Manic Miner

[odaxelagniaproject]

dat soundtrack

[MrSwws2007]

I had this on the 48k rubber key in 1984. Great days, & the world was a much better place then.

[74wrighty]

I spent hours and hours on this and jet set willy back in the day.And was lucky enough to have a zx spectrum 48k.

[capricious71]

Who else nearly pressed the Return key at the start of this video? :)

[chuckieegg]

I grew up playing this during the 1980s whilst on the news Arthur Scargill and the miner's strikes were contemporary issues. The chip tune version of Grieg's "In The Hall Of The Mountain King" now burnished into my brain gave me an unwitting insight into Henrik Ibsen's brain and Norwegian culture so that years later, when I visited Norway, I felt as if I'd gone home!

[capricious71]

@chuckieegg I remember Monty Mole being on the news during the miners' strike. :)

[LolMitch5]

F*** piano

[Machinia]

THE SOUND!! WHY?!

[nickadoo50]

Crazy bus is cooler...

[AutomatonGames]

Oh my gosh. The "music" and sound effects are HORRID! I dont care how old the game is, thats no excuse. MArio's music was WAAAY better.

[misssadie]

@AutomatonGames Mario was about 2 years later on a lot more powerful hardware. This was the first game on the Spectrum to have music. Remember that the spectrum had 16kb of RAM (48kb if you were lucky and had a deluxe model) and was programmed in BASIC! The music required full CPU so the system alternates between the game and music!

[AutomatonGames]

@misssadie Ok I get it now. But still, I would rather have no music then this...

[Playsim1234]

It sounds like you lose when you finnish the level xD

[TarWoman]

I'd rather play this than Call of Duty.

[rscosworthfan]

loved manic miner and jet set willey remember playing them in my school days

[TheJeli125]

better than cod.

Infact, why am i even comparing them?!

[dumbasspauldentonkin]

This game is available to play, on a real ZX Spectrum, in the Bradford Media Museum.

I was there for two days during a conference and I never saw anyone get past the first screen.

[Kiatrasi]

I played Manic Miner on Commodore 64, and while the colors are bit more vibrant on ZX version, the music is horrible. At least on C64, they're not grating your ears all the time. Nevertheless, classic game allaround :)

[jakabox]

The warehouse was a sod, remember getting there with plenty of lives and wiping (did'nt call it wiping at the time ;) ), did finish once or twice though.

Great game.

[hewparu]

oh mah ears!!!

[sub2me4areview]

@hewparu Whats wrong with your ears?

[TheRichmole]

when the game loaded you could type the word "typewriter" on the keybord and select ant level,,,,rolf

[fshcake]

6031769 a cheat code still embedded in my brain to this day

[TheRichmole]

@fshcake  and "typewriter"

[harryhardest]

it is like Tomb Rider but without breasts

[OldWaysFollower]

haha, this is the best platform game I've ever played, though I know many of them. This one is really a masterpiece, as it requires ol kinds of qualities - fast thinking, incredibly high reaction, intelligence, logical thinking (eg. the monsters in some cavens move in "cycles" and it's up to you to determine which "cycle" is correct for you to jump/move/walk). I loved it when I was 9 and I do love it now, when I'm 33... Greetings from Poland!! :)

[Koopsas]

Lol, its more colourfull than most modern games.

[Nails077]

I never had this one, but I did have Jet Set Willy for my spectrum. Loved it to death. I never got very far in it but every new room I got to was an amazing new discovery.

When I played VVVVVV I couldn't help but be reminded of it.

[WRINGAVIDMASTER]

great game staring will smith

[technotoaster]

Brill game

[MKShaggy1985]

Jet Set Willy was better.

[CasperUK31]

My god that audio grates :) What a game though

[Coppillie]

Must be 25 years ago but I remember how to complete all the levels!!! How I ever played it for that long with that music I do not know.

[virofe70]

@Coppillie

Umm, more like 27, my friend...and yes, ears bleed, totally maniac music

Do you remember Atic Atac? *Sigh, such memories 8nostalgia mode on...)

