zorro-paperboy Commodore 64 game

Zorro, which means 'fox' in Spanish, is an 8-bit platform game developed by Datasoft and published by US Gold in 1985. It was created by James Garon, featuring graphics by Kelly Day, and is based on a fictional character from American writer Johnston McCulley.

In the game, Zorro is depicted as a daring masked vigilante who defends common people against oppressive officials and other villains. He dons his iconic all-black attire, complete with a hat, cape, and a mask concealing the upper part of his face. The character first appeared in the novel "The Curse of Capistrano" (published in 1919), initially intended as a standalone story. Following the success of the 1920 film adaptation starring Douglas Fairbanks as Zorro, McCulley continued to write more Zorro tales for about the next forty years until his passing in 1959.

The Zorro game shares certain similarities with Datasoft's other titles like "The Goonies" and "Bruce Lee." It's a relatively straightforward platformer where players navigate jumping, climbing ladders and vines, using bellows for bouncing, and traversing ropes. The objective is to progress through various screens to rescue a kidnapped senorita, taken away by the villainous Sergeant Garcia at the game's outset.

Players engage in sword fights against adversaries obstructing their path, hold keys to unlock doors, solve uncomplicated physics puzzles, and uncover hidden underground areas that house essential items for completing the game.

Zorro is a brief game, featuring a total of only sixteen distinct screens to explore, albeit it can be challenging to discern the necessary steps for advancement. The game rewards relatively few points for defeating enemies, with most points stemming from swiftly completing key tasks to benefit from the bonus timer countdown.

The in-game music is rather short and overly simplistic, potentially becoming monotonous after a short while. Fortunately, players can disable it by pressing the 's' key while playing (at least in the Hokuto Force version).

In summary, Zorro isn't a subpar game, but it also falls short of being considered a classic. It's a decent platformer with well-crafted levels, solid mechanics, and passable graphics. With a larger scope, more gameplay elements, and improved audiovisual components, it could potentially earn greater acclaim.