The Story of Fantastic Dizzy | Kim Justice

[@Beardodoomus]

I was obsessed with Dizzy as a kid. I used to spend all day drawing him. Forget your Sonics and your Marios, it was all about the little Egg.

[@theflyingninja1]

Same.

[@richardmoores]

With boxing gloves on

[@LemonTree9280]

Here in the US, me and a buddy had the gold cart Dizzy game. We played it all the time but never beat it. Then, in our 30s, we downloaded a walkthrough and finally beat it! Even though we "cheated", it was an amazing experience to finally conquer our Dizzy demons

[@WrestlingBios]

I had Fantastic Dizzy on mega drive. Lack of save kept my Dad and I up until the wee hours. Fond memories of Fantasy World Dizzy and Dizzy 1 on the speccy too. Great video, brought back a lot of great memories

[@boltinabottle6307]

I never beat it as a kid. I got to the sky castle a few times but that's it. I finished it a couple years ago on an emulator (save states ftw). IMO it's one of the best looking Genesis games along with Ranger X.

[@purplezebrahoover]

I got the first Dizzy on an Amstrad Action cover tape. The music from the game is still burned into my brain 30 years later. Could never finish the game as a kid though. A tough one.

[@ministry2627]

Amstrad Action used to be fkin ace

[@tubey84]

Treasure Island Dizzy was my personal favourite. Doesn't hold up as well but the sheer joy of finally figuring out those utterly bonkers "item hold order" puzzles was great haha

[@skijumpnose]

Good old Dizzy, Loved all the games on the Spectrum and Fantastic Dizzy on the Mega Drive is so underrated! Thanks for this Kim

[@HappyFridayGuy]

Dizzy = Spectrum to me. Love them both.

[@WesleyScottOfficial]

Great video. I just played this today. I remember getting it for Xmas 93 and playing it to death. Love it so much. The music is outstanding. I put it on my Mega Drive mini a few years ago and play it every December 31st to end the year with pure childhood nostalgia.

[@speedyreidy575]

Nice Video Kim, I was obsessed with Dizzy after playing the original on the Spectrum, there was nothing quite like "The Ultimate Cartoon Adventure" at that time. My copy did not have the helpline number at the bottom as in your clip. I remember typing out a code sheet for invite lives, but you still had to be careful as there was no way to get out of the grave with the skeleton underneath. Fantastic Dizzy on the Amiga was a brilliant looking game, at the time it was nice to see a day night cycle and some weather effects. There is also a Wonderland Dizzy which was meant to be released after Crystal Kingdom for the NES, this was cancelled by Codemasters which soured the relationship with the Oliver Twins, it was released as a ROM in 2015.

[@OliverTwins]

We've never seen that Helpline Number on screen before. We didn't put it there. The Helplines came about 2 years after the release of the first Dizzy game too - so it must have been remastered with this when it was included in 1 of the compilations.

[@speedyreidy575]

@@OliverTwins A reply from the Oliver Twins that’s “Absolutely Brilliant” and most “Eggcellent”! Thank you for the wonderful games throughout the years, still great to play today and they make for very good childhood memories.

[@itsmatt517]

Fantasy World, Magic Land and Prince of the YolkFolk were the best ones!

[@AtticusStount]

So consistant was Yolkfolk that this was the official title for the crowd-funded (failed) game.

[@2.88milemushroom7]

Really great music from this game I remember. Especially the underwater level with the bubbles.

[@TheRetroArchive]

Looking forward to this. My first proper job was at Codemasters in Southam circa 2000, I recall going for the interview when it was still very much a barn conversion with BMX simulator posters still on the wall. When I left they had built & opened some of the new studios with the massive reception and an award display with Baftas.

[@Riktenstein]

I work on Documentaries full-time. It's you voice-over delivery that really makes your videos so great. That plus the script.

[@Realmasterorder]

Very nice Dizzy Review i had not played much of them even back at the day cause the character seemed a bit wierd but i played other codemasters games that i liked like and later on came to appreciate most Dizzy games especially Dizzy Fantasy World and the amazing Magic Land one of my all time C64 Favourites.

[@firedamaged]

Treasure Island Dizzy on my Amstrad was glorious.

[@ministry2627]

That was the Amstrad game I played the most. By far.

[@graemenicol6377]

Great upload Kim I loved the Dizzy games how's about doing a full history of all the game's.

