Zool: Ninja of the "Nth" Dimension

Maybe it's because I've seen Sigourney Weaver transform into a demon dog at the Temple of Gozar, but Zool has always been associated with the evil forces. So imagine my surprise when Zool, who we're told is the Ninja of the "Nth" Dimension, crash lands on a planet filled with candy canes, sugar plumbs and frosting. Talk about lost in translation.

Despite being popular in Europe, Zool: Ninja of the "Nth" Dimension never made much of a dent in the United States. He was supposed to be the next Sonic the Hedgehog, but instead comes off as a cheap Aero the Acro-Bat clone. With a fidgety control scheme, questionable level designs and a nonsensical storyline, Zool left me scratching my head wondering if I missed something.


You play Zool, a dimension-hopping alien ninja who is forced to survive seven worlds in order to get back home. Thankfully each world has its own unique theme, starting with the diabetes-filled Candy Land. From there you battle CDs in a music-themed level, avoid apples in Fruit World and go to war in the Toy World. Each dimension is split up into multiple parts, each overstaying their welcome and ending in a disappointing boss battle.

Of course, there's little to no talk about how Zool gets from place to place. The cinema at the start sets up that your crashed ship isn't going anywhere, which is the whole purpose of the trek. But that leads me to wonder if all of these dimensions are interconnected. And if that's the case, then he probably didn't need a space ship at all and shouldn't have been that surprised when he lands in world filled with frosting. Also, when is Gozar going to show up?

As fast as Sonic the Hedgehog was, Sega always made sure to keep a balance of speed and exploration. Even when barreling through the stage, the player still feels in control of Sonic, thanks in large part to some incredible level designs. Here the game is both fast and uncontrollable. It's as if the game's speed has been artificially increased at the last minute. This ultimately gets in the way of the game's more complicated platforming sections.


For being a ninja, Zool sure doesn't have a lot of moves. He jumps real high, shoots out stars, spins in the air and, well, not much more. He's fast and nimble, but never has a chance to convince me that he's a real ninja. With almost no story to speak of, it's hard to understand this character's plight. Ultimately I realized that I'm only in it to see the next theme.

There are a few interesting ideas sprinkled throughout Zool, but this ninja comes up short in almost every way possible. What we're left with is a frustrating action game with a character I didn't care about. The themed levels are interesting, but it would have been nice to have some sort of narrative tie all this together. With only average platforming and levels that overstay their welcome, I find it hard to recommend Zool: Ninja of the "Nth" Dimension.