Of all the great Spectrum titles, the Dizzy series holds the warmest place in my heart, and this one's my favourite. I guess that makes this is my favourite Spectrum game ever. Magicland was the middle of the 7 Dizzy titles, and I regard it as as the 'peak' of the Dizzy mountain - the most perfect title, with a fully-formed inventory system (unlike earlier titles) and a good size game map (unlike later titles, which suffered from being too big or too small). It has all the classic Dizzy elements - castles, treehouses, fairy tale and fantasy, and of course a perfect soundtrack from the legendary David Whittaker. I also think the game is the most fun and cheerful of all the Dizzy title, and the least 'lonely' - with loads of people dotted around the map, including the Yolk Folk, Zaks, and a host of additional fantasy characters. If you want to see a definitive Dizzy game - look no further than this. Or, if you want to see a video that defines my childhood - here it is! :-)
Fuck! I LOVED these Dizzy games when I was around 8 and through to 11 years old. God the music is really good for a Spectrum! Very catchy! 😊 I still have my Spectrum Dizzy games, Dizzy, Treasure Island Dizzy, Fantasy Land Dizzy, Spellbound Dizzy, Magic Land Dizzy... There's a few more that I'm forgetting right now as well! 😊 Man, I REALLY LOVED the adventure style of these games. Definitely set me up for the Amiga games like Monkey Island! 😊 ✌🏼😉👍🏼 *Sigh!*
Designer of the game here (sorry). Here's a thing... People noticed that this game was full of references to various fantasy stories (Lord of the Rings, Wizard of Oz, Billy Goats Gruff, Alice in Wonderland / Through the Looking Glass, etc) and even a few videogames (Pac-Man, for one). But as far as I know no-one ever spotted the homage to my favourite Spectrum game on the first screen. They messed it up on the Amiga version by adding a space in the middle of the name (it's supposed to be one word) but the original Speccy version is correct. Kudos to anyone who recognises which classic Spectrum game the first screen was referencing :)
Not too far off! It was Dragontorc by Steve Turner. On the map that was included with that game, "Wierdhenge" is located pretty much exactly where Codemasters were (and still are) in the Midlands :)
Thanks for the info! Yep, classic a classic game from Hewson, as was Avalon. Interestingly enough, there is a "Weird Henge" in The Lords of Midnight, according to www.icemark.com/tower/IceCrown.htm
Interesting! I didn't know there was also a "Weird Henge" in Lords of Midnight! Now I'm wondering whether the "Weirdhenge" in Steve Turner's game was itself a nod to Mike Singleton, as Dragontorc was released just one year after Lords of Midnight? It's an unwitting double-reference in Dizzy 4, if so! :)
I asked Hewson about this on Twitter and got a reply from Steve Turner! twitter.com/rzxarchive/status/833941471359234048 "Not deliberately but maybe I had seen it in Lords Of Midnight. I used to make names up from two halves."
Yes, my favourite too. I'd put them in this order: 1. Magicland Dizzy 2. Fantasy World Dizzy 3. Dizzy Prince of the Yolk Folk 4. Treasure Island Dizzy 5. Spellbound Dizzy 6. Dizzy: The Ultimate Cartoon Adventure 7. Crystal Kingdom Dizzy (last because I couldn't get hold of it back in the day, so have no 'memories' of it)
I finished it when I was around 9, and now I'm 30. The Dizzy games stimulated my imagination a whole lot when I was a kid and I am thankful for it. Then came Monkey Island and Little Big Adventure. Great times.
this ines my favorite and 39 years on the music still is in my head. i find myself humming it. i never could ever get on the shark, i never completed it.
Me and my sister tried to clock this game for hours at a time....well that was easy. Jesus the amount of times i used to end up upside down in the water because i'd committed suicide out of frustration :)
23:54......always wondered what the hell this screen was all about and how to get to that guy in the clouds. I assumed it was some hidden level because I completed the game without needing to but somehow always dreamed of what was up there :)
@@andrewrichardson6981 now I finally get it. It always appeared too fast to read and in any case I certainly wouldn't have known what it meant back then :D "The Harpy's Eyrie" = the Harpy's nest! Of course!!
Go figure. Zaks could have known better: you make a deal with the devil, and then you get the clever idea of betraying him. What could possibly go wrong?
If you give the Eatme Cake to Daisy, instead of the Drinkme item, then she'll grow larger instead of shrinking, crushing Dizzy. Otherwise, the Dizzy games tend to have a few dud items thrown in as red herrings, yes.
Lightning rod is needed. You place it next to sleeping Dozy, and then when you use the magic lamp, the genie's lightnings strike the rod and wake him up.