[@IainMetcalf]

Great video and can't wait for the full Codemasters one

[@pentelegomenon1175]

I played this game on NES, and it actually blew me away. I loved the music and style and the day-night cycle, I couldn't believe how wide open the world was and how much there was to do and discover, I thought the spiders added a great element of tension, and I found the inventory system intriguing. I seriously wondered for a while if this could be the next leap forward in adventure games, similar to how point-and-click interfaces replaced text parsing.

[@pnvgordinho]

Happy birthday Kim.

[@midierror]

Kim you are listening to the very heartbeat of the games I played as a kid! Thanks so much for these videos. Love them!

[@TRONMAGNUM2099]

I read an article you wrote on Americans getting a Spectrum. I started looking on Ebay. I can't wait to get one now. You guys were so lucky to have all those great games in the UK.

[@NickM...]

I had the Dizzy Collection on my Amstrad. Hours and hours of playing including calling the 'Dizzy Hotline' - I got bollocked when the phone bill came through...all trying to get over a bridge which I needed to take a powerpill to do....not that it's still annoying me.

[@SabretoothBarnacle]

Treasure Island Dizzy was the sweet spot for me, it was more about the immersion through exploring. Later games with more enemies to avoid and mini games just didn't strike a coord with me.

[@Tossphate]

Treasure Island dizzy was a wonderfully evocative adventure. Superb music as well

[@stevenross4223]

Great vid. I was very much the target for Dizzy back in the day, having owned most the C64 versions. I ended up with the Cosmic Spacehead/Fantastic Dizzy double pack on Megadrive and actually really enjoyed both games. Fantastic Dizzy felt like a greatest hits, repeating puzzles and gameplay elements from other games, but way more polished. I'd never have the patience now, but I remember eventually finding all 250 stars, getting to Zaks tower, then dying, and being so frustrated I never played it again, lol. So close, but so far. I'll need to dig out a KZbin playthrough to see the ending now.

[@24magiccarrot]

I wouldn't say the first dizzy was the worse dizzy. The only thing I'd change about it was being limited to only being able to carry one item was annoying and lead to a lot of back tracking.

[@PixelsAtDawn]

I think Fantastic Dizzy often gets overlooked as Dizzy was always primarily an 8-bit character. But it is a really quality game that I thoroughly enjoyed on the Amiga.

[@Rockythefishman]

Everytime I see the 3D I keep wondering "what if" Just like the planned cartoon. Could Dizzy have been a UK Sonic or even a Mario. I love that little egg.

[@lukewillis9609]

loads of these coming out for my evercade in October. I cannot wait....

[@jmp01a24]

Wanna trade Dizzy cards? I am missing a couple...

[@liefacts3000]

Really enjoyed the upload Kim. I loved dizzy as a child. When the American KZbinrs berated dizzy a few months ago my heart sank.

[@jmp01a24]

I enjoy Kims voice. Should be looking for commentor jobs. I'd watch anything that has Kims voice in it.

[@theguaable]

One American KZbinr who liked Dizzy, if I remember correctly, was the Gaming Historian in his video about the Aladdin Deck Enhancer.

[@jmp01a24]

@@theguaable That guy even looks like an European, so the jury is still out if he can count as Amercian YT per se.

[@RetroUnlim]

I loved fantastic dizzy on the Megadrive..

[@ashleykingston1980]

I think I watched you play this through on Twitch! Great to see the video and can't wait for the full Codemasters one.

[@kapparomeo]

I had Fantastic Dizzy on the Megadrive, but was only a young kid back then and could never finish it in one sitting. I'd like an opportunity to go back and do it properly. I also had Cosmic Spacehead, and I remember the platform sections being gruelling! I also remember my eight year-old self being incredibly disappointed that the game ended as soon as you reached Earth

[@RetroSegaDev]

Beautifully crafted. I always enjoy your detailed story videos! I hope one day I'll have the same level of polish :D The only thing I'd disagree with in this video is that I actually thought Cosmic Spacehead was the better game ;)

[@eleanorburns8686]

I do love the Mega Drive version of this. Such a whimsical and relaxing game, and I always appreciate a nice day / night cycle and rain (even if it makes Dizzy sad).

[@Giantwaspface]

I've been looking forward to this one, and you didn't disappoint. Good stuff. Also, Dizzy for Smash Bros!

[@rageblademage]

I always wanted a Dizzy game, the box photos in my Atari magazines always looked great to me.

