Resource centre for ZX Spectrum games
using Manic Miner and Jet Set Willy game engines
Versions and minor mods of the original Jet Set Willy
JSW - 2024
Author: Andy Ford (Spider)
Year: 2024
Language: English
JSW - 2024 is a special edition of JSW, created by Andy Ford (Spider) to celebrate the 40th anniversary of this timeless classic. In the title-screen scrolling message, Andy refers to it as "a small 2024 40th birthday edition." Initially, he had planned a more elaborate release for the anniversary but ultimately decided on this version—a rendition of the original game with a few simple enhancements—released in December 2024.
The game features a time limit of two in-game hours. It begins at 10:00 p.m., and if Willy fails to complete his task by midnight, the game ends. This is indicated by the game freezing and the word "time" flashing for a few seconds, leaving no doubt as to what has happened.
There are 150 items to collect—67 more than in the original JSW. Andy placed the additional items carefully to preserve the game's original feel. Some item shapes have changed within rooms, and in cases where an item appears as a double object (e.g., two bottles), collecting one will count as two.
The main game loop has been optimized with guidance from Norman Sword, resulting in a significant speed boost during gameplay.
Several other improvements and fixes have been implemented. The official Software Projects POKEs (without the invisible item in "The Hall") have removed the original bugs that made the game incompletable. The auto-pause feature has been removed, and the bug causing Willy to get stuck on the bed before the toilet run has been fixed. The item counter now decrements, showing how many items remain, and the rope’s top height has been adjusted to prevent unintended upward exits from rooms. Aborting the game now triggers the Game Over screen before returning to the title screen. The usual text flicker resetting objects and time on losing a life or entering a room has been eliminated. The status bar has been slightly modified: the room descriptor has been moved down by one row, room names are now centered, and the remaining lives display has been shifted along by one block.
The title-screen and in-game tunes have been changed. In JSW - 2024, the title-screen tune is "If I Were a Rich Man" (previously the in-game tune in the original JSW), while the in-game tune is "In the Hall of the Mountain King" (from MM and JSW II). By default, the in-game music is switched off at the start of a new game, but if enabled, the game will remember the player's choice for subsequent plays.
A new room, "Up in the Air" (60), has been added. It is accessible but not required for completion. This room was introduced to prevent players from teleporting from "Rescue Esmerelda" (14) to "Ballroom East" (20) by exiting upwards.
Number of edited rooms: 61
Number of rooms accessible without cheating: 61
Number of rooms which need to be visited to complete the game: 59
("Entrance to Hades" [06] should be omitted as entering it results in a multiple-death scenario. "Up in the Air" [60] can be omitted.)
Number of items to collect: 150
Spare lives at the start: 7
Completable without loss of life? YES
Starting time: 10:00 pm
Best documented completion time with no unnecessary loss of life: 11:09 pm
Download links
|
The game's home page on JSW & MM Community |
|
Game file in TAP and TZX formats |
|
RZX walkthrough of the game showing the best documented completion time |
A complete screenshot gallery will be presented on this page in the future.