The MAD Story of COMIX ZONE - Why is it so Important!? - SEGA GAMING HISTORY

[@ChronikSpartan]

This was such a revolutionary game at the time, the comic book style graphic design was superb and still not really matched to this day.

[@GroovyFlacko]

Most definitely. Such a technical game also. Took me years later to realize there were special moves and a great combo system

[@ChronikSpartan]

@@GroovyFlacko I love a game that continues to surprise even years later

[@thehumbleone1983]

👍👍👍👍👍

[@ChronikSpartan]

@@thehumbleone1983 🤘

[@nerychristian]

Viewtiful Joe was also a great game.

[@denardoellisjr]

Sega has the perfect opportunity to make a sequel or a remake with cel-shaded graphics. What are they waiting for?? If streets of Rage 4 getting released Comix Zone 2 should also happened...

[@thehumbleone1983]

DeviousRage28 yeah totally agree 👍👍👍👍👍

[@steammachine3061]

Try unbound saga on the psp. It's very similar in style

[@denardoellisjr]

@@steammachine3061 i agree

[@harrymasonsm]

Or have Sketch as a hidden character. Mmmmm.

[@denardoellisjr]

@@harrymasonsm that would've been awsome

[@GooniesNeverSayDie1980]

“Comix Zone” is one of the greatest visual video-games EVER to me.... I LUV bright, saturated & cartoony graphical video-games, not “life-like”.... The Nintendo’s Switch version of “Street Fighter 30th Anniversary Collection” is an absolute gem....

[@socialmediakilledthemc1462]

My favorite game that ever came out on Sega... This game is a major, if not the main inspiration behind me being a comic book artist, today.

[@open-rhythm]

JD Miller El I miss understand, it did our on Sega. You mean Nintendo, right??

[@socialmediakilledthemc1462]

@@open-rhythm Sega...Ive never played it on Nintendo

[@Eatinbritches]

@@open-rhythm I'm confused by your comment. Did you not watch the video? Comix Zone originally came out on Sega Genesis. It's a Sega product.

[@PikangsFutaba]

@@socialmediakilledthemc1462 I played on the Game Cube for the 1st time (via JPN version of Sonic Mega Collection, you need to input a cheat code in the collection menus to unlock the game), but yeah, the original release was Sega Genesis/Megadrive, and nowdays I can play it on my model 2 Genesis.

[@xenoranger79]

I call shenanigans. Comix Zone is like lightning in a bottle. The game captured the feel of being in a comic in a way that no game has since. It's really a case study in game design and how homage can make something new and lasting. Personally, this is one of my top 3 games ever. I buy SEGA collections and this is the first game I usually play.

[@JohnDoe-wq5eu]

It's held up better than 99.9% of Genesis/mega drive games. Besides one or two of the Sonic games and I would say games like Contra hard Corps, splatterhouse 2, and a very few others that are fun/challenging and still look great. I still to this day vividly remember the Sears I first played it at back in the day. It's a fond memory I will always have, even now that that store has gone away and been replaced by something else. I was changed forever after playing that game. It blew my mind and everything from the music to how it looked was simply ingrained deeply in my brain.

[@hitkid2456]

@@JohnDoe-wq5eu I'm guessing Ranger-X may be in that remaining .1%?

[@Bretana]

No matter what game comes out after this one, no matter how realistic the graphics are, THIS game will forever be my favorite video game. As a artist and comic book nerd, I loved the concept of this game. The music was awesome, too!

[@HRilho]

The fact that this game was released on the final stages of the console's lifecycle, makes it the perfect swansong for my absolute favourite piece of gaming history. Also, the music stuck with me eversince!

[@JohnDoe-wq5eu]

Everything about it was so impressive. And the music was some of the best the Genesis ever did.

[@lewishoglund1853]

When you're reminded TopHat is from the UK when he talks about the teenage mutant hero turtles 😅. Great video

[@yeshuathetruth245]

Wtf caught that as well. Thought it was joke....

[@JohnDoe-wq5eu]

It's like how they and Japan had the mega drive and we in the states had the Genesis. The whole hero turtles thing is because England had a real thing against ninjas and ninja culture back in the day. Something about nunchucks. It's pretty funny really.

