The Atari ST version of Spindizzy is arguably the best one around.
Spindizzy Worlds, which appeared on Atari ST, Amiga and Super Nintendo in 1990 – is a more compartmentalised reworking of the original Spindizzy, with branching levels and puzzles and gem-collecting in a challenging isometric world. Well, various worlds. All themed in a particular graphical style, and each with its own set of individual problems.
Chuckie Egg 2 is to Chuckie Egg what Jet Set Willy is to Manic Miner – it’s a platform game adventure with screens that can be re-visited, and routes that can be planned and executed, with some deft mapping and jumping.
Released by A&F Software in 1983, Nigel Alderton‘s brilliant platform game, Chuckie Egg, lit up Spectrums around the world, with its cute graphics and precise, challenging gameplay. In fact: Chuckie Egg is so sweet and characterful that it still has the power to enchant gamers today.
Which leads me up to this 2003 remake of Head Over Heels, by Retrospec.
A re-imagining of Ritman and Drummond‘s classic game, with updated visuals and sound. Does it cut the mustard? Does it live up to the greatness of the original?
The Amiga version of Head Over Heels – like the Atari ST version – is pretty much a perfect conversion of this classic isometric platform game.
The Atari ST and Amiga versions of Head Over Heels are pretty much indistinguishable, other than slight colour palette differences.
Both – I would say – are among the greatest video games of all time.
The Atari 8-bit home computer version is definitely the blandest-looking version of Head Over Heels, with the least amount of colour.
The MSX got a pretty much perfect conversion of Head Over Heels, although I’m not sure who the person was who converted it.
The best-looking of all the 8-bit versions of Head Over Heels, in my humble opinion.
Although the Commodore 64 was not thought to be particularly well-suited to these types of isometric platform games, Head Over Heels bucks the trend by being arguably just as good – if not better – than the Spectrum original.
Thanks to the sterling efforts of programmer Colin Porch.
