''The Excellent Dizzy Collection'' is a video game compilation published by

Codemasters The Codemasters Software Company Limited (trade name: Codemasters) is a British video game developer based in Southam, England, which is a subsidiary of American corporation Electronic Arts. Founded by brothers Richard and David Darling in Octo ...

in November 1993. The title includes three stand alone games, based on the video game character

Dizzy Dizziness is an imprecise term that can refer to a sense of disorientation in space, vertigo, or lightheadedness. It can also refer to disequilibrium or a non-specific feeling, such as giddiness or foolishness. Dizziness is a common medica ...

created by the Oliver Twins. The compilation contains, '' Dizzy the Adventurer'', '' Panic Dizzy'' and the previously unreleased ''Go! Dizzy Go!''. Ports were slated for release in January 1994 for

Master System The is an 8-bit History of video game consoles (third generation), third-generation home video game console manufactured by Sega. It was originally a remodeled export version of the Sega Mark III, the third iteration of the SG-1000 series of ...

and

Mega Drive The Sega Genesis, known as the outside North America, is a 16-bit fourth generation home video game console developed and sold by Sega. It was Sega's third console and the successor to the Master System. Sega released it in 1988 in Japan as ...

; however, only the

Game Gear The is an 8-bit Fourth generation of video game consoles, fourth generation handheld game console released by Sega on October 6, 1990, in Japan, in April 1991 throughout North America and Europe, and during 1992 in Australia. The Game Gear pri ...

version saw release, and only in

PAL regions The PAL region is a television publication territory that covers most of Europe and Africa, alongside parts of Asia, South America and Oceania. It is named PAL because of the PAL (Phase Alternating Line) television standard traditionally used i ...

Games

''Dizzy the Adventurer''

''Dizzy the Adventurer'' is an enhanced version of the previously released '' Dizzy Prince of the Yolkfolk'' that was bundled with the Aladdin Deck Enhancer for the Oliver twin's publisher (

/ Camerica) ill-fated NES peripheral. The title had not previously been released on the Sega platforms so was originally going to be released as a stand-alone game but publisher Codemasters was uncomfortable releasing it at full price.

''Panic Dizzy''

The game was originally released as a stand-alone product, '' Dizzy Panic!'', for the

Amstrad CPC The Amstrad CPC (short for ''Colour Personal Computer'') is a series of 8-bit home computers produced by Amstrad between 1984 and 1990. It was designed to compete in the mid-1980s home computer market dominated by the Commodore 64 and the S ...

ZX Spectrum The ZX Spectrum () is an 8-bit home computer that was developed by Sinclair Research. It was released in the United Kingdom on 23 April 1982, and became Britain's best-selling microcomputer. Referred to during development as the ''ZX81 Colou ...

and Commodore 64, but was later included as a last-minute replacement for ''Wonderland Dizzy''. Codemasters felt that two adventure games should not be included on the one compilation, so the Oliver Twins decided to leave ''Dizzy the Adventurer'' and replace ''Wonderland Dizzy'' (which was eventually released in October 2015) with ''Panic Dizzy'' to complement the other two game styles.

''Go! Dizzy Go!''

''Go! Dizzy Go!'' was originally to be released on the NES for the Aladdin; due to its unexpected failure, the title was then planned for release as a stand-alone title for the Sega Master System and Sega Game Gear. The publisher, Codemasters, was uncomfortable releasing it separately at full price, so included it as part of ''The Excellent Dizzy Collection''. The game is an action-puzzle game where the player must navigate the Dizzy through a series of mazes similar to the '' Adventures of Lolo'' games. '' Quattro Arcade'', released for the NES in 1992, includes Go! Dizzy Go!.

Development

After the failure of the Aladdin Deck Enhancer, Camerica was forced to close down, and

was in financial trouble. As a result, many staff left the Oliver twins' software company, Interactive Studios, who were unable to find replacements. ''Dizzy The Adventurer'' was freely bundled with the Aladdin, and three other titles were being developed for it; ''Dreamworld Pogie'', ''Go! Dizzy Go!'' and '' Wonderland Dizzy''. After the Aladdin was abandoned, the Oliver twins decided to release all four (when completed) on the Sega Master System and Sega Game Gear to bring in some extra revenue, but Codemasters wasn't comfortable releasing each as a full priced stand alone title, so forced them to combine the games into a compilation, although only three would fit. They abandoned the non-Dizzy oriented game, ''Dreamworld Pogie'', and intended to release the action game ''Go! Dizzy Go!'' and the two adventure games ''Wonderland Dizzy'' and ''Dizzy The Adventurer''. Codemasters marketing team informed the Olivers that they couldn't release two adventure games on the one compilation. They decided that the previously released ''Dizzy The Adventurer'' was the stronger title and didn't require any further development and, as a replacement for ''Wonderland Dizzy'', the twins included the previously released ''Panic Dizzy''. After ''The Excellent Dizzy Collection'' was released, the Oliver twins left Codemasters for another publisher and with the

intellectual property Intellectual property (IP) is a category of property that includes intangible creations of the human intellect. There are many types of intellectual property, and some countries recognize more than others. The best-known types are patents, cop ...

split between Codemasters and the Oliver twins no more Dizzy games were ever produced, although both companies have since said they would like to revisit the series. ''Wonderland Dizzy'' was eventually released in 2015. ''Dreamworld Pogie'' remained unreleased until 2011 when an alpha build was somehow leaked online. An official release of the game finally occurred in 2017, following a successful Kickstarter campaign from the original creators.

References

External links

The Oliver twins' website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Excellent Dizzy Collection, The 1993 video games Cancelled Master System games Cancelled Sega Genesis games Codemasters games Dizzy (series) Game Gear games Video game compilations Video games developed in the United Kingdom Single-player video games