[@chrisbomber101]

DIZZZZZZZZZZYYYYYY Thanks Kim x

[@NobletheSavage]

I loved " GHOST HUNTERSSSS "

[@IGiveUp-x4j]

Treasure Island, Fantasy World and Magic Land Dizzy on the old Amstrad. Cracking stuff!

[@fatbelly2438]

i rage quitted dizzy games so many times....lol

[@RobsonRoverRepair]

Bro it took me 30 years to finish Treasure Island because I couldn't find the 30th coin and I refused to cheat with it guide. I feel your pain.

[@obsoleteworlds]

It never struck me that people considered the first game poor. I thought it was magical and had a lovely dark fairytale atmosphere all of its own. Treasure Island Dizzy, which I waited and waited for the C64 port to be made then buggered that up by giving you only one life (allegedly just as a workaround to being trapped underwater) and the bloody thing crashed when you went past a certain screen.

[@BagOfMagicFood]

It's funny how we think of Fantastic Dizzy as Dizzy 7 or 8 due to the Amiga port, but the Oliver Twins had the first Nintendo version ready before Magicland Dizzy came out, making Fantastic more like the original Dizzy 4! But it's probably better to think of Fantastic as the start of a new "console continuity," since the manual tells how this is the Yolkfolk's first encounter with Zaks, and then the NES got a bunch of other Dizzy games remade with significant differences in the puzzles, sometimes just because Fantastic already recycled the earlier games' puzzles out of an apparent attitude that they'd be new to console gamers at the time anyway. The cancelled NES games getting releases in recent years helped flesh this out!

[@ctbullett300]

I really like Kwik Snax on the C64. Played it round my mates house, and it was better than my speccy, overly easy, pengu rip off, that I completed the day I got it. IMO

[@Giantwaspface]

Aye, C64 version was miles better. Got it as part of the Dizzy Collection, but for some reason the manual was for the speccy version. Confused my tiny little brain no end, that.

[@trailersic]

Na Spectrum 128k version is the best, awesome soundtrack

[@lmfsilva3000]

The 2-in-1 pack was the game I got with my console, and finished it with my brother a few times because for a while it was the only game I had (well, and Cosmic). Still love it, although always thought they should have supported the 6 button pad to help with the inventory. Probably should have battery backup too, but I'm not imagining I could remember where I stashed some endgame item two days before, when two hours was sometimes a problem to begin with.

[@BagOfMagicFood]

Hey yeah, and they should have added mouse support to the PC versions of Cosmic Spacehead!

[@yolkfolk_com]

Nice video, Kim. Not the easiest game in the series, but addictive once you manage to solve some item puzzles. Dizzy has of course come a very long way, especially after we helped the Olivers release 4 NES games that were left unreleased back in the day. Who knows what the future has in store for the Prince of the Yolkfolk. :)

[@OliverTwins]

indeed you did - and we're very grateful for that!

[@pal-of-pals]

Never really got into the Dizzy series, but Fantastic Dizzy looks pretty fun.

[@KingofPotatoPeople]

I met someone who turned out to work for Codemasters....he said everyone asks about a new Dizzy game but they won’t do it.

[@Cephlin]

Great video Kim!

[@pgl0897]

I’m pretty sure there was a touched up iOS release of one of the Dizzy games a few years ago - Prince of The Yolk Folk maybe? - but I can’t see it on the App Store anymore.

[@dotcomgirl210]

HAPPY BIRTHDAY KJ!!!, love ya babes🎂🎉💜

[@barc0deblankblank]

Keep em videos coming Kimmy!

[@manoo2056]

Great video. Looking forward to that Codemasters documentary. I wished there was a chance you made some videos about 8bit computer companies across Europe, or other developers. But, with the amount of attention to detail and documenting you use to achieve, Im afraid that won't happen. I really trust your documentaries, and it is nice to see the "PAL" perspective. By they way, do you have any video about PAL conversions? We really got a distorted view of gaming in 90s in our continent because of that.

[@shagnastii]

Hey Kimble. What is the intro theme you use? It feels very UK TV 1980’s/1990’s.

[@alexcorten3371]

Yeah it’s driving me crazy I know it but can’t put my finger on what it is off

[@BlUsKrEEm]

The Game Gear ports are amazing. A must have for any GG collector

[@tomkrawec]

I find it amusingly fitting that I have my name read out for this Dizzy video... Prince of the Yolkfolk frustrated me no end when I was a young teen. Eventually I found out (when GameFaqs was available) that you had to jump off the side of the screen to find Heaven. I was not entirely impressed, but I did enjoy finally finishing the thing.

