Dizzy is one of my favourite computer game characters.
In case you are wondering, Dizzy is an egg. Yes, an egg!!! But not only that, he is an egg that wears boxing gloves.
Created by the Oliver Twins in 1987, he began life on the Spectrum computer, and quickly became a household name. We meet him for the first time in a game called ‘Dizzy, The Ultimate Cartoon Adventure’. The story is that the evil wizard Zaks is running amok and it is up to Dizzy to put a stop to it. Here are some screenshots of him as he goes about his mission - http://www.mobygames.com/game/zx-spectrum/dizzy-the-ultimate-cartoon-adventure/screenshots .
After the success of his first adventure, there followed a whole series of Dizzy games - Treasure Island Dizzy, Fantasy World Dizzy, Magicland Dizzy, Spellbound Dizzy, Dizzy Prince Of The Yolkfolk, Fantastic Dizzy, and Crystal Kingdom Dizzy. His fame grew, and his adventures became available on other platforms such as Commodore, Amiga, pc, and a few more, as well as the Spectrum. As more games were created, we were gradually introduced to his friends and family, who were known as the Yolkfolk (you will find many puns in the Dizzy games). We soon came to know and love characters such as the evil wizard Zaks (Dizzy’s arch enemy), Daisy (his girlfriend), Grand Dizzy, and more. Each game followed the same basic forumula where Dizzy has to defeat an enemy (usually the wizard Zaks), and either save the Yolkfolk Village where he lives, or rescue one of the Yolkfolk. Various ‘Special Edition’ versions of his games have appeared on cover tapes for several magazines, as a special treat. Dizzy has a unique way of jumping and somersaulting around, which is where he got his name from.
As well as all his adventures, Dizzy also starred in several spin-off games. Fast Food Dizzy (a pacman clone), Kwik Snax (maze game), Dizzy Panic (fit-the-shapes-in-correct-holes), and Bubble Dizzy (action arcade) are not so much Dizzy games, but just games that happen to have Dizzy in them.
The Oliver Twins stopped making Dizzy games in 1992 - Crystal Kingdom Dizzy being the last one. But the fans wanted more! There is an ongoing petition to bring Dizzy back - http://www.yolkfolk.com/site/petition.php .
Until that dream becomes a reality, there is many Dizzy fangames and fansites scattered throughout the internet. In 2007, Alexandru Simion & Christina Simion created a new engine called DizzyAge. This engine is free for anyone to use. It allows you to create authentic-look Dizzy games with ease. Since the creation of DizzyAge, many excellent fangames have been made. You can play these games, and find more information on the DizzyAge website - http://www.yolkfolk.com/dizzyage/index.html .
So let’s give one more thought to Dizzy, and his arch emeny Zaks.