[MrBeermonster114]

if you typed in typerwriter in the middle off a game yo could pick what level you wanted to go on

[OldWaysFollower]

@MrBeermonster114 hmmm in my version "typewriter" cheat was for Jet Set Willy (or was it W,R,I,T,E,T,Y,P,E,R with typing both letters and commas), for MM it was 60731769 (or 6031769 in some versions - in mine "7" after 0 was needed. Also, remember of POKE 35136,0 - infinite lives :)

[haider2026]

You can play this game and more on zxspectrum(dot)net/

[bukster1]

It is kind of fun to look back at old games like this. However, it does serve to remind us of how awful those games were. Sometimes however, even for all our modern technology, the old and simple games could be the best.

[gooneythegreat2]

thanks mate really took me back ... loved seeing it again

[TheMC307]

L'unico ed inimitabile ManicMiner ...LOAD""

[ThermalHD]

That game sure look terribly boring.lol

[rudeydudey05]

Great Game.

[sub2me4areview]

JSW FTW!

[VANHELSING433]

got further than I did on thre original and remaked version. GIVE THIS GUY AND (sir) MATHER SIMITH A LAGER!!!

[spicyechidna94]

I remember reading about this game in the UK Retro Gamer magazine... I've never played it, but it looks pretty awesome.

[buxilala]

i used to love this game, but it was a bit hard. I played more Chuckie egg, i even put some videos of me playing:D

[darnkittydotcom]

You can play this game online - see my profile

[keze71]

late nights popcorn and sleepovers :) Miss those days! the games had REAL playability

[1914Schnappi]

Yeah - kids these days dont know what skill and playability is..

but they know what good graphics are and how to shoot it to smithereens!

We had the best days of home computers.

[coolnofool]

i missed this a little before my time im 21 now but looks like in todays market theres no point me playing it now. but to be honest this must have been awesome for its time so yeh i'll give it its fair due :).

[TheDevilsGuard]

When the began and it said press enter to start, I reached for my keyboard

[TheDevilsGuard]

All those long nights, playing the fuck out of this. Jet set willy too.  sniff sniff

[DerSchmu]

Gee! Soundtrack of doom! But besides this that game looks really so much better than the C64 version. Never understood why some people call this a classic `cause the only version I knowed was the C64er. But the Speccyversaion looks really good. :)

[1914Schnappi]

Matthew Smith (original programmer) didnt make MM for the commodore64, it was left to some aisan dude.

[80Thom80]

I still cannot do The Warehouse. It's possibly time to admit defeat.

[mukatuna]

Ah nothing like a bit of Grieg repeated over and over.

[Zepthire]

my mum goes on about this every time i play a mario or sonic game, good to see whats she is going on about

[rudeydudey05]

Really loved Manic Miner

[reds005]

Fuck.

I remember this like it was yesterday, like vividly remember the levels.

25 years ago FFS ; )

[thegodofsomething]

Yes...yes it is

[teedyish]

I always got stuck on eugene's lair or whatever the level was called - lol

[karlmarx71]

Well stroke my scrotes, this is a blast from the long ago past.......crazy shit compared with todays games...

[alzukar30]

this is exactly like jet set willy lol

[aphex187]

had this on BBC 32k

[mano3obe]

Very popular game but I wasn't much of a fan, I always find level two so much easier than level one though!

The spectrum definitely was addictive! I still enjoy playing the emulator

[Jammyfish]

Aye those were the days sat in on winter nights with Sabre Wulf, Underwurld, Daley`s, eventually finished all 20 levels, takes me back, n1 for posting

[rickdabritt]

music drives me crazy after a while.

[soldier4670]

we play a school version of this in french lol

[daveheel]

that music drives me insane

[shairaptor]

Oh? Looks like Alligata Blagger a bit?

[AllisonGrosser]

I had this on the ZX Spectrum +!

[terrancejohn]

Class game and boy was this hard to play, every one at my school back in the 80's would say they could complete this and what a load of old tosh we knew that to be. This game was very hard in deed to master, but most would put a poke in for extra lives and otherstuff, god someone wisk me back to the great old days of the 80's!!!!!

[Picnicl]

'Who is Eugene and why does he have toilets that try to attack you?' It's a surreal masterpiece of its time, with a nod to Monty Python at the end, but with an intriguing darkness at its heart. Such a shame that true surrealness, in the British way, is so rare in videogames now.

