MeinMMO editor Jasmin Beverungen loved the fairy game Zanzarah in her childhood. Last year she rediscovered the game on Steam – but also why it urgently needs a remake.
Since my childhood, I have been a big fan of monster-collecting games. I simply love completing collections and seeing the little cute creatures as friends who accompany me on my adventures.
That is why I have tried all kinds of spin-offs. Many of them have tried to follow in the footsteps of Pokémon and develop a similar concept.
There was a game in the 2000s that completely captivated me in my childhood. Here, too, it is about catching small beings and battling with them. But it did so many things differently than Pokémon, which I also played a lot in my childhood.
Action-based battles with quirky fairies
In Zanzarah, we take on the role of young Londoner Amy. She finds a mysterious box in the attic of her house, which contains a magical rune that teleports her to the namesake realm.
In this magical world, many creatures such as elves, dwarves, and goblins live. Amy finds herself as the last hope of an ancient prophecy and must restore the lost balance between the human world and Zanzarah. For this, she must also fight the hostile shadow elves.
However, Amy does not fight the battles herself, but collects fairies for that. Similar to Pokémon, you catch the creatures with special balls, in this case, fairy balls. There are a total of 77 different types of fairies that can gain experience points through battles and level up. There are even stronger forms that they can evolve into.
What is special about it is that you do not give commands to the creatures as a trainer in turn-based battles, but participate in 3D arena battles from their first-person perspective. Here you must attack with different elements and dodge enemy attacks.
This gives it a tactical component. I had a lot of fun hiding behind pillars, only to then attack from ambush. Sometimes, however, I didn’t even know where the opponent was and from where he would attack next.
The rest, however, reminds again of Pokémon. The fairies must possess abilities, for example, to clear obstacles in the game world, such as boulders or thorn bushes.
Zanzarah takes place in a world full of fairies and fairy tales
If we remain in comparison with Pokémon, Zanzarah is not as down-to-earth. The world is full of magical fairy-tale elements, which can be seen at every corner of the game world. There are quaint dwarf villages or enchanted forests where all sorts of mythical creatures await you.
Even in the swamps, magical creatures or will-o’-the-wisps wait to guide you. I had the feeling that the game world is completely coherent and does not get boring even in the last corner of the game world. This is also the reason why I can still remember many corners of the world today.
Especially nice, I find, is that the fairy-tale theme is already visible in small details. For example, dialogue windows are framed with vines, and in the background, you can hear nature-based sounds that immediately transport you to a fantasy world.
Enchanting, but distinctly aged
And that is why it feels, despite the age of the game, as if you are diving into a fairy-tale world even today. But the age is also exactly what makes the game’s major weakness.
If you look at the reviews on Steam, critical opinions often complain that something is not optimized. This can include mouse control or graphical flickering.
The game is simply not optimized for modern platforms, which is why a remake is urgently needed. Here I must admit that Pokémon has aged significantly better thanks to pixel graphics. So yes: Zanzarah could compete with Pokémon due to its gameplay and game world, but definitely needs a remake for that.
Unfortunately, as of today, no remake of Zanzarah is planned. The developer team Funatics most recently independently developed the game Valhalla Hills in 2015. In the meantime, the entire team switched to InnoGames to support the developers there. In recent years, the studio has reunited and is working on titles like Ed & Edda: Grand Prix.
Therefore, we estimate that it is unlikely that a remake of Zanzarah will come. But when you give the game a chance and overlook the outdated graphics, you receive one of the most atmospheric creature-collecting games I have ever played.
Do you perhaps know Zanzarah? How did you like the game? Or would you give the title a chance even though it is so old? Feel free to write it in the comments.
Also, Honkai Nexus Anima is another candidate that has its place next to Pokémon and other monster-collecting games. In a beta version, I was already able to convince myself of the gacha game: Does Honkai: Nexus Anima need to exist alongside Palworld and Pokémon? I say yes!
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