The Dizzy story

Part 6 - The Dizzy Story

This article is a homage to all the video games with a certain Egg called Dizzy in them. I know of 16 for the Spectrum, but if you know of *any more* or have 128K versions of games that I only have 48K versions of (and of course Z80 snapshots to my e-mail address would be even better!) then please drop me a line.

I also know that Dizzy has appeared on many other platforms. The C64 and Amstrad CPC had virtually the same ones as the Speccy (to my knowledge - feel free to prove me wrong), but I know of different Dizzy games available on systems such as the Atari ST, Commodore Amiga, the PC, and even the Nintendo NES.

If you would like to help make this article complete, then send me a list of all the Dizzy games on these other formats, and of course any more information on the Speccy ones.

David.

PS. In October (95!) I'm off to University, so I'll no longer be emailable at the above address. I'll post my new one to comp.sys.sinclair when I find out what it is.

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

The Codemasters Story (taken from the Dizzy2 tape-inlay)

"David and Richard Darling first started writing computer games when they were in their early teens and still at school. They duplicated the cassettes themselves and sold them by mail order, taking small advertisements in magazines.
From these beginnings David and Richard became contract programmers. They wrote and sourced games for major best sellers.
On October of 1986 the Darlings set up CodeMasters, their own company. From the beginning they were determined to sell only the best possible games at the lowest possible price. One title, BMX SIMULATOR, went on to become one of the worlds best selling games. In less than a year, CodeMasters has a string of Top Ten hits to it's name. The company was the best selling software house in Britain. David and Richard are now 21 and 20 years old, and are determined to continue what they do best; producing top selling computer games."

The Games....

It should be noted that *all* of the games listed here can be found as Z80 snapshots for the Z80 emulator, BUT DON'T ASK ME TO SEND THEM TO YOU!!!! They will soon be (as I write this) available from one of the main FTP sites which carry Spectrum Snapshots. For more information on these, have a look on comp.sys.sinclair.

Commercially Available Dizzy Games For The Spectrum

All of these (to my knowledge) except for Crystal Kingdom Dizzy and the compilations were released as "budget games". This meant they retailed at either 1.99GBP or 2.99GBP.

The Adventure / Platform / Puzzle Games

If someone says Dizzy games then this is what they mean. Basically Dizzy has a certain mission to complete, and this entails picking up objects littered around the world and using each one for a certain task to achieve the overall goal. A simple example from Dizzy (the original) is that in order to enter the Graveyard you need to find the Graveyard Key and take it to the door. Drop the key next to the door and you gain access to more of the world map.

DIZZY   Z80     47,104        [Dizzy  48K]
DIZZY2  Z80     55,660
             [Treasure Island Dizzy  128K]
DIZZYЗ  Z80     61,996
             [Fantasy World Dizzy    128K]
DIZZYЧ  Z80     57,607
             [MagicLand Dizzy        128K]
DIZZYS  Z80     90,091
             [SpellBound Dizzy       128K]
DIZZYб  Z80     46,966
     [Dizzy Prince Of The Yolk Folk  128K]
DIZZY7  Z80     47,389
             [Crystal Kingdom Dizzy  128K]

Dizzy (48K only)

The cassette cover has a picture of Dizzy falling down a waterfall in some caves, and of him locked up in a prison. Two humans are also on the cover, although they don't appear in the game!

This is the original, and the one which started the ball rolling. The plot went :

"Dizzy was exploring the haunted forest, looking for some berries, flowers and a piece of wood with which to make a club when he uncovered a mystifying stone slab. Brushing the dirt aside he was able to read (after a great deal of head scratching) the faint inscription

'The Avalwiffovee Potion'

Dizzy remembered his Eggfather had spoke of such a potion. 'It is the only way to rid our land of athletes foot, and it can also be used to destroy the Evil Wizard Zaks.' Dizzy trembled with fear as he recalled these words. Zaks brought fear to the village, he cast spells that turned people old, made men blind and caused it to rain every Sunday afternoon during Cricket. Dizzy was determined to put a stop to all this, he would be the hero of the yolkfolk. He read on...

'Fill a potion bottle with cooked Leprechauns wig, cloud silver lining, Vampire dux feather and some troll brew - cook the potion and throw it at Zaks to dissolve his reign.'

He covered it up and quickly made ready to liberate the land of KATMANDU."

