Grand Dizzy
Dizzy Returns - The return that never happened
"Dizzy Returns" was to be an original adventure game developed by the Oliver Twins' then company, Blitz Games Studios.
On the 23rd November 2012, the Oliver Twins launched the campaign on Kickstarter.
The project's target was a very hefty £350,000.
Unfortunately, the Kickstarter failed after only £25,000+ was pledged after the campaign's deadline date on the 21st December 2012.
Following this disappointing target, the Oliver Twins announced on the same day that Dizzy Returns was no longer in development.
The Olivers attributed the failure to starting the campaign very early in pre-development and therefore not having anything concrete to show to potential backers.
They stated that while they were still interested in revisiting the series in the future, any such project would have to have a "considerably different" vision.
While it is a real shame that the campaign wasn't anywhere near the target,
the concept art and pages from the booklet show how the game would've looked.
Dizzy awakens to a world covered in dust and overgrown plants.
He’s clearly been asleep for a long time.
Zaks must have cast a sleeping spell on the whole world!
But then… if Zaks cast the spell, why hasn’t he used the time to do away with
the Yolkfolk while they slept?
Dizzy sets out to find everyone.
He explores the world, now overrun by plants, and wakes the Yolkfolk.
The final person that Dizzy wakes is the friendly Wizard Theodore.
He gives Dizzy advice to control the time of day.
Dizzy journeys across the world, heading for Zaks’ castle.
This involves travelling the inter-dimensional pathways of Theodore’s Library, pretending to
be a pirate, exploring Goldheart’s Tomb and lots more.
Eventually Dizzy finds his way into Zaks’ castle, but Zaks is asleep,
and more importantly, there’s a giant Dragon in the castle!
While waking the people, Dizzy also wakes Zaks and the Dragon.
Through flashbacks shown in the 8-bit retro style of the classic Dizzy games, we learn
that twenty years ago, Zaks summoned the Dragon to help him get rid of
the Yolkfolk once and for all.
Unfortunately, the Dragon ran amok and he couldn’t control the beast.
Zaks didn’t want to rule a burning, destroyed wasteland,
so he cast a spell to put the Dragon to sleep.
However, the spell worked too well and it put everyone to sleep – including himself.
Back in the present, Dizzy and Zaks have no choice but to work together to gather the
ingredients for the spell that will banish the Dragon from the world.
After much adventuring, they succeed and the Dragon is banished and everyone is saved.
Of course Zaks immediately betrays Dizzy…
But that’s a story for another game.