the screen. There are also some very clear
speech samples which altogether complete a great sounding
game.
Final Comments
Despite its age, Comix Zone has proven that it is
still a great and challenging game, and in my opinion,
serves well as a benchmark of what can be achieved when
porting other platform classic titles to the GBA. It
is, however, a difficult game, one that's really, really
tough to complete and in some areas, easily on par with
the classic but equally frustrating Ghouls and Ghosts.
As such, it isn't a game for wimps and those that easily
give up. For fans of the platform/beat'em up genre,
however, Comix Zone is a gem of a classic game that
you definitely won't want to miss out on.
|
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