Jet Set Willy II
Encyclopedia
Jet Set Willy II: The Final Frontier was a platform game
released in 1985
by Software Projects
for a variety of 8-bit
home computers. It was the only official sequel to Jet Set Willy
, one of the most successful and popular home computer games ever released. Officially, Jet Set Willy II: The Final Frontier is the last of the Miner Willy series
, although numerous unofficial sequels, remakes, homages and updates have been released, even up to this day.
and Amstrad
versions Willy is blasted from the Rocket Room into space, for which 33 rooms he dons a spacesuit.
Due to the proliferation of hacking
and cheating
in the original game Jet Set Willy II pays homage to this and includes a screen - appropriately called Cheat - that can only be accessed by cheating.
Control of Willy also differs from the original:
Jet Set Willy II was not written by the original programmer, Matthew Smith
, and was instead developed by Derrick P. Rowson.
- and lands in a room named Oh $#!+! The Central Cavern!, laid out identically to and deriving its name from the opening level of Willy's first game (Manic Miner
). Although the screen is playable on the Amstrad CPC
version (not on the ZX Spectrum), there is no escape from this screen save for the player intentionally killing off his remaining lives.
of the Amstrad CPC range (compared with the 48K of the ZX Spectrum, the game's home platform). This version was subsequently ported back to the Spectrum. The porting across to Amstrad and porting back to Spectrum may also explain a number of other small differences, including the loss of coloured backgrounds in certain screens (the CPC version ran in a 4-colour display mode).
The game was subsequently ported to other platforms, including the Commodore 64
, Commodore 16
, BBC Micro
, Acorn Electron
and MSX
. The BBC Micro cassette version has 2 rooms not in the ZX Spectrum version, and omits 60 of the rooms, rather than being a superset
of it as are the CPC and ZX Spectrum versions. Unofficial ports to the Acorn Archimedes
, Windows/DOS
and UNIX
/X
environments also exist.
The C64 screen was a different format to the Amstrad, so the developers were unable to take the data used in the Amstrad and instead had to re-layout and re-implement all the screens and sprites. Derrick Rowson was able to use much of the data directly from the Amstrad, and hence the game was released sooner.
Platform game
A platform game is a video game characterized by requiring the player to jump to and from suspended platforms or over obstacles . It must be possible to control these jumps and to fall from platforms or miss jumps...
released in 1985
1985 in video gaming
-Notable releases:* Brøderbund releases Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego?, the first game of the prolific Carmen Sandiego series* Nintendo releases Super Mario Bros. on September 13, 1985, which eventually sells 40 million copies making it the best-selling video game of all time until 2008.*...
by Software Projects
Software Projects
Software Projects was the name of a computer game development company which employed Manic Miner developer Matthew Smith. After leaving Bug-Byte as a freelance developer, Smith was able to take the rights to his recently developed Manic Miner game with him, due to an oversight in his freelance...
for a variety of 8-bit
8-bit
The first widely adopted 8-bit microprocessor was the Intel 8080, being used in many hobbyist computers of the late 1970s and early 1980s, often running the CP/M operating system. The Zilog Z80 and the Motorola 6800 were also used in similar computers...
home computers. It was the only official sequel to Jet Set Willy
Jet Set Willy
Jet Set Willy is a computer game originally written for the ZX Spectrum home computer. It was published in 1984 by Software Projects and ported to most home computers of the time....
, one of the most successful and popular home computer games ever released. Officially, Jet Set Willy II: The Final Frontier is the last of the Miner Willy series
Miner Willy
Miner Willy is a fictional character in a series of platform games for the ZX Spectrum, MSX, Amstrad CPC and the Commodore 64 home computers starring Miner Willy...
, although numerous unofficial sequels, remakes, homages and updates have been released, even up to this day.
Details
Jet Set Willy II is an expansion of the original JSW rather than a new game unto itself. Its map is primarily an expanded version of the original mansion, with only a few new original elements over its predecessor, several of which are based on rumored events in JSW that were in fact never programmed (such as being able to launch the titular ship in the screen called "The Yacht" and explore an island). In the ZX SpectrumZX Spectrum
The ZX Spectrum is an 8-bit personal home computer released in the United Kingdom in 1982 by Sinclair Research Ltd...
and Amstrad
Amstrad
Amstrad is a British electronics company, now wholly owned by BSkyB. As of 2006, Amstrad's main business is manufacturing Sky Digital interactive boxes....
versions Willy is blasted from the Rocket Room into space, for which 33 rooms he dons a spacesuit.
Due to the proliferation of hacking
Hacker (computer security)
In computer security and everyday language, a hacker is someone who breaks into computers and computer networks. Hackers may be motivated by a multitude of reasons, including profit, protest, or because of the challenge...
and cheating
Cheating (video games)
Cheating in video games involves a video game player using non-standard methods for creating an advantage beyond normal gameplay, usually to make the game easier, or may also create unusual effects which do not necessarily make the game easier to play, such as giving characters different...
in the original game Jet Set Willy II pays homage to this and includes a screen - appropriately called Cheat - that can only be accessed by cheating.
Control of Willy also differs from the original:
- The player can jump in the opposite direction immediately upon landing, without releasing the jump button.
- Willy now takes a step forward before jumping from a standstill.
