Manic Miner - complete and almost chronological

[JianYang]

While everyone is worshipping Jesus, Santa or Donald Duck, I decided to work on the memory card in my emulation handheld. I wanted (among many other things) all the Speccy versions of Manic Miner in one directory. So I went to JSWCentral grabbed them all and started renaming them. This took quite a lot of time and I started wondering why there isn't a zip-file with all the versions available on JSWC.

 

So since I've pretty much already made it, would there be legal or ethical problems with publishing such a thing? Would @jetsetdanny appreciate me sending him a zip like that? Did I miss any versions or get some of the years wrong?

 

Here's the list as I have it right now:

1983-Manic Miner (Bug Byte).tzx
1983-Manic Miner (Software Projects).tzx
1985-La miniera 2 (Load 'n' Run [IT], 1985).tzx
1985-Manic Miner 2.tzx
1985-Manic Miner No. 2.tzx
1986-Winer Milly.tzx
1996-Manic Miner III - Tales from a Parallel Universe.tzx
1997-Manic Miner 4 (Original Edition).tzx
1998-Manic Miner 5 - Los peligros del LSD.tzx
1998-Manic Miner 7.tzx
1998-Manic Miner - The Buddha of Suburbia (Original Edition).tzx
1999-Eugene - Lord of the Bathroom.tzx
2000-Manic Miner - 2000.tzx
2000-Manic Miner - The Hobbit (Easy Version).tzx
2000-Manic Miner - The Hobbit (Hard Version).tzx
2002-Manic Miner - comp.sys.sinclair.tzx
2003-Ma Jolie (Original Edition).tzx
2003-Ma Jolite (Original Edition).tzx
2003-Manic Miner 4 - Special Edition.tzx
2003-Manic Miner - The Buddha of Suburbia - Special Edition.tzx
2003-ZX81 Manic Miner.tzx
2004-Manic Miner - Jet Set Willy - Vol. 1.tzx
2004-Manic Miner - Jet Set Willy - Vol. 2.tzx
2004-Manic Miner - Jet Set Willy - Vol. 3.tzx
2004-Manic Miner - Neighbours - Allana Truman (Easy version).tzx
2004-Manic Miner - Neighbours - Allana Truman (Standard version).tzx
2005-Manic Scribbler.tzx
2006-Ma Jolie - Special Edition 2006.tzx
2006-Ma Jolite - Special Edition 2006.tzx
2009-Ma Jolie - Special Edition 2009.tzx
2009-Ma Jolite - Special Edition 2009.tzx
2015-Jet Set Luis.tzx
2016-A Manic Minor's 80's Christmas Shopping Trip.tzx
2018-Manic Miner - Back to the Mine.tzx
2018-Manic Miner - Norman Sword's version.tzx
2018-Manic Mixup.tzx
2018-Thoroughly Modern Willy.tzx
2020-Manic 40 Miner V6c6.tzx
2020-Manic Panic 1.5.tzx
2021-Manic-4-Noobs (M4N).tzx
2021-MANIC-minor (M-m).tzx
2023-Manic Miner 40th Anniversary Tribute (MM40th).tzx
2023-Manic Person (Human Version).tzx
2023-Manic Person (Inhuman Version).tzx
2024-Manic Miner - Deeper and Down (v. 1.2).tzx
2024-Manic Miner - The Deeper Caverns 48K.tzx
2024-Manic Miner - The Lost Levels 128K (v. 1.2).tzx
2024-Manic Miner - The Lost Levels DS (v. 1.1).tzx
2024-Manic Miner - The Lost Levels (v. 1.1).tzx

Since many MM games were developed over several years, I just went with the year of the earliest release.

 

[jetsetdanny]

Thank you for your interest in MM games and for using JSW Central, JianYang! 🙂

  

On 12/15/2025 at 11:56 AM, JianYang said:

This took quite a lot of time and I started wondering why there isn't a zip-file with all the versions available on JSWC.

Well, there isn't because I have not offered anything like that so far. 

It did cross my mind that I might make everything that I've got in my JSW Central Download folder available for download as a single ZIP file. I have not decided whether to do it yet. I might do it in the future, but I'm not promising anything right now.

*IF* I ever do something like this, it will not be versions of MM (only) or JSW (only), but everything, i.e. game files and my RZX walkthroughs of everything, structured in folders as per their type.

For the time being, while I'm not making such a download possible, I can send the zipped Download folder to anyone who is interested. Please let me know - here or by e-mail - if you wish to receive it 🙂.

 

  

On 12/15/2025 at 11:56 AM, JianYang said:

So since I've pretty much already made it, would there be legal or ethical problems with publishing such a thing?

Ethical - for me, no.

Legal - if I do decide to publish it, I will do it with an understanding that my action is legal. That's all I can say.

 

  

On 12/15/2025 at 11:56 AM, JianYang said:

Would @jetsetdanny appreciate me sending him a zip like that?

