The best Speccy game by Code Masters: vote

[PeteProdge]

Pheeee-ew! It's taken well over an hour to get the 100 original ZX Spectrum games by Code Masters listed with links, screenshots and loading screens.

And yeah, someone did say this is "the best Dizzy game" poll, but wow, there is a lot more than those here. I mean, there are all those Dizzy-esque efforts! And all those simulators. And just general one-offs.

If you don't see a Code Masters game you expected to see here, it's probably because it's from a sub-brand like Code Masters Gold; Code Masters Plus or Cartoon Time, which I will cover in future polls.

A lot of chaff here, but definitely quite many gems too.

"They're all utterly brilliant!" - Richard Darling

"I'm voting for them all even though it's not actually possible to do that, I just think they're all fantastic!" - Bruce Everiss

"Yeah, but Kwalee is a lot better" - David Darling

"Are these quotes all legit, Pete?" - The Oliver Twins

"I never make anything up, you can ask my girlfriend, Scarlett Johanssen" - Pete Prodge

1st Division Manager


3D Starfighter


750cc Grand Prix


Advanced Pinball Simulator


Arcade Flight Simulator


ATV Simulator


Big Nose's American Adventure


Bigfoot


Billy the Kid


Blade Warrior


BMX Freestyle


BMX Simulator


BMX Simulator 2


Bounty Hunter, The


Brainache


Bronx Street Cop


Bubble Dizzy


Captain Dynamo


Championship Jet Ski Simulator


CJ in the USA


CJ's Elephant Antics


Crystal Kingdom Dizzy


Cue Boy (within compilation Supersports Challenge)


Death Stalker


Dizzy


Dizzy Down the Rapids (within compilation Dizzy's Excellent Adventures)


Dizzy, Prince of the YolkFolk


DJ Puff


F-16 Fighting Falcon


Fantasy World Dizzy


Fast Food


Fruit Machine Simulator


Fruit Machine Simulator 2


Ghost Hunters


Grand Prix Simulator


Grand Prix Simulator 2


Grell and Fella


Hit Squad, The


International Rugby Simulator


Italian Supercar


Jungle Warfare


Kamikaze


KGB Superspy


Kwik Snax


Magicland Dizzy


Miami Chase


Mission Jupiter


Monte Carlo Casino


Moto Cross Simulator


Mountain Bike 500


Murray Mouse Supercop


Necris Dome


Ninja Massacre


Operation Gunship


Panic Dizzy


Paris to Dakar


Pro Golf Simulator


Pro Powerboat Simulator


Pro Skateboard Simulator


Pro Tennis Simulator


Professional Ski Simulator


Professional Snooker Simulator


Pub Trivia


Rallycross Simulator


Robin Hood - Legend Quest


SAS Combat Simulator


Sergeant Seymour Robot Cop


Seymour Goes to Hollywood


Sky High Stuntman


Slicks (within compilation Supersports Challenge)


Slightly Magic


Soccer Pinball


Soviet Fighter MiG 29


Spellbound Dizzy


Spike in Transylvania


Star Runner


Steg


Street Gang Football


Stryker - In the Crypts of Trogan


Stuntman Seymour


Super Bike TransAm


Super Car Trans Am


Super Dragon Slayer


Super G-Man


Super Hero


Super Robin Hood


Super Seymour Saves the Planet


Super Stuntman


Super Tank


Tarzan Goes Ape


Terra Cognita


Tilt


Tornado ECR


Transmuter


Treasure Island Dizzy


Twin Turbo V8


Wacky Darts


White Heat


Wild West Seymour


Wrestling Superstars

[Hank Scorpio]

Wow, Arcade Flight Simulator looks just like Advanced Pinball Simulator!