[@serenemountain6769]

Teen Age Mutant Ninja Turtles --- XD

[@open-rhythm]

I want to mention that there was a comic that was included. And describes sketch Turner as a “street-wise” character, from this, you can probably assume sketch learnt his moves previously within his lifespan.

[@joshuarichard6827]

There were two. An American one and a UK exclusive

[@MrBoilertech]

I love Comix Zone one of my favorite Genesis games

[@kingoverseas9052]

The animations are STILL incredibly masterful.

[@davidjames579]

On a 16 bit cartridge console as well!

[@Warzol]

i'm so glad to be part of history when it was around that time. I was 8 when this game came out.

[@SuiteLifeofDioBrando]

Comic Zone was a fun brutal game. The time limit boss fight always gave me a game over.

[@snakeeyes7907]

That last boss is easy

[@Eatinbritches]

@@snakeeyes7907 Yes, way easier than portrayed, if you know what to do.

[@ghazzter]

Its been 25 years and I still have the first level's theme music still stuck in my hell.

[@lpvgs-817]

Wow Sega TI is super significant to gaming as a whole had no clue. great video!

[@ArtofWEZ]

Loved this game always wondered why it never had a million sequels

[@serenemountain6769]

Comix Zone 2 ( sega Hack) Bare Knuckle 2 . Fan made XD

[@Metaltribesman87]

I remember renting this as a kid and the difficulty. However the visual style stuck with me I didnt play it again till buying a sega game collection for my ps2

[@ThePrimo80s]

This was a great video. The sheer amount of time and you put into them must be unreal. Now I want a Comix Zone 2.

[@serenemountain6769]

its your lucky day XD, there is a Fan made experience Comix Zone 2 ( sega Hack) Bare Knuckle 2

[@Pupppeteer]

Legendary game! Even though you've done gunstar heroes a few times on this channel a mad story would be amazing....yeaaaahhh!!!

[@rodneyabrett]

One of those Genesis games where the dithering effect is used in artistically appealing ways. I love the sharpness of the aesthetic which was so different from the softer, airbrushy look of SNES beat-em-ups. Limited color palette + dithering = perfection.

[@deltoad]

Man you've been going in with the content!

[@punk-o-matic9248]

LOVE THIS GAME SO MUCH! The Sega begging is perfect! 😆 It's so funny all the criticisms of the game by critics is what made this game so amazing to me! Maybe critics can't live without the Status Quo? Haha! The only thing i would say which i would want in this game is with more levels or a sequel! Not a 3D sequel it would go against it being a comic and wouldn't be Comix Zone (the hints in the title ;) haha) For a sequel in my opinion, the latest modern graphics on a modern console fine, but 2D fighter platform it would need to be. Chuck in new moves, new items, backgrounds, music, enemies, consistent well thought out story, new design for Sketch and maybe some added (not replacement) of game mechanics would be great. Did you know this came with a CD with 6 original music tracks as in actual grunge songs?! Playlist on KZbin! Also the Genesis manual was done in the style of a comic? PDF is online downloadable Google search will help you find it. Keep up the top notch work sir!

[@NotesandNerds]

Fantastic game. I remember getting it when it was new. Funnily, when I was in the military, I recall a series of Sega music CD's at the base PX. One of which was a Comix Zone soundtrack. Loved the music. Unfortunately, that disk is lost to time. I can't even seem to find it anywhere these days.

[@JetWolfEX]

They remade the soundtrack and bundled it with several other classic sega soundtracks years ago. The album is "Mega Drive Last action heroes" I'd recommend it if you can find it.

[@GooniesNeverSayDie1980]

As an authentic 80’s baby & 90’s teen, born 5/80, Comix Zone” is one of the greatest visual video-games EVER to me....🤘I LUV bright, saturated & cartoony graphical video-games, not “life-like”....🤙 The Nintendo’s Switch version of “Street Fighter 30th Anniversary Collection” is an absolute gem....😎 Shout-out to ANOES5: The Dream Child....

[@CommodoreFan64]

As a fellow 80's baby born July 4th 1981, I had the PC version of this game, and it looked so good on my PC's CRT monitor, and I really liked that SEGA made PC ports of their most popular Genesis titles at the time, and usually at a more affordable price point as well.