No, I wouldn't have any use for it. That would be because: 1) I've obviously got these files myself since they were download from my website; 2) I don't classify games the way you do. Please see my reply to the next point.

 

 

On 12/15/2025 at 11:56 AM, JianYang said:

Did I miss any versions or get some of the years wrong?

OK, I can only answer this question indirectly. As explained here, the classification of games on JSW Central is based on the game engine they use. I don't really look at games as being "Manic Miner" or "Jet Set Willy", but rather at what kind of game engine they utilise. 

It may be a challenging question to define what a "Manic Miner" game is if you don't stick to the game engine criterion. If it were the protagonist, some games that you have included in your list don't have Miner Willy as protagonist (e.g. "Jet Set Luis" or "Eugene Lord of the Bathroom"). If it were the way the game plays, then for example "Clopit!" should definitely be considered a MM game, similarly to a number of other games using the JSW64 engines (obviously "JSW64: Manic Miner", "JSW64: Dragon Manic Miner", "JSW64 Manic Miner: James Bond" and "JSW64: Flash Manic Miner"). But then you can have a game that combines some rooms that play like MM and some rooms that play like JSW - how would you classify that one?

So personally, I prefer to stick to the game-engine-based classification.

On your list, you've got games that use the MM game engine, but also games that use other game engines. It's a mixture that does not correspond to my classification. Furthermore, you have various editions of the same game mentioned separately, a mere translation ("La miniera 2") mentioned alonside the original game, etc.

Of course, I don't mind people creating lists of MM/JSW games based on other classifications that my own (and using JSW Central for it - I'm glad they do!). However, I won't dedicate my (otherwise very limited) time to checking the accuracy of such lists or discussing them in detail.

 

Incidentally, how is your JSW game project going, JianYang? Shall we see it released any time soon? I will be happy to playtest before the release if you should want that 🙂

[JianYang]

1 hour ago, jetsetdanny said:

For the time being, while I'm not making such a download possible, I can send the zipped Download folder to anyone who is interested. Please let me know - here or by e-mail - if you wish to receive it 🙂.

Sure, if it's no bother for you.

1 hour ago, jetsetdanny said:

Ethical - for me, no.

Does that mean "no problem" or "no, that's not okay?"

It doesn't look like there's a lot of interest, but if sometime down the line someone would want this archive, would you object?

1 hour ago, jetsetdanny said:

It may be a challenging question to define what a "Manic Miner" game is if you don't stick to the game engine criterion.

For me it's quite simple:

Single screen levels -> Manic Miner  

Connected screens -> Jet Set Willy

When in doubt, include it.

But I understand that these are my personal criteria and not everyone will agree.

1 hour ago, jetsetdanny said:

Incidentally, how is your JSW game project going, JianYang? Shall we see it released any time soon? I will be happy to playtest before the release if you should want that 🙂

I honestly have no idea what you're talking about. My last JSW related project was to finally play through the entire game with a lot of help from @RuffledBricks' guides. Thank you, Bricks! I completed that several years ago. Other than that I'm much more of a MM than JSW person.

So either you're confusing me with someone else or maybe I have foolishly made some comment that sounded like I'm working on something big?

In short: I don't have any JSW related projects going on.

[jetsetdanny]

Posted December 22, 2025 · IP 

  On 12/21/2025 at 10:42 PM, jetsetdanny said:

For the time being, while I'm not making such a download possible, I can send the zipped Download folder to anyone who is interested. Please let me know - here or by e-mail - if you wish to receive it 🙂. 

On 12/22/2025 at 12:21 AM, JianYang said:

Sure, if it's no bother for you.

You can now download it from https://we.tl/t-Fy10shHs1m . I have added some PC-based games from my archive as well. I did mean to do it first for the Boxing Day and then as a New Year's gift, but I was too busy working on other JSW-related things. So here it is now 🙂 .

The download will expire in three days, so grab it as soon as you read this message 🙂 . However, if you read this and it's too late to download, post your request here and I will re-up the ZIP file.

[jetsetdanny]

On 12/21/2025 at 10:42 PM, jetsetdanny said:

 

On 12/15/2025 at 11:56 AM, JianYang said:

So since I've pretty much already made it, would there be legal or ethical problems with publishing such a thing?

Ethical - for me, no.

Legal - if I do decide to publish it, I will do it with an understanding that my action is legal. That's all I can say.

 

    

On 12/22/2025 at 12:21 AM, JianYang said:

 

On 12/21/2025 at 10:42 PM, jetsetdanny said:

Ethical - for me, no.

Does that mean "no problem" or "no, that's not okay?"

It means "no problem".

"Ethical - for me, no" was my reply to the question "would there be legal or ethical problems with publishing such a thing?". So my full reply would have been "No, for me there would be no ethical problem with publishing such a thing" 🙂 .

[jetsetdanny]

On 12/22/2025 at 12:21 AM, JianYang said:

It doesn't look like there's a lot of interest, but if sometime down the line someone would want this archive, would you object?

