Comix Zone

The presentation is where this game shines at its the brightest and it's the main reason people still talk about it today. You're not just playing a game with a comic book filter, you are inside a comic book, moving from panel to panel with speech bubbles and onomatopoeia flying everywhere and the backgrounds are packed with detail and the character sprites are huge and superbly animated for the Genesis. It's got this distinct handdrawn look that was partly designed by actual comic book artists who worked in DC and MARVEL and it just oozes personality due to that, jumping between panels and watching Sketch or an enemy crash right through the borders is visually arresting and the music by Howard Drossin (a film composer who also worked in SONIC & KNUCKLES and Baldur's Gate II) is a perfect fit with that grungy rock sound that gets your blood pumping. The whole game is just so undeniably stylish and remains one of the most unique looking games on the system.

Gameplay-wise, it's a beat 'em up at its core, kinda like a more technical Streets of Rage mixed with some simple platforming and puzzles. You've got a solid moveset with punches, kicks and special attacks you can pull off with different D-pad and button combos, which makes the combat feel more engaging than just mashing one button. A big part of the strategy involves managing your items, because you can carry up to three things at a time like knives, dynamite or healing iced tea. Your rat buddy Roadkill is also an item you can use to find hidden stuff or solve puzzles which is neat, the level design encourages a bit of exploration too since you'll often get a choice between multiple paths, which gives it a little bit of replay value. It's a simple loop but the variety of attacks and the need to solve puzzles stops it from getting too boring even if it can feel repetitive after a while.

Now, we gotta talk about the difficulty, 'cuz it's the one thing everyone brings up. This game is brutally and almost unfairly hard, you start with one life and no continues, so one mistake or a cheap enemy can send you right back to the title screen. The combat can be tricky since enemies love to block and you're constantly having to figure out their patterns but the real killer is the health system, for some fucking reason punching obstacles like barrels or doors you need to break to progress hurts you. It's a mechanic that feels designed to punish you for just playing the game and it forces you to be super precious about your health and items. There are a few instadeath pits and mystery boxes that can just blow up in your face, which is just adding insult to injury. It's a game that demands perfection and while that can be rewarding for some, it's mostly just frustrating and the main reason a lot of people give up on it. But here enters out lifesaver, the Fair Edition! It removes that stupid damage you take from punching objects and makes it so an Ice Tea fully heals you instead of just a bit. It's a small change but it completely transforms the experience, making the game actually fair and way more enjoyable.