Zythum Re-Review (Sinclair ZX Spectrum)

Recap

In the spring of 2021, I wrote my first retrogaming article in the form of a review for the 1986 cult action/platformer Zythum (pronounced “Zai-thum”) for the Sinclair ZX Spectrum, which I praised highly for its unconventional gameplay and intuitive controls. I have decided to revisit the game, as this will be my last review for quite some time.

Premise

The premise of “Zythum” revolves around a nameless wizard who is tasked with retrieving the eponymous elixir from a hidden fortress located deep within a dangerous region of the land. To successfully complete his task, the wizard (the player character) must traverse four (4) levels of increasing difficulty and challenge:

1. The Ice Mountains
2. The Black Forest
3. The Subterranean Passage
4. The Fortress

When the game first loads, you are presented with a main menu accompanied by a dramatic tune (you can press a key to skip the music), offering you the choice to play with either the ZX Spectrum’s keyboard, a Kempston joystick interface or the cursor keys. If none of those options take your fancy, then you can redefine the keys to your liking. The default keys are as follows:

·         Z – Left

·         X – Right

·         P – Jump (the longer you hold it down, the higher the wizard will ascend)

·         L – Use a smart bomb (hold Down and then press Fire at the same time when playing with a joystick)

·         H – Pause

·         Q – Quit

ZX Spectrum Joystick Interfaces

Since the ZX Spectrum had no onboard controller port unlike most of its contemporaries, 3rd-party companies made their own joystick interfaces, including an official one from Sinclair themselves. The controllers themselves are simply Atari-compatible single-button digital joysticks with 9-pin connectors, which was the most common game controller connector at the time. There were two (2) main types of joystick interface for the ZX Spectrum: Sinclair’s own interface (also known as the Interface 2), which assigned joystick movements to keypresses and had twin controller ports (which translated to the keys from 1 to 5 for Player 1 and 6 to 0 for Player 2 – in the event of a single-player game, then 6 to 0 was used by default, simulating the directions Left, Right, Down, Up and Fire in that order), and the Kempston joystick interface, which was initially made by Kempston Micro Electronics and was soon widely copied and cloned due to its simplicity (it only has a single controller port and instead of turning joystick movements into keypresses, it reads directly from the computer’s expansion port, making it easier to work with). With this in mind, when a game for the ZX Spectrum offers a player a choice between a Kempston or Sinclair joystick, remember that they are talking about the interface, not the controller itself.

Warning (Kempston only)

If you are playing this game with a Kempston joystick interface, then the game will skip the cutscenes and music automatically due to a bug. This can be corrected with a Multiface (a peripheral designed to dump a computer's memory contents to tape or disk in addition to offering the ability to cheat by hacking or poking memory addresses and values), depending on which Spectrum model you are using. Poke the following to fix this glitch: Memory address 50252, value 31. The game will now run normally.

The Game

The game’s HUD (Heads-Up Display) is detailed but unobtrusive, since a large part of the screen is actually dedicated to the gameplay window, making it easy to see what is going on. You start off with three (3) lives and four (4) smart bombs - you can carry a maximum of one (1) extra of each (4 lives and 5 smart bombs). You can obtain an additional life every 10,000 points, and each of the game’s levels has checkpoints which are marked by moneybags, which also give you a score bonus. As I mentioned in my original review, it looks appealing, and its limited usage of colours in the main window avoids any attribute clash for which the Spectrum is notorious (it doesn’t look very nice, trust me). The upper side of the screen is self-explanatory, showing your current score, current level and the game’s highest recorded score. On the lower side, you have a countdown timer in the centre giving you eight (8) minutes to complete each level, and on the left and right of this timer lie icons representing your remaining lives and smart bombs respectively. There’s also a progress indicator representing two (2) of the game’s quartet of locations at a time - this is actually quite useful, since most games don’t let the player know how far they are, even though this game’s stages are quite short (but they make up for it with increasing difficulty, especially in the fourth and final stage, when the challenge becomes sadistically unfair).

Helps and Hindrances

The wizard is aided on his quest by some useful items that he can pick up on the way, in the form of smart bombs (which kill all on-screen enemies), a temporary invincibility spell (in the form of a Christian or Latin cross) and a temporary levitation spell (in the form of a chalice). He is, however, hindered considerably by his enemies in the form of the denizens of the territories into which he must venture, in addition to a poisonous plant which makes him temporarily invisible upon contact (for as long as he remains in constant contact with this plant, then the hidden timer for this spell will reset – invisibility offers no advantages whatsoever). Also standing in his way are the natural hazards in the form of marshes and swamps (which look like grass and plants blooming from the ground and prevent him from jumping), chasms (bottomless pits) and mines (which look like rough and/or uneven terrain and will make the player character disintegrate upon contact).

Sky High!

This game has a unique jumping mechanic in the form of a “momentary jump” – in other words, the height of the main character’s jump is determined by how long the jump control is held. This is one mechanic that sets this game apart from many other standard platformers, including the much-beloved Super Mario Brothers in my opinion. Learning to master this technique is critical to making progress in the game. You must, however, remember to time it right, since once the player character is in forward motion, they cannot stop or change direction. A tip I can give for this is to continue rising while moving forwards until the wizard is at about the halfway point over their obstacle, then release the jump control - they will usually land on harmless ground. Try not to jump at maximum height, it’s usually unnecessary (and dangerous). Overshooting or undershooting a jump will more often than not result in instantaneous disaster (and potential death).

