Nixy and the Seeds of Doom - High grade ZX Spectrum homebrew gets a Florinthedwarf review!

The Seeds of Doom don't sound very safe, Nixy! Don't go in!!

Nixy is back! Fresh from completing her last quest in The Glade Sprite, she's back yet again and looking for trouble. She must have a lust for danger, I tell you. Well, we all have our vices I guess - I personally can't say no to a pie so if Pixy can't say no to a dangerous quest, who am I to judge? With another brilliant loading screen from pixel art aficionado Andy Green and a quite brilliant soundtrack from Ricardo Vieira, Nixy 2 has the foundations to be another brilliant game from the brain of Andy Johns.

Why can I not go anywhere without being chased by a ghost? You'd think I'd be safe underground.

After completing her first mission, Nixy is again tasked by the Elders of The Glade to seek out the source of the original corruption. Scouts were sent on this mission initially though unfortunately, they have not returned (oh dear) so it's down to Nixy to get out there, get the job done and come back again afterwards (hopefully). Nixy is no ordinary Pixie, having braved many eerie monsters and pitfalls on her previous assignment, surely this will be no challenge for her? Or perhaps it will. With an enchanted forest to roam and explore, underground caverns to navigate and many enemies to avoid, will this be a stretch too far for Nixy? Let's hope not!

Argh! A knight! Only one thing for it - let's head down this rickety ladder underground, that looks much safer.

Let's start at the menu screen - as you scour the options when the game loads (ooh - easy mode. Yes please!) you'll no doubt hear the sound of angels hitting your ears. By this I of course mean the absolutely cracking soundtrack to Nixy 2. You have to believe me that this is really something special, something that wouldn't go amiss in a Dizzy game if I'm honest. The classic tunes of MagicLand and Fantasy World have gone down in Speccy folklore in terms of game themes and this one is right up there with them. I'll be honest, it took me a good few minutes to hit start because I wanted to hear it all first. Ah, bliss! Once you've finished having your moment you'll be starting off and setting about to getting Nixy off on her new adventure. What does she have in store?

Those spikes look VERY sharp. Erm, is there another way I can go?

Well, from the off old Nixy has some enemies to contend with as there are a couple of ghosts to avoid (how about a nice easy start, eh?) though make your way past them and you'll find quite a large castle. Ring the bell and the door opens, you get straight in there, collect the Seeds of Doom, head back and congratulations, you've done it!!! Woo hoo! I joke of course. Of course what actually happens is that you attempt to enter the castle but there's no way in and your only option is to find the back door. With no back door presenting itself, there's only one way to go.....underground. 

Make your way down the quite unsafe looking ladder (no way would this pass a health and safety inspection) and you enter a whole new world of crazy and rather dangerous looking caverns. Well Nixy, you wanted an adventure and now you've got one. Here you'll find marauding enemies, platforms which will handily dissappear when you try to land on them (fun) and the odd set of spikes that are more than happy to impale you whilst you go about your merry way. Oh, and don't forget the odd pointy portcullis's sweeping their way up and down as you delve deeper underground. If you're thinking that this sounds rather tricky, you would indeed be right. Don't let the amount of lives your given fool you into thinking you have too many and will make this an easy game...no chance. Granted, not everything will kill you instantly - some enemies will gently sap away at your energy though others go straight for the kill (as well as if you fall from too great a height) so it pays to learn which will give you instant death. Of which you'll find out soon enough. Nixy has quite a good jump on her so you will find you can clear quite a distance if timed right but then this isn't always the best way to go. Should you take a chance and walk some platforms instead of jumping? Well, you'll have to play it and find out!

Look at all those spikes. I shall bid you good-Knight. I'll get my coat.

The game is beautiful to look at, full of bright colours, neat graphics and some lovely animation - I particularly like the way Nixy bounces along, cape flowing and hat bobbing away as she goes. Full of challenging rooms and sequences, the game has enough puzzles to get your brain trying to work out how to get past the various traps and enemies that lie in wait, with their mission to stop you completing yours. This is really a well rounded and overall fantastically made game with everything you want in a platformer. From the music, the levels, the look of the game - it ticks all of the boxes and is another addition to the already fantastic haul of recent games available for the Speccy. Let's hope these programming geniuses keep up the good work and keep these brilliant games coming for many years to come. I doth thy hat to you!

If you'd like to download Nixy and the Seeds of Doom (I mean, why wouldn't you?) - head here and prepare yourself to get lost in this awesome game.

Right, I'm off to explore my local forest....hmmm.... I've not noticed that castle before. I wonder how I get in?

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