NEXT Frantic Day

Frantic Day is a pleasant platform game designed for the ZX Spectrum NEXT. Navigate through various levels to overcome obstacles, avoid enemies, and achieve your ultimate goal of getting Fred back to his bed at the end of his “Frantic Day”.

The original version of Frantic Day was written by me over 40 years ago and was published by “Your Computer” magazine. The game was written in Assembly Language for the Z80 processor to allow it to run at a good speed and to create the “Sprites”. The game was MIA (Missing In Action) until earlier this year when it was found on a Spanish website. The source code went missing a long time ago, stored on Microdrive Cartridges that eventually became unreadable.

About a month ago I was presented with a ZX Spectrum NEXT to add to my collection of ZX Spectrums. After playing with it for a few days I decided to challenge myself to re-write Frantic Day for the NEXT, but to only use NextBASIC. With some fantastic support from the NextBASIC user group (https://www.facebook.com/groups/ZXNextBasic/), this game is the result.

The screen levels are very similar to the original in style and layout. Things are a bit more colourful, but I have tried to maintain the graphic style of the original.

There is now a final level for the game where you have to get Fred into his bedroom.

I hope you enjoy it and feel free to contact me with any comments.  

WEZ.  Email: tjohnwez@msn.com