THE DIZZY GAMES – RANKED

Ah Dizzy. A little egg who likes wearing boxing gloves and rolls around the floor a lot, and my favorite computer game character (when I was 8 – I’m more mature now!). Here’s my two-pence worth of how the Dizzy games should rank, and which order you should play them (if you’ve never played a Dizzy before!). So let’s put on our boxing gloves and revisit the marvellous world of Dizzy and the Yolkfolk.

1. Fantasy World Dizzy

The best dizzy game of all time – and if you don’t agree – I will fight you! It’s also one of the best games on the ZX spectrum. You could even go as far as to say it’s EGGSELLENT. (Had to creep an egg pun somewhere into this article.) Still highly playable today – and there isn’t a lot of Spectrum games which you can say that about! (Try playing 3D Death Race – the supposedly best game ever made for the Spectrum – and see how long you put up with it!)
Fantasy world dizzy is the 3rd game in the series, and the first one to feature the “yolk folk” – dizzy’s extended family. Daisy, Dizzy’s girlfriend has somehow got herself kidnapped by the evil wizard Zaks, and it’s up to our eggy chum to venture into fantasy world to get her back.

2. Magicland Dizzy

Magicland Dizzy – or Dizzy 4 if you prefer – this is the first game not to be developer by the legendary Oliver Twins. The evil wizard Zaks had returned, only this time to kidnap not just Daisy, but ALL of Dizzy’s Yolkfolk friends. (Why not just kidnap Dizzy and be done with it?). Zak’s carts them off to Magicland this time, a completely different place to Fantasy World of course. Dizzy must travel to Magicland, find his friends, and undo an evil spell which Zak’s had placed on each of them.
I very nearly put this in the number one slot – but after to-ing and fro-ing – and a few restless nights, I finally decided I preferred Fantasy World Dizzy just a little more.

3. Treasure Island Dizzy

The second Dizzy game, Treasure Island Dizzy is notorious among the considerable Dizzy fan community for being a bit unreasonable with the lives you get. One solitary, measly life you get given to try and complete the game, which is very stressful – especially with the inventory system and the underwater bits. All too often the player would try to pick something up underwater only to drop the precious aqualung and get dizzy drowned. I know I have completed this game – but I can’t remember if I did it honestly or I used an infinite lives cheat. Either way, the game still holds fond memories for me. With a few more lives available it could have been perfect.

4. Prince of the Yolkfolk

Guess what? Daisy’s been kidnapped again! (bet you didn’t see that one coming did you) – not by Evil Wizard Zaks, who is probably taking a well earned rest, but this time by a Mr Rockwart the Troll. Same old same old, nothing new here – but the presentation is amazing, the game is just too short and too easy. If I remember right, I think it took me about an hour to complete or something. I believe the short length is because it was never intended to be a full price game, more of an add-on to a dizzy compilation pack or what-have-you. Anyway, it’s still great fun – and as of now (2019) – the only Dizzy game to get a HD remake on hand-held devices. (correct me if I’m wrong!)

5. Dizzy – A graphic adventure

The one that started it all! Playing this now, it feels and plays very different to the other Dizzy graphic adventures. The series hadn’t found it’s feet yet – but the puzzles are still there, as is the rolling-around-on-the-floor gameplay. It just all seems a bit… dark. The reason this isn’t lower down on the list is because 1. It was the game that started it all and it deserves credit for that. 2. It’s still a lot more fun than Spellbound Dizzy.

Fun fact: The game includes several lines from J. Milton Hayes’ poem The Green Eye of the Yellow God on banners in certain screens, where they serve as clues on how to solve some puzzles.

6. Crystal Kingdom Dizzy

Dizzy’s seventh adventure – and one which has recently been remade. (Not remastered mind you.) When this came out a lot was made of the control system – you could now control Dizzy’s jumps in midair (progress, eh?). Now I have to fess up and say I never played this first time round, and have only recently played it (the new remade version anyway.) Who knows – it could be the best dizzy ever, or a horrible, horrible game. Any case, I will leave it here at number 6 until I find time to complete it, make a comparison between the old version and the new version, and determine where it should rank.

7. Fantastic Dizzy

Or 16.bit Dizzy as I like to call it! I had this on the Amiga, and I have also played it on the megadrive. I realise this game is very highly regarded in some quarters, but for me – well it just doesn’t feel like a dizzy game. It’s just not… dizzyish enough. It feels like a console game, and maybe the problem lies in being a lot older when this came out. The puzzles are a bit simplistic and the playability just isn’t there. There are a lot more screens, and the graphics are a hell of a lot better granted, but definitely a case of more is less.

8. Spellbound Dizzy

The dizzy I hate the most. What a terrible, terrible playing experience. Go down the mineshaft, find an object, drop the rocks, up the mineshaft, go get more rocks, down the mineshaft, repeat, repeat, repeat. I don’t think I have ever been so disappointed in a single game in the whole of my gaming life. This was the 5th dizzy game, hot on the heels of the amazing Magicland Dizzy – and I couldn’t wait to play it. I battled through it, the game is probably the hardest of all of them, but I didn’t want to quit – even though I did want to quit (if that makes sense). The game is just more frustrating than fun – and just when you think it’s over, and you’ve rescued the last of those bloody Yolk Folk for the very last time, the game tells you it’s not over until you find every last bloody star (at which point I lost all patience and never played the game again!).

MEET THE YOLK FOLK

DAISY

Dizzy’s girlfriend and head cheerleader (go Dizzy you dog!). Seems to get kidnapped a lot.

DORA

Daisy’s sister – looks like a bit of a nerd. Probably likes studying.

DYLAN

The Hippie. Often found lying around gazing at the sky. Probably likes LSD

DENZIL

The Cool guy. Can always be found listening to music. Probably likes “Electric Avenue” by Eddie Grant.

GRAND DIZZY

The town elder. Wise old coot. Can be found leaning on his crutch and sporting a lovely grey moustache. Probably likes going to bed early. Probably the member of the Yolkfolk whom I have most in common with.

DOZY

Dizzy’s cousin? Maybe – or maybe I just made that up. This egg character can always be found sleeping. Probably likes going to bed early too.

POGIE

Small purple fluffy thing who hangs around with the Yolkfolk. Seems to be on Dizzy’s side. Not sure what it is, let alone what it likes. (Update – I have just been reliably informed that Pogie has his own computer game “Dreamworld Pogie” on the NES. Which I didn’t know. You live and learn!)