♦ Livestream of the ZZT world "ZZT : The Next Generation" by Andy Schile, Leonard Richardson (1995) [https://museumofzzt.com/file/view/nextgen/] ♦
♦ Stream Contents ♦
• (2:55) "ZZT : The Next Generation" by Andy Schile, Leonard Richardson (1995) [https://museumofzzt.com/file/view/nextgen/]
Exploring the mall and Andy's house in search of the final space-time coordinates to stop Bill's stuffy plans yet again!
This final chapter of ZZT:TNG is once again loading with weird places to visit and strange people to talk to. The Sillyfield mall calls back to its incarnation in the previous game, with many new additions as well. Highlights include a visit to Mommy Burger, Beer World, and Chimps Sporting Goods (for neanderthals). People met include Kurt Cobain's ghost, as well as some guy who looks like a professional baseball player. A puzzle involves trading for a fake moustache in order to convince somebody to talk with you so you can kill him and steal his ID, which has steps involving buying beer kegs and acquiring ketchup to convince a non-athlete to autograph a baseball.
Lots of crimes are commited, murder, identity theft, bank fraud, this game's got something for everyone to enjoy really.
Andy's house is a treat as well with its technicolored living room furniture, closets filled with junk, high quality landscaping, and a mandatory fight with his sister just so you have something to do, at least once she finally gets off the phone! (ha ha it is 1995 women love phones right?)
Once all the coordinates are collected it's off to a final challenge of infiltrating Bill's base with two unique paths to take filled with transporter mazes, bullets to dodge, and blinkwalls to navigate. Finally the player and Bill fight to the death in an unfortunately difficult Mortal Kombat inspired fight, but when not even a fatality can keep Bill down an unexpected twist provides the game with a such a brilliant ending that it basically justifies everything in the trilogy.
What a series it's been, and this part in particular really is no slouch! It's the most developed, most content-rich with so many large locations to explore and objects to interact with, plenty of good PC speaker tunes, and some jokes that manage hold up nearly 30 years later. There's a lot to like about this entry in particular, and it's Super ZZT format really does wonders in making the world feel large and full of surprises. As I said on stream, it's probably the best non-official Super ZZT game out there that isn't Tyrobain. It's a low bar sure, but I do say it as a real compliment.
Though in the end, the game has issues with how easy it is to get stuck. There are a number of unexpected things that you have to do in order to make it to the end, and unless you're really going to town on the shooting gallery minigame in Sillyfield, it's extremely easy to lack the supplies needed. There was a good amount of cheating and a good amount of digging through code to find out what byzantine item would convince somebody to give up an item they had. Even with those flaws though, this was a real treat to play through and an excellent showing for Super ZZT that will keep players quite busy from start to finish.
♦ Play this world directly in your browser ♦
• https://museumofzzt.com/file/play/nextgen/
♦ Originally streamed on November 1st, 2024 ♦
