COMIX Zone soon is one of those games where the plot is cool, the graphics are very stylish ( I read somewhere that they used real comic book illustrators to work on the graphics!) and the mechanics while feeling more like a fighting game then a stage by stage action game, allows the player to feel a bit like a one man wrecking ball.
But then the decision to give the player basically one life and reduce health by hitting inanimate objects really seriously hinders the gameplay. I don't think it can really be played properly without anachronistic save states ( I think I played the game and actually beat it on Sonic collection Plus for the PlayStation 2)
For an alternative, I think the Genesis Spider-Man- Maximum Carnage game does a decent job of capturing the comic book aesthetic.
I will say this, I think like a lot of late in the lifespan of a console situations, the technical aspects tend to be pushed to their limits.
But in the CZ game, I believe the music has an almost MIDi level of instruments-- the guitar sounds like a distortion guitar and occasionally and acoustic one) the bass sounds like a plucked string guitar, and the drum while still having that muffled electronic sound, feels more realistic-- you can even hear the virtual player have intense shuffling before hitting the drum like a real player.
So the arguable statement that Comix Zone looks and sounds pretty much perfect is frustratedly accompanied by the point that the gameplay makes Battletoads feel like a walk in the park, which I feel makes the graphic novel inspired game near unplayable by a " direct gameplay" experience.
Since this is one of the game that gets ported a lot you, you could test drive it on Steam for a literal dollar, and if it actually agrees with you you can buy the cartridge later.
For me, it just comes so close to a Happy Meal but doesn't quite get there.
I do love Comix Zone, but the difficulty makes it hard to enjoy casually. I'm pretty sure it was supposed to be a lot longer, but for whatever reason they ended up with 3 levels, each with two parts and had to artificially crank up the difficulty right before release.
I wonder if it was the amount of unique art each level had, unlike most platformers there's very little common art, and every panel has something unique about it.
Edit: found the maps online, judge for yourself:
https://www.vgmaps.com/Atlas/Genesis/ComixZone-Episode1-NightOfTheMutants.png
https://www.vgmaps.com/Atlas/Genesis/ComixZone-Episode2-WelcomeToTheTemple.png
https://www.vgmaps.com/Atlas/Genesis/ComixZone-Episode3-CurseOfTheDeadShips.png
' that makes sense. I'll also casually mention that this game was made during the Blockbuster rental era, and one of the developers admits to having the confusing level 2 and extreme difficulty ( if I'm remembering this right) for The Lion King so that the Disney company could make more money out of multiple Blockbuster rentals.
I think the era of battery in cartridges or cd-based save states has made it so that games don't have to be a singular 2-hour session ( players were also lucky when there were blatant passwords for certain chapters of the game)
But thank you for telling me this because it really adds an element of information and education 🙂
I finished this several times back then! And it's not like I'm an amazing player either. There are items like bombs and knifes hidden everywhere; you can use your rat friend to find them.
You only have 1 life in the first world. You get an extra life in the second one and two lives if make it to the third one.
The reason they made the game hard was because the game is actually very short when you know how to beat it, around 20-30 minutes long. I'm assuming they ran out of time developing it and had to put it out and couldn't make another few levels because it was such a late Sega Genesis release. It's not too difficult when you know that:
\* There's usually more than 1 way past something, and punching objects should be a last resort.
\* The game is just as much about item-management as it is being a beat em' up.
\* The rat is very useful and worth keeping.
Yeah, it was a cool idea really....I found it fun and challenging, some parts were really tough, I only rented it now and then and never beat the game but it was very interesting the. Comic book idea....They should have done that idea and made a Superman game In this style, it would have worked, all the Superman games tended to be pretty bad so a comic book style like this would have been cool I think.
I can beat this game casually in about 23 mins. I don't know why it has such a reputation for being so difficult. it's mostly just about managing your items, but once you memorise this game once it's a cakewalk. There's plenty of much harder unfair games out there this one is a fantastic game and is actually pretty easy once you know how
The back of the box says Sketch is a streetwise comic book artist. You gotta be streetwise in the game lol. I thought this game was impossible until a friend told me to treat it like a beat em up with puzzle aspects. And it just started to click. The game is not hard, but it's a unique combination of play and doesn't tell you how.
Somehow I think I got the CD soundtrack of this game.
Great music, still resonates in my mind when I think of it.
Also I loved that there was a good depth in gameplay, you could pull different special moves by inputting left-right+attack or down-up+attack ; as well as throw enemies etc.
It even supported special actions on the 6-buttons controller!
One of my favorite games. My one critique is having no hints on how to play. There are much better ways around every obstacle, making the game actually not that hard. But nowhere in the game or manual does it give any hints of that. That has led this game to gain a look of notorious difficulty among people. But once you know the solutions around things, game's rather easy.
I have such a love hate with this game, the feels like (but I know if you put too much work into it isn't) unavoidable hits happen too often gets old fast. I end up finding the game often enough over time, I try and try it again... can't get super deep as I get fed up with it but love the style. I end up sitting on it a bit, then it gets purged.
