Fantasy World Dizzy
Dizzy explores a fantasy kingdom, meets more of the Yolkfolk and solves item-based puzzles while trying to rescue Daisy.
Image credits and source
Original cover / promotional artwork
Credit: Codemasters — artwork belongs to its respective rights holders
Game at a glance
- Status
- Classic
- Released
- 1989
- Platforms
- Amstrad CPC, ZX Spectrum, Commodore 64, Atari ST, Amiga, DOS
- Genres
- Adventure, Platform
- Developer
- The Oliver Twins (original development)
- Publisher
- Codemasters
Development and publication
Development: The Oliver Twins (original development). Publication: Codemasters.
The named development credit refers to the original or specifically identified version. Other ports and later re-releases may have different development teams.
Making the game
It was the summer of ‘89 and Dizzy’s popularity was massive. We’d completed Operation Gunship and Ghostbusters 2 was nearing completion, so it was time to start another big Dizzy adventure game and make sure it was out for Christmas and this time not taking it too close!
We wanted to improve on everything that had gone before in both Dizzy and Treasure Island Dizzy. We re-introduced the lives and introduced a text window overlay system for conversations and the inventory system.
We introduced a bunch of additional characters, the Yolkfolk, all of whom needed helping, and had a great story set in a fantasy land. It borrowed from classic tales like Jack and Beanstalk and had two dragons!
This was the last game we fully wrote on the Amstrad and Spectrum and believe this to be our most accomplished game on those formats. It’s still staggering to comprehend how we squeezed everything into 34KB! The game reviewed fantastically and sold amazing well and we are extremely proud of this game.
The one sad thing is that in our haste to get the game published, and being such good friends with the Darlings we didn’t get a proper contract agreed. From this point onwards Codemasters claimed they owned Dizzy as they designed and trademarked the logo. A year later, still being good friends, we signed a contract agreeing that we jointly owned it - massive mistake!
Many ideas from this were taken into the massive Fantastic Dizzy (The Fantastic Adventures of Dizzy) and Mystery World Dizzy is an updated version of this game for consoles.
Original documents
Archived Fantasy World Dizzy document (PDF)
Archived Fantasy World Dizzy article (PDF)