I've just made it available for download, so no, I wouldn't object 🙂 .

[jetsetdanny]

On 12/22/2025 at 12:21 AM, JianYang said:

For me it's quite simple:

Single screen levels -> Manic Miner  

Connected screens -> Jet Set Willy

When in doubt, include it.

But I understand that these are my personal criteria and not everyone will agree.

There's no point arguing with your personal criteria and I have no intention of doing it, but just as food for thought:

- You can have a game using the JSW64 game engine where there are 20 single screen levels and 20 connected screens. Would this qualify as a MM game?

- You can have a game using the JSW64 game engine where there are 10 single screen levels and 50 connected screens. Would this qualify as a MM game?

- You can have a game using the JSW64 game engine where there is 1 single screen level and 127 connected screens. Would this qualify as a MM game?

[jetsetdanny]

On 12/22/2025 at 12:21 AM, JianYang said:

I honestly have no idea what you're talking about. My last JSW related project was to finally play through the entire game with a lot of help from @RuffledBricks' guides. Thank you, Bricks! I completed that several years ago. Other than that I'm much more of a MM than JSW person.

So either you're confusing me with someone else or maybe I have foolishly made some comment that sounded like I'm working on something big?

In short: I don't have any JSW related projects going on.

I AM SO SORRY! I did confuse you with another person, namely UncleWan. He is Chinese, apparently the first Chinese in the world creating a JSW game! My question was really directed at him, but your nickname sounds Chinese to me and I got confused. Sorry about that!

And in reality, is your nickname Chinese? It certainly seems to be meant to sound Chinese. Any relation to him?

[JianYang]

First: thank you for the files and the clarification. And as a side note: I noticed that the version of Byron's Lost Levels 128k that I got from jswmm.co.uk did not include the latest build. Just for your information.

21 hours ago, jetsetdanny said:

There's no point arguing with your personal criteria and I have no intention of doing it, but just as food for thought:

- You can have a game using the JSW64 game engine where there are 20 single screen levels and 20 connected screens. Would this qualify as a MM game?

- You can have a game using the JSW64 game engine where there are 10 single screen levels and 50 connected screens. Would this qualify as a MM game?

- You can have a game using the JSW64 game engine where there is 1 single screen level and 127 connected screens. Would this qualify as a MM game?

As I said: when in doubt, include it. There might be a point where I draw the line. In your last example if I don't like the one single screen level I would probably not include it. But I wasn't really trying to establish eternal standards, I was downloading some files to put on my handheld and then thought that maybe someone else might at some point want this too. Putting that process into words was really something I only did after you had asked that question.

21 hours ago, jetsetdanny said:

I AM SO SORRY! I did confuse you with another person, namely UncleWan. He is Chinese, apparently the first Chinese in the world creating a JSW game! My question was really directed at him, but your nickname sounds Chinese to me and I got confused. Sorry about that!

And in reality, is your nickname Chinese? It certainly seems to be meant to sound Chinese. Any relation to him?

No problem at all. You would have made my preteen self very happy by mistaking me for Chinese. I was a major Kung Fu nerd back then and everything Chinese was just perfect in my mind.

You cracked the code. It's based on that Jian-Yang.

Possibly boring story ahead:

Back in the days of the Yahoo mailing list you posted some emergency mail that MM was about to lose some vote on WOS to Chuckie Egg. That sounded really important. I couldn't possibly tolerate MM going down in history as only the second best Spectrum game. So I opened a WOS account and had to decide on a name. I thought all the obviously speccy related names would certainly be taken already. And I cannot possibly use anything MM related because then it would be too obvious that I'm just subscribing to help manipulate some vote. I had just watched an episode of Silicon Valley and T.J. Miller screaming "Jian-Yang!" was still fresh in my ears.

And then the highscore challenge came and after I had some entries, I subscribed here and to keep my scores I used the same name. And now I'm stuck with it.

But I wouldn't even want to change it now.

Sorry this whole thing took so much of your time and thank you for taking that time.

[jetsetdanny]

3 hours ago, JianYang said:

First: thank you for the files and the clarification. And as a side note: I noticed that the version of Byron's Lost Levels 128k that I got from jswmm.co.uk did not include the latest build. Just for your information.

Thanks for mentioning this. Yes, I still need to update Manic Miner: The Lost Levels 128K's page on JSW Central. The update of the download files will come with the update of the page.

  

3 hours ago, JianYang said:

Possibly boring story ahead:

Thank you for this interesting story, JianYang! 😊

  

3 hours ago, JianYang said:

Sorry this whole thing took so much of your time and thank you for taking that time.

Your story was a pleasure to read and time well spent 🙂.

  

3 hours ago, JianYang said:

Back in the days of the Yahoo mailing list you posted some emergency mail that MM was about to lose some vote on WOS to Chuckie Egg.

It was this post. Such moments make me glad that I did manage to - with an enormous and decisive help from my son - to bring the Yahoo! message archive back online 😁.