''Zool 2'' is a side-scrolling

platform Platform may refer to: Technology * Computing platform, a framework on which applications may be run * Platform game, a genre of video games * Car platform, a set of components shared by several vehicle models * Weapons platform, a system or ...

video game Video games, also known as computer games, are electronic games that involves interaction with a user interface or input device such as a joystick, controller, keyboard, or motion sensing device to generate visual feedback. This fee ...

originally developed by The Warp Factory and published by

Gremlin Graphics Gremlin Graphics Software Limited, later Gremlin Interactive Limited and ultimately Infogrames Studios Limited was a British software house based in Sheffield, working mostly in the home computer market. Like many software houses established in ...

for the

Amiga Amiga is a family of personal computers introduced by Commodore in 1985. The original model is one of a number of mid-1980s computers with 16- or 32-bit processors, 256 KB or more of RAM, mouse-based GUIs, and significantly improved graphi ...

in November 1993. It is the sequel to the original ''

Zool ''Zool: Ninja of the Nth Dimension'' is a platform game written for the Amiga by Gremlin Graphics and published in 1992. It was marketed as a rival to Sega's ''Sonic the Hedgehog''. ''Zool'' was ported to other platforms and followed by ''Zoo ...

'', which was released earlier in 1992 on various platforms. When the forces of Krool are wreaking havoc upon the Nth Dimension with the help from his henchman Mental Block, the intergalactic

gremlin A gremlin is a mischievous folkloric creature invented at the beginning of the 20th century to originally explain malfunctions in aircraft and later in other machinery and processes and their operators. Depictions of these creatures vary widely ...

ninja A or was a covert agent or mercenary in feudal Japan. The functions of a ninja included reconnaissance In military operations, reconnaissance or scouting is the exploration of an area by military forces to obtain information about enem ...

Zool alongside his female companion Zooz and their two-headed dog Zoon, are entrusted with the task of stopping Mental Block and restore order to the dimension. Originally released for the Amiga

microcomputer A microcomputer is a small, relatively inexpensive computer having a central processing unit (CPU) made out of a microprocessor. The computer also includes memory and input/output (I/O) circuitry together mounted on a printed circuit board (PC ...

s, ''Zool 2'' was later ported to the

Amiga CD32 The Amiga CD32 (stylized as Amiga CD32, code-named "Spellbound") is a 32-bit home video game console developed by Commodore and released in Europe, Australia, Canada, and Brazil. It was first announced at the Science Museum in London on July 16, ...

MS-DOS MS-DOS ( ; acronym for Microsoft Disk Operating System, also known as Microsoft DOS) is an operating system for x86-based personal computers mostly developed by Microsoft. Collectively, MS-DOS, its rebranding as IBM PC DOS, and a few ope ...

, and

Atari Jaguar The Atari Jaguar is a home video game console developed by Atari Corporation and released in North America in November 1993. Part of the fifth generation of video game consoles, it competed with the 16-bit Sega Genesis, the Super NES and the ...

platforms, with the latter being published by

Atari Corporation Atari Corporation was an American manufacturer of computers and video game consoles. It was founded by Jack Tramiel on May 17, 1984, as Tramel Technology, Ltd., but then took on the Atari name less than two months later when WarnerMedia, Warn ...

in North America and Europe, in addition to being published in Japan by Mumin Corporation on April 21, 1995. When it was originally released for the Amiga, ''Zool 2'' received positive reception from critics who praised the graphics, sound department and gameplay, with some considering it as an improvement over the first game. Other ports of the game received similarly positive reception from reviewers, while the Jaguar version received mixed reviews from critics since its release and has sold nearly 11,000 copies as of April 1, 1995, though it is unknown how many were sold in total during its lifetime.

Gameplay

''Zool 2'' is a side-scrolling platform game that plays very similarly to its predecessor, ''Zool''.''Zool 2'' game manual (Atari Jaguar, US) Both Zool and his female counterpart, Zooz, almost share the same move set between each other but there are some subtle differences with the two characters in terms of their abilities and means of defense. Whereas Zool attacks with projectiles, Zooz is armed with an

energy In physics, energy (from Ancient Greek: ἐνέργεια, ''enérgeia'', “activity”) is the quantitative property that is transferred to a body or to a physical system, recognizable in the performance of work and in the form of heat a ...

whip A whip is a tool or weapon designed to strike humans or other animals to exert control through pain compliance or fear of pain. They can also be used without inflicting pain, for audiovisual cues, such as in equestrianism. They are generally e ...

for

close quarters combat Close-quarters combat (CQC) or close-quarters battle (CQB) is a tactical situation that involves a physical fight with firearms involved between multiple combatants at short range. It can occur between military units, police/corrections officers ...

