"Even in Video Games, Comix Get Delayed."
by Stuart Newsom

I love this game. I hate this game. I love this game. I hate this game. Like Two-Face, I just can’t make up my mind on this one - Comix Zone is just one of those games. You know the type. That game that sounds so cool, you have to get it then you play it and it’s just 100 kinds of awesome, yet there’s one or two things in it that just drive you up the wall and you shatter controllers left and right. Luckily, I didn’t buy Comix Zone originally. Yes, I did get it on the Wii Virtual Console later, but I first played Comix Zone on the Sega Channel. When all you knew about the game was its name, Comix Zone sounded pretty awesome. I mean, it’s spelled with an X! It’s got to be good. And it IS good…but the meek gamer need not apply.  

The story is a dream for those comic nerds like me: Indie comic starving artist and wannabe rock star Sketch Turner is working on his new comic, based off of his crazy dreams and nightmares. During a thunderstorm, lightning strikes just outside his little apartment, and somehow sucks him into the comic and along with pulling the villain of the comic, Mortus, out into the real world. Now Mortus, instead of trying to take over this new world, decides to just torment Sketch through the world of the Comix Zone by drawing in all the enemies, lighting pages on fire, and generally making life difficult. Luckily, Sketch has General Alissa Cyan on his side, mainly to talk in his ear and tell him what to do.

Overall, the game play is awesome. It’s your classic Beat ‘um up, but just polished to a mirror shine. The characters are cool-looking and the action is fluid. Even better, the controls are as tight as a nun. Press kick, you kick. Press jump, you jump. No questions asked, no hesitation, just instant. However, the first of the issues comes with the controls. Even though everything is responsive, the game was originally designed for 6 button Sega Genesis controllers, with A, B and C being the actions like jumping, fighting and blocking and X, Y, and Z being the inventory slots. It can be played with a traditional controller, but then C becomes the inventory switch and blocking becomes controlled automatically, which is a bit wonky. But that is just the beginnings of the frustration. 

Here’s where the anger comes in. Ya see, though the game is fun to play, its super difficult. Now I know admitting difficulty is the sign of the n00b, basically whining “itz toooooooo haaaaaaaaaaard” (That’s what she said), but this game is hard. Like buckle in Mary Sue Jim Bob because this game’s gonna push you to the limit of Beat Um Uppery - especially since everything hurts you. Enemies hurt you, explosions hurt you, ripping up the background pages as a weapon hurts you, even punching a box or other immobile objects to get it out of your way takes away your health. Even worse, you have no idea whether or not you have another life. Sometimes Mortis gives you another shot. Sometimes it’s one life and you’re dead, X’ed out, and left to be erased. You have no idea which one you’ll get - sometimes it seem it’s just subjective to the game’s will. Like it’s toying with you. Like GLaDOS.

In its original release, Comix Zone had a little bit of success, but it came out at the very end of the Genesis’ life cycle so people were already moving to other things. Since then, it’s been on a ton of Genesis compilations, and also has been released for the Wii Virtual Console and XBLA. If you’re into a butt hard classic beat ‘um up, look no further...just have a whole lot of patience.

Overall Rating: 8 out of 10