Retronomicon 12.23.09: Comix Zone

Posted by Lee Price on 12.23.2009

Continuing in the little 16 Bit trend we have going on, the Retronomicon delves into comic box territory to see Sketch and his pet rat overcome an evil comic villain come to life. So step inside as the Retronomicon brings you Comix Zone.

Hello my fellow retro junkies, this is Lee Price and as ever I am the host of your weekly shot of old school juice, the Retronomicon. If there is one thing I have learned from this week is that I need to stop spending my money on worthless junk. Seriously, almost £50 on a night out is not good when all you did was go to a couple of pubs and pay £4 for a taxi. I have no idea how I spent all that money on nothing, but there you go. What I was happy to spend on was a little bit of Little Big Planet. Having only recently gotten my PS3, this was one of the games that I have been busting to get a hold of, so I'm chuffed to bits now. Not so chuffed that I've played it yet, but in fairness I only got it yesterday and I'm a busy man. Or not. Perhaps its because I'm determined to not let any other game distract me from finishing Final Fantasy VI this time. Anyway enough about me, because I'm sure you've had all that you can handle, which is incidentally the best phrase to use as a response to the dreaded "Is it in yet?" question. Or maybe that's just me... anyway here's the...





Comments

A fair few Earthworm Jim fans at 411 it seems, I may have to induct the sequel sooner than I planned. Ah who am I kidding? I have no plan. It will get inducted when I feel like it. Anyway onto the comments.

First we have the usual general praise for the game;

80's Kid - LONG LIVE EARTHWORM JIM!!!!!!!!!!!!

M:-X - Always loved this game! Available for download on Wii's Virtual Console too!

The Thunderthief - This series reminds me a lot of the Donkey Kong Series; great backgrounds, classic gameplay, and awesome music. A truly underrated series.

As usual, gotta love the love. I agree in some respects with the Thunderthief too, though at the same time Earthworm Jim does still get a fair bit of love even today. It may not have reached the acclaim of other similar titles of the era, but there are still plenty who love it. Of course there are also some who just couldn't get into the game;

oneofakind!legend - Think I was one of the only ones out there who could never really get into this game....I played it, just could never get into it - maybe it was cause Final Fantasy VI and Super Mario RPG were both out pretty much the same time.

AG Awesome - I rented both Earth Worm Jims back in the day for SNES but never really got into them. I did like doing the debug cheat and wreak some havoc though. I am looking forward to giving the game another go with the re release of I believe the Saturn version later this year in HD (supposing it is still on schedule).

I would say to both of you that it is definitely worth giving the game another blast. Who knows? Perhaps the benefit of hindsight will give you a different opinion. Or maybe not, after all the humor in EWJ is such that I get the feeling that if you don't like the funny side of the game, progressing through it may become more taxing. I would definitely recommend giving it another spin though.

ya broke homie lets us feel his Genesis love;

I remember this being one of the best games I ever played so naturally when I received a Sega for my 28th Birthday I went and picked this game up. Also Aladdin, MK2,MK3 and Ms Pacman to name just a few. Love it. Anyone who has a Wii should pick this game up Its Awesome.

That's a decent chunk of games there. You have a total of 3 Retronomicon entries mentioned right there, though I'm still tossing around whether or not MK3 deserves an entry. I'm assuming from the comment that you got a second Genesis later in life? I love the nostalgia bug.

Spaz Monkey confuses me a little;

I still have, and play regularly, EWJ not only for the Genesis, but on my Sega Saturn. Hell, it's the only reason I still have my Saturn.

I could have sworn that it was Earthworm Jim 2 that got a Saturn release, not the original. My research seems to back this up but I could be wrong. Regardless they are both great games. Shame the series went so downhill after.

G-Walla agrees about my mentioning the standing still animations;

I loved the standing still bored animations in games around this time. This game and Bubsy had some of the best.

It seems that the bored animations in platformers were just a way for animators to show off during this time period. I never really got into Busby all that much, but Earthworm Jim has some of the best standing still animations of any 16 Bit game for my money.

And finally we have Snot who regales us with a tale of a level I genuinely don't remember;

Every time I think of the first game I just remember the hilarious hell-level with the elevator music in the background.

My memory must really be going on me because I genuinely don't remember this. Which is strange because this sort of thing is exactly the thing that I would find hilarious. Curious...

Anyway enough talk, because its time to strap on those rose-tinted specs as this week the Retronomicon takes a look at Comix Zone.



The Background

The SEGA Genesis had already played host to some superb scrolling beat-em-ups, most notably the Streets of Rage series. The problem was that as good as some other beat-em-ups may have been, they couldn't really compete with the SoR series. The dilemma called for something different, something a little bit more original to challenge the all conquering series. With no Final Fight available for the Genesis, SEGA decided to try to top their own game.

So SEGA decided they needed to collect some talent to take on the task. Nevermind that it was perhaps a little late in the day for all of this. It was 1995 after all and the Saturn and PS1 were becoming most gamers focus. Still SEGA thought they would give it a shot and drafted in a couple of comic book artists and a high profile gaming composer to help out.

