Zoop: An Unforeseen Favorite and a Worthy Puzzle Game
Zoop is a puzzle game developed by Hookstone Productions and published by Viacom New Media in 1995. The game features a unique look and feel while offering up a simple gameplay premise that is easy to learn, but difficult to master. It’s not one you hear spoken of very often these days, however, decades after its release, it remains one of my go-to games in the puzzle genre. Its bare bones package will admittedly leave a little to be desired for some in terms of content, but for fans of the puzzle genre, the addictive gameplay will more than likely make up for it.
At the time of Zoop’s release, Viacom New Media clearly had big expectations for the game. Quirky, full-page ads pushed the game in magazines; A crazy television commercial accompanied the release; and, even the game box itself featured some pretty bold statements (“America’s Greatest Killer of Time!”). As if that wasn’t enough, Viacom made Zoop available across a whopping nine different platforms in most major regions. This was unprecedented at a time when a multi-platform release this large was typically relegated to major movie or arcade tie-ins, not brand new IPs.
Unfortunately for Viacom, reviews upon release seemed to rate it average at best and it didn’t take long for the game to reach bargain bins at retail. Some reviews noted the game’s addictive nature, but others others talked about the blatant complacency many were feeling about the puzzle genre at the time. Several years prior, Tetris took the world by storm and many companies would try to cash in on this new puzzle trend for years, with many knockoffs and cash-ins that probably didn’t need to exist. By the time Zoop released in 1995, burnout had hit even the most devoted fans of the genre.
Despite seeing the ads myself, I didn’t take much notice of Zoop until I accidentally came across a friend’s Game Gear that happened to have the cart in it. When I gave it a try, I was immediately hooked. The concept was unique and was instantly fun. I played this scaled down version quite a bit when I had the chance and just a year or two later I would pick up a sealed copy of the Sega Genesis version. As a high school teen with little obligations and lots of time, I played it frequently and thoroughly enjoyed it.
One of the things that captivated me about Zoop is that it’s a puzzle game with action elements. Rather than focusing on the player dropping blocks, the game has you pinned in the center of the play field attacking outward at incoming objects. I’ve always been more a fan of fast-paced, arcade style action games, so this offensive style of gameplay clicked with me naturally.
There is of course the obligatory puzzle element that goes along with the fast action: Only objects of the same color as you can be cleared. Hit an object of a different color, and you will swap colors with that object. So for example, if an object was blue but you were green, you will turn blue, and the object will turn green.
Like many games in the genre, the puzzle element is further emphasized by a scoring system. Additional bonus points are given for clearing multiple same-colored objects in a single swipe and clearing an entire row or column of same-color enemies will award the most points. Much like clearing the maximum amount of lines at once in Tetris is called a “Tetris”, clearing a full row or column here is known as a “Zoop”.
Scoring the best means you need to follow the puzzle element closely and approach the game with a methodical play style, intentionally changing the colors of the foremost objects to match the ones behind them. This allows for longer chains to form and bigger points to be cashed in at a faster rate.
Zoop doesn’t require you to play a specific way though. You are free to play as fast or methodical as you want. Playing fast yields less points, but it definitely proves to be an energetic experience nonetheless and this may be more fun for some individuals.
The unfortunate thing about Zoop is that there’s just not much else to it. Two gameplay modes exist, but vary little in execution. There are some golden icon power-ups that help you clear enemies faster, and collecting springs on the play field will wipe everything off the board giving you a clean slate to work with, but there’s nothing else to fall back onto gameplay-wise.
Being the bare bones package it is, it’s a tough sell to someone requiring a more fleshed out experience. Surprisingly though, it remains an enjoyable experience at its core that is still a ton of fun to play. The clean visuals and chilled out music also help keep it enjoyable, despite there not being much to it.
As was mentioned earlier, Zoop was released on nine different platforms across varying regions. Here are some quick notes on the various versions:
Super Nintendo and Sega Genesis: By far the cheapest and most common to acquire for anyone that collects real cartridges and they are good ways to experience the game. The SNES version has a more “bombastic” soundtrack than the Genesis port.
Nintendo Game Boy and Sega Game Gear: Both versions replace the unique shapes for thin, rectangular blocks, but the gameplay remains the same and they both play well.
Sony PlayStation and Sega Saturn: These versions feature pre-rendered graphics and an electronic (techno) soundtrack. The visuals are a little gaudy and the soundtrack doesn’t really fit the theme, so overall these are my least favorite versions to go back to.
IBM PC compatible (MS-DOS) and Apple Macintosh: These versions run at a higher resolution than the console releases (roughly 640x480) and as such they look the sharpest. The Mac version is similar to the IBM PC version, but sounds different due to the Mac’s different sound hardware and it doesn’t run quite as smoothly, at least in the Mac emulation I’ve tried it with.
Atari Jaguar: Features sharper visuals than the 16-bit renditions and it’s the only console version to feature high score saving after powering off the system. This is a great feature as it gives the player incentive to try to improve on old high scores when coming back to play at a later time.
Zoop may not be the most talked about puzzle game out there, but to me it’s an overlooked gem still worth playing--even if it’s a little bare bones in nature. The addictive quality of the gameplay, the clean yet abstract graphic style and the relaxing music still holds up well today. If you’re a fan of puzzle games or want to simply try something new, give it a try!
