Jet Set Willy II: BBC Micro version

Jet Set Willy, written in 1983 by Matthew Smith, was a cult platform game on the Sinclair Spectrum. Jet Set Willy II, the sequel, was originally an Amstrad CPC conversion of Jet Set Willy. Because of its new features — such as a larger map and moving platforms — JSW II was eventually converted back to the Spectrum. The Amstrad and Spectrum versions of JSW II are essentially identical. However, the BBC Micro version is different in several areas.

Most of the information on this page only applies to the cassette version. The disk version has the standard map and loads extra screens into memory during the game.

Scrolling message

The introductory scrolling message reads as follows.

...Jetset Willy II was written by Chris Robson.....Jet Set Willy II was prepared by Tynesoft under licence from Software Projects and is copyright to Software Projects.....You must guide Willy to collect all the items around the house before midnight so that Maria will let him go to bed......Press SPACE to start the game.

Enemies, objects, and sprites

Many of the enemies differ from those in JSW II on the Spectrum. Some are different types (a fast-moving blob in Sewer Entrance instead of the walking baubles), some just look different (a bell in Megaron instead of a chandelier), and at least one is missing altogether (the topmost rat in Nasties). The enemies in Belfry and Galactic Invasion are not on ropes and don’ drop more nasties. An arrow flies across The Bathroom when the games starts, and many arrows are missing from the space zone, including the volley between MAIN LIFT 1 and MAIN LIFT 3. There are too many of these small changes to list.

Some of the objects are different, too. For example, the collectable object in Trip Switch is a crucifix on the floor, not a lever on the ceiling; and the deadly object in The Off Licence is a skull mask, not an optic.

Willy never dons a spacesuit in the BBC cassette version, even though he can go into space.

Finally, because JSW II runs in a high-resolution graphics mode, each room is limited to four colours. (There's no colour clash, though!) This is also true for the disk version.

Rooms

Interestingly, the BBC cassette version has a different map. There are not as many rooms, but there are two that do not appear in the Spectrum version at all (or even the BBC disk version). Also, some of the rooms from the original have been modified, renamed, and/or linked differently.

This document describes only the differences from the Spectrum version: see the Jet Set Willy II map for more information on that.

Missing rooms

Most of the west wing and upper storey is missing, as are the Megatree and a few individual rooms in other places. The critical missing rooms are First Landing (which provided access to the west wing through the kitchens or Nightmare Room) and Ballroom East (which had a route up the east wall to the roof space).

Practically all of the missing rooms were in the original Jet Set Willy (whose BBC version has an identical map), so I assume that the author had limited memory and decided to focus on the rooms specific to Jet Set Willy II.

The 60 missing rooms, in alphabetical order, are:   A bit of Tree;   Above The West Bedroom;   At The Foot Of The Megatree;   The Attic;   Back Door;   Back Stairway;   Ballroom West;   Ballroom East;   Banyan Tree;   The Beach;   The Bow;   Cartography Room;   The Chapel;   cheat;   Cold Store;   Conservatory Roof;   Cuckoo's Nest;   Deserted Isle;   East Wall Base;   Eggoids;   Emergency Power Generator;   First Landing;   Forgotten Abbey;   Half Way Up The East Wall;   The Hall;   Hero Worship;   The Hole with No Name;   I mean, even I dont believe this;   I'm sure I've seen this before..;   Inside The Megatree;   The Kitchen;   Library;   Nightmare Room;   Nomen Luni;   On A Branch Over The Drive;   On The Roof;   On Top Of The House;   The Orangery;   Out On A Limb;   Priest's Hole;   Rescue Esmerelda;   Secret passage;   Study;   Swimming Pool;   Tool Shed;   Top Landing;   To the Kitchen/Main Stairway;   Tree Root;   Tree Top;   Under The Roof;   Up On The Battlements;   The Watch Tower;   We must perform a Quirkafleeg;   West Bedroom;   West of Kitchen;   West Wing;   West Wing Roof;   Without A Limb;   The Yacht;   ].

Modified rooms

1.	Alienate was called Alienate? in the Spectrum version.
2.	Belfry is above Dumb Waiter (not Rescue Esmerelda, which is missing).
3.		In Butler's Pantry the east passage leads directly to The Front Door (missing out Ballroom West, Ballroom East, and The Hall) and there is a gap in the ceiling that leads to Dumb Waiter. This was called Butlers Pantry (no apostrophe) in the Spectrum version.
4.	The west passage from Docking Bay leads directly to Main Lift, missing out the Cartography Room.
5.	The Drive’s east exit leads directly to Garden, missing out At The Foot Of The Megatree.
6.		An extra ledge in Dumb Waiter gives access to the Belfry, and a gap in the floor leads to Butler's Pantry.
7.		Ethel the Aardvark is unique to the BBC version, and is situated west of Megaron (giving access to both floors), and above The Wine Cellar. The rope leads to Sewer Entrance, and dropping from the Outlet returns Willy to Ethel the Aardvark. (In the Spectrum version, the sewers begin above Cold Store and end above The Beach.) The title is a reference to Monty Python's bookshop sketch.
8.		The Fallout Shelter is also unique to the BBC version, and is situated west of Macaroni Ted, east of Master Bedroom, and below Rocket Room. It resembles a missing room, The Watch Tower, which is also below Rocket Room (but nowhere near the other two) in the Spectrum version. The title is a nasty pun: if you enter from the top of Macaroni Ted, you do indeed fall out and lose a life.
9.	Sewer Entrance was called Main Entrance (The Sewer) in the Spectrum version.
10.	Star Drive was called Star Drive (Early Brick Version) in the Spectrum version.
11.	Starship was called NCC 1501 (a Star Trek reference) in the Spectrum version.
12.		Under The Drive has no east passage (leading to Tree Root in the Spectrum version), and there are no ceiling blocks.
13.		The Wine Cellar has no west passage (leading to Tool Shed in the Spectrum version), and the east passage (obvious, not concealed as in the Spectrum version) goes to Trip Switch, missing out Forgotten Abbey. Jumping up leads to Ethel the Aardvark (not the missing Back Stairway).
14.	Wonga's Spillage Tray was called Wonga'S Spillage Tray (with the erroneous capital letter) in the Spectrum version.
15.		The Zoo has a mysterious inaccessible doorway in the east wall.
16.	The bottom-right ledge in The Trouble with Tribbles is is a right-walking conveyor (in addition to the name being changed from The TROUBLE with TRIBBLES is...).
17.	In Phaser Power the three guns on the left do not fire arrows as they do on the Spectrum; but there is a frozen bird enemy in line with the bottom gun. This could be another Star Trek reference (“phasers on stun”).
18.	Defence System lacks the periscope nasty.
19.	The nasty in Captain Slog is the proper periscope, and that and Alienate have ramps arranged differently to those on the Spectrum.
20.	Beam me Down Spotty has two (rather than four) ramps.
21.	Teleport is not missing a square in the left wall (but is on the Spectrum, giving a false impression that it is possible to reach a room on the left). This is almost the opposite case of The Zoo in which the BBC version has an inaccessible door in the wall that the Spectrum version doesn’t.
22.	INCREDIBLE -, - BIG HOLE -, and - IN THE GROUND have decapitalised names, missing the “big”, and no route to the missing screens below. The first of these also has different nasties.
23.	Loony Jet Set features the clockwork robot from the first screen of Manic Miner.