cigarcat's Review of The Mask of Zorro

The Mask of Zorro is just another game designed to make a quick buck off of the success of an adventure film.

User Rating: 3 | The Mask of Zorro GBC

By cigarcat | Review Date: May 15, 2013

In the year of 1998 the legendary swashbuckler Zorro made another featured appearance in the film The Mask of Zorro which featured a great cast and was met with generally positive reviews at the time but ultimately was somewhat forgettable. Two years later Sunsoft creates the videogame adaptation for the Gameboy Color and in typical movie license fashion it seems that little effort was put into it so we are left with a poorly made game designed to milk the kids who like Zorro of their allowance money.

Before I get into why the game is not a very good one, I'll first talk about the story as it is probably the most impressive thing about the game. The game follows the film practically scene by scene. Between levels there are some impressive still images and actual voice acting setting the mood and giving some background to the level you are about to play. As you should expect you play as the masked swordfighter Zorro as he tries to keep the California territories out of the tyrannical control of the greedy and power hungry bad guys.

Unfortunately, that is about the only good thing about this otherwise bland and tedious game. Being that this game is about a legendary swordfighter, swordplay should be a big part of the game. The mechanic of the fighting is that you hold down the fight button to engage the enemy and use the direction pad as the attack and parry controls. This could have worked had there been some variety in the enemy AI. There is absolutely none and as a result the combat system is more of busy work before you reach the end of the level. This should be the highlight of the game and it ends up being the most disappointing aspect. When you aren't fighting you are climbing ropes and rolling under or jumping over obstacles. There are doorways in within the levels that take you to a different platform or occasionally bring you to a health pick up or a secret area though you aren't really rewarded for finding them except to be notified that you did. Each level ends as abruptly as this short and unchallenging game.

As far as graphics go they aren't that impressive aside from the pre level stills. During play you are treated to some nice looking detail that give a somewhat three dimensional look to the two dimensional environments, however, as you progress through these levels you will soon discover that every doorway and window looks the same as the last and your foes lack visual variety as well.

In the end The Mask of Zorro is just another in a long line of forgettable movie license games. If you want a 2D platforming adventure game there are tons of better alternatives, especially on the Gameboy Color. I hope you found this review helpful.