Dizzy

The Game Series

Dizzy is a series of video games, created by the Oliver Twins (see [6]) and published by Codemasters. It was one of the most successful British video game franchises of the late 1980s and early 1990s.

Originally created for the ZX Spectrum and Amstrad CPC, the series appeared on multiple home computer and video game console formats, with over a dozen games being published between 1987 and 1992.

The series is named for its main character, an anthropomorphic egg, called Dizzy for the way he somersaults and rolls around the landscape. The games are set in various fairytale-like locations and typically involve Dizzy trying to save his friends and family, the Yolkfolk, often from the schemes of his nemesis, the evil wizard Zaks.

Most of the games in the series are platform-adventure games, with an emphasis on puzzle solving, collecting objects and interacting with other characters. In addition to these core adventure games, the Dizzy branding and character also appeared in several arcade-style games with unrelated gameplay.

The first Dizzy game is called "Dizzy - The Ultimate Cartoon Adventure". It was released in 1987 for ZX Spectrum and Amstrad CPC. In 1988 it appeared on Commodore 64.

Some of later games from the Dizzy series are available for Atari ST:

(see more at Wikipedia [1] and Atarimania [2])

The Ultimate Cartoon Adventure

Dizzy's world is being threatened by the evil wizard Zaks. The player takes control of Dizzy, the anthropomorphic egg, who must search the land for a Leprechaun's Wig, a Cloud's Silver Lining, a Vampire Dux Feather, and Troll Brew, to make a potion to defeat Zaks with.

The gameplay is standard platformer fare, with the exception of inventory items scattered around the world, which are necessary to overcome obstacles and progress through the game.

The world expands in all four compass directions, items are frequently far away from the obstacles they are used on, and it is only possible to hold one item in the inventory at a time, so much backtracking is necessary.

There are many monsters and hazards in the game's stages. Some inventory items are used to destroy monsters. For example, one of the first inventory items the Dizzy finds is birdseed. As long as birdseed is the item in the inventory, Dizzy destroys any birds he touches. (see more at Moby Games [4], Spectrum Computing [5] and Speccy.cz [6])

Dizzy for 8bit Atari

And now, finally (in 2020), you can enjoy Dizzy - The Ultimate Cartoon Adventure on your Atari XL/XE!

Many thanks to Fandal and Irgendwer who ported the game from Commodore 64.

You can find Dizzy on disk B. It requires at least 128 KB of RAM. You can run it from FLOP Reader, DOS or QMEG.

When loaded, press START or a key to get to the title screen. Then press START or SELECT to start the game.

During the game, use joystick in port 1 to control the movements of Dizzy.

Other controls:

Sources

[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dizzy_(series)
[2] http://www.atarimania.com
[3] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dizzy_%E2%80%93_The_Ultimate_Cartoon_Adventure
[4] https://www.mobygames.com/game/dizzy-the-ultimate-cartoon-adventure
[5] https://spectrumcomputing.co.uk/index.php?cat=96&id=0009332
[6] https://maps.speccy.cz/map.php?id=Dizzy1
[7] https://www.olivertwins.com/