Finally! ‘Fantasy World Dizzy’ NES remake arrives 24 years later

By Steven Petite April 9, 2017

Let's Play Mystery World Dizzy by The Oliver Twins - written 1992 for NES

Fantasy World Dizzy, the third entry in the platforming series starring an anthropomorphic egg, was scheduled to be ported from arcade to NES in 1993. Unexpected financial woes kept the game from seeing release — until now.

Philip and Andrew Oliver, the twin brothers behind the Dizzy franchise set up a booth at the National Videogame Arcade to celebrate the 30th anniversary of Dizzy — The Ultimate Cartoon Adventure, the first entry in the series. At the event, the duo revealed that the NES remake of Fantasy World Dizzy would finally be made available.

Titled Mystery World Dizzy, the retooled game is available to play as either a flash game or ROM right now. You may be thinking, “Well, that’s not technically an NES game since you play it on PC.” You’re right, it’s not, but there’s more. While everyone can play the game now for free in their browsers, if you want the experience you thought you were going to have in 1993, you might get that chance. The Oliver twins announced that they will set up a Kickstarter campaign to produce NES cartridges of Mystery World Dizzy.

If that isn’t enough Dizzy for you, you can pick up Let’s Go Dizzy: The Story of the Oliver Twins, a new book about the franchise and its creators, from Fusion Retro Books. According to Eurogamer, the Oliver Twins discuss the development of Mystery World Dizzy in the book.

“We had some good staff and I thought we could direct them to make an updated, slicker version of our favourite Spectrum Dizzy game — Fantasy World Dizzy,” Andrew said.

This isn’t the first time a Dizzy game has been updated for modern audiences. In 2015, Magicland Dizzy, the fourth numbered entry in the series, was released for free online as Wonderland Dizzy.

Even with renewed interest in the franchise in recent years, don’t expect a new Dizzy game anytime soon. In 2012, a Kickstarter campaign for Dizzy Returns, accumulated just $25,000 of its $350,000 goal.

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Former Digital Trends Contributor

Steven is a writer from Northeast Ohio currently based in Louisiana. He writes about video games and books, and consumes…

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