What we got was a shot of originality on a slowly dying console. No game had ever felt and looked quite like what SEGA Technical Institute put out in 1995, and it can be argued that their hard work inspired a whole slew of other games, especially during the cel-shading phase. The game they made was Comix Zone.



The Game

Comix Zone showed beyond any doubt that with the right team it was still perfectly possible to pull out top quality games on the Genesis, even with the advent of the 32 Bit consoles. This game had imagination and originality seeping out of every pore, and could really be considered a very fitting send-off for the 2D beat-em-up genre on the Genesis, as what little came after couldn't top it.

The story goes as such. Sketch Turner is a struggling comic book artist and rock musician, a combination of jobs that any self respecting geek would like to have on their CV. He lives in his crummy apartment with his pet rat Roadkill, trying to make a comic that will give him his big break.

One day, while working on his latest pet project, Sketch's apartment is struck by a massive lightning bolt. In true comic book fashion this causes all sorts of crazy stuff to happen, namely that the main villain of the comic that Sketch is working on suddenly emerges from the pages and tosses Sketch into his own work.

See Mortis can't kill Sketch in the real world, but he can kill him inside a comic book. Why and how he managed to get him inside a comic book is really something that should be put down to the immortal "A Wizard did it" path of reasoning. Anyway, it turns out that Mortis is attempting to help a group of alien renegades to invade Earth, seemingly all through the power of Sketch's imagination.

This is bad so when Sketch finds himself in his own comic book, being ordered around by the group that is attempting to protect Earth, the New World Empire, he begrudgingly accepts and you are off on your adventures in the Comix Zone.

So... it makes no sense. But then it makes no sense that the Hulk and Spider-Man can survive nuclear explosions and radioactive spiders rather than dying like everybody else would. It is a comic story right from the word go so when treated as such it is hilarious and self-referential stuff.

The first thing you notice upon being thrust into this brand new world is how different it looks from anything else on the Genesis. Each area of the stage takes place in a comic book panel, and you navigate through the pages by skipping from panel to panel until you can get to the bottom. Its and ingenious little system that also offers for multiple routes through the levels, as well as nifty little animations for some of the panel switches.

The fighting system works quite nicely, though the general difficulty of the game may have you hammering down the attack button rather than trying to combo nicely. Sketch can block, attack with a number of combos which change based on the timing of your button presses, as well as being able to execute flying kicks and leg sweeps. You can even use items such as knives, dynamite or even your pet rat to aid you. In short, Sketch is kind of a bad ass. However so are most of the enemies. Comix Zone is a difficult game, especially when compared to the likes of Streets of Rage. All of the enemies, from the very first one you encounter, have specific attacks and methods of defeat. Some can just be pounded on until you find a way through their guard. Others may need to be attacked from above then attacked with a combo. All of them are dangerous and capable of countering your attacks and laying on some ass kicking of their own.

Luckily, Comix Zone offers several other ways to deal with threats if you use you noggin a bit. Perhaps you can place a flaming barrel in just the right place that an enemy may kill themselves. This is, incidentally, the best tactic to take out the first boss of the game. Said boss is essentially a dragon's head on a pendulous neck and can be beaten by just smacking the crap out of it. Of course you will take damage that way. Instead you could try rolling underneath the head to the craftily concealed barrel. Push it to the enemy and boom. One fried dragon. Comix Zone is full of little touches like that.

It can't be emphasized enough how much this feels like playing a comic. Enemies are drawn onto the screen in real time by Mortis in an attempt to block your path. There are constant speech bubbles from Sketch and his enemies, as well as the info boxes at the top of some panels informing you where you are. It all works sublimely and is a triumph of design. You can even tear off bits of the panel to throw at enemies though, because the book is intrinsically linked to Sketch, you need to be wary of the damage this can cause to him as well.



Of course the difficulty, especially on higher levels, is a bit of a sticking point with many a gamer, especially those who aren't prepared for it. The game is hard going full stop, but for the hardest difficulties you will need to know every trick in the book and conserve as much energy, as well as your items, as you can. It can be a frustrating experience to have your arse handed to you by a couple of enemies in the first level, but it just goes to show that none of the things you come across are cannon fodder, and the challenge is welcomed by those looking for a little more from their game. It is just a little stifling to someone who just wants a quick blast, especially if it takes you all your lives to get past the first level.

Another problem with the game is its length. It comprises of 3 episodes, each with two levels. When compared with the multi-faceted levels of the later Streets of Rage games, that is a paltry offering by any standards. However it is offset somewhat, both by the multiple routes offered through each level, and also the difficulty mentioned earlier. This is a game that demands practice and as such it will likely last you just as long as any other Genesis beat-em-up. As long as you have the patience. However the main game can be completed in under an hour, which could leave a skilled gamer as disillusioned as the guy who can't get past the first stage.