To those who still don't know about Dizzy, let me give you a brief idea of the game. You control the egg, who has boxing gloves for hands and boots for his feet (both red in pictures but the entire sprite is white in the game (apart from when he moves over a non-black background, when he assumes that colour...)), and you control the game using 4 basic keys : left, right, jump, and pick up / drop object. You can only hold one object at a time, and this makes the game so exciting (or annoying, depending on your view-point), as you may need one object at one end of the map that you last used (and left) at the other end.

Objects which could kill you included birds, vampire bats, spiders, apples, stalactites, water, ghosts, and of course, Zaks. Each could be killed with a certain object, which respectively are Acme Bird Seed, Clove of Garlic, Insecticide, Miners Hard Hat, Miners Hard Hat, Plastic Rain Coat, Ghost Busters Back Pack, and the Avalwiffovee Potion.

Places included the Crystal Mountains, the Haunted Forest, the Deserted Mine Shaft, the Mushroom Kingdom, the Graveyard, and Zaks' Castle.

The worst was the Haunted Forest, where you had to jump over a gap that if you didn't time exactly right then the "floor" would disappear, meaning you would be stuck on one side of the gap and unless you were just about to complete the game then that was it - you'd have to start all over again. Annoying, but it did give the game an edge that the sequels did not have.

Also good in this game that was not true of the sequels was that you could only carry one item at a time, and also some items could be used more than once.

Also mentioned through-out the game are extracts from a poem, some of which are on the lines of "there's a green-eyed yellow idol to the North of Katmandu", "and a broken hearted lady tends the grave of made Carew", "and the yellow God forever gazes down". These were hints of what to do it the game, but I think they come from a real poem (from which the game is based loosely around), and I WOULD LIKE A COPY OF IT IF ANYONE HAS IT OR KNOWS THE POET, ETC!

Dizzy 2:Treasure Island Dizzy (48K & 128K)

Cover shows Dizzy (complete with pirate bandanna) being forced to walk the plank into shark-infested waters by a pirate.

The 128K version was a pig to load : I found on the +2, +2A and the +3 that the only way to load it was go into 128K Basic, type "spectrum" to put it into pseudo-48K mode, then type J"" to load it. Interestingly, the Z80 emulator will load the 128K version straight from the Tape Loader or from 128K Basic, but not the "spectrum" way!

The first of many sequels. This was the first game that allowed you to talk to people to gain advice / objects, and also the first in which you had to collect 30 items - in this case gold coins.

The plot goes :

"Dizzy was looking forward to the round-the-world cruise he'd booked up for. When he told the other Yolkfolk about the good deal he found, they wondered just what lay ahead of him...
Dizzy enjoyed the cruise at first although there were far too many pirates on the ship, the Grog was watered down, and he didn't even know what a mainbrace was, let alone how to splice it!
The captain, Long John Silver, was a lovely old bloke with a kindly manner, good at insulting and degrading the fare paying punters. He was well balanced - he had parrot on one shoulder and a chip on the other - and he had a wooden leg which he acquired when he fell out of his pram when he was a kid.
Anyhow, their quaint little man o' war found itself in still waters one sun-soaked afternoon, and Dizzy thought he would organise a game of cricket on the aft deck. In a fit of blinding stupidity he used LJ's spare leg collection as makeshift stumps, and when they were lost overboard he was made to walk the plank!
That was how he came to find himself gently poaching on the silent, sun-kissed beach of a seemingly deserted island... He had to somehow find a way back to the Yolkfolk and lodge his compensation claim with the travel agent..."

In this game you could hold up to 3 items, and every time you pressed enter the top item on this list would be dropped, any other items carried would move up the list, and any item picked up would appear at the bottom of the list.

Where as the first Dizzy had the Haunted Forest as the major pitfall, Dizzy2 had the fact that you only had one life. That's right folks, screw up anywhere and it's game over.

The novel feature of this game was that once you got the snorkel you could go underwater (for an unlimited amount of time). However when you picked up anything underwater the snorkel moved up the item list and if you dropped it, Dizzy would drown and it would be game over. This often meant picking up a couple of items, heading back for land to re-arrange the list, then returning once more. Picking up coins *also* moved the list, so again care had to be taken.

The 128K version had distorted speech and in-game music, and this game was a good sequel even if it was slightly different than the first one. This game was also the first game to have "red herring" objects.