[@nerychristian]

Flashback was also a good game on the Genesis.

[@JohnDoe-wq5eu]

Yeah same here 9/80. And I had the most 90's experience with this game. First came across it in my local mall's Sears. Back in the mid-90s when it first came out. Back when literally every store had demo kiosks. And it was literally a block or two from my elementary School. We would go to the mall after school and go to any store that had games to play. We'd play all we could before we were basically kicked out or asked/told to leave. It was incredible, I still have extremely fond memories of long play sessions at all sorts of places. But the now-defunct and closed Sears was my favorite. I played so many amazing games there. Much like the arcades that's just not something you can experience anymore.

[@KombatGod]

I might have heard this title before, but I had never seen any gameplay from it! IT looks totally awesome, I'll definitely play it in the future! And great video as always, very informative!!

[@knoble1985]

I will never forget going with my mom to Toys R Us back than they had it where u can trade in your games to get store credit so this game came with a bizarre music cd that had nothing to do with the ingame music but had sum 90's dance jams 😂

[@christian03y]

One of the most beautiful game in Genesis. It's so hard that I think few people finished the game back in the 90s, especially without any save states

[@NewtypeChild6]

When I was young I was a Nintendo kid, this game when I saw it blew me away and I always wanted to play it but never had a Genesis. To this day this game stayed in my mind all these years and I have yet to play it. I know, I could just download a emulator or get the Mini but at this point I feel like getting an original Genesis and a original copy to fulfill that childhood dream.

[@PikangsFutaba]

True, the closest thing Nintendo players had were on Wii via virtual console or either on a model 1 Wii or Game Cube using Sonic Mega Collection (BUT the JPN release, and that meant under legal conditions that you had to own a JPN console to run the game without homebrew and stuff).

[@jeremysmith5579]

One of my favorite games as a kid, I was 9 when it came out and got it for my Sega, now I’m 33 and have it again on my 32 game in console Sega and I STILL CANT BEAT IT, in fact, it seems even harder than ever, but I still love it tho 👍🏽

[@ThingKingNinja]

One of my fav's, yet ANOTHER top coverage of a CLASSIC GAME. Really loved this game, the art was f'ing fantastic n that but it was f'ing hard to beat like Battletoads on the Game Boy! Keep the vid's coming lad!

[@campkilldavy]

THIS GAME IS FUCKING AMAZING. I play through it several times a year still, despite having a hefty backlog. Thank you for covering it in an awesome video! You forgot to mention the music though, THE MUSIC.

[@MrCalverino]

This game was pretty difficult but super awesome

[@thehumbleone1983]

MrCalverino 👍👍👍👍👍

[@heihachi34]

Comix Zone, has such a huge impact and impression since my childhood that. I had it with me always. Since days of genesis. Till today. I play it even on my phone emulating it. I simply enjoy it. What a master piece

[@MegaManNeo]

I always remember Comix Zone from my childhood when playing the PC Demo coming from one of many shareware CDs my dad bought althrough the 90's. It was really hard to beat that first level alone but even more so I was happy to finish it eventually. That said, I should give the game a try now that I have the MegaDrive Mini in my collection as well.

[@mattwolf7698]

Graphically, this is a crazy good looking game for the Genesis/Megadrive. It still looks good.

[@zigaudrey]

I wanted that Comix Zone sequel... I miss the '90, they have the best aesthetic and gameplay. It shows they put soul and impact our memory. Too bad I didn't have a cartridge but I heard this game is difficult. Remind me of classic movies like Cliffhanger or Demolition Man. Comix Zone is a classic, as well its musics and atmosphere. Not to forget it is one of the few last games of the console.

[@jasonstopsign]

KZbin's most underrated channel ever if you ask me... Acheivment unlocked 10G Hidden Gem Channel

[@Dnobagav49]

I totally forgot that they called the turtles "heroes" instead of "ninjas" in the UK.

[@sloppynyuszi]

I really liked Sonic Spinball at the time. It did capture the Pinball Fantasy vibe with a Sonic Mix quite well.