However these problems shouldn't detract too much from one of the most original games of the generation. Comix Zone's design makes up for any lack of longevity of excess in difficulty. It is simply a joy to behold. SEGA drafted in comic drawers Kunitake Aoki and Craig Stitt for the backgrounds and animations respectively, and both did a bang up job.

Aoki's backgrounds are lush throughout, whether you're fighting your way through the ruins of a city, competing in a Colosseum or making your way through a snow covered Tibetan village, each level has an amazing feel to it, especially when put into the context of the comic book panels. Making you way down the page on the first level has Sketch going from street level all the way into the sewers as he progresses downwards. Its both logical and clever, and it is pulled off with a panache that had not really been seen in gaming up to that point.

Stitt, on the other hand, handled the countless amazing animations in the game. Whether it was smashing an enemy so hard that it broke through the barrier between panels, or the customary fist pump given by Super Sketch at the end of a level, all the animation throughout is superb. This seems to be a running theme in the best Genesis games that they all seem to have absolutely brilliant little animated touches throughout.

If you need any more evidence as to how fresh this graphical approach was, consider this fact. At the end of the game there is a message stating that a patent is pending. This refers to the patent that SEGA placed for creating simulated comic book games. In 2000 this patent was granted. Nobody had ever done a game quite like this before, and SEGA even have the patent to prove it. For those interested it can be found HERE.

SEGA also went above and beyond with the sound in the game. They drafted in Howard Drossin, composer on Sonic and Knuckles and Sonic Spinball, to provide the music for the game. What he came up with was a swanky set of rock tunes that fitted Sketch and his world to a tee. Sound effects are particularly good, with the POWS and SMACKS of each battle being executed nicely. There's even a nice little splattering of digital speech.

Most notable is the CD that accompanied the game. In a nice move from SEGA, each copy of Comix Zone was released with a music CD containing tracks from such 1990's rock luminaries as Danzig and Jesus and Mary Chain. This pretty much guaranteed some collector's value for the game, as well as just being a cool accompaniment to the main game. Brits, on the other hand, got a CD that contained enhanced remixes of the tracks in the game, performed by Drossin and company. It is entirely down to preference as to which you think would be the better freebie, but both were pretty damned sweet.

Comix Zone is one of the few games that can claim to be truly original. For all its faults, it is still an absolute joy to play, as evidenced by the rather large cult following it has garnered since its release. Want to know how the world got cel-shading. The inspiration is likely right here.



The Aftermath

If ever a Retronomicon entry received a mixed reaction, it was Comix Zone. Though praised for its originality, superb graphics, gameplay and sound, many reviewers of the time felt to difficulty to be just a little bit on the wrong side of hard. Some also moaned about the games brevity, stating that what amounted to six relatively short levels wasn't all that much for the price of admission.

It sold relatively well, though not reaching the heights of some of its predecessors, most likely thanks to its extremely late release time. By 1995 the Genesis was a dying console and , even though it still had plenty of loyal followers, many would see the $50 spent on Comix Zone as $50 not spent on a PS1 or Saturn.

This didn't prevent the game from amassing a cult following, so much so that it has become a semi-regular fixture on Genesis compilations, as well as garnering Virtual Console and XBLA releases. It was also ported to the GBA, though the altered music and smaller screen lessened the impact of the game somewhat. On top of that the game proved highly influential on games that would come as much as five or ten years later.

SEGA themselves expanded in the comic book styling in a game with previous Retronomicon entry, Jet Set Radio. However once that burst onto the scene, cel-shading became all the rage. And it can all be traced back to this game.

As for sequels, well there aren't any and it isn't looking likely that we will ever see one. Yes Comix Zone is that rare beast that attained popularity but never saw a sequel. It may have been for the best at the end of the day, but we will never know.

The Final Word

Comix Zone is a game that must simply be experienced. It breathed life into a stagnant 16 Bit market at a time when that generation of consoles was on its last legs. While we can't pretend it helped them to new levels of popularity, what it did manage was to prove that the 16 Bit era still had plenty to offer, even with the advent of much more powerful consoles.

The Price is Right

There are a few ports of Comix Zone outside of the Genesis version. If you are plumping for the Genesis version though, make sure you remember that a copy with the original CD will set you back a touch more. The game is also part of the Sonic Mega Collection Plus, the SEGA Genesis Collection on PS2 and PSP and Sonic's Ultimate Genesis Collection on PS3 and 360.

UK

Megadrive: £10 – 15.
PC (US Import): Approx £20.
GBA: I couldn't find a single copy. It did get a UK release but I'll be damned if I can find it.
Virtual Console: 800 Points.
XBLA: 400 Points.

US

Genesis: $10 – 20.
PC: $20 – 30.
GBA: Approx $25.
Virtual Console: 800 Points.
XBLA: 400 Points.

The Guy Who Can do it Better Than You

Just a speed run for you guys this week. See if you can top this guy.



Enjoy and see you next week.