Dizzy 3 : Fantasy World Dizzy (48K & 128K)

The cover shows Dizzy with telescope in hand and, er, safari hat (I suppose) on his head. Two dragons, a rhino, a castle and another creature are also visible.

The plot :

"DIZZY & DAISY strolled through the enchanted forest without a care in the world... BUT SUDDENLY the Evil King's trolls seized poor Daisy! She was send to Wizard Weird's Tallest Tower, while Dizzy was dragged away and thrown into the deepest, darkest, dankest of the Kings Dungeons in the bowels of Fantasy World.
DIZZY was frightened! Who knew what fate awaited him... and he still hadn't done this week's homework! But then he remembered that he had a fresh green apple that he had planned to give his teacher to escape detention, and he cheered up. And there was some bread and water on the table! A cunning plan began to brew in his mind...
But DIZZY can't do everything on his own... you must help him!"

This was the first time we got to meet some of the Yolkfolk other than Dizzy. The ones featured here were Denzil, Dylan, Dozy, Grand Dizzy, and of course Dizzy & Daisy.

The Inventory once again changed. Still 3 items but this time you could chose which to drop.

Again you had to collect 30 coins, and things to note from this game were the Illusion Room where only certain blocks were solid and could be jumped on, and the picture in the main hall which if you stood in front of and pressed enter would be enlarged to reveal the loading screen of the previous game (Dizzy2). Also this was the first game in which you took to the clouds.

Dizzy 4 : Magicland Dizzy (48K and 128K)

The cover shows Dizzy in safari hat again, with a lamp in one hand and using the other to remove the Excalibur sword from a rock. An old man sitting in a tree playing a pipe can be seen along with a troll (?) running towards Dizzy.

The plot :

"The Evil Wizard ZAKS' is back! Like all Evil Wizards he made certain arrangements against his premature demise... He had exacted a terrible revenge by transporting the YOLKFOLK to a strange Fairy-Tale World and casting evil spells on them to imprison them there forever. Dizzy must free the SIX Yolkfolk by breaking the spells and then destroy ZAKS once and for all before he can return home."

The game also lists the six Yolkfolk in question :

"DYLAN: Dylan had been tangled up in a bush, rooted to the spot!

DENZIL: Denzil has been frozen inside a block of ice - ZAKS latest ornament for his ICE PALACE!

DOZY: Dozy is lying on an Alter in Sleepy Hollow - in a deep magical sleep from which he may never awake...

DORA: Dora is in the Haunted Swamp - turned into a Frog!

DAISY: Daisy has been Super-Enlarged and

imprisoned in ZAKS' Oubliette which she is
now too big to escape from!

GRAND-DIZZY: Grand-Dizzy is trapped in a
strange world on the other side of ZAKS'
Magic Mirror."

The most noticeable change in Dizzy4 is
that of an energy bar for Dizzy. Now when
he walks into a bird he is not killed but
his energy bar decreases. Energy can be
increased again by collecting a diamond
(of which there are 30...).

Again the tree-houses make an appearance
(last seen in Dizzy2), and probably the
most memorable thing is the mirror world
where the entire screen is swapped round -
and the controls too!

Dizzy 5 : Spellbound Dizzy (48K and 128K)

Unfortunately, I left the Dizzy (and
Spectrum) scene before this one came out -
which is a shame as has been called the
Best Dizzy Ever by some people.

The cover depicts Dizzy opening a spell
book and magic stars coming out of it. The
leprechaun is sitting in front of him, and
Daisy is also shown on the front.

The BIGGEST and BEST Dizzy game yet! Over
100 AMAZING screens of cartoon FUN! Go
SCUBA DIVING! Take a WILD RIDE
underground! Save the YOLK FOLK!

Troubles afoot for Dizzy in his BIGGEST
and BEST adventure yet! Meet Dizzy's
magical chum THEO, the wizard with a
plethora of POWERFUL POTIONS! Dozy, Dylan,
Dora, Daisy and Grand Dizzy - the YOLK
FOLK - are all here too and they're in HOT
WATER this time! help Dizzy SAVE THEIR
SHELLS before they end up HARD BOILED!

