THE
ULTIMATE DIZZY COLLECTION
FOR YOUR PC
Dizzy,
or Dizzy - The Ultimate Cartoon Adventure, was the first video
game featuring the character Dizzy, an anthropomorphic egg. The game
was designed by two British brothers, Philip and Andrew Oliver,
frequently referred to as the Oliver twins. Dizzy was published by
Codemasters and was released in June, 1986.
Dizzy gets his name from the character's tumbles and somersaults while
jumping, a feature inspired by the Oliver Twins' graphics software
Panda Sprites which enabled them to rotate an image easily so each
frame did not have to be manually drawn. The software distorted complex
sprites so the character was required to be simple, hence the choice of
an egg.
The game is a platform adventure where Dizzy must search the fairy tale
land for a Leprechaun's Wig, a Cloud's Silver Lining, a Vampire Dux
Feather, and a Troll Brew and deposit them in a cauldron to make a
potion to defeat the evil wizard Zaks. The gameplay involves collecting
items and moving to other locations where the item is required; for
example, at one point an Umbrella is needed to protect against damaging
rain. This is made more difficult because initially, only one item can
be carried at any given time.
Unlike later games in the series, which focus more on the
inventory-based puzzles, this game features a very large number of
hazards that impede your progress.
The
Dizzy series of computer games was one of the successful computer
game brands of the late eighties and early nineties. They were all
based around a central figure, an intelligent egg-like creature called
Dizzy.
The first game in the series, also called Dizzy, was released in June
1986 and billed as "the ultimate cartoon adventure". At this point,
Dizzy was not specifically intended to be an egg; the shape had been
chosen because it was easy to rotate and animate. Later games
introduced the Yolkfolk (Dizzy's friends and family), along with other
egg-related puns.
Most of the games were arcade adventures. Dizzy would run, jump, and
roll around various locations in order to collect objects, interact
with other characters, and solve logical puzzles. Dizzy and the
Yolkfolk also appeared in a few action games, such as the maze game
Fast Food, Kwik Snax and the action game Dizzy Down the Rapids.
The games were almost entirely developed by the Oliver Twins who later
formed Interactive Studios.
Most of the games were released for the ZX Spectrum, Amstrad CPC,
Commodore 64, Atari ST and Amiga, with a few also ported to the NES,
Megadrive, and DOS. Some were ported to the Russian Electronics BK-0010
and Radio 86RK.
The Yolkfolk
The yolkfolk were the egg characters who make up Dizzy's friends and
family, and as such were the main characters in the series.
* Dizzy was the main character of all of the Dizzy
games, and was the one controlled by the player. Like all of the
yolkfolk, Dizzy was an egg with boxing gloves, and had no identifying
features. First seen in Dizzy: The Ultimate Cartoon Adventure.
* Daisy was Dizzy's girlfriend in the series, and
the object of several of the games was to rescue her from some terrible
fate. Daisy was identified from the rest of the yolkfolk by her hair.
First seen in Fantasy World Dizzy.
* Denzil tried his best to be the 'cool' one, and
was never away from his music. Denzil could be identified from the rest
of the yolkfolk by his walkman and shades. First seen in Fantasy World
Dizzy.
* Dora was a late addition to the yolkfolk, and one
of the youngest. Dora could be identified from the rest of the yolkfolk
by the bow in her hair. First seen in Magicland Dizzy.
* Dozy was the sleepiest of the yolkfolk, and was
almost never awake. Dozy could be identified from the rest of the
yolkfolk by the fact that he was always asleep, and often had floating
Z's to show this. First seen in Fantasy World Dizzy.
* Dylan was a Hippie, and very interested in nature.
Dylan could be identified from the rest of the yolkfolk by his hat.
First seen in Fantasy World Dizzy.
* Grand Dizzy was a yolkfolk elder, and Dizzy's
grandfather. Grand Dizzy could be identified from the rest of the
yolkfolk by his walking stick and, in earlier games, his moustache.
First seen in Fantasy World Dizzy.
* Danny was Dizzy's nephew from a neighbouring
village. He appeared only once in a ZX Spectrum exclusive, Into
Magicland - a five screen mini-adventure given away with the Christmas
edition of Crash magazine in order to promote Magicland Dizzy.
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