I picked this game out from a magazine when I was in preschool (or around that time). In the magazine, this was said to be almost unbeatable. That alone was music to my ears, and I had to have it. I got it while I was in pre-school, and I did not beat it until I was in fifth or sixth grade. But regardless, I had so much fun trying to save the citizens of the yolk-folk village and just explore the giant world this game has to offer

The Fantastic Adventures of Dizzy is one of those games that has been overlooked, and likely unheard of by most gamers. Too bad, because this game is definitely worth playing, especially if you are looking for a challenge. You never would expect much from a game where the main character is an egg. Though it is cute and family friendly, it will challenge you to the edge of your mind, as this game might as well be considered one giant puzzle where it takes both logic and skill if you want to have a hope of completing it. 

Graphics: 8
The background of this game is strikingly beautiful. The environments range from treetops, underwater, pirate ships, castles, and many more, and the developers did very well on the small details. It is bright and colorful, but done so appropriately so it is not annoying. The graphics are almost as good as the NES gets. The one small problem keeping it from top ranks is the fact that if there are too many enemies/interacting things on the screen at once, you often get small lines where parts flash or disappear until less activity is going on the screen at once. Other than that annoying detail, graphics are simply amazing.

Sound: 8
I can almost guarantee you that the first thing you notice when you start this game is the music. The music to this game is great, even in the title screen of the game. Almost every tune is so darn catchy, you will find yourself humming them in your head. Each location has it's own, and each one is so unique. My personal favorite would be the music you hear when you enter the cave or the graveyard (same music). This tune is so creepy and eerie, it definitely sets a scary mood. Turn off those lights! The only problem is the music is clearly the best this game has in sounds. The actual sounds during game play are very little. I can only think about 10 different sounds made by the game play in this whole thing. Sound definitely took a backseat to the music here.

Addictiveness: 5
When you start this game and get to the point where you somewhat know what you are doing, it is hard to put this game down. You just have to make it to the end. At least that is how you feel until you lose all your lives and have to start from the very beginning. The difficulty of this game really takes away from the addictiveness. There are no levels, so the game is 100% nonlinear, which makes it impossible to have passwords, and there is no saving your progress. Having a completely nonlinear path is great because you are free to play how you want, but not having those little breaks like finishing a level makes you less willing to play another game right after you died. It can make it frustrating in that aspect.

Story: 10
There are few retro games that deserve such a rating in the story. and only a tiny fraction of those go to NES games. The Fantastic Adventures of Dizzy has one of the most developed story lines in an NES game that I have ever seen. At first, all you get is a parchment before the game starts that basically tells you that the evil wizard Zaks has kidnapped Dizzy's girlfriend, Daisy, as well as hindered every citizen of the Yolk-Folk Village. It is up to you to save them. But as you progress and find each member of the village, you get a nice explanation on what has happened to them and what they need you to do (not flat out telling you of course. This is a thinking game). Even though this doesn't seem like much of a development, the little bit that you are given is just done so well, you aren't really asking questions about it and it flows great. This is a true case of less is more used correctly.

Depth: 10
Oh my God, there is SOOOOOO much to do in this game. This game is so freaking huge, I am surprised they fit it on one cartridge. Keeping in mind that there are no levels, meaning you can return to any point of the game any time you choose, my statement isn't hard to believe. It will take you at least 45 minutes to be able to explore the village in the treetops, and that isn't even remotely the largest part of this world. The treetops are a separate area from the forest floor below, you walk through a large cave, a huge ocean to explore, a massive city, castles, graveyards, and even the clouds themselves. The many locations is only one thing this game offers. You can (and actually have to) go through a variety of mini games such as a very dangerous mine cart maze (possibly the hardest 5 minutes of the game), waterfall rapids in a basket, storming a castle with a crossbow, and many others. 

Difficulty: 10
If I could give this a higher difficulty, I would. In my opinion, this game beats the difficulty of both Battletoads and Ghost and Goblins for the NES, hands down. This will drive you crazy (unless you cheat. Shame on you). The difficulty of this game comes from the following things. 
1. Almost everything will kill you. If you see it move, it will hurt you. Be it spiders, birds, butterflies, mice, dripping water, and everything else. You don't get much health already. But at least there is a ton of fruit scattered through the world to heal you. Problem is, once you use a fruit, it never comes back.
2. You cannot hurt anything. This is a huge reason why this game is so hard. You have no mode of attacking anything. So you are to dodge everything like your life depends on it (because it does).
3. There are 55 items that I have counted in this game, and you must find the use of all but three of them in order to complete this game. This is where the logic difficulty comes in. You are given no hints as to what each item does. You must use your own logic to figure it out. The items are spread across this giant world. And the worst part is, you can only carry three items at one time.
4. The way you get extra lives makes it not a guarantee. There are six puzzles throughout this world. When you enter it, you get a picture of what the picture looks like finished, and it gets scrambled up. You have until an hour glass empties to fix it. If you do, you get an extra life. If not, tough cookie. The puzzle still vanishes. You need those extra lives because all of the required mini-games are instant death if you fail. 

Overall: 8.5
I am sure that a lot of people are going to disagree with my overall score completely. Keep in mind, I took the average of my other scores. But many will hate this game and call it stupid simply because they will never beat it. For many others, it is not their cup of tea. I hope there are people out there who will appreciate it like I do. One thing that shouldn't be said is that the developers didn't do a good job at making this game. The music is great, though lacks in sounds. The graphics are just beautiful, the story is delightfully simple, and there is so much to do in this game, so you can't say it is too short. It will take you a long time to finish even if you know how to breeze through it. And if you like to search for the toughest games around just so you can say you have beaten them, you MUST attempt to play through The Fantastic Adventures of Dizzy. It will make even some of the most hardened veteran gamers cry like kid getting spanked. It does live up to a reputation of almost unbeatable.