Game Review: Dizzy Prince of the Yolkfolk

Posted on the 30 October 2013 by Donnambr @_mrs_b

Review: Dizzy Prince of the Yolkfolk (Amiga)

The Oliver twins had created many Dizzy games by the time Prince of the Yolkfolk made its appearance and the confidence certainly showed with this one. Dizzy is in a bit of a pickle at the outset with his girlfriend Daisy lost in an enchanted sleep while our hero has been imprisoned by a troll named Rockwart. After breaking free of your prison, Dizzy must defeat Rockwart and find a way to save Daisy. As with the other Dizzy games, you have to traverse a wide ranging land, gathering items along the way and solving a variety of puzzles. Dizzy is restricted to carrying three items at once and you will have to sometimes work your way from one side of the landscape to the other in order to utilise each one. As well as the puzzles, Dizzy must collect cherries which was his original intention when he and Daisy set out. The cherries are for a pie Grand Dizzy is making but they are secondary to your quest to be honest.

There are some memorable encounters to be had in Prince of the Yolkfolk. Among the character you will have to help are a lion with a thorn in his foot, a trumpeter who has lost his trumpet, and at one stage you encounter Charron on the River Styx who charges a hefty price in order for you to traverse the land beyond the river he is guarding. There is also a king and princess to help out at one point and most eerie is an encounter with your own doppelganger who needs to be killed in a rather cunning manner. The adventure isn’t as wide ranging as previous games but this may partly have been the result of some critics finding this aspect of Dizzy games to be particularly annoying.

Prince of the Yolkfolk is by far the best looking of the Dizzy games, edging out Magicland Dizzy with the visuals. While it’s a briefer experience than some of the previous installments, it is arguably the best of the bunch, a real treat to dip into for half an hour. The background soundtrack is fantastic, a real nostalgia trip and although you’ll despair at this silly egg getting into even more ludicrous scrapes, you’ll be glad by the time you have come to the end of this gem.

Prince of the Yolkfolk is probably as good as the Dizzy series ever got in my opinion. Only Treasure Island Dizzy and Magicland Dizzy come close to rivaling this one. Great graphics, testing puzzles, memorable characters and a fab soundtrack all augment this truly wonderful little game. The brevity is the only real downside but it’s the sort of game that warrants revisiting from time to time and more than 20 years on it’s still great.

Verdict: 5/5

About the Author:

I was born in Barnsley, South Yorkshire, England and have always been a bookworm and enjoyed creative writing at school.

In 1999 I created the Elencheran Chronicles and have been writing ever since. My first novel, Fezariu’s Epiphany, was published in May 2011. When not writing I’m a lover of films, games, books and blogging.

I now live in Huddersfield, West Yorkshire, with my wife, Donna, and our six cats – Kain, Razz, Buggles, Charlie, Bilbo and Frodo.

David M. Brown – who has written 861 posts on Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dave.