Well done Matthew Smith, for this and the incredibly difficult Jet Set Willy.

[dumbasspauldentonkin]

@Picnicl If you're interested in surreality in gaming, you might want to look at James Pond 2, Sam and Max: Hit the Road and Parodius.

[Picnicl]

Manic Miner was a greatly mysterious game that made me consider relatively abstract thoughts at the age of 5: 'Why does a little green tree kill me?'

'Should I go down the stairs in The Cold Room or fall into the box, with the chance that a penguin might kill me when I'm in it?'

'Why do those birds in the menagerie hover along a collapsable floor when they don't need that floor?'

'Why does an abanondoned uranium mine have what look like seals performing with balls in it?'

[TruthandJusticeUK]

Wow!

[RokBronx]

Totally awesome! Its surprising how far games have advanced. I remember staying up all night playing Manic Miner & Jet Set Willy, wearing out the rubber keys on the spectrum!

Im wondering if anyone has been brave enough to load up any footage from Daley Thompson's Decathlon!!

[CleckleysProof]

Oh man! I had Daily on the Amstrad CPC464, it was rough on the Joy-Stick.

[CleckleysProof]

Daley

[TheMagicPoulet]

good game in strange way

[mazonemayu]

first game I ever owned :pp

[Terminator860]

Odd job eddie is better than this

[polarsequence]

Even now, 25 years after I first played this game, it still bloody frustrates me! hehe... Classic stuff :)

[novelomania]

Yeap! After playing for a wile you get there by faster ways. The first nevel disturbs me because the the toy doesn´t do it like it used to! Oh god! Memories!!

[ldma]

That has to be the lamest completion of the cold room I've ever seen. You grab the bottom key first so you can skip that whole vanishing floor section at the end and just drop into the exit portal.

[15011972]

lol , fond momories of these types of games , i still have my , msx , spekky 48k and amstrad cpc464 ... get them out when im bored .. kids think im sad .... lol

[smnk3]

my...ears....

[Electrozonelectronic]

I never finished it properly even with the cheat. Was the cheat the one where you had to stand somewhere and type "typewriter" to get endless lives. Was it "writetyper" for Jetset willy? Games were good back then.

[JohnMarleyMusic]

The best game ever made for me without a doubt.

[bullterrierSarajevo]

I mastered this game. I LOVE SEPECTRUM

[Azorean2100]

How can anyone finish this game without cheat?

[CHRISMUSICO]

AWESOME GAME!

SO MANY HOURS OF JOY

[CleckleysProof]

Memories. Life was good then.

[Wucky]

omg that sound kills my airs

[matywaldy]

completed it at the age of five,jet set willy was cool too,does anyone remember that?

[SAMJE123456]

You must have had your dads cheat code.

[matywaldy]

what was the cheat code?.ive forgotten?.yer i used it to practise the levels.

[UberCyberBeast]

It was the numbers from Matthew Smith's driving licence mixed up.

[matywaldy]

whos mat smith when hes at home?.you crazy man

[UberCyberBeast]

The guy who made the game, fool.

[matywaldy]

did all dads have the cheat code then?.

[MiniBlueflame]

im always dead on about level 10

[Mollweidekadet]

A truly brilliant post. Thanks for all the memories! That cheat code would not work on the Amstrad CPC464.

[ironmonger27]

6031769 ha ha what a poke!

[tepid8]

"6031769"

I can still remember the sodding "Boot" code.

Type those numbers in and then used the number 1 thru' 6 to access any level. COME ON.

[lickthegash]

what a classic ! bring it back on the 360

[Darkmetroidworms]

eh guys you have this game? is it fun it seems more then cool

[cifra]

it's easy to find but yoy will need an emulator

[1geliS]

Is there somebody who could pass the Warehouse, about the 17. level?

I never could.

[deathkebab]

my dad could always do the warehouse and i couldn't which he took great pleasure in.

[Mollweidekadet]

That was the limit for me and my Brother as well. Level 17, The Warehouse.

[czypauly07]

unbelievable that i used to play this for HOURS, 2 mins of watching it and i feel like ime going mad!

[franciscovaldevez]

Great game, great memories.

Greetings from Portugal.

