toblix

The Dizzy Series

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So I've relived my youth and played through most of the Dizzy games during the last days. This time I've used the Amiga emulator's ability to save and restore in order to let me actually make progress rather than just dying all the time. I can totally recommend anyone with a desk job and a penchant for having a good time having a Dizzy game running in the background, alt-tabbing to and fro during the course of your work-day.

I have such fond memories of the very first game, Treasure Island Dizzy, and it's still great. The graphics are still fine, the puzzles good, and it doesn't take that long to complete. God, that game was ridiculously punishing! You can spend hours on it, and the tiniest mistake will force you to restart.

Then there's the sequel, Fantasy World Dizzy, which has a larger game world, more interesting puzzles and trickier platforming. This one gives you three lives before it fucks you.

Then there's Magicland Dizzy, which is where the truly sweet graphics kick in. Every screen in this game is a beautiful work of art. It's so crisp, colorful and attractive even the long walks the game has you do are a joy.

The next game in the series, Spellbound Dizzy can go fuck itself. It was developed by some other people and it was horrible. The graphics, the controls, the puzzles – it all sucks.

But Dizzy: Prince of the Yolkfolk is the gem of the series. It's short, but oh, so sweet, if a little easy. It looks so good my eyes came loads as I played. I wish someone would make retro games with these sorts of graphics.

In short, I wish someone would make more Dizzy games! Or rather, I wish they had made more back then, since nobody can make games like that anymore.

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Wasn't there simply "Dizzy" before Treasure Island Dizzy?

I remember having to use a mucky greasegun on a minecart, and a really tricky puzzle involving one chance to collect a silver lining from a cloud. That one puzzle really fucked you if you got it wrong.

Fantasy World Dizzy was the peak for me. Amstrad magazine published a really excellent map someone sent in, done in felt tips :tup:

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Yeah, there's a bunch of other Dizzy games I didn't mention, either because they weren't released for the Amiga, or because they were shit, or because I forgot. Dizzy – The Ultimate Cartoon Adventure never came out for the Amiga, it seems.

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I played Treasure Island Dizzy on the NES on one of those Quatro gold carts. I spent many o' days and nights trying to beat this as a kid. I don't think I ever managed to though. It's pretty insane.

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Have you played Clover?

That reminded me of the Dizzy games.

Just watched the trailer, and it really does look like the same kind of game. I prefer Dizzy's tumbling leaps to the Clover dude's rigid whatever-he's-doing.

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I think the only game me and my brother had back in the Amiga days was Treasure Island Dizzy. I do have a memory in my head that Commodore 64 had some Dizzy games also and we had one of those also?

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I only have Fantastic Dizzy for the Mega Drive...

I always wanted to play more of these games, but I only find ILLEGAL bundles of the series on Ebay... :(

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Your write up of the Dizzy games is great, Toblix. I played Treasure Island Dizzy on a ZX Spectrum (as nature intended)... but MAN was that game seriously evil. Waiting 10 mins for the game to load, and then this horribly sadistic instant death game... Fire = death. Water = death. Hidden trap = death. It really was far, far, too brutal, and the puzzles made little or no sense (at least to my 10 year old brain).

Fantasy Land was a big improvement, but, as you say, the real gem, where they got it all right, was Prince of the Yolkfolk... It was very short, but it was definitely the best designed and most satisfying to play.

For anyone who's interested, Treasure Island Dizzy PC version is available to download (for FREE?) from CodeMaster's website:

http://www.codemasters.co.uk/downloads/details.php?id=17413

I wish I could have gotten further in this game, but I never made it even to the other island (without cheating) and I never got all the coins. Sooooo hard.

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