Dazeldash
| Developer: Moi, moi moi ! | Graphics: |
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| Publisher: Emerald Web | Sound: |
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| Year: 2002 | Difficulty: |
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| Genre: Boulder Dash | Lastability: |
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| Number of players: 1 | Rating: |
6/10 | |
The lovely title screen was created by Steffest, the webmaster of Emerald Web, and the background image comes from the game Premiere.
Emerald Web is a site created around the same time as mine (2000), which gathers hundreds of Emerald Mine variants, mostly amateur creations. These games are freely downloadable and work more or less well on an Amiga emulator…
I recently discovered that it was possible to very easily install this impressive collection in a “universal” software. Whether you operate on Windows, Mac, Linux or even Android, with no prior knowledge, in just a few minutes, almost all existing games will be accessible to you in their original form, without loading times or startup failures! The software in question is called Rocks ‘n’ Diamonds.
Now, in the long list of these games, I spotted Dazeldash, a collection of caves that I had composed with the Emerald Mine Tool editor 23 years ago! As I had just completed and critiqued Emerald Mine 3, and was not yet statiated, so why not subject myself to the same exercise with this one?
One thing came back to memory: a sequence of three levels (59 to 61) that attempted to create an illusion of continuity, by incorporating the layout of the level you had just left into the next one. The idea was original, although I’m not certain that the result is particularly striking.
The rest follows the same experimental vibe, obviously influenced by the chaotic Eat Mine. How I loved multiplying yams! There are certainly ingenious caves (intentionally or not), but they are overshadowed by excesses; too many bling-bling levels, saturated with monsters and diamonds.
Personally, I have a soft spot for semi-open levels that offer several possible approaches. Having to restart twenty times, or relying a bit on luck, poses no problem for me (I doubt this is a shared sentiment). On the other hand, I really dislike levels that impose long immobile waits (numbers 11 and 26). Number 54 in particular tested my patience severely…
Note that the game was designed taking into account the slowdowns specific to the Amiga (or its emulator). If you try it via Rocks ‘n’ Diamonds, don’t hesitate to lower the speed a bit when it becomes too hectic. In this case, it’s not cheating!
And to preserve your patience, here’s my selection of notable levels: 0, 1, 3, 6 (very hard), 10, 27, 33 (notable in a bad way!), 59-60-61 (the famous trilogy) and 79.
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