[@gcforreal]

Shit I'm old I remember watching reviews on this game on a video game review show on TV that I can't remember, and begging for it for my birthday that year. Brutal game

[@brianjenkins3602]

Never owned Comix Zone but I rented it from Blockbuster maybe a zillion times. Thanks for covering it! Great episode!

[@dshire]

Thanks for this. I was quite fond of both this game and Vigilante 8 but I had no idea Peter Morawiec designed both of them.

[@georgequail4670]

I was a Nintendo kid at the time but this game stuck with me, perhaps only Golden Axe and Sonic made as much of an impression from Segas library for me

[@willhe5564]

1,000 Likes & 1,000,000 Thank Yous, Mr. Top Hat Gentleman, Sir!! Long live SEGA & Finally understanding Comix Zone lots better, than just off a rental shelf 25 years ago. 😂✌ Awesome video, truly, and always good work on this channel. Thank you again.

[@JohnDoe-wq5eu]

I remember the first time I ever played this game. It was at a now closed and gone Sears back in my hometown a place I spent a lot of time in back in the early 90's when practically every store had demo units to play games on. I immediately fell in love with this game and was obsessed with it. I've owned numerous copies on Sega Genesis, and on far too many compilations to count. But I love comix zone to this day more than just about any game that came out before or since.

[@vampirezio6996]

First got to play this on the Sega channel back in the day. Loved the artwork but thought it was a bit difficult

[@Islandswamp]

I didn't get far before I gave up. It was more frustrating than fun, even though it looks amazing and has a great concept.

[@ThunderExpress]

Love this Peter Morawiec guy not only for the awesome games he worked on, but also for liking The Smashing Pumpkins

[@valentinmarinescu6445]

Have it as part of a Megadrive classics compilation for the PS2. Tough yes, but visually beautiful and I've got to get around to dedicating more time to it.

[@leHugow47]

I really liked this game for it's originality in 1995 and played it on emulator last year......even with the save states the game is brutally hard. But much more appreciable with all the routes you can go it is more easier. I loved what the game offered but a bit repettitive on the brawls (like all these type of games at that time), still this game is a gem. I wanna thank you for the storry of the creator, very interesting. From St-jerome, quebec, canada i wanna show you how far you reach people.....and i am a frenchie btw. Keep up the good work you have my respect.

[@CyberdriveAutomotive]

I remember when this game was new, there was a ton of hype around it. I wasn't really ever into comics but I rented it one weekend, didn't really like it too much and never played it again. looking back at it though, I can see why a lot of people would like it now. It's absolutely unique.

[@TwoBlackMarks]

This was the last or second to last brand new Mega Drive game I bought. I still have the Roadkill CD that came with it. A sequel would be great today. SEGA even patented the type of gameplay, so they really should have put that patent to good use when they had it.

[@pratamawirya3736]

I'd like to see the patent document, do you know where to find it on the internet?

[@TwoBlackMarks]

@@pratamawirya3736 There is a link for it, I am on my phone actually. But you could probably search for the patent number on a "real" patent website if you want.

[@Eatinbritches]

"Roadkill CD"? Did it have an OST or something? I bought a copy in Canada, and it came with an American Recordings Demo Disc - lots of sweet tunes on it.

[@BlackGypsyMusic]

Do one on the original Assassin's Creed...Tenchu : Stealth Assassins 🤘🏾🔥

[@chriskeepit100]

Double dragon deserves a video as well.i understand why there wouldn't be a river City Ransom video but i wouldn't be mad if you did one on that as well.so slept on indeed.

[@kadosho02]

Awesome to learn you were a part of the Sonic Spinball team. 🎉🎉🎉 Comix Zone = legendary, difficult, yet an exciting experience. Interesting to learn how it came together 😶 Learning of two endings...wow that impact of the bad one, it delivered that emotion to not give up. The good ending = love it I have never completed this title. But admired the visuals & audio design. It was fantastic, just tough to find. Luxoflux. I remember that dev team name. Very cool to learn how it came to be. Maybe someday Comix Zone will return

[@arsenalxa4421]

I remembered seeing a blurb about it in an entertainment news show back in the day and wanted nothing more but to play it. It only took twenty years for that to happen when they released the mega collection on the PSP.

