Dizzy (Codemasters, 1987)

Spectrum and Amstrad versions:
Design and programming by Philip & Andrew Oliver
Graphics by James Wilson
Music by Jon-Paul Eldridge

Commodore 64 conversion written by Ian Gray with music by David Whittaker.

Originally published for the Sinclair ZX Spectrum and Amstrad CPC by Codemasters in 1987.
Commodore 64 version published by Codemasters in 1988.

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INTRODUCTION & GAME STATUS

Despite Codemasters being an enormous entity in the life of gamers for over 35 years now, the company hasn't been represented here on the Finnish Retro Game Comparison Blog enough, so I gathered it was high time to correct this imbalance. The game chosen for this job was the first game in a series that would eventually become a full-blown franchise for all the major home computers at the time, and practically give these machines the first recognizable mascot since Horace, Miner Willy and Wally Week. The notable difference was, of course, that Dizzy had actual facial expressions to make the character have an actual personality than being merely another sprite with no clear defining characteristics.

Splat! (Incentive Software, 1983)

Originally written for the Sinclair ZX Spectrum by Ian Andrew and Ian Morgan, and published by Incentive Software in 1983.

Converted for the Commodore 64 by Ian Andrew and Steve Zodiac, and published by Incentive Software in 1984.

Converted for the Amstrad CPC by Ian Andrew and Paul Shirley, and published by Amsoft in 1985.

Converted for the SAM Coupé by Colin Jordan, with music by Colin Jordan and František Fuka, and digitized speech by Edwin Blink. Published by Revelation Software in 1991.

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INTRODUCTION & GAME STATUS

After last month's mayhem with Mastertronic games, I wanted to start off this summer with something less demanding, but which would offer something rare for the blog. In the case of Splat!, the rare element is a SAM Coupé version of the game, which I found when doing research for Endless Forms Most Beautiful. I didn't find Splat! until after emulation had arrived, but it has still been a favourite of mine for over 20 years now (it did get featured in one of My Nostalgia Trip Games episodes), so I decided to have a look at all its official versions before the game's 40th anniversary.