, along with the ability of shooting projectiles as well. In addition, each character is capable of destroying certain parts of the scenery that the other one could not, and vice versa, resulting in a slightly different route through the levels. As with the original game, the sequel features several

minigame A minigame (also spelled mini game and mini-game, sometimes called a subgame or microgame) is a short game often contained within another video game. A minigame contains different gameplay elements, and is often smaller or more simplistic, than th ...

s, such as a version of '' Breakout'' which involves using Zoon, the two-headed morphing pet

dog The dog (''Canis familiaris'' or ''Canis lupus familiaris'') is a domesticated descendant of the wolf. Also called the domestic dog, it is derived from the extinct Pleistocene wolf, and the modern wolf is the dog's nearest living relative. Do ...

of Zool and Zooz, as a paddle in order to keep the ball in play by bouncing it upwards. The progression system acts similarly to the original game, which involves the player in collecting a set number of items in order to advance into the next level. The game also features a two-player mode.

Plot

''Zool 2'' takes place several months after the events occurred in ''Zool''. Krool, the main antagonist of the original game has sent his forces and Mental Block, his shapeshifting henchman to invade the Nth

dimension In physics and mathematics, the dimension of a Space (mathematics), mathematical space (or object) is informally defined as the minimum number of coordinates needed to specify any Point (geometry), point within it. Thus, a Line (geometry), lin ...

and seize power in order to stifle the imagination of the world, causing rampant boredom in the process. Zool, the main protagonist of the first game, alongside his companion Zooz and their two-headed mascot Zoon, are entrusted with the mission of restoring order to the dimension and defeat Mental Block. After traversing through multiple locations, the trio reaches the main area where Mental Block resides and they defeat him, saving the dimension as a result, with a hint at a possible further sequel.

Development and release

''Zool 2'' was created by a new development team at The Warp Factory, whose programming staff involved personnel that previously worked on ''

Harlequin Harlequin (; it, Arlecchino ; lmo, Arlechin, Bergamasque dialect, Bergamasque pronunciation ) is the best-known of the ''zanni'' or comic servant characters from the Italian language, Italian ''commedia dell'arte'', associated with the city o ...

'' for Gremlin Graphics, with only

composer A composer is a person who writes music. The term is especially used to indicate composers of Western classical music, or those who are composers by occupation. Many composers are, or were, also skilled performers of music. Etymology and Defi ...

Patrick Phelan returning from the original ''Zool'' crew as George Allan, Adrian Carless and Tony Dawson did not return to work on the sequel. Gremlin

marketing manager Marketing management is the organizational discipline which focuses on the practical application of marketing orientation, techniques and methods inside enterprises and organizations and on the management of a firm's marketing resources and ac ...

Nick Clarkson stated that they wanted to expand upon Zool's character and gameplay for the sequel, while producer Peter J. Cook claimed that the team at The Warp Factory wanted to stay with a basic theme following the same gameplay style but move towards a new direction via new ideas with larger levels to explore. The team also reworked Zool's look for the sequel, while his female companion Zooz went through various changes before release. The

remained the lead format for the second ''Zool'' game, but unlike the first it was not widely ported to the other platforms, only the

and

DOS DOS is shorthand for the MS-DOS and IBM PC DOS family of operating systems. DOS may also refer to: Computing * Data over signalling (DoS), multiplexing data onto a signalling channel * Denial-of-service attack (DoS), an attack on a communicatio ...

. The game had originally been planned to be bundled with the

at the request of

Commodore Commodore may refer to: Ranks * Commodore (rank), a naval rank ** Commodore (Royal Navy), in the United Kingdom ** Commodore (United States) ** Commodore (Canada) ** Commodore (Finland) ** Commodore (Germany) or ''Kommodore'' * Air commodore, a ...

, but when Gremlin Graphics failed to reach the deadline, ''Zool 2'' was bundled with the

Amiga 1200 The Amiga 1200, or A1200 (code-named " Channel Z"), is a personal computer in the Amiga computer family released by Commodore International, aimed at the home computer market. It was launched on October 21, 1992, at a base price of £399 in the ...

's Computer Combat pack in 1994. The PC version of the game was also re-released as part of the

Windows Windows is a group of several proprietary graphical operating system families developed and marketed by Microsoft. Each family caters to a certain sector of the computing industry. For example, Windows NT for consumers, Windows Server for serv ...