[@anasevi9456]

i first saw this game on windows, but couldnt believe it was 16 bit, in retrospec it was such a megadrive product.. but bless it still.

[@alexojideagu]

Unlike most people I played the demo of this on the PC for Windows 95 not the Megadrive when it came out. It was one of the first Windows 95 games in Microsoft's push to make it a game platform.

[@serenemountain6769]

the Game had a fantastic mechanic, sadly it was one of a kind ... It has a Fantastic Story, very easy to play, easy to finish ! Loved the Music Cd that came with it ... i really hope one day someone makes a movie out of it : )

[@wnbrknisezlyfxd2951]

I played this game when it first came out and still stands out as one of the best Sega games. Also I'd like to add that was when I play and think of Viewtiful Joe I get shades of this gem.

[@ivanhenley]

Comix Zone is hard as hell, but such a cool idea I'd keep going back to it anyway. Try as I might I have yet to beat it. I'd like it if other games of this sort found their way onto consoles (with more modern controls and graphics, naturally) as the type has a lot of yet-unrealized potential. Side question: What is that game you feature at 1:42? It looks interesting and I don't recognize it. Great video.

[@GustoTheGamer]

this game was so next gen in 1995, For a 16bit system it felt playing on a next gen system. 2D had his finest.

[@hitkid2456]

The latter-day 4th gen games really got the most out of the systems possible. (Several SFC RPGs and others never were released outside Japan, and they're likewise largely quite incredible and among the best on the system.) The soundtracks of the games in particular really bridged the gap between that and the start of the next gen.

[@KTFTHEBEST]

I love comix zone. I'm mad there was never a sequel 😢

sketch turner is a great character, im glad they ditched the pencil dude so he came to be.

[@EpicLebaneseNerd]

all i know is a spent a lot of time when i was 15 wearing black long shorts, a white hoodie and a gray sleeveless jacket with black reeboks , much to my parents being baffled and my firends thinking i was nuts....

[@thehumbleone1983]

Great video Top Hat Gaming Man Comic Zone is one of my favourite Mega Drive / Genesis game love it 👍👍👍👍👍

[@DrGanja99]

Only the real ones remember this classic. Genesis was my 2nd favorite console after PS2

[@JoeNeutrino]

Sketch Turner is such a better design than Joe Pencil. I'm so glad they changed it.

[@kierebeats8619]

As a kid that opening cutscene was scary as shi6

[@armyofninjas9055]

Literally the only game that I remember wanting as a kid that wasn't available on the SNES.

[@martinwooder4174]

Funny coincidence I was playing this a few hours before this video launched. Still can’t complete it until this day. Grrrr

[@donmacmilly]

A New Yorker with a rat as a sidekick. Only thing missing was him in timbs

[@Eric_Malkav]

First time I played this was on PC with the Sega Smash Pack 1. I tried so, so many times to beat it and I did manage to. Once. With the good ending. Never been able to do it again.

[@scrambledcitycustomz8134]

Man i put a lot of time into this game, as i was into comics back then..great game

[@Egualde]

I played this game to dead on DOS on my mom old PC. Love this game, good memories

[@johnbell3660]

This was one of the first games I found on The Sega Channel Adapter for Comcast cable when it came out. I figured it had more to do with that platform that the Genesis.

[@jayracz701]

I actually never got to play this game in my youth. (I am 46 now) I bought my retro SEGA system to re experience the games of past like ms pac man. Earth worm Jim, Sonic , contra, And streets of rage 2. (That last one I only got to play at the arcade). All great games. But I felt cheated missing out on this game back then. Truly a revolutionary game. Absolutely gold. Glad I got to to play it though even if I was late to the game. I think a well done remake would kill the internet.

[@adamg9173]

I actually beat this as a kid. It was a pretty good one for the Sega. Fun beat em up. You had to pull the lever to blow up the boss at the end as I recall. You could punch him all day but if you didn't do that you didn't beat him.

[@THIN-GHOST]

My man said "Teenage Mutant Hero Turtles" i never new it was that in the UK 😂

[@davidslaughter8806]

Yeah "ninja" is too violent for the u.k. they did this with a lot of stuff. The contra games were repainted entirely to make everybody robots so there would be no blood or dead people

[@MrCalverino]

Take a look at a Sega beat em up called Cyborg Justice

[@leecroft1983]

MrCalverino Great choice. One of my early gaming favourites. I actually bought a copy from eBay for my MegaDrive a few months ago, still fun after all these year’s.