Dizzy's been visiting his local friendly
Wizard Theo. Now Theo, who may be a dab
hand in the waving of wands area, is not
much cop at the filing-things away-neatly
department and he's left his book of
really powerful Spells lying round in his
laboratory. Whats more, the books been
left open at the page headed A Really,
Really Powerful Spell (That shouldn't be
read out loud). Whether Dizzy actually
read the heading is not known but -
yikes - he said the spell and it's caused
a catastrophe: Dizzy spirited all his Yolk
Folk chums and Wizard Theo into the
underworld! Cripes! There's only one
course of action open to the brave little
hero: read the spell again and spirit
himself into the underworld to save his
rotund group of pals!

DOING THE BIZ WITH DIZ

• Dizzy has to collect five rotating stars and a special object to release each of the Yolk Folk from the underworld.
• Check out all the objects and discover if they can help Dizzy - some may enable Dizzy to swim underwater while others help him have a speedy journey through a mine shaft (and some are really tasty!)
• Don't miss out on the mushrooms - they can send Dizzy flying high!
• Don't leave any of the yolk folk or Wizard Theo behind!
• More that 100 - 100! - different locations await!
• Try dropping the rocks on the clouds.

However I'll give you a brief description
of the game. Again the energy bar is here,
although it's not only bad guys that can
drain it. Should Dizzy fall too far, he'll
sit down with stars circling his head, and
then shake his head to try and "get rid of
the cob-webs". Of course he also loses
energy for the fall. Energy can be
replenished by collecting food. Press
enter when in front of some and Dizzy will
actually stuff it in his mouth and chew
it! Dizzy is collecting magic stars in
this game.

Dizzy 6 : Dizzy Prince of the Yolk Folk (48K and 128k)

Again I have no first-hand knowledge of
the game, which I believe was only
available in a compilation pack.

The cover shows Dizzy on one knee, being
knighted. Behind him sits King Arthur
surrounded by guards and two lions either
side of the throne.

The Plot:

Battle Rockwart the Troll, meet Pogie the
Fluffle, avoid Shamus the Leprechaun,
summon King Arthur from his crusades and
wake Daisy from her hundred year snooze!

Grand Dizzy was feeling very down one day,
so Dizzy and Daisy decided to cheer him up
by baking him his favourite food, cherry
pie! So off went Daisy to get some
cherries from her cupboard but there was
none to be seen!

"Pogie's pinched the cherries!" she cried,
as she saw Pogie's pawprint in the
cupboard, "That darned Fluffle. Come here
you!" and Pogie promptly darted off into
the enchanted forest to escape Daisy's
rage.

Dizzy and Daisy decided to go into the
forest to catch Pogie and gather some more
cherries at the same time. Whilst
searching for Pogie they got lost and
found a castle, where they thought they
would find help, but it seemed deserted.
They looked in the castle for Pogie, but
Daisy caught herself on a mystic spinning
wheel. She started feeling really sleepy,
so she found a bed and went to sleep.

"Wake up Daisy, wake up" shouted Dizzy.
But before he could wake her up, Rockwart
the Troll caught him and locked him up
under ground!

HINTS AND TIPS

• Remember to collect the cherries!
• Keep away from Rockwart the Troll: he eats eggs for breakfast.
• Beware of the evil Dizzy doppelganger.

The second Dizzy compilation was called
Dizzy's Excellent Adventures and included
Kwik Snax, Spellbound Dizzy, Dizzy Prince
of the Yolk Folk, Panic Dizzy and Dizzy
down the Rapids.
POTYF was made available on budget about 6
months after the release of this
compilation.

Again the energy bar as seen in the
previous two games, although this game
bears more resemblance to Dizzy 3 than 4
or 5, complete with an almost identical
first puzzle. Cherries are what are being
collected this time.

Because of this more dated look without
the Dizzy 5 polish, most people consider
this to be the starting point of Dizzy's
decline.

Dizzy 7 : Crystal Kingdom Dizzy (48K (?) and 128K)

Yet again, I never owned this so I'm
reporting my experience of the snapshot
and from what I've heard from various
sources.

Basically Codemasters shocked everyone by
releasing this as a full price game
(9.99GBP), and by changing the structure
of it.

From what I've heard, the game is split
into levels, with you having to complete
all the tasks in one to move onto the
next.

