Zoo Keeper

Infobox VG| title = Zoo Keeper


developer = Success
publisher = Ignition Entertainment
designer =
engine =
released = October 31, 2003(JP for GBA)
February 12, 2004(JP for PS2)
December 2, 2004 (JP for DS)
January 18, 2005 (NA)
March 11, 2005 (EU)
genre = Puzzle
modes = Single-player, multiplayer
ratings = ESRB: Everyone OFLC: General PEGI: 3+
platforms = Nintendo DS
GBA and PS2(Japan and eu)
media =
requirements =
input =

"Zoo Keeper" is an online puzzle game developed by Robot Communications that was later ported to the Nintendo DS by Japanese video game publisher Success. The game was then brought to American and European shores by Ignition Entertainment.

In Japan, before the release for Nintendo DS, Success released this game for Game Boy Advance and PlayStation 2 with alternative name "Zooo". The PlayStation 2 version of this game was later released in Europe by 505 Game Street under the title "Zoo Puzzle".

Rules and tactics

The rules in "Zoo Keeper" are simple: your objective is to erase the animal symbols that fill up the screen by aligning them three or more in a row or column, while trying for a high score by erasing them in a combo. The Level ends when each different animal symbol has been erased.

Symbols are aligned by swapping one tile with one next to it. If this makes a line of three or more matching tiles with either of the swapped tiles, the tiles stay in this position and the line disappears. If no line of three or more matching tiles is formed, then the tiles swap back to their original position. Lines can be horizontal or vertical, and combinations can mean that many lines disappear at the same time.

When tiles disappear, any tiles above them on the screen fall down to fill the space. If this results in a further line of three, this line also disappears. This is called a 'chain'.

On the DS version the upper screen shows a favourite animal, for which captures generate increased points (and an amusing animation). It also benefits from the touch screen operation, and the opportunity to battle another DS owner. Other versions allow two players to play at once on the one screen.

The game is similar in concept to "Bejeweled", a game developed for PCs and later ported to other platforms. However, there are some crucial differences. The aim of "Bejeweled" is to not run out of moves, whereas if this happens in "Zoo Keeper" the screen is cleared and you earn bonus points. Furthermore, "Zoo Keeper" has a number of additional modes, such as Quest and Time Attack, which expand the game considerably.

One very important aspect that sets "Zoo Keeper" apart from "Bejeweled" and its many clones is the ability to switch tiles while another move is still 'in progress'. This allows the player to set up chains, or to 'fake' chains by creating multiple rows of three in quick succession.

If no moves are available the screen is reset, but the clock keeps ticking. Similarly whilst chains are formed after you clear a level the clock keeps ticking though you are locked out from playing, which can be frustrating in the 6 minute 'Time Attack' mode.

One well known challenge when playing "Zoo Keeper" is the inability to find a valid move, which often seems to become more common after a long period of gaming. To combat this, players are able to use the "binoculars" tool to show them the position of any unexploited moves, but this tool has limited use. This inability to see the next move is known as 'Zoo Keeper's Block'Fact|date=March 2007 and this term has been used for other puzzle games as well.Fact|date=March 2007

Game modes

Different tactics are useful in different modes. For example, in the classic mode it can be helpful to leave one set of animals untouched in order to amass the highest possible score in each level (as level progression increases the speed at which the timer bar erodes). In Time Attack it is helpful to move levels as fast as possible as each level change increases the points per capture.

Zoo Keeper

The "main" game mode sets you a quota of animals to catch in order to advance a level. This quota starts at three animals. Once you have erased at least three of every symbol, the screen clears and you advance to level two, where at least four of each animal must be caught. Each time the level advances, the number of animals required increases, but the score from catching each animal also increases. In addition, at higher levels the timer decreases more rapidly. There are 20 levels. After beating all the levels, a story about the curator and the zoo keeper (you) is revealed.

Tokoton

Tokoton is similar to the main mode, but the quota is set at 100 animals. In addition, the player is not required to catch 100 of every animal, but instead 100 of just one type. When 100 elephants, for example, are captured, the screen clears and the points awarded for each cleared tile are increased. The counter for elephants is reset to zero, but the counters for all other animals remain as they are. Therefore, it is common to increase by a few levels in a short period of time.

Quest

This mode consists of ten stages, where the Curator of the zoo sets certain challenges. These challenges are:
* capture 20 lions (while capturing as few other animals as possible)
* capture 15 more giraffes than pandas (or 15 more pandas than giraffes)
* create thirty chains
* capture each animal only once
* pick a flashing mutiplier or bonus
* move a flashing tile to the bottom of the screen
* capture seven times without chaining
* capture a group of four or more animals five times
* capture ten vertical lines (while capturing as few horizontal lines as possible)
* fill the timer.

The zookeeper responds to your efforts with critical comments, and often applies a multiplier to your score so far, rather than a set number of points for each level. A good performance may double or even triple your total points, but a poor performance can reduce your total by 70% and declare you a loser.

This mode has attracted much criticism, as the randomness of the challenges and reward system mean that progressing is as much a matter of luck as it is of skill. In particular, in reference to the seventh challenge listed above, Stuart Campbell wrote in his extensive [http://worldofstuart.excellentcontent.com/zoo/review-zookeeper.htm review] that the game doesn't take into account that the random new items filling the places of the captured animals can inadvertently generate new captures, making your challenge impossible. On the other hand if you can avoid being eaten away by frustration, this randomness does create greater granularity in scores, and add to the game's endurance, as you constantly hope for a lucky run to beat your top score!

Time Attack

This game is the same as the main game, but with an absolute time limit of six minutes for gameplay. The quotas needed for each level are reduced. In some ways, this is the most comparable measure of gaming skill, as it relies less on perseverance (a skilled player can persist on tokoton or classic mode for over half an hour, making it very time consuming to play several games or improve on a high score). Scores of over 5 million in the 6 minute quota are possible but quite challenging to achieve.

uper Hard Mode

Initially, players can choose to play on 'easy', 'medium' or 'hard' difficulties. These difficulties give higher points values to each game type. 'Super hard mode' is unlocked by placing top in each of the previous modes' high score tables. In terms of difficulty there is little difference between 'hard' and 'super hard' modes, but the number of points awarded is much higher.

Known issues

*Unlike most other DS games there does not seem to be any way to delete your high scores and game progress in "Zoo Keeper". However it is possible to delete the data using a flashcard.

*The Japanese and US releases of the DS game had a bug in that closing the DS does not place the game into sleep mode, instead continuing to drain the batteries. This bug was fixed for the European release.

External links

* [http://www.ignitionent.com/home.htm Publisher Ignition's Website]
*
* [http://www.kiteretsu.jp/games/zka/zka.htm Zoo Keeper Online Game]
* [http://ds.ign.com/objects/707/707319.html IGN Gamespace]