[@MrCalverino]

@@leecroft1983 I'd never forget it was a bday gift back in 1993. I always loved the music and the level of customization allowed

[@realspider4939]

I got a Sega genesis a few months now! And It's such a great console!

[@jackrotz2139]

I LOVED that game Even the music CD that came with it

[@godlymadebullyzkennel6634]

Was a good game but as a kid I never beat it🤷🏾‍♂️ I was about 10yrs old when I got it and was a pro at fighting games.. Would love to play it now as a grown man.. I think I can beat it now😂😂

[@captainnintendo]

I remember buying this game for around 5 bucks from a clearance sale but mine came with a CD. I would later pretty much buy up every last piece of old new stock that store had and got away with some nifty stuff.. Like 10 Saturn Multi-Taps xD Not a bad haul

[@steammachine3061]

A very good homage to comix zone is a game on psp called unbound saga. It plays more like a traditional beat em up than the 2d affair of comix zone. But has the same comic elements including an artists hand comming in to draw the bad guys on screen prior to you fighting them. It may as well be a spiritual sequel in how similarly it resembles the premise of cz. Another great series of beat em ups on the psp are the ikki tousen games. Incredibly pervy Japanese anime 2d cell shaded beat em ups. But with some genuinely classic gameplay underneath all the jiggle and bounce lol

[@urbanmidnight1]

I always loved the look of it but sadly never really got into it! Fascinating video though.

[@ChannelTheChange]

Great story! Speaking of, are you going to cover the X-Men titles that Sega produced?

[@k0sm0nAuTik]

1 of my favourites Sega mega drive games.. Unfortunately it's 1 of those games that I could never beat.. I was to young at the time and I got the ps1 not long after...

[@nillynush4899]

Unique and hidden gem are what Comix Zone is. The visual design has never been done before like that or since

[@stepheng8061]

I played it at release after swim team at my pool where they had a sega upstairs in the rec room

[@sndwav2049]

Loved this game as a kid and rented it frequently, but never owned it. Finally got my own hard copy after i'd had my own kids. Now my little girl is obsessed with it. How about Rock N Roll Racing next? Still playing it in 2020.

[@ButcherGrindslam]

13:13 - how could you use horribly emulated track "Find the combination"? It's really noticeable.

[@mikeching6374]

Wasn't there a Win95 port? I seem to remember playing it on PC...

[@vincently1995]

25th Anniversary of Comix Zone (1995-2020)

[@orlanzo2621]

Honestly i was one of the people turned off by the difficulty back in the day. As a kid i never could get past the second stage and thought the game was just too brutal. Seeing this makes me want to give it another shot tho. Maybe now 25 years later i can beat it, lol.

[@cinnamondan4984]

Been finally beginning to like this game recently. Guess is it about that time 4 us all

[@jonathan2950]

The picture of Peter at 17:30 looks a bit like Sebastian Vettel if he shaved his head. Anyway, I really like the look of this game. Not just the art style, but I like how you need to solve a puzzle in each panel before you can proceed. Shame about the difficulty though, I don’t have the time to slog through games anymore. Still, I’ll give this a go on the Mega Drive Classics release on the PS4.

[@ReddFoxx1562]

I don't think that you mentioned this game had a PC version. I wasn't able to play it, or either of the versions, enough to notice if there were any differences. But it wasn't an emulation, it was a game that was packaged in the software when you bought a computer. I believe it was a compaq

[@donmacmilly]

This deserved many sequels

[@billcook4768]

Teenage Mutant HERO Turtles???

[@jmal716]

Teenage Mutant "HERO" Turtles?!?

[@BIGGIEDEVIL]

In UK the word ninja is considered violent and not for kids

[@iandowall153]

The Brits call it that because the BBC thought ninjas were too violent for a kid's cartoon. It sounds like nails on a chalkboard though.

[@jmal716]

I get it. But Ninja to an American seems so innocent. I mean that movie "3 Ninjas" from the 90s was my jam as a kid