Welcome to MetroidMania, in which I backtrack through the history of platform adventures before Metroid to answer burning questions like:

Was Dynamite Dan II for the Spectrum computer a Metroidvania?

This is a transcript of the video embedded above, which is very audio/visual heavy. I recommend watching the video for the full experience.

Dynamite Dan II (1986) from Mirrorsoft.

Released in the UK by Mirrorsoft one month before Metroid, Dynamite Dan II was a sequel to a platform collect-em-up inspired by Jet Set Willy. The original Dynamite Dan was the first big hit for Mirrorsoft — the software arm of UK newspaper The Daily Mirror, which was owned by billionaire Robert Maxwell, whose daughter, Ghislaine, would later become involved with a certain Epstein.

By coincidence, the sequel would involve infiltrating the islands of a villain who is trying to corrupt the world’s children, although this evil billionaire was trying to do it via subliminal messages hidden in pop records.

Creator Rod Bowkett was a British musician and songwriter with a degree in Mathematics, who — according to Retro Gamer magazine — had recently decided to leave the music industry, and was occupying his time by teaching himself how to code. 

Building a game was merely a motivator for putting these lessons into practice, but when he was finished, he decided to try shopping it around. After it became a smash hit, Mirrorsoft pushed for a sequel, hoping they could market it by the end of the year. But Bowkett had bigger plans.

Originally announced as Dr. Blitzen And The Islands Of Arcanum, Dynamite Dan II was twice the size of the original, but split into eight medium-sized maps instead of one large one.

The original and final loading screen for Dynamite Dan II.

Your objective is to find the vinyl record hidden on each island, and then to find a jukebox to play it on, for some reason. Along the way, you’ll fill up your inventory with various items, and figuring out what each one does is part of the puzzle. Some of them are obvious, like the dynamite that can be used to blow open doors, but others less so.

However, none of the items serve a dual purpose like they do in Metroid. Including the dynamite, which has no effect on enemies. And only one island has anything resembling a mobility upgrade: a magical dumbbell that doubles your jump height. But only for 20 seconds. Then it disappears, little more than a consumable power-up.

Nor can you backtrack to islands once you leave. Which pretty much disqualifies it from being a platform adventure, but also makes it a perfect example of how a game can look like one at first glance, and yet, upon closer inspection, most certainly isn’t.

Is Dynamite Dan II a Metroidvania? 

No, it is simply a platformer — with adventure game elements. 

Although figuring out what each item in Dynamite Dan II does was originally part of the puzzle, modern players might like some help, and surprisingly even the few guides that exist today are still a little confused on what everything does. Fortunately, the source code was disassembled back in 2008, and by comparing those notes to longplays we can finally arrive at definitive answers.

There are four inventory items that appear on every island, but the rest of the items are unique to each island and will disappear from your inventory when you leave that island.

COMMON ITEMS
Fuel: Refuels the zeppelin so you can go to the next island.
Record: Must be played on the jukebox before you leave the island.
Bomb: Blows open doors.
Googles: Blocks Dr. Blitzen from hypnotizing you with his ray.

ISLAND 1
Drill: Activates secret passages.
Pipe Wrench: Temporarily prevents enemies from stealing items. (Frequently misidentified as a “torch.”)
Food Mixer: Food reappears when you leave the screen and come back.

ISLAND 2
Shell: Activates secret passages.
Skull: Temporarily grants invincibility and invisibility.
Aqualung: Prevents drowning.

ISLAND 3
Mask: Activates secret passages.
Gem: Temporarily prevents you from going up stairs.
Snake: Allows you to play the record without a jukebox.

ISLAND 4
Feather: Activates secret passages.
Crossbow: Temporarily kills all the enemies as they spawn.
Corkscrew: Skip Island 5 and go straight to Island 6.

ISLAND 5
Jack: Activates secret passages.
Dumbbell: Temporarily doubles your jump height.
Boots: Allows you to walk on water.

ISLAND 6
Pump: Activates secret passages.
Snips: Temporarily allows you to walk through doors.
Engine: Consolidates fuel and prevents enemies from stealing it.

ISLAND 7
Mandolin: Activates secret passages.
Fan: Temporarily causes score to increase and enemies give you energy.
Scissors: Entering a secret passage spawns a bomb.

ISLAND 8
Camera: Activates secret passages.
Mic: Temporarily keeps Dr. Blitzen away.
Time Bomb: Opening doors doesn’t use up bombs.

Sources

(Online sources are hyperlinked directly in the article.)

  • The Making Of Dynamite Dan 1 & 2 in Retro Gamer #62 (March 26, 2009).
  • Dynamite Dan release month estimated from announcement in weekly magazine Popular Computer Weekly #37 (July 17, 1986).
  • Previews referring to the game as Dr. Blitzen And The Islands Of Arcanum were printed in Crash #27 (April 1986) and Your Sinclair #5 (May 1986). A variation of this loading screen still exists in the game.

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES: Internet Archive, Moby Games, RZX Archive, Spectrum Computing.

MUSIC: “Arrival At The Space Colony” arranged by Luminist, “Mantra” by White Bat Audio.

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