Jet Set Willy: 4 Open Source Clones Compared
The 2021 Edition of the BBC Micro port starts from an earlier disassembly/reassembly of the 1984 original and adds fixes (including a crash on entering the Watch Tower room) plus new features such as two-colour room palettes and a restored enemy sprite, though it documents a short list of very minor gameplay differences from the ZX Spectrum original, like slightly different jump arcs in a few rooms. 'Jet Set Willy (BBC Micro)' is instead a plain byte-for-byte disassembly/reassembly that reproduces the existing BBC Micro release exactly, with no changes. A separate disassembly targets the ZX Spectrum version rather than the BBC Micro, published as browsable code documentation rather than something built and run directly.
Comparison table
Availability
- Status
- Playable
- Platforms
- ZX Spectrum
- Play in browser
- No
- Mobile
- No
Project health
- Development status
- Active
- Last updated
- 1mo ago
- Stars
- 18
- Contributors
- 1
Compatibility
- Requires original assets
- —
Availability
- Status
- Playable
- Platforms
- BBC Micro
- Play in browser
- No
- Mobile
- No
Project health
- Development status
- Halted
- Last updated
- 3y ago
- Stars
- 17
- Contributors
- 2
Compatibility
- Requires original assets
- NoFully rewritten BBC Micro version with all assets and code created for this remake.
Availability
- Status
- Playable
- Platforms
- BBC Micro
- Play in browser
- No
- Mobile
- No
Project health
- Development status
- Halted
- Last updated
- 3y ago
- Stars
- 2
- Contributors
- 1
Compatibility
- Requires original assets
- NoDisassembly and reassembly of the BBC Micro version with no external asset requirements.
Availability
- Status
- Playable
- Platforms
- BBC Micro
- Play in browser
- No
- Mobile
- No
Project health
- Development status
- Not tracked
- Last updated
- Not tracked
- Stars
- Not tracked
- Contributors
- Not tracked
Compatibility
- Requires original assets
- —
| Title | Jet Set Willy disassembly | Jet Set Willy 2021 Edition (BBC Micro) | Jet Set Willy (BBC Micro) | JSW1 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Status | Playable | Playable | Playable | Playable |
| Platforms | ZX Spectrum | BBC Micro | BBC Micro | BBC Micro |
| Play in browser | No | No | No | No |
| Mobile | No | No | No | No |
| Project health | ||||
| Development status | Active | Halted | Halted | Not tracked |
| Last updated | 1mo ago | 3y ago | 3y ago | Not tracked |
| Stars | 18 | 17 | 2 | Not tracked |
| Contributors | 1 | 2 | 1 | Not tracked |
| Compatibility | ||||
| Requires original assets | — | NoFully rewritten BBC Micro version with all assets and code created for this remake. | NoDisassembly and reassembly of the BBC Micro version with no external asset requirements. | — |
| Preview | |
Known limitations
- compatibility: Jump parabola shape is very slightly different from the original Spectrum version.
- gameplay: The Chapel: Player cannot jump through the slope.
- gameplay: The Forgotten Abbey: Missing an enemy on the middle platform due to sprite cache limitations.
Frequently asked questions
Are the Jet Set Willy clones on this page open source?
Yes — every clone catalogued here is an open-source project. Availability, license, and development-status details for each one are listed in the comparison table above.
Do I need to own the original Jet Set Willy to play these clones?
Jet Set Willy 2021 Edition (BBC Micro) and Jet Set Willy (BBC Micro) run standalone, no original files needed.
Which Jet Set Willy clone is the most actively maintained?
Jet Set Willy disassembly is currently under active development, based on recent commit activity. See the "Development status" row above for every clone's current status.
See the full write-up for each clone, or go back to Jet Set Willy.