Reviews

This isn't a bad old game, the graphics are quite nice and the gameplay is pretty simple to get into, the main problem is his jumping as you have to hold the jump button to determine the height of the jump and you can either forget yourself and press the button to merely hop to inevitible death, or you can jump too high and too far and land directly in a hole, to meet inevitible death as well.

It's a great challenge though, requires a good sense of anticipation throughout.

1986 Mirrorsoft (UK)
by David O'Conner and Michael Blanke

Zythum is just another average side scrolling shoot-em-up, with monochromatic-hard-to-see graphics that plays fairly well and can become addictive, if your into this sort of games.
The main character reminds me of Friar Tuck of The Curse of Sherwood, but the way he jumps is more like the buggy from Moon Alert.

Intriguing game with monochrome graphics and a remarkable tune ,,, prehistoric atmosphere with wizzards and wild beasts here and there .

Leap over the holes ! Fire your ammunition and go !

Zythum is a crack of a game and it got everything to be my coup of tea ! Too many digs , maybe ...

by David O'Connor, MB

You're an old time wizard wearing a funny tunic, which must cross a series of haunted landscapes displayed in a horizontal scrolling way. The main magic you must learn to handle are the classic SHOOT, DODGE and JUMP - although you can have the occasional chance to try "levitation", "immunity" and "invisibility", with the latter being of dubious usefulness, because you just can't see where you are and if you're a falling in a pit or in the quicksand, while, of course, the baddies seem always perfectly aware of your position.

Graphics are not totally terrible, though most of the sprites look silly and they're not really animated besides the wizard, which apparently can count upon a couple of frames. The sound department prides itself with a decent beeping tune and a very intriguing effect at the start. The gameplay is rather limited, and you must learn to control the height of your jump in order to obtain a non lethal trajectory that won't make you land on a gargoyle [first level] or a ghost [second level], because once you're actually jumping you can't change your manoeuvre. Anyway you can even carry five or six [magic] smart bombs, a feature that saves this game playability by giving you the chance to obliterate the wicked creatures reaching the spot where you're going to pose your feet, which would have otherwise meant an unavoidable death. So, there's nothing technical or creatively really interesting in this game.
But I personally find it rich in playability and addictiveness os it's a

4/5

It plays alright really and can be quite enjoyable but his floaty jumping is a pain in the ass. You can't float to high as the enemies will come closer to you as you land and they may hit you as you have no time to turn around and hit them, yet you can't float to low as you have gaps to jump across and you'll fall short and die. It annoyed the hell out of me. This doesn't deserve a 4 but then 2 feels a bit harsh since it wasn't that bad a game, so 3 feels justified for me.

Not bad but his jumps spoils the fun. If he had a more straightforward jump this would've been more pleasing.