Overview
Manic Miner was a hectic and popular game that's remembered as much for its music as it was its gameplay. The game saw the player controlling miner Willy with the objective to collect all flashing objects within each screen before heading to the flashing exit before your air supply ran out. Each level was all contained within one screen with no scrolling. Miner Willy would have to avoid some truly strange monsters such as telephones, penguins and flowers while negotiating moving platforms and timing difficult jumps. All the while the background music of the familiar part of "In the Hall of the Mountain King" would loop endlessly.
Interestingly, including background music was a big innovation of Manic Miner and was thought to be impossible at the time due to memory constraints. Matthew Smith achieved this by alternating the processor/memory from playing the game to playing the music. This is why Manic Miner has a characteristic, instantly recognisable 'juddery' effect to the music. It aslo explains the subtle juddery movements of Miner Willy and the monsters inhabiting the mine he has to avoid.
The ZX Spectrum version of the game is the most well-known version of the game and was released in 1983. It is regarded as one of the most popular games ever for the ZX Spectrum but enjoyed a comeback on the Gameboy Advance (developed by Jester Interactive at the time) and as a mobile phone game.
The game's success not only made Matthew Smith quite, quite wealthy, but also spawned a quick sequel also staring Miner Willy in 1984 - Jet Set Willy.
Reviews
Magazine | Issue | Page | System | Rating | % | Reviewer | Language |
---|
Popular Computing Weekly | 09/22/1983 | 16,17 | ZX Spectrum | 10 out of 10 | 100
| John Scriven | English |
Popular Computing Weekly | 01/10/1985 | 25 | Amstrad CPC | 5 out of 5 | 100
| Tony Kendle | English |
Computer Gamer | 05/1985 | 62,63 | Amstrad CPC | 5 out of 5 | 100
| PG | English |
Home Computing Weekly | 09/20/1983 | 31 | ZX Spectrum | 96 out of 100 | 96
| NB | English |
Home Computing Weekly | 02/12/1985 | 22 | Amstrad CPC | 95 out of 100 | 95
| DH | English |
Zzap | 06/1989 | 57 | C64 | 95 out of 100 | 95
| Maff Evans, Paul Rand | English |
Crash | 05/1989 | 30 | ZX Spectrum | 92 out of 100 | 92
| - | English |
Home Computing Weekly | 02/21/1984 | 27 | C64 | 91 out of 100 | 91
| BJ | English |
Computer + Video Games | 09/1983 | 131 | ZX Spectrum | 9 out of 10 | 90
| - | English |
Commodore User | 06/1986 | 54,55 | C16 | 9 out of 10 | 90
| James Pickering | English |
Consoles+ | 09/2002 | 138 | Game Boy Advance | 89 out of 100 | 89
| - | French |
Crash | 04/1992 | 77 | Sam Coupe | 88 out of 100 | 88
| - | English |
ACE (Advanced Computer Entertainment) | 05/1990 | 51 | Amiga | 870 out of 1000 | 87 | Laurence Scotford | English |
Computer + Video Games | 04/1984 | 29 | C64 | 8.5 out of 10 | 85
| - | English |
Commodore Force | 05/1993 | 16,17 | C64 | 85 out of 100 | 85
| - | English |
Amiga Power | 12/1991 | 102 | Amiga | 84 out of 100 | 84
| Stuart Campbell | English |
Your Sinclair | 04/1992 | 26 | ZX Spectrum | 84 out of 100 | 84
| Jon Pillar | English |
Commodore User | 05/1989 | 65 | C64 | 81 out of 100 | 81 | - | English |
Commodore User | 07/1984 | 75 | C64 | 4 out of 5 | 80
| - | English |
Amiga Power | 05/1991 | 107 | Amiga | 4 out of 5 | 80
| - | English |
The One | 02/1992 | 73 | Amiga | 4 out of 5 | 80
| Jools Watsham | English |
Zero | 03/1992 | 72 | Amiga | 80 out of 100 | 80
| David Wilson | English |
Tilt | 03/1984 | 38 | ZX Spectrum | 4.7 out of 6 | 78
| - | French |
Amiga Mania | 04/1992 | 26 | Amiga | 78 out of 100 | 78
| - | English |
Telematch | 01/1985 | 75 | Amstrad CPC | Note: 2.8 | 72
| Harald Uenzelmann | German |
Personal Computer Games | 04/1984 | 57 | C64 | 7 out of 100 | 70
| CA | English |
Games-X | 11/1991 | 49 | Amiga | 3.5 out of 5 | 70
| - | English |
Zzap | 05/1990 | 48 | Amiga | 61 out of 100 | 61
| - | English |
Datormagazin | 06/1990 | 18 | Amiga | 6 out of 10 | 60
| Pekka Hedqvist | Swedish |
Amiga Power | 03/1992 | 82,83,85,86 | Amiga | 3 out of 5 | 60
| - | English |
Amiga Action | 06/1990 | 82,83 | Amiga | 52 out of 100 | 52
| Steve Marrett, Doug Johns, Alex Simmons | English |
ASM (Aktueller Software Markt) | 5/1990 | 14 | Amiga | 4.4 out of 12 | 37
| Torsten Oppermann | German |
Amiga Format | 05/1990 | 40 | Amiga | 25 out of 100 | 25
| Maff Evans | English |
Amiga Joker | 05/1990 | 82,83 | Amiga | 5 out of 100 | 5
| Max Magenauer | German |
Popular Computing Weekly | 07/28/1983 | 46 | ZX Spectrum | - | -
| - | English |
Sinclair User | 12/1983 | 49 | ZX Spectrum | - | -
| - | English |
Happy Computer | 01/1984 | 118,119 | ZX Spectrum | - | -
| Thomas Stögmüller | German |
ZX Computing | 04+05/1984 | 50,51 | ZX Spectrum | - | -
| - | English |
Sinclair Answers | 09/1984 | 38 | ZX Spectrum | - | -
| - | English |
Micro Hobby | 11/1984 | 14 | ZX Spectrum | - | -
| - | Spanish |
Commodore Force | Autumn/1993 | 21 | C64 | - | -
| - | English |
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