Anyway, my top three are:

1 ATV Simulator
2 Fantasy World Dizzy
3 Slightly Magic

[AndyC]

Honestly, the Codies put out so many titles that deserve a slot in one of these best of lists that it seems crushingly unfair to many of them. I found myself torn between what I'd call the best 3 or limiting myself to just one of the Dizzy titles. Sorry Operation Gunship, Slightly Magic and others but I have to be a purist here:

1) Magicland Dizzy
2) Fantasy World Dizzy
3)! Treasure Island Dizzy

[blucey]

ATV Sim

[PeteProdge]

Unfortunately I cannot find Slicks (part of the Supersports Challenge compilation) anywhere, it's not even in the usually-reliable TOSEC games collection. Now yes, Code Masters making their entire back catalogue unavailable to emulation sites is obviously a factor in this (and I'm not giving out links to distribution-denied material here or asking anyone else to do so here). Cue Boy (part of the same compilation) is there (even as .tzx). Not that I ever expected Slicks to be a poll topper, if it's sitting on a compilation with three previously released games, it's probably not that great. Still, YS gave it 74%.

Anyway, my top three:

1) ATV Simulator - stone cold classic!
2) Dizzy - yeah, it gave me months of addiction. Some of the sequels may well be better, but I'm fond of the time I had this.
3) Ninja Massacre - I have no idea why this Gauntlet/Dandy clone is despised, I really liked the presentation, the graphics and the music were pretty top notch.

Oh, and I got the in-game image for Arcade Flight Simulator wrong! Well spotted @Hank Scorpio! Here it is, properly...

[AndyC]

The in-game screen for Super Seymour Saves the Planet also looks suspiciously like Super Robin Hood (I'd actually forgotten just how many Seymour games there were - shame they're all distribution denied or I might revisit them)

[stupidget]

1 - BMX simulator because my mate and I used to spend hours playing this on 2 player mode. Loved the action replays.
2 - ATV Simulator
3 - Super Robin Hood.

[Juan F. Ramirez]

Hard choice this time, as it"s a long list and no many games stand out IMO, anyway my choice:

1 - Ghost Hunters
2 - Super Hero
3 - Death Stalker

[PeteProdge]

The in-game screen for Super Seymour Saves the Planet also looks suspiciously like Super Robin Hood

Oops!

Let's put the record straight, there aren't any arrow-wielding East Midlands heroes in Super Seymour Saves The Planet!

(I'd actually forgotten just how many Seymour games there were - shame they're all distribution denied or I might revisit them)

Oh, the games are quite easy to find online. I'm not providing a link or any instructions for that, it's just relatively simple to find .tap and .tzx files of them. (Except for Slicks... grrr!)

[Matt_B]

Advanced Pinball Simulator was the only "advanced" simulator they released. There are a lot of "pro", "professional" or just plain simulators, mind you.

1. Advanced Pinball Simulator
2. Dizzy
3. ATV Simulator

[p13z]

1: ATV Simulator
2: BMX Simulator
3: Grand Prix Simulator 2

[PQR]

1. ATV Simulator
2. Dizzy
3. Monte Carlo Casino

You can say what you want about the general mediocre quality of Codemaster’s games, but look at the artwork of many of those loading screens! Absolutely beautiful use of colour and gradients.

[Vampyre]

1. ATV Sim
2. Grand Prix Sim 1
3. Fruit Machine Sim 1

Blimey! ATV Sim's nailing this one so far. Good game, better than many a full-price, but I expected one of the Dizzy's to annihilate everything else. Never played one myself but they're always spoken of in such fond terms.

[Lee Bee]

Another great thread, Pete with tons of effort put into it!

I got my Speccy in 87, just when the Codies were thriving, so I regard them (and Ocean) as the big names of my childhood.

Impossible to pick a top 5, but it might be something like…

1. Magicland Dizzy
2. Fantasy World Dizzy
3. Slightly Magic
4. Kwik Snax (if only for the titles / intro sequence)
5. Tilt

"This game is clinically proven to cure baldness!"
—David Darling

[WIWC]

1) ATV Simulator - great fun
2) Seymour At The Movies
3) Tarzan Goes Ape
4) Terra Cognita
5) Super Hero
6) Dizzy
7) CJ's Elephant Antics
8) Pro Ski Simulator

[Mpk]

1. Tilt (C64)
2. CJ in the USA
3. ATV Simulator

I have played very few CM games, it turns out. I reckon I played Dizzy early on and avoided them thereafter.