Victory!

If you are able to complete all 4 stages of this game, then you will be rewarded with a short cutscene of the player character descending into a hidden cellar and finding the eponymous elixir. As the ending text implies, this game restarts upon completion, complete with an increase in difficulty (I hate games that do that - at this point, you might as well quit the game, since you’re likely going to be at the top spot in the high score table anyway).

Review

Presentation

As I mentioned in my original review, this is one of the game’s greatest assets, as it showcases what the ZX Spectrum can do when programmed properly and efficiently. There’s a certain eerie atmosphere that permeates the game, but nothing too scary, and it works in its favour. 4 levels of gameplay all fitting nicely and neatly into the Spectrum’s 48K of RAM - no need for a multiload (where a game is loaded into multiple sections due to memory restrictions - this was becoming quite commonplace by the time Zythum was released in 1986). What surprises me is that there is no enhanced version made to take advantage of the 128K Spectrum’s expanded capabilities (namely, an additional 80K of RAM and a 3-channel AY sound chip - at last, a dedicated sound processor!), since that machine was out and being taken advantage of by other developers and publishers by the time the game was released - not even a second edition featuring extra levels and/or a proper intro and ending sequence.

Graphics (Detail, Colour)

The graphics look great for the ZX Spectrum, and the resolution is quite high (higher than the Commodore 64 but lower than the Amstrad CPC’s 2-colour high-resolution mode), allowing for quite a bit of detail. This comes at the expense of colour, since the ZX Spectrum was not exactly known for having the most varied palette, but it makes up for it by painting a very stark and alluring canvas. Each sprite clearly represents what it is supposed to be and the player will also be able to tell between the various types of enemies just by appearance alone, thanks to a simplistic but detailed look for each enemy type, although the enemies are not as well animated as the main character sprite. I also like how the screen flashes a rainbow-like combination of colours whenever a smart bomb is used, as well as how enemies (and the player character) “poof!” out of existence upon dying. Zythum revels in its Spectrum-exclusive roots and leaves no stone unturned.

Sound (SFX, Music)

Sonically, it’s not the greatest - I mentioned in my original review how the ZX Spectrum’s single-channel built-in speaker (or the “beeper” as it’s affectionately known) only allows for the most rudimentary of sound effects and melodies, necessitating some clever coding tricks in order to push it to to the limit. However, what is there works - you at least get more than a few separate sound effects, making it easy to tell what is going on and the player can distinguish between an enemy’s death and the player character’s demise. I am still disappointed at the lack of music, save for an overture-like melody on the main menu and an almost mocking dance-like number on the game over screen, although I do like how each stage begins with its own fanfare, complete with a title card.

Controls

Just like I said in my first review, the controls are smooth and responsive - however, they may be a little bit too responsive. The player character’s movement demands pixel-perfect precision, so if you’re even a single frame within distance of a chasm/pitfall or mine, then chances are you’re going to lose a life. This is where the game’s unique jumping mechanic comes into play - the longer you hold down the jump key on the keyboard (or Up on the joystick), the higher the wizard will go. This is no ordinary platform game. Learning how, where and when to use the game’s smart bombs is also essential (save them for when you really need them - you only get one or two spare bombs for each stage), so while not pick-up-and-play straightforward, the controls are easy to learn and can be mastered with some patience and practice.

Gameplay (Difficulty, Fun-to-Frustration Ratio)

I said in my original review of this game that the difficulty is just right, and I stand by most of my words. Each level does represent an aspect of realistic difficulty (the first stage is easy, second medium, third hard and the fourth and final stage is the extreme end of gaming sadism). It did make me want to throw my joystick across the room sometimes, but only because the hitbox for the main character is quite large. Memorising the layout of each stage is crucial if you want to complete the game, because if you make it to the last level, then you won’t have time to stop and plan out your next course of action - you will have to run the gauntlet and jump, turn around, zap and bomb your way to victory, adapting to your situation with no respite. This can increase the frustration factor for all players, regardless of skill level. I am also surprised at the lack of boss fights in this game - that’s right, there’s no boss at the end of each stage and there’s not even a final boss fight at the last level’s climax - instead, the player character falls into a pit which triggers’ the game’s ending cutscene. Then again, the game’s design may not have been the most optimal for a boss battle.

Overall

Zythum is a cult classic for the ZX Spectrum. While not a major hit or a resounding success, it found an audience and its unconventional gameplay makes it stand out from a large part of the platform games out there, which were mostly trying to ape Super Mario Brothers. It’s a title that can still be played and enjoyed today if you are looking for an arcade-quality game with some new tricks up its sleeve, and I’m surprised that some of the mechanics and features in this game haven’t found their way into newer and/or more modern titles due to their innovative originality. This is one game where you must get good at if you want to have any chance of succeeding (or at least, making it to the high score table, which has a very unusual score of 21,460 points as the default top spot - usually, it’s a nice, round number).

If this is my last review (for some time, at least), then I hope I have given some readers here a little bit of an incentive to try some older games, to see how gaming evolved over the past 40 or so years, and maybe to try out new things.

Thank you for reading my reviews.

Final Score: 4 out of 5.