Again this is pre-DizzyS style, however
they changed the animation for Dizzy's
jump and (in my opinion) have ruined it.
Also the energy bar from which we've
become familiar with has been replaced by
(up to) five hearts. Make contact with one
of the unkillable roaming worms or a
spider, torch, etc, and you lose a heart.
A few hearts are scattered around the land
which will replenish them. Cherries are

also there to be collected.

The twist in this one is that you can actually go in the houses, etc. This is vital to do since most contain a Yolkfolk character who will ask you to do something for them.

Again, what with this being a different style from what people were used to and also being full price, many people thought ill of this one.

The Spin-Offs

These were nothing like the above adventure games. The only like that they had with Dizzy was that they had him in the game in some sort of fashion.

BUBDIZZY Z80  44,697 [Bubble Dizzy   128K]
DIZRAPID Z80  43,286
             [Dizzy Down The Rapids! 128K]
FASTFOOD Z80  47,890 [Fast Food      128K]
KWIKSNAX Z80  81,267 [Kwik Snax      128K]
PANIC_D  Z80  46,647 [Panic Dizzy    128K]

Bubble Dizzy (48K and 128K)

Never owned this. The aim of it appears to be to get to the top of the screen by jumping on successive bubbles which burst after a short time. Smaller bubbles rise quicker but burst sooner, where as larger bubbles last longer but rise more slowly.

Dizzy Down The Rapids! (48K and 128K)

The tape cover shows Dizzy sitting on a barrel, about to go over a waterfall Behind him is a crocodile, two trolls, two hippos and a dragon.

Dizzy and Daisy were out in the enchanted forest picking blue berries for a pie they were making for a dinner party.
"These berries aren't very big!" muttered Dizzy, plucking the miniscule fruit from a bush.
"I can see some bigger ones over there" said Daisy Dizzy trotted over to the bush.
"These are still too small", he said forlornly "We're never going to get enough!"
"How about these?" pointed out Daisy wandering yet further into the wood.
Before they knew it, the two eggs had wandered far into the forest. By the time they reached the banks of the Great Torrent River, the two had become hopelessly lost.
Suddenly Daisy heard a twig snap, Dizzy span around to be confronted by Rockwart the Troll and a gang of ferocious looking henchtrolls. "I have you now little egg!" breathed Rockwart in his most sinister voice. Quick as a flash Dizzy grabbed Daisy's hand and the pair ran desperately toward the river.
"Hee Hee Hee!" laughed Rockwart manically as the trolls moved in ever closer. But Dizzy had a plan..."Jump in there Daisy" he cried as he somersaulted towards an abandoned apple barrel.
"We've escaped" he shouted back to the trolls in glee. Daisy screamed because Daisy could only see what was in front of them.......

Again, never had this. Dizzy is going down the rapids in a barrel (much like the Toobin' arcade / computer game), and you have to steer him down. Enemy sprites move across the water in your path, fly at you, or throw missiles at you, and you can shoot back using a limited supply of apples as your ammunition.
This game can either be played alone or simultaneously with another player who guides an identical Dizzy down at the same time.

Fast Food (48K and 128K)

Now this one I owned so I can give you the plot:

"Dizzy's back! In Fast Food, Dizzy must run around mazes scoffing loadsa food - chickens, burgers, pizzas, milkshakes - but there's a complication... look out for these monsters...

BONZO He's slow and stupid, but he could catch you if you don't keep an eye on him. Bonzo is GREEN

WIZZA He's fast, but not too clever - run if he follows you, and he'll probably take the wrong turn at one of the junctions. Wizza is YELLOW

PIPPA She's cute and deadly - she's dead clever, but if you're quick you can outrun her. Pippa is PINK

FIDO He's dead sneaky - he'll try and head you off at junctions, so you should watch him carefully! Fido is BLUE

As well as KETCHUP, MUSTARD, RELISH, MAGIC BOOTS and more!".

The cover shows Dizzy being chased by a cook who is trying to catch him to cook him, along with other items of food all of which have faces, arms and legs.

This game is basically like Pac Man, except that there are fewer items to eat and they move. Also power ups (and power downs) are available.

Kwik Snax (48K and 128K)

The cover shows Dizzy with safari hat on, and a rope and lamp in each hand. ZAKS can be seen in the background, a dragon is chasing Dizzy, and items of food are hovering in the air.