[Nick]

1. CJ's Elephant Antics
2. Crystal Kingdom Dizzy
3. Super Robin Hood

[hitm4n]

Tough choices with the dizzy games. I think i enjoyed Fantasy World Dizzy most.
And ashamed to say, played very few codemasters games it seems as i scroll through this immense list. They just weren't on my radar. I reckon my mind was thinking the budget prices meant crappy games (which was true in a lot of cases). A nice steady output of good looking stuff overall though.

I'll go with...

Fantasy World Dizzy
Terra Cognita (sucker for SHMUPS)
and Slightly Magic


Bugger... Missed this one

[PeteProdge]

Wow, it's not that common for the poll results to agree with me, but I am so pleased many of you picked ATV Simulator, it's the outright winner here, with 8 votes!

Joint second place is a bit far down, with 3 votes each, it's BMX Simulator and Magicland Dizzy.

Fantasy World Dizzy; Slightly Magic and Treasure Island Dizzy occupy the third spot, 2 votes each.

Finally, joint fourth, 1 vote each: 3D Starfighter; Advanced Pinball Simulator; Captain Dynamo; CJ's Elephant Antics; Dizzy; Ghost Hunters; Grand Prix Simulator; Grand Prix Simulator 2; Kwik Snax; Sergeant Seymour Robot Cop; Spellbound Dizzy and Tarzan Goes Ape.

A lot of interesting titles in the proportional results, which roughly correlates with the main poll:

ATV Simulator 22
Fantasy World Dizzy 9
Dizzy 6
Magicland Dizzy 6
BMX Simulator 5
Advanced Pinball Simulator 3
CJ's Elephant Antics 3
Ghost Hunters 3
Slightly Magic 3
Tilt 3
CJ in the USA 2
Crystal Kingdom Dizzy 2
Grand Prix Simulator 2
Seymour Goes to Hollywood 2
Super Hero 2
Super Robin Hood 2
Terra Cognita 2
Death Stalker 1
Fruit Machine Simulator 1
Grand Prix Simulator 2 1
Monte Carlo Casino 1
Ninja Massacre 1
Tarzan Goes Ape 1
Treasure Island Dizzy 1

[AndyC]

I did wonder if the sheer number of Dizzy titles would split the vote somewhat and I suspect they have, although ATV was certainly a fun game too.

[p13z]

I did wonder if the sheer number of Dizzy titles would split the vote somewhat and I suspect they have, although ATV was certainly a fun game too.

Dizzy gets a lot of mentions and love, in terms of general Speccy nostalgia, but the proportional votes confirmed something I suspected. A lot of people just aren't keen on Dizzy games at all (myself included). The combined votes for all Dizzy games was still lower than ATV.

[PeteProdge]

I did wonder if the sheer number of Dizzy titles would split the vote somewhat and I suspect they have, although ATV was certainly a fun game too.

Dizzy gets a lot of mentions and love, in terms of general Speccy nostalgia, but the proportional votes confirmed something I suspected. A lot of people just aren't keen on Dizzy games at all (myself included). The combined votes for all Dizzy games was still lower than ATV.

I have a love/hate relationship with Dizzy. I've got fondness for the original game, I played it heavily for a year, tried to do a walkthrough on an invincibility POKE (and still couldn't get past Zaks!). The sequel, Treasure Island Dizzy, the game engine was tweaked to be a bit better but it just felt like more of the same. And then they hit upon the common game engine which was a LOT better and bringing in more of his family but it's just treading water really. Even many of the titles - Fantasy World; Magic Land and Spellbound - are pretty much the same meaning. It became a cash cow to be heavily milked.

Fast Food and Kwik Snax were interesting diversions. The Toobin' rip-off was dire, though.

[Lee Bee]

Even many of the titles - Fantasy World; Magic Land and Spellbound - are pretty much the same meaning. It became a cash cow to be heavily milked.

Gosh, surprised there are those who feel that way. I thought everyone loved Dizzy! I don't see the games as generic copy-and-paste cash-ins. To me, each title is a really different, fun, adventure and I can't get enough! Then again, I don't like the Miner Willy games, and do see them as being all the same - which is probably blasphemy to a lot of people here!

[Nitrowing]

Never enjoyed Dizzy

[stupidget]

I found the Dizzy games incredibly tiresome. . Plus, that smug eggy turd really annoyed me.