-based compilation CD ''Best of Gremlin'' in 2000. The Jaguar version of ''Zool 2'' was developed by

Imagitec Design Imagitec Design was a video games development company founded in 1989, based in the UK. The main person involved was Barry Leitch, who worked as a composer for many of the company's soundtracks. Imagitec Design interacted with other companies suc ...

and was first showcased to the public at SCES '94 in a playable state.

Reception

The Amiga versions of ''Zool 2'' received generally high review scores, including 93% in ''

Amiga Format ''Amiga Format'' was a British computer magazine for Amiga computers, published by Future plc. The magazine lasted 136 issues from 1989 to 2000. The magazine was formed when, in the wake of selling ''ACE'' to EMAP, Future split the dual-format t ...

'', 90% in ''

Amiga Computing ''Amiga Computing'' was a monthly computer magazine of a serious nature, published by Europress and IDG in both the UK and USA. A total of 117 issues came out. The games section was called Gamer, although later ''Amiga Action'' was incorporated i ...

'', 86% in ''

Amiga Power ''Amiga Power'' (''AP'') was a monthly magazine about Amiga video games. It was published in the United Kingdom by Future plc, and ran for 65 issues, from May 1991 to September 1996. Philosophy ''Amiga Power'' had several principles which com ...

'' and 76% in ''

CU Amiga ''Commodore User'', known to the readers as the abbreviated ''CU'', was one of the oldest British Commodore magazines. With a publishing history spanning over 15 years, it mixed content with technical and video game features. Incorporating ''Vic ...

''. ''

GamePro Gamepro.com is an international multiplatform video game magazine media company that covers the video game industry, video game hardware and video game software in countries such as Germany and France. The publication, GamePro, was originally la ...

'' gave the Jaguar version a positive review, saying that the varied abilities of the playable characters "push this game to the top of the Jaguar hop-n-bop ranks". ''GamePro'' also praised the graphics, stating that "''Zools Nth Dimension is a shiny, inventive world that's equal parts

candy shop "Candy Shop" is the second single by rapper 50 Cent from his second commercial album, ''The Massacre'' (2005). It features Olivia (singer), Olivia and was written by 50 Cent. "Candy Shop" peaked at number one on the Billboard Hot 100, ''Billbo ...

and

toy store A toy store or toy shop is a type of retail business specializing in selling toys. Notable examples * Hamleys, the world's oldest toy shop * Toys "R" Us, international company now Tru Kids * FAO Schwarz, famous American brand and store * The LEG ...

", and that the Jaguar version is sharper and brighter than previous versions of the game. '' Next Generation'' called it "still a basic platform game, but one of the best we've seen a while". Like ''GamePro'', they praised the quality of the graphics, and additionally the large number of interesting power-ups and stages. Mike Weigand of ''

Electronic Gaming Monthly ''Electronic Gaming Monthly'' (often abbreviated to ''EGM'') is a monthly American video game magazine. It offers video game news, coverage of industry events, interviews with gaming figures, editorial content and product reviews. History The m ...

'' assessed it as "a pretty good version of the pint-sized ninja character", particularly noting the large levels, though he felt the graphics were sometimes "visual overkill".

References

External links

''Zool 2''
at

AtariAge AtariAge is a website focusing on classic Atari video games. The site features gaming news, historical archives, discussion forums, and an online store. It was founded in 1998. Taking its name from the 1982–84 '' Atari Age'' magazine, the site ...

''Zool 2''
at

GameFAQs GameFAQs is a website that hosts FAQs and walkthroughs for video games. It was created in November 1995 by Jeff Veasey and was bought by CNET Networks in May 2003. It is currently owned by Fandom, Inc. since October 2022. The site has a databa ...

''Zool 2''
at

Giant Bomb ''Giant Bomb'' is an American video game website and wiki that includes personality-driven gaming videos, commentary, news, and reviews, created by former ''GameSpot'' editors Jeff Gerstmann and Ryan Davis. The website was voted by ''Time'' mag ...

''Zool 2''
at

MobyGames MobyGames is a commercial website that catalogs information on video games and the people and companies behind them via crowdsourcing. This includes nearly 300,000 games for hundreds of platforms. The site is supported by banner ads and a small ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Zool 2 1993 video games Amiga games Amiga 1200 games Atari games Atari Jaguar games BlackBerry games Amiga CD32 games DOS games Gremlin Interactive games Imagitec Design games Multiplayer and single-player video games Video games about ninja Side-scrolling platform games Video game sequels Video games featuring female protagonists Video games scored by Patrick Phelan Windows games Video games developed in the United Kingdom