Dynamite Headdy

Dynamite Headdy
Genesis boxart
Developer(s)	Treasure
Publisher(s)	Sega
Designer(s)	Koichi Kimura
Composer(s)	Nazo Suzuki Koji Yamada Aki Hata Norio Hanzawa
Platform(s)	Mega Drive, Sega Game Gear, Sega Master System (Brazil only), Virtual Console
Release date(s)	NA August 4, 1994 JP August 5, 1994 PAL 1994
Genre(s)	Platformer
Mode(s)	Single player
Rating(s)	VRC: GA, ESRB: Everyone

Dynamite Headdy (ダイナマイト・ヘッディー, Dainamaito Heddī^?) is a video game released in 1994 by Sega and produced by Treasure.^[1] It was released on the Sega Mega Drive/Genesis system, with ports to the Sega Game Gear and Sega Master System. A port for the Sega 32X was planned, but due to the system's low popularity, the port was canceled. It was released for the Wii's Virtual Console on July 30, 2007.^[2]

The style of the game is platform/action. In the game the player controls the star puppet Headdy who can attack his enemies by shooting his detachable head at them.

Dynamite Headdy is one of three games included with Gunstar Heroes: Treasure Box Collection, a compilation of Treasure-produced Mega Drive games for the PlayStation 2.

The game made its latest appearance in Sonic's Ultimate Genesis Collection (AKA Sega Mega Drive Ultimate Collection) for Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3.

Storyline

Headdy, the central protagonist of the game, arrives in North Town to find that the evil puppet King Dark Demon is in the midst of attacking the puppet town to select which of the peaceful toys should live and which should be converted into his evil minions. Headdy is captured and rejected by D.D.'s forces, and is dropped into the dust cargo to be thrown into the incinerator. However, Headdy escapes the clutches of Dark Demon's minions and sets off to defeat the evil king.

However, trouble is afoot. Not only is the puppet world filled with Dark Demon's minions, but to reach the evil overlord's castle Headdy must defeat Dark Demon's Keymasters, who serve as the king's elite guard. To make matters worse, Headdy is followed by Trouble Bruin (Maruyama), a puppet jealous of Headdy's success. Trouble Bruin wants to be the star instead of Headdy, and will stop at nothing to get rid of him.

Gameplay

The game is played over a series of "scenes" and "acts" like Sonic the Hedgehog, the end of which is often typified by a big boss battle. Headdy's special ability is his launchable head. This can be fired in eight directions: up, down, left, right, and the four diagonals in-between. Launching it at enemies can damage or destroy them.

His head can also be used to hold on to a "HangMan", a character that acts like a hook. By grabbing a HangMan with his head, the player can then use it to hurl itself in its direction, as if connected by an elastic band. Headdy can also swap his head for a special head, if he attacks a HeadCase. Depending on the symbol that the HeadCase is showing, Headdy will get a different head with a different special power. Some of these powers include making Headdy's attacks stronger, becoming temporarily invulnerable, shrinking in order to reach smaller spaces and sucking up all items and enemies on screen. During flight stages, Headdy can switch between three types of flight head. Collecting a Bonus Head enters a bonus stage which, if cleared, gives the player part of a keycode which, when inputted at the end of the game, grants access to a secret ending.

Scattered across the levels are a number of Secret Bonus Points. These can be collected by performing a strange or skilled action, such as finding a hidden item or defeating an enemy using a certain tactic.

Characters

• Headdy (ヘッディー, Heddī^?) - The protagonist. His head is able to be sent flying from his body, and can be exchanged for all kinds of different heads with different powers.
• Heather/Fingy (フィンギー, Fingī^?) - A girl with floating hands. She has an interest in collecting the keys left behind by the Keymasters Headdy defeats.
• Dark Demon (キング・ダークデーモン, Kingu Dāku Dēmon^?) - An evil emperor wanting to take over the world of puppets.
• Trouble Bruin/Maruyama (マルヤマ^?) - A bounty hunter who wants to defeat Headdy and upstage him. In the US/European version, he is brown with angry eyes, while in the Japanese version he is purple with wide eyes. He appears in various colours with wide eyes in the Game Gear version, where he represents nearly all of the bosses instead of the Keymasters.
• Headcase/Mokkun (モックん^?) - One of Headdy's friends. He walks around areas with a revolving selection of heads that Headdy can use by hitting him.
• Hangman/Fukkun (フックん^?) - Another one of Headdy's friends, who hangs off various platforms. By grabbing it, Headdy can launch himself upwards. He can also be used to pull some obstacles like floating platforms.
• Beau/Yakkun (ヤックん^?) - The third of Headdy's friends, who shows up during boss fights, pointing to a boss's weakness and yelling 'Target'.
• Bino (ビーノ, Bīno^?) - An odd person with big ears who appears from time to time. Hitting him often rewards a secret bonus point.
• Mad Dog/Bounty Boundy (バウンティバウンディ, Baunti Baundi^?) - The first Keymaster. A huge toy like dog. He attacks with a basketball, a caterpillar, and a ball of dogs.
• Wooden Dresser/Jacqueline Dressy (ジャックリン・ドレッシー, Jakkurin Doresshiī^?) - The second Keymaster. A huge wooden puppet figure that has the ability to become any costume it wants to be.
• Spinderella/Motor Hand (モーターハンド, Mōtā Hando^?) - The third Keymaster. A giant floating ball with extendable arms.
• Baby Face/Mitsuru (ミツル^?) - The fourth Keymaster. A baby head on a pole. After taking enough hits he changes into the boys head, the man's head, and finally an old man's head.
• Gatekeeper/Nasty Gatekeeper (Yazoyoi/Izayoi) (ヤザヨイ/イザヨイ^?) - An evil robot that guards Dark Demon's castle. She becomes angrier and whacks you wildly with her extendable claw.
• Twin Freaks/Rever Face (リバー・フェイス, Ribā Fēsu^?) - A monkey-like head. When he's green, he's happy, but when he's red, he's angry.
• Smiley (スマイリー, Sumairī^?) - A medallion who claims to belong to the greatest puppet in the world.

Reception

Reviews for Dynamite Headdy are generally positive. NintendoLife gave the game an 8/10, saying that it "isn’t just a great game, and one of the best platformers on the Mega Drive, but it also has the distinct advantage of being a new experience to most people, one that’s well worth the time and effort."^[3] PixelSurgeon calls it "Perfect in every way", claiming that it "has more imagination in its opening demo than most developers manage to get into their entire output" and that it "belongs to and for the people playing it."^[4] Racketboy claims that it "was one of the most graphically impressive Genesis games in its day."^[5]

See also

• Treasure (company)

References

1. ^ "Dynamite Headdy Review". http://gamefreaks365.com/review.php?artid=1777. Retrieved 2010-07-08. 
2. ^ Wii Virtual Console Adds Three New Titles. (July 30, 2007) IGN. Retrieved on October 22, 2007
3. ^ Review: Dynamite Headdy (Virtual Console / Sega Mega Drive). (July 30, 2007) NintendoLife. Retrieved on July 29, 2010
4. ^ [PIXELSURGEON | Reviews | Games | Dynamite Headdy. (2002) PixelSurgeon. Retrieved on July 29, 2010