The plot:

"Dizzy and the Yolk Folk have outraged the Evil Wizard Zaks and he's cast a sinister spell which has sent them to the land of personality. Dizzy can choose who to rescue, but to be a true hero, he'll have to save all his friends.
DENZIL thought he was cool and ended up in the Land of Ice. Left to chill!
DYLAN spent most of his time with his head in the clouds, and that's where he found himself stranded high and dry!
GRAND DIZZY was old and a touch senile, his fate was to be cast into Cuckoo Land trapped by clocks and giant teddy bears.
DAISY was Zaks' greatest prize and he kept her close to him in his Castle Dungeon protected by his best henchmen."

There are four worlds, each one progressively harder, with 5 levels in each world.
You must move around stationary blocks while pushing moveable ones to kill the henchmen (which come back elsewhere on the screen Pac Man style) and to gain access to the pieces of fruit which you must collect to complete the level.
After each level there is a time-restricted bonus level, where again you must collect the fruit. There are no henchmen but you are on ice, which means that Dizzy will keep going in the same direction until he hits a block where you can push him in one of the four directions. Run out of time or get stuck in a loop where you can't hit a block and the bonus ends.

What has to be seen and heard to be believed are the graphics and music on the title and intro. screens. The intro. is impressive, with funky speech announcing the game and then the Dizzy Mob playing music on their instruments. Each one moves in sync with the music and it just looks and sounds great... but only in 128K mode!

Panic Dizzy (48K and 128K)

The cover shows Dizzy running around a toy factory with bits falling on his head. Pogie is behind him, but does not feature in the game (Dizzy hardly features in it himself!)

DIZZY in his FANTASTIC TOY FACTORY! Fit MAGIC SHAPES into GRAND DIZZYS INVENTION to make NEW and EXCITING TOYS! Panic Stations, Conveyor Belts, Vacuum Tubes, and more! AMAZINGLY ADDICTIVE! Keep a cool head....DON'T PANIC DIZZY!

One Day, GRAND DIZZY was putting the finishing touches to his brand new toy-making invention.

"Just got to tighten this last nut and we're ready...ooooOOOH...eekk!" shouted GRAND DIZZY as the spanner slipped and he fell to the floor.

"UURGH!" moaned GRAND DIZZY, "I've got a CRACKING EGGACHE, now I'll never finish testing my new TOY MAKING MACHINE. Whatever shall I do?!"

"Don't worry" replied Dizzy, "We'll help you!"

So DIZZY, DAISY, DENZIL, DYLAN, DOZY and DORA helped GRAND DIZZY to the machine and manned their STATIONS.

Whilst DIZZY grabbed the CONVEYOR BELT CONTROLLER, the others went upstairs and threw the MAGIC SHAPES down the chutes.

"Click, Crunch...Cough, Splutter", the machine kicked into ACTION!

"ooooOOOH, SLOW down...! Hang on..! Too fast...!" cried Dizzy, but the others couldn't HEAR HIM. The TOY MAKING INVENTION just kept getting FASTER...

THE GAME

Like all of Grand Dizzy's inventions, the magic toy making machine doesn't quite work as well as it should. All of it's cogs and wheel constantly need fuelling with the special magic shapes. The Chutes from which the shapes emerge continually descend, when they reach the shape guard at the bottom of the screen the toy machine will seize up. The only way to keep the chutes from reaching the bottom is to fit lots of shapes through the guard and into the machine.

THE AIM OF THE GAME

Line up the SHAPE GUARD with as many MAGIC SHAPES as possible. Press FIRE to release all MATCHING SHAPES. with 4 OR MORE matching shapes at once, a TOY is created. If the WRONG SHAPE reaches the bottom the CHUTES will descend. The chutes will slowly descend and the only way to get them back up is to drop several shaps together. The more shapes you get the higher they'll go. If the CHUTES reach the bottom the machine will STOP! Keep the machine going as long as possible to make lots of toys. Good luck and the best tip of all....DON'T PANIC DIZZY!

This is the most dubious of all the spin-offs. Four pipes disperse blocks from the top of the screen and the pipes move downwards as well. The blocks are different shapes and you must align the holes at the bottom of the screen to allow the blocks to fall through. The only thing that Dizzy does is stand at the top and when you move the holes Dizzy pulls a level to show this. Basically there was no need for Dizzy to be in this game, and I believe Codemasters just put him there to try and sell it off as a Dizzy game.