[jamesjenko]

Oh wow, the memories! We used to dub that yellow Central Cavern guy as the "Collinge monster" after a teacher at my school, but it always reminded me of the old Midland bank (now HSBC) mascot/logo. If you posted the rest of the game here I would so watch it all!

[SlugThumper]

Jeez that would give me a migraine or an epileptic fit now.

[princessdotcom]

I completed it.lol. :D

[ldma]

Could never get past the Warehouse....

[k1df1ghter]

I loved this game as a child, I used to play it on the spectrum. Ah, 80s gaming, when graphics were shit, sound was awful, but playability could never be better.

[wullie72]

AH happy memories

[mrmalade]

Damn I don't think I ever got passed eugene's lair

[handinaclub]

WOW im sure that was me playing they are the exact tacticts i used i was about 8 when i had that gamei loved it that and CHUKIE EGG that fat bald humpty fuckin dumpty was hard to get passed on manic wasnt he

[scotthannaford1]

great game, but got to say yer timing sucks as a player!

[darrenpotts]

classic game, but now i understand why the music got on my mam and dad's tits.

[lordknob]

Where's the Kong Beast?

[madhobbit]

god this brings back so many memorys of when i was a little boy!!!! loved it when it was loading and would then crash just before it finishes loading. LOL

[marpip]

Hi, can anyone remember a game -either for the gameboy or gamegear (my sons had one of each between them) that was a miner with a sack on his back collecting coal as he went before he could be jailed or something. It's really bugging me that I can't think of the name. Thanks

[Realmasterorder]

Yes that is originall music and sounds :)

This game seemed so amazing Back then and Brings up a Warm Fuzzy feling inside ! i 100% agree with first post

[Simon0]

Is that the real music from the original?

[gabicuesta]

Yes, is the real original music.

[joejoe133]

that music kicks ass

[toaster909]

F*ck me that music is annoying!!

[benjiferrero]

Does the cheat code 6031769 still work on that? :o)

[hughes051]

yes this code still works

[tigersim303]

who can forget 6031769 -> "the boot" ?!?

[desdesanturceabilbao]

Manic Miner ha sido y es el número UNO (nº1) también en el AMSTRAD!!! Anda que tarde poco en buscar las vidas infinitas (con el casset !uf!). Viva el AMSTRAD!!! ....y de paso tambien recuerdo a la revista que me ayudaba a aprender más "Amstrad Semanal".

[chedsorr]

lol i remember playing this game as a kid

[mellysingsdoom]

This is the sort of thing that make me want to grow a mullet and pester my parents for an extra fiver to go and by Winter Sports by US Gold (wipes nostalgic tear from eye).

[LISTERUK]

Matthew smith is a god thank god he made this game i had many a happy time playing this they just dont make them like they used to LONG LIVE RETRO.

[stig114]

This brought back memories of drinking limeade and listening to Howard Jones whilst trying to escape Eugene's Layer.

[jelleoelle]

I play it better than that :D Back then we didn't need all the 3d graphics to have fun. The games were made so they were great fun and entertainment, and they still are. I play them on emulators. They had something that games are missing today that just made you play them for hours and hours, despite of their simplicity, or maybe because of their simplicity. Not that I don't like the games today. I spend plenty of time playing 3D fps games myself ;)

[kfitzjjjj]

If you want to play this game online, heres a link to a flash version: http://www.darnkitty.com/manic­/

[ianloughridge]

You guys need to chill out and take it back to the old school... thanks for the patience in putting this up :)

[appletreeman]

That is one lame-ass dude playing on that video. His technique is awful. He clearly doesn't know the game that well.

[Celephais]

Spectrum games were fun at the time. But at the time we didn't know any better. Nobody was thinking "I wish they'd hurry up and invent a powerful PC so we can play Half Life" I've played some Spectrum games recently through an emulator and some are still quite addictive and fun. About two thirds of them though aren't much good apart from a nostalgia trip.

But darn it I *do* miss those text adventures!

[BeMyOwnGod]

wow this looks so lame :(

[gabicuesta]

This game is a 8 bits classic from 1983. Learn a little of videogame history before write this kind of comments.

Here you have the link to wikipedia about it: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/M­anic_Miner