Perhaps one of the most unique games ever to grace the Mega Drive, Comix Zone is a 2D sidescrolling beat-em-up with a difference. Instead of battling through stages in traditional fashion, the action in Comix Zone, naturally, takes place inside the pages of a comic. As you reach the end of each artwork frame, your character will jump through to the next, sometimes having to use clever techniques such as a pet rat, levers and even torn pages to progress. This is also one of the few Mega Drive games not to be linear. At regular intervals, this title will allow you to choose between several different paths, each with their own dangers or rewards. They all ultimately lead the same way, but this freedom makes multiple playthroughs possible to see how it differs from what came before. That's if you can get to the end of course; Comix Zone, like most games of the age, is absolutely rock hard. If you die, you're going all the way back to the beginning (and you'll probably do so multiple times) unless you can grab a continue as you go along. Comix Zone is worth checking out for the graphics alone; the environments are distinct and look just like a comic book, complete with enemies that are drawn in real time and attack you and a wide variety of environments to explore.
Dan Curtis is approximately one-half videogame knowledge, and the other half inexplicable Geordie accent. He's also one quarter of the Factory Sealed Retro Gaming podcast.
