Whizz

Overview

Whizz is a platformer developed by Flair Software Ltd., a UK developer, for a multitude of systems. It was originally released for PC DOS in 1994, before being ported to the SNES, PlayStation, Sega Saturn and the Commodore Amiga as well as the Amiga's CD-based equivalent the Amiga CD32.

Whizz stars the titular character Whizz, a rabbit dressed in a magician's outfit, being chased by his arch-nemesis Ratty in his blimp.

He has to escape Ratty through 4 worlds:

• South Seas Beaches
• Frozen Arctic Waste
• Green Grassed Castle
• Indoor World of Gamesville

And ultimately reach his own Hot Air Balloon at the end of each level.

Gameplay

Whizz is viewed from an isometric view, its levels are timed and littered with enemies and obstacles; Whizz has a jump and spin attack to deal with these. Throughout each level there are special "Doors" which are made of a specific material (Ice, Wood, Brick and Iron) these can be broken by a spin attack if the player has the "Door Breaker", which is effectively a "key" that is made up of the same material of the door. Only one key can be carried at a time so in later levels backtracking is necessary.

Each time an enemy is killed it has a chance of dropping a Red or Blue Mushroom (Red heals, Blue poisons), certain enemies are indestructible, these are indicated by red and white markings. Hourglasses increase the amount of time left in the level, while Gems and Flags give points (200 and 50 respectively) and collected Flags provide a point bonus at the end of the level.

In each level of a world (there are four levels for each world) there is a hidden Rocket, which will award 1000 points for launching it and an extra life when all four are launched in a world.