Comix Zone: The Hidden Gem of the Mega Drive Generation

The year is 1995; Braveheart is in cinemas, scientists have successfully cloned a sheep from DNA and the PlayStation has just been released to critical acclaim and phenomenal sales. Meanwhile the Mega Drive, whilst coming to the end of a very distinguished life cycle, is still pumping out extremely complex games considering it’s (by then) outdated hardware.

It was amongst this last rearguard of 16-Mb games that Dean Lester and Peter Morawiec released Comix Zone, an arcade-style action game that blew many people away (myself included) with its artwork, music and gameplay.

The game centres on the superbly named Sketch Turner, a downtrodden artist and freelance rock musician (because this is the 90s) living in New York City. Whilst Sketch works on his latest comic, the eponymous “Comix Zone”, a freak storm erupts and lightning blasts into his room, striking him and his designs. The villain of Sketch’s story, the dastardly Mortus, is suddenly blasted to life and traps our hero within the pages of his own creation. Accompanied by his trusty pet rat, Roadkill, Sketch has to battle his way back to the real world with the help of the player.

All of this is revealed in one of the best introductions to a video game I have played - some great music, artwork and pacing combine to throw the player into the game ready for action. As soon as you’re dropped into the pages of the comic book a grungy soundtrack kicks in, adding to the innate sense of style the game exudes from every pixel. Seriously, just listen to this.

Where Comix Zone excelled, though, and where it blew me away, was the way in which the game made you believeyou really were in a comic book story. Sketch can vault between panels and pages dynamically and use them as platforms or hiding spots. Enemies, allies and Sketch himself all communicate in floating speech-bubbles that track their movements, while yellow thought boxes hover in the corners. Pieces of the pages tear off during fights or burn away after explosions. The game also included some of the first examples of physics-based puzzling – boxes have to be stacked to reach levers or pushed into hazards to progress further into levels.

As Sketch traverses the comic, through scenes ranging from dank and dingy sewers to cityscapes and even a Himalayan mountain top, enemies surge at him from every direction. The combat in Comix Zone can be frantic but each well-timed punch and kick from Sketch feels weighty, accompanied by a “THWACK” “SMASH” or “CRACK” in true comic book style. It’s especially satisfying to launch enemies into the borders of the comic’s panels and watch the paper tear away under the force.

Like many games released on the MegaDrive, Comix Zone is punishingly hard – so much so that many players haven’t even made it past the second level. The consensus from these players, however, isn’t so much “urgh, screw this game” frustration but “one more go” determination – akin to something players get from a game like Dark Souls. Those who persevere (possibly with a few snapped controllers in their wake) are rewarded with a succinct story that doesn't drag and action that never stops.

Unfortunately for Sketch and Comix Zone, the timing of its release meant that it went unseen by most gamers. Many were too distracted by the newer consoles to pay attention to a game for the older Mega Drive, no matter how good. Perhaps there is a lesson to be learnt there: while distracted by the pomp and circumstance of a new console generation we might just be unaware of exceptional games passing us by.

If this article has whetted your appetite for some classic 16-bit action, the game has been re-released on the Xbox Live Arcade, PSN and even Steam.