[@SimianScience]

i remember seeing ads for dizzy in EGM here in america

[@6581punk]

Dizzy.... I'm so dizzy my egg is spinning.... as the song goes.

[@xyz-ns7ym]

Probably my favourite mega drive game. Definitely the game I've completed the most times. I'd love to make my own with these assets but 10x longer. One day :)

[@poppinandrottin]

Dizzy any good for Amiga?

[@DaveMcGarry]

I know you've had it for ages Kim but who made your intro ... It's bloody brilliant! Oh and is it your birthday? Happy Birthday you fabulous sod you!

[@MGForums]

It’s the epitome of nostalgic. Reminds of the old movie production logos from the 70’s. Kim seems too young for her knowledge & abilities...amazing!

[@FatNorthernBigot]

I remember "Dizzy" being a video franchise that just happened to other games.

[@MrMcKane]

If you need footage of any of Codemasters racing games, let me know

[@HelloMisterJAMWAH]

The last Mega Drive game I bought was the 2-in-1 Fantastic Dizzy/Cosmic Spacehead (come to think about it, my last Speccy purchase was the multipack of the last few Dizzy budget titles too). I've spent the last week trying to complete it, being notoriously shit at games. It really holds up for me, barring the 'falling off a cloud and dying under a snail' section.

[@ministry2627]

Dizzy's era was the late 80s and based around the Amstrad, C64, Speccy and Amiga. The best games came out of that time. Treasure Island Dizzy, Fantasy World Dizzy and Magic Land Dizzy. I would even include the first game, simply because it was like nothing I had ever played before. It was one of the hardest as well. Admittedly, I didn't play Fantastic Dizzy though. My gaming tastes had moved on by then. The Oliver Twins created some real magic back in the day. Edit: Add Prince of the Yolkfolk also.

[@jasonlam9017]

Isn't the first Dizzy the most underrated computer game in human history?

[@stotz31]

I really enjoyed this video. Thank you

[@jimmanycricket3756]

4:38 could of sworn that was Alan Partridge for a second

[@rozzbozzgames]

Brilliant, just had a boiled egg for breakfast .... thanks for another 17mins of great content :)!

[@billhicks8]

murderer!

[@neat3468]

Hey what? The first Dizzy was really great on CPC464, it was not terrible at all. Fastfood was always my favourite, even though it isn't a traditional Dizzy game, way better than pacman. And then the Amiga version was also fantastic, even better than the CPC464 version and completely different levels.

[@YOLKFOLK]

Eggcellent

[@Jaspertine]

The appeal and nostalgia for Dizzy is one of those things where all I can really do is shrug and say "Must be some sort of cultural thing."

[@jmp01a24]

You some kind of American or Asian that only had one console to feast upon as a kid?

[@Jaspertine]

@@jmp01a24 Canadian. I did play Fantastic Dizzy on NES as a kid, and I didn't understand it back then either.

[@gamedisplayed5287]

that helpline number is hilarious

[@graemenicol6377]

Got to say I never completed this game however the C64 and Amiga ones I did.

[@GiddyVideo]

Dammit Whats the song at the start? Telly theme tune?

[@RobsonRoverRepair]

Now this is basically 128k porn. I've been looking forward to this for ages

[@Kee-Lo]

I'm hoping one day they make this for the Switch, think it would work well on there.

[@pgl0897]

There’s so many classic C64 games that would work brilliantly with a touch up for the switch.

[@revengenerd1]

Could be faulty memory but I seem to remember a poke to disable those terrible cage traps in Treasure Island Dizzy which was pretty much needed.

[@theguaable]

There are a lot of cheats for it, including the ability to fly!

[@MephProduction]

First Dizzy wasn't the worse, it was one of the better ones. Bubble Dizzy and rapids were pretty good on the c64. I always considered Fantastic Dizzy to be the weakest game.

[@lactobacillusprime]

The Dizzy games always were very playable (for the most part) and enjoyable (for the most part). Love the anti heroes featured in the games.

[@pnvgordinho]

I like Dizzy games, the small cute graphics and all but I hate that you can only use 3 items at once.

[@steved8193]

Fantastic Dizzy was a great game on the Megadrive that was really let down by having no save feature. It could really have done with an 'Easy Mode' where Dizzy could hold infinite items, not have to collect stars, etc.