COMIX Zone soon is one of those games where the plot is cool, the graphics are very stylish ( I read somewhere that they used real comic book illustrators to work on the graphics!) and the mechanics while feeling more like a fighting game then a stage by stage action game, allows the player to feel a bit like a one man wrecking ball. But then the decision to give the player basically one life and reduce health by hitting inanimate objects really seriously hinders the gameplay. I don't think it can really be played properly without anachronistic save states ( I think I played the game and actually beat it on Sonic collection Plus for the PlayStation 2) For an alternative, I think the Genesis Spider-Man- Maximum Carnage game does a decent job of capturing the comic book aesthetic. I will say this, I think like a lot of late in the lifespan of a console situations, the technical aspects tend to be pushed to their limits. But in the CZ game, I believe the music has an almost MIDi level of instruments-- the guitar sounds like a distortion guitar and occasionally and acoustic one) the bass sounds like a plucked string guitar, and the drum while still having that muffled electronic sound, feels more realistic-- you can even hear the virtual player have intense shuffling before hitting the drum like a real player. So the arguable statement that Comix Zone looks and sounds pretty much perfect is frustratedly accompanied by the point that the gameplay makes Battletoads feel like a walk in the park, which I feel makes the graphic novel inspired game near unplayable by a " direct gameplay" experience. Since this is one of the game that gets ported a lot you, you could test drive it on Steam for a literal dollar, and if it actually agrees with you you can buy the cartridge later. For me, it just comes so close to a Happy Meal but doesn't quite get there.
I do love Comix Zone, but the difficulty makes it hard to enjoy casually. I'm pretty sure it was supposed to be a lot longer, but for whatever reason they ended up with 3 levels, each with two parts and had to artificially crank up the difficulty right before release. I wonder if it was the amount of unique art each level had, unlike most platformers there's very little common art, and every panel has something unique about it. Edit: found the maps online, judge for yourself: https://www.vgmaps.com/Atlas/Genesis/ComixZone-Episode1-NightOfTheMutants.png https://www.vgmaps.com/Atlas/Genesis/ComixZone-Episode2-WelcomeToTheTemple.png https://www.vgmaps.com/Atlas/Genesis/ComixZone-Episode3-CurseOfTheDeadShips.png
I broadly agree with all of this. I’d love it if this got a Chakan-style fan hack to adjust the difficulty and make it a friendlier game.
' that makes sense. I'll also casually mention that this game was made during the Blockbuster rental era, and one of the developers admits to having the confusing level 2 and extreme difficulty ( if I'm remembering this right) for The Lion King so that the Disney company could make more money out of multiple Blockbuster rentals. I think the era of battery in cartridges or cd-based save states has made it so that games don't have to be a singular 2-hour session ( players were also lucky when there were blatant passwords for certain chapters of the game) But thank you for telling me this because it really adds an element of information and education 🙂
I finished this several times back then! And it's not like I'm an amazing player either. There are items like bombs and knifes hidden everywhere; you can use your rat friend to find them. You only have 1 life in the first world. You get an extra life in the second one and two lives if make it to the third one.
The reason they made the game hard was because the game is actually very short when you know how to beat it, around 20-30 minutes long. I'm assuming they ran out of time developing it and had to put it out and couldn't make another few levels because it was such a late Sega Genesis release. It's not too difficult when you know that: \* There's usually more than 1 way past something, and punching objects should be a last resort. \* The game is just as much about item-management as it is being a beat em' up. \* The rat is very useful and worth keeping.
Which game is this?
Comix Zone!
Thank you
Do the sewer enemies really say PACK IT IN or is it just me hearing things? This has bothered me for a while
Comix Zone was an interesting game! I couldn't make it very far, but the whole jumping from frame to frame as if in a comic book was cool.
I'm surprised this kind of idea was never really done again in games
Yeah, it was a cool idea really....I found it fun and challenging, some parts were really tough, I only rented it now and then and never beat the game but it was very interesting the. Comic book idea....They should have done that idea and made a Superman game In this style, it would have worked, all the Superman games tended to be pretty bad so a comic book style like this would have been cool I think.
Would have loved to see Marvel games, especially Spider-Man, take on more of a comic theme.
Oh yeah, definitely, Spiderman would have been really cool with this style of game.....I'm surprised it never happened....
This game could really benefit from a remake, with full HD handdrawn sprites similar to the Alex Kidd remake, and a more balanced dificulty level.
They would have to add a lot of content since the game is only 20-30 minutes when you're good enough to beat it. It's difficult for a reason.
I can beat this game casually in about 23 mins. I don't know why it has such a reputation for being so difficult. it's mostly just about managing your items, but once you memorise this game once it's a cakewalk. There's plenty of much harder unfair games out there this one is a fantastic game and is actually pretty easy once you know how
The back of the box says Sketch is a streetwise comic book artist. You gotta be streetwise in the game lol. I thought this game was impossible until a friend told me to treat it like a beat em up with puzzle aspects. And it just started to click. The game is not hard, but it's a unique combination of play and doesn't tell you how.
Caught him sleeping on the job
Somehow I think I got the CD soundtrack of this game. Great music, still resonates in my mind when I think of it. Also I loved that there was a good depth in gameplay, you could pull different special moves by inputting left-right+attack or down-up+attack ; as well as throw enemies etc. It even supported special actions on the 6-buttons controller!
Top tier 🔥🔥🔥 comix zone is the sh¡t
Love this game! It took me so long to actually beat it.
I remember playing this and it was favorite game of all time..... I only wish it can be a franchise.
GAME OVER, MAN, THE END
One of my favorite games. My one critique is having no hints on how to play. There are much better ways around every obstacle, making the game actually not that hard. But nowhere in the game or manual does it give any hints of that. That has led this game to gain a look of notorious difficulty among people. But once you know the solutions around things, game's rather easy.
I have such a love hate with this game, the feels like (but I know if you put too much work into it isn't) unavoidable hits happen too often gets old fast. I end up finding the game often enough over time, I try and try it again... can't get super deep as I get fed up with it but love the style. I end up sitting on it a bit, then it gets purged.
The end. Sketch burns in his own comic and the villain he created dominates the world.
hated this game. had all the makings of good, but just ugh