Capers Conversion

How the different versions of Fantasy World Dizzy stack up

Amstrad CPC

As it was designed for the Amstrad, it’s not surprising that the CPC original is top-notch. Its environments are designed around the chosen four-colour palette, so they look great. Responsive controls make the game’s platforming a joy, and its lively tunes are never repetitive.

Commodore 64

■ Like the first two Dizzy adventures, the C64 Fantasy World was ported by Ian Gray. This adaptation is a faithful one, although it turns the upside-down Australian stage the right way up. It adds a border graphic and death animation that the original doesn’t have, though, and it sounds great.

Atari st

■ In-game music quality aside, the ST Fantasy World Dizzy is identical to the

Amiga version. As with the Commodore port, the new levels in the ST game contain pick-ups that net you points. There aren’t any new puzzles in them, either, but they do test you with some tricky platforming.

ZX spectrum

■ Converted by the Olivers, the Spectrum iteration is as close to the original as you could expect. On the downside, there’s a little colour clash, but the game has more colours on the Sinclair systems than on the CPC. The Spectrum 128K version also has a spoken welcome message.

Amiga

■ The team that brought Fantasy World Dizzy to the Amiga, ST and DOS delivered everything you could hope for an upgraded conversion. All three versions have muchimproved visuals, more collectibles and extra screens, but the Amiga port is the best thanks to its superior soundtrack.

dos

■ This is the poor cousin of the 16-bit versions in terms of audio – there’s singlechannel chiptune music pregame and sparse sound effects in-game. Otherwise, it replicates its Amiga and ST counterparts, including their cutscene interactions between Dizzy and his friends.