- The Willy character is mapped differently, so although Willy looks the same, some previous "safe spots" in Jet Set WillyJet Set WillyJet Set Willy is a computer game originally written for the ZX Spectrum home computer. It was published in 1984 by Software Projects and ported to most home computers of the time....
are now hazardous to the player in Jet Set Willy II - The tall candle in The Chapel for example.
Jet Set Willy II was not written by the original programmer, Matthew Smith
Matthew Smith (games programmer)
Matthew Smith is a British computer game programmer. He is best known for his games Manic Miner and Jet Set Willy for the ZX Spectrum, released in 1983 and 1984 respectively...
, and was instead developed by Derrick P. Rowson.
Ending
The ending of JSW II is also different. Once Willy has collected 150 items and goes to bed, the game takes control of Willy and guides him into the bathroom, where he falls into the toiletToilet
A toilet is a sanitation fixture used primarily for the disposal of human excrement, often found in a small room referred to as a toilet/bathroom/lavatory...
- and lands in a room named Oh $#!+! The Central Cavern!, laid out identically to and deriving its name from the opening level of Willy's first game (Manic Miner
Manic Miner
Manic Miner is a platform game originally written for the ZX Spectrum by Matthew Smith and released by Bug-Byte in 1983 . It is the first game in the Miner Willy series and among the pioneers of the platform game genre. The game itself was inspired by the Atari 800 game Miner 2049er...
). Although the screen is playable on the Amstrad CPC
Amstrad CPC
The Amstrad CPC is a series of 8-bit home computers produced by Amstrad between 1984 and 1990. It was designed to compete in the mid-1980s home computer market dominated by the Commodore 64 and the Sinclair ZX Spectrum, where it successfully established itself primarily in the United Kingdom,...
version (not on the ZX Spectrum), there is no escape from this screen save for the player intentionally killing off his remaining lives.
Ports
JSW II was originally created as an Amstrad version of Jet Set Willy, but with expansions to exploit the 64K RAMRam
-Animals:*Ram, an uncastrated male sheep*Ram cichlid, a species of freshwater fish endemic to Colombia and Venezuela-Military:*Battering ram*Ramming, a military tactic in which one vehicle runs into another...
of the Amstrad CPC range (compared with the 48K of the ZX Spectrum, the game's home platform). This version was subsequently ported back to the Spectrum. The porting across to Amstrad and porting back to Spectrum may also explain a number of other small differences, including the loss of coloured backgrounds in certain screens (the CPC version ran in a 4-colour display mode).
The game was subsequently ported to other platforms, including the Commodore 64
Commodore 64
The Commodore 64 is an 8-bit home computer introduced by Commodore International in January 1982.Volume production started in the spring of 1982, with machines being released on to the market in August at a price of US$595...
, Commodore 16
Commodore 16
The Commodore 16 was a home computer made by Commodore with a 6502-compatible 8501 CPU, released in 1984. It was intended to be an entry-level computer to replace the VIC-20 and it often sold for 99 USD...
, BBC Micro
BBC Micro
The BBC Microcomputer System, or BBC Micro, was a series of microcomputers and associated peripherals designed and built by Acorn Computers for the BBC Computer Literacy Project, operated by the British Broadcasting Corporation...
, Acorn Electron
Acorn Electron
The Acorn Electron is a budget version of the BBC Micro educational/home computer made by Acorn Computers Ltd. It has 32 kilobytes of RAM, and its ROM includes BBC BASIC along with its operating system....
and MSX
MSX
MSX was the name of a standardized home computer architecture in the 1980s conceived by Kazuhiko Nishi, then Vice-president at Microsoft Japan and Director at ASCII Corporation...
. The BBC Micro cassette version has 2 rooms not in the ZX Spectrum version, and omits 60 of the rooms, rather than being a superset
Subset
In mathematics, especially in set theory, a set A is a subset of a set B if A is "contained" inside B. A and B may coincide. The relationship of one set being a subset of another is called inclusion or sometimes containment...
of it as are the CPC and ZX Spectrum versions. Unofficial ports to the Acorn Archimedes
Acorn Archimedes
The Acorn Archimedes was Acorn Computers Ltd's first general purpose home computer to be based on their own ARM architecture.Using a RISC design with a 32-bit CPU, at its launch in June 1987, the Archimedes was stated as running at 4 MIPS, with a claim of 18 MIPS during tests.The name is commonly...
, Windows/DOS
DOS
DOS, short for "Disk Operating System", is an acronym for several closely related operating systems that dominated the IBM PC compatible market between 1981 and 1995, or until about 2000 if one includes the partially DOS-based Microsoft Windows versions 95, 98, and Millennium Edition.Related...
and UNIX
Unix
Unix is a multitasking, multi-user computer operating system originally developed in 1969 by a group of AT&T employees at Bell Labs, including Ken Thompson, Dennis Ritchie, Brian Kernighan, Douglas McIlroy, and Joe Ossanna...
/X
X Window System
The X window system is a computer software system and network protocol that provides a basis for graphical user interfaces and rich input device capability for networked computers...
environments also exist.
The C64 screen was a different format to the Amstrad, so the developers were unable to take the data used in the Amstrad and instead had to re-layout and re-implement all the screens and sprites. Derrick Rowson was able to use much of the data directly from the Amstrad, and hence the game was released sooner.