The Compilations

I know of one for sure, called "Dizzy Collection", which contained Dizzy, Fast Food, Fantasy World Dizzy, Treasure Island Dizzy and Magicland Dizzy. On the front was an enlarged picture of the Magicland Dizzy tape cover, plus smaller pictures of the original tape covers of all the 5 games in the pack at the bottom. The pack was priced at 9.99GBP.

The second compilation was called "Dizzy's Excellent Adventures" and featured Panic Dizzy, Dizzy down the rapids, Dizzy Prince of the Yolk Folk, Kwik Snax and Spellbound Dizzy. Prince was re-released on budget a short while after. On the front was an enlarged picture of the Dizzy down the rapids tape cover, plus, as before, smaller covers of all five.

The Cover-tape Freebies

These were given away "free" on Spectrum computer mags. Some are cut- down versions, some are identical, whilst others (ie Dizzy 3.5) are complete games in their own right.

DIZZY_YS Z80    47,095
      [Identical to the original      48K]
D1-CRASH Z80    47,050  [A Crash
     Special Edition of the original  48K]
D2-CRASH Z80    45,161
[A Crash Special Edition of Dizzy 2   48K]
DIZZYЗ-5 Z80    30,391
      [Dizzy 3.5 (Crash Xmas Special) 48K]

Dizzy (YS cover tape) (48K only)

Don't get excited, this is identical to the original except... it has an 0898 number at the bottom of the screen!

Dizzy : Crash Special Edition (48K only)

This is a cut down version of the original. Items have been moved and some don't actually do anything but display a screenfull of text advertising either Crash or a Codemasters game. Other items are missing meaning you are restricted to a smaller area of the game map. All the potion ingredients can be collected and the game ends when you have put them all in the potion bottle.

Treasure Island Dizzy : Crash Special Edition (48K and 128K ???)

Again, like the above game, this is a cut down version. What does look horrid however is the big 'Crash' Logos that limit you to a small area of the map.
Also, whereas in the 'proper' copy of this game where if you picked up a coin your item list scrolled, in this it doesn't. This however takes the fun/skill/annoyance out of being careful how many coins/items you collect underwater.

Dizzy 3.5 : Crash Xmas Special (48K and 128K ???)

This was presumably given away on the December Issue of Crash, and is a small game.
The energy bar that's seen on Dizzys 4 to 6 is here again, there are only 5 screens (well I can only get to 5 screens!), and there are no coins, etc to collect.
I have a 48K snapshot but there may be a 128K one...

Other Special Editions (and other Dizzy games)

There may have been other special edition Dizzy games available, or there may be 128K snapshots of the ones I currently have. IF YOU KNOW OR HAVE ANY OF THESE THEM PLEASE TELL ME ABOUT THEM OR EMAIL THEM TO ME! (NB : see note at beginning about my email address!). Also if you know of any Spectrum Dizzy games I haven't got / covered, or indeed have a list of games available on other systems then please let me know also!

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Thanks to David Crick for writing this update to the story originally posted to the newsgroup. For completeness, I have added a few more pieces to the article (I hope David doesn't mind!) These were - the instructions for Spellbound, POTYF, Rapids and Panic.

MAGAZINE RUN-DOWN

To rate each classic Spectrum Character, we will look at the average of all the scores their games received in the popular Spectrum Magazines.:

Name                  Date      YS      CR
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DIZZY                 OCT 87    7       78
TREASURE ISLAND DIZZY MAR 89    8       87
FANTASY WORLD DIZZY   JAN 90    88      94
MAGICLAND DIZZY       DEC 90    90      93

SPELLBOUND DIZZY      JAN 92    90      --
PRINCE YOLK FOLK      JAN 93    71      --
CRYSTAL KINGDOM DIZZY DEC 92    70      --

FAST FOOD             APR 89    63      68
KWIK SNAX             DEC 90    92      92
PANIC DIZZY           MAR 91    49      80
BUBBLE DIZZY          FEB 92    80      --
 DIZZY DOWN RAPIDS     JUL 92    65      --

AVERAGE SCORES OCT 87-JAN 93    76      85

TOTAL SCORE     81%

Recently, David also made his collection of Dizzy snapshots available to all by having them uploaded to NVG UNIT ftp site - see NEWS for more details.

In the PLAYING TIPS section of the mag, you will also find our complete guide to the Dizzy games!

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