Though he's known somewhat within popular culture, Zorro certainly isn't a mainstream character in the modern world. That hasn't stopped him from appearing in video games since the 1980s, and the trend is set to continue this year with the release of a new title. Based on the character's most recent animated series, Zorro: The Chronicles may be Zorro's best video game yet.
Developed by PVP Games and Bkom Studios, Zorro: The Chronicles combines sneaky stealth, action swordplay and family-friendly animated humor. It's also promising to bring the fun for everyone, releasing across every current video game platform. Here's a look at what we know about the recently announced game and a look back at the history of Zorro and his role throughout different generations of gaming.
Zorro: The Chronicles
Based on the 2015 French animated series of the same name, Zorro: The Chronicles is a third-person action-adventure game with a heavy emphasis on stealth. Zorro and his sister are both playable in the classic black-clad form, with the trailer showing them sneaking around town and ganging up on unsuspecting opponents. These elements have so far been compared to games such as the Assassin's Creed franchise. The animation and art style perfectly matches the show, as well as evoking more well-known cartoons such as Elena of Avalor.
Likewise, whenever fisticuffs are required, Zorro can pull out his trusty rapier and have at enemies. This results not in bloodshed but in humorous and cartoony antics such as slicing off a foe's trousers. The plot has Zorro, a.k.a. Diego Vega, defending the destitute townspeople of colonial California against the despotic rule of a dictatorial general and his army. The player must master Zorro's swordsmanship and hone his skills to unleash an array of deadly and comical attacks.
Zorro in Video Games
Zorro was created by Johnston McCulley, appearing in several of his pulp novels. The general premise has Diego Vega, a rich landowner's son, protecting the poor citizens of early California. He does so in the guise of Zorro, a mysterious vigilante in black who wields a rapier and wears an iconic ensemble of a cloak, hat and mask. His large abode has several passageways leading to a secret cave that Diego uses as a base of operations. Combined with his alter ego being an eccentric and seemingly flippant young fool, the character's influence on the later Batman is obvious.
Despite his increasingly niche nature in Western popular culture, Zorro has had several video games over the years. The first of these was a 1985 platformer developed by Datasoft, which was released across several consoles such as the Commodore 64 and the early Atari consoles. The game received decent enough reviews, though the same could not be said for the later Zorro titles for the DOS and Playstation 2. The Destiny of Zorro, released on the Wii, was a buggy, poorly developed mess, though the DS spinoff Quest for Justice received better reviews.
As stated by John Gertz, President of Zorro Productions, Inc., “Zorro is a brand whose interactive life started long ago with games for the Atari, Nintendo and other platforms. We are very excited to see that the new CG animated series, “Zorro the Chronicles,” will now be adapted for the new consoles of the 21st century”.
The character may not have the most impressive history in the medium, but this is easily Zorro's best-looking game yet. Hopefully, players will be treated to a swashbuckling good time when the game releases this fall for the Playstation 4, Playstation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X, Nintendo Switch, PC, Mac and Google Stadia.