[@nebularain3338]

Dizzy i s a series I never ever got into back in the day. Probably because when people mentioned it I got in confused with Spindizzy which was a marble madness clone I had on my Amstrad. I'm not a huge fan of cutsie platformers anyway so there's another reason, but I respect their significance in the gaming world.

[@jonnya4209]

Dizzy dying and floating face down in the water in Treasure Island Dizzy scarred the soul. Only thing worse than that would be dying and floating face down not in water.

[@OliverTwins]

Great video - thank you.

[@chiissu]

I actually found I have Fantastic Dizzy on a multicart of Genesis games i got a while back. I was curious as eggs are nice and it seems wholesome, and cheerful. But all these issues make me not really wanna go at it as it seems more trouble than its worth. I don't hate it and have nothing against Dizzy, In fact, the character seems kinda friendly, but this game don't seem like its for me. Thanks for the vid. Now know (which is half the battle).

[@revengenerd1]

I own the game from back in the day but don't think I got more than 1/3 through the game I think it was the more obscure puzzles I remember trying the items I had on every screen and not getting anywhere, actually thinking back I think I may have been near the end of the game but it was so easy to die in the mini games and from those rats in the town. Years later I did it with an emulator and save states and did complete but I think it took about 5 or 6 hours!

[@RenegadeStreetBadd]

Was that the old BBC Video jingle?

[@IuriFiedoruk]

I bough the NES version at the time, and loved it, but never could finish, just because it misses a password or save system. I am actually playing the Mega Drive version now, using save-stages (kudos to modern emulation) to avoid the issues of playing a big game in just one run, and it is quite easier and nice, but I still love the NES version a bit more because of speed and some character graphics that are, amazingly, better on the 8 bits console.

[@indahpratiwi4308]

Thanks Kimbo Slice

[@HaydenX]

I like Dizzy well enough, but I feel you're glossing over Cosmic Spacehead too much. It's loaded with fun little jokes, cool puzzles, phenomenal music, and admittedly simple, but tight platforming. It's actually my favorite point-and-click ever, and it was one of only three games I rented more than twice, the others being Bio Hazard Battle and Jewel Master. Everyone do yourself a favor and play Cosmic Spacehead...or if you're really lazy and can't even bother emulating it, at least listen to the soundtrack and do your ears a solid.

[@BagOfMagicFood]

I'd also urge everyone to try the American NES version, Linus Spacehead's Cosmic Crusade, to get the experience of playing through with the original Linus Spacehead physics instead of all the challenge coming from a limited number of passwords.

[@shkeni]

I always admired more than liked these games when I was little. I still have a lot of love for them but they can be infuriating. Also Codemasters had TWO sets of twins??

[@poppinandrottin]

Egg dropping stuff from it`s pockets not like usually eggs dropping from ones pockets.

[@WorthlessWinner]

Don't insult Cosmic Spacehead, it had a lot of charm of it's own! Surprised to hear Pogi had his own game :I The graveyard fueled my imagination so much. I had to stop the game and re-play it from the beginning because i lost an item behind something in the foreground too many times (one problem you didn't have on spectrum lol)

[@Mike14264]

While Fantastic Dizzy has its annoyances, like the fact he's an egg and rolls everywhere, the somewhat annoying and unreliable health system and one or two puzzles that were just too much (the treasure chest, anyone?), the MegaDrive version was fantastic, the puzzles were neat, it was a great game overall, and it has a pretty cool Easter Egg!

[@dejongejohan]

I only learned about Dizzy later in life through the internet and my ongoing quest for more retrogaming trivia and i think i would've loved playing me some Dizzy in the 80s on my MSX...

[@nungfish]

Chucky egg was my game back then and of course Jet set Willy, good times!

[@MGForums]

Ahhh chuck was the man, only 15 levels I think, that looped and got progressively more difficult with more enemies and that big yellow bird following you everywhere. Many hours put into JSW without a hope of ever completing it. 😵

[@retrogameroom9019]

Theres no new videos anymore on retro stuff....the well is drying out....omg run for the hills

[@marcinsta90s]

Whhhhhyyyyy haven’t they released it on the Nintendo eshop

[@SelfIndulgentGamer]

I bought the original for the C64 and hated the controls, I think BMX simulator was the one I enjoyed most from their budget range :)

[@Jayce_Alexander]

I hate that egg. To this very day I have my eggs scrambled only. All because of Dizzy.