8 Failed Video Game Mascot Characters

If you're old enough to have owned an Amiga computer in the early 1990s, there's a good chance you'll remember Zool - a colorful platformer in which players control an alien-ant-gremlin-thing while navigating a series of colourful worlds.

In the very least, Zool had a neat, distinctive character design, and the game itself was pretty good, defined by its eye-popping art style and level design, even if it's impossible not to be distracted by the prominent Chupa Chups product placement throughout.

All the same, as Gremlin Graphics' attempt to give PC gamers their own answer to Sonic, Zool didn't make that much of a dent, enough that when its sequel was released, it wasn't even ported to most other platforms.

Despite a spirited attempt to make Zool a thing - including the release of two children's novels in 1995, oddly enough - he just couldn't hold a candle to Sonic, and so faded into the periphery within a few short years.

The original Zool did however get the remaster treatment in 2021 with Zool Redimensioned, so that's nice for those who care.