The success of Mario and Sonic through the 16-bit wars spawned a massive wave of platformers featuring oddball mascot heroes. Some of them were pretty good, a lot of them were pretty bad, but most of them sat in that awkward space and were simply lost to time. One of the games in that middle category is Zool, which is somehow staging a comeback with assistance from the legendary fan translator Hilltop.
Zool was originally developed by British studio Gremlin Graphics for Amiga computers in 1992. As is typical for platformers with that kind of origin, it's got massive, often meandering levels, colorful graphics, and a banging soundtrack. The original Amiga version earned some acclaim, but its eventual console ports were quickly lost in the shuffle. Zool got a sequel in 1993, but that was pretty much the extent of its enduring legacy.
Yet, somehow, Zool has returned. "A Gremlin Interactive classic is returning," according to – of all things – a LinkedIn post from upstart boutique publisher 33 Games. The post continues, "33 Games and Umbra Dynamics are bringing it back as a premium historical artefact and definitive physical release."
That's some ostentatious talk for Zool, but perhaps the most curious thing about the announcement is the teaser featuring credits to indie studio Hologram Ghost and fan translator Hilltop. When the news started making the rounds at places like Time Extension, Hilltop confirmed on Bluesky that yes, "I did some romhacking work on this release. Zool is back. That gremlin you love so much."
I did some romhacking work on this release. Zool is back. That gremlin you love so much.
— @hilltopworks.bsky.social (@hilltopworks.bsky.social.bsky.social) 2026-03-26T21:51:49.899Z
I'm not sure how many people outside of the hardcore Amiga fans "love" Zool, but that's the beautiful thing about retro revivals: these days, they don't differentiate the historically important games from the weird little curiosities which make up the majority of video game history.
And the project couldn't be in better hands. Hilltop made a name by building excellent fan translations of titles like the wonderful PS2 cozy game Boku no Natsuyasumi 2, and their work was so well-regarded that they eventually got the opportunity to help bring the equally delightful Milano's Odd Job Collection to the English-speaking world in an official capacity.
Zool already had one previous rerelease a few years back in Zool Redimensioned, but it doesn't seem this new release is connected to that one. Either way, I'm glad to see one of the retro gaming community's most notable creators get the opportunity to work on more and more official revivals.
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