Through the joys of Kickstarter, Philip and Andrew Oliver – otherwise known as the Oliver Twins, have resurrected three games in the popular Dizzy series that were once otherwise considered lost. Wonderland Dizzy, Dreamworld Pogie and Mystery World Dizzy have all now seen daylight, with the next in line being the NES version of Panic! Dizzy.
Originally released for several PC’s as well as the Master System and Game Gear in 1991, the game was inspired by Tetris after the twins bought a Game Boy from an airport and played it non-stop on a flight to CES.
An NES version was then completely developed in 1992 but for one reason or another, was never released by Codemasters. Fast forward to the present day, within their Kickstarter campaign, the Oliver twins have recorded a video from their loft where the unreleased NES game was found (along with the previous Dizzy games that were re-released).
Just like the versions that were released, the NES port consists of 5 different puzzle games, each supporting single or multiplayer modes. While all Dizzy themed, they’re derivatives of Tetris gameplay, mostly involving matching up tiles as they fall down a vertical play area. Picture Perfect is a mode that stands out; here, a picture is to be unjumbled by pulling the tiles down and throwing them back up with the correct orientation.
Panic! Dizzy for the NES has been play-tested and patched by Lukasz Kur for the campaign. The pledges start at £8 for just the ROM, although £45 can be traded for the game on a real NES cartridge that comes boxed with a manual and poster. Further still, £55 will get you that signed – and from there, pledges go up in price and come bundled with all sorts of goodies such as mugs, t-shirts, mouse pads, books, magazines and even an aluminium print of the box art. The motherload for the ultimate Dizzy fan costs £125, and that includes everything.
As of writing, the campaign has only been active for a day and has already smashed its £13,500 goal – so there are no worries of the project not being funded. You currently have 29-days to order what you wish from their campaign page – and I would too if you’re so inclined because as the twins point out, previous games now fetch a high price online – up to 300 ‘quid’ as they say in the motherland.
