Video game fans of a certain age know Wizball very well indeed. Even if you never played the game, Ocean Software's 1987 best-seller was unavoidable, occupying store shelves for many years and marketed in magazines with some unforgettable magazine ads starring its frankly horrifying protagonist.

But if you did miss out on this hard-as-nails platformer the first time around, then you're in luck, as homebrewer Leigh "Gravious" Ashton (with a major assist from original Ocean graphics artist Mark R. Jones) has unleashed the green menace once again in the form of Wizball: Enhanced Edition for the Spectrum 128K platform.

This revitalised version of the 1987 title brings a variety of features and optimisations that were a part of the Commodore 64 version (typically recognised as the best edition of Wizball) but were missing from the ZX Spectrum release. These include colour-cycling projectiles, Purple Blazor power shots, instructional pages, a clear "Enemies Remaining" count, the implementation of missing fonts, and an all-new high score table.

Additionally, Wizball Enhanced Edition sports optimised audio/visual elements, with a reduction in sprite flickering, an overhauled HUD display, a dual parallax starfield, and a more polished presentation - with full colour menus, an attract mode, and a jukebox featuring all in-game music. The game's notorious balance has also been addressed, with redefined hit/hurtboxes, new scoring rules, and more consistent collision detection.

Ashton, who notes that no GenA.I. was used in the creation of Wizball: Enhanced Edition, worked closely with R. Jones to retain the integrity and authenticity of the original while revamping the (many) lesser elements of the Spectrum port to bring the gameplay experience closer to its C64 brethren.

And while Ashton notes that not everything from the C64 port has made its way into the Enhanced Edition, It's quite clear a lot of work and passion has gone into squeezing these additions into the Sinclair's humble 128K memory. So, if you were a little disappointed with the original Spectrum release, or perhaps you just want to check out an icon of the home computing era, bounce on over to Ashton's itch.io and get friendly with the emerald eyesore.