If I were to view Mini-Zork I as a streamlined version that might appeal to people who have never played the Zork games, or any other games like Zork, then it’s actually a really good game. If this scaled-back version was my first exposure, I would definitely want to play the full-scale version at the first available opportunity. (However, whether or not I would want to pay what Infocom was charging for this game is another debate entirely.)
(NEUTRAL) OBSERVATIONS
The retail versions of this game have a total of 19 treasures that need to be collected to “win” (or at least properly end) the game, but MZ1 only has 15. Also, all of the rooms associated with those 4 missing treasures, and their associated “puzzles” and NPCs, were also removed. As a result, the layout of the MZ1 environment isn’t exactly the same. However, everything that was left in the game is close enough to the original to be perfectly familiar. Since a map was custom-made for this version, I didn’t notice most of the subtle differences.
POSITIVES
The scale of this game makes it much more enjoyable, as a single-sitting game. By the time I finished playing this game, I was able to remember all of the “puzzle” solutions without consulting hints or a walkthrough (except for the stupid rainbow-bridge trigger), so it wasn’t overly challenging or frustrating, and it didn’t soak up an unreasonable amount of my time. The original version, on the other hand, is exhausting to wade through in its entirety.
Aside from the differences between the other Zork I versions and this one, as a treasure-hunt and inventory/action puzzle game, Zork is still one of the best, despite never having been endowed with immersive graphics and sound. The assumed classification of “interactive fiction” doesn’t really apply because this stripped-down version has no story elements at all. It’s not even much of a “text adventure” game because there’s no scripting. All the player(-character) has to do is find 15 objects, in any order, and put them in the case. Whether or not treasure hunting is your idea of an adventure is entirely up to you.
NEGATIVES
Honestly, there weren’t many flaws in this game, or gameplay elements that I hated.
The lantern batteries dying toward the end (without any available replacements) was a little annoying, but the game would’ve been too easy otherwise. As it is, the thief almost never appeared or stole anything, so playing this version was a walk in the park, especially compared to playing the even-more-vintage Colossal Cave Adventure.
RECOMMENDATIONS
If (somehow) you’ve NEVER played a Zork game before, you have to play this one first. You have to! Then, once you’re hooked, you have to finish the whole trilogy, and then continue on with Infocom’s other greatest hits, as well as the 90s CD-ROM graphic-adventure Zorks.
If you’ve already played the Zork trilogy (at least once), then you might find this version to be a little too short and easy.
However, if you’re absolutely obsessed with everything Zorkian, then you can’t possibly be a Zorkian know-it-all without having mastered this Commodore-based novelty. For that matter, you absolutely have to play the C64 versions, just so you can absorb the full Commodore-font aesthetic.
If you’re a vintage-computer-game enthusiast, then you can’t pass this one up either. This release is as oddball as they get. I mean, seriously—one of the most revolutionary computer games ever made was released on a CASSETTE TAPE! That’s right up there with a punched-card copy of ADVENT.
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Also, don’t even dare play this version, for the first time, purely from memory. Use the beautifully well-made MZ1 map. This is not your father’s Zork, son. This is the C64 Twilight Zone.
You’re traveling through another Zork dimension, a dimension that lacks sight and sound, but is of the text kind. A journey into an abridged land whose boundaries are that of hard-wired RAM. That’s the mailbox up ahead—your next stop, the Mini-Zone!
(I should’ve been an ad-copy writer. I really should’ve.)
I found the (z3) text parsing to be a bit limited and clumsy, at times, but Infocom's parser is still better than everyone else's (relative to the 80s).
Given the minimalized text descriptions for this version, the atmosphere is very thin. But it makes for a faster game, if your focus is on the treasure finding, not the exploring.
Many of the harder puzzles were completely removed, so the only remaining cruelty is figuring out how to raise the rainbow bridge. Unless this action is some kind of mythological or literary or pop-culture reference, it doesn't make any sense to me.
Most of the easier puzzles were retained, and are mostly the same as they were before. If you try to open the egg, interestingly, it tells you that you have play the full version of Zork I to open it.
There's also a very early revision floating around (r2) that is even more odd. Different elements were left in and others were taken out. But overall, it's full of bugs that cause it to crash, so it's not even playable. However, there is one surprising little detail in this revision: the mailbox is empty!
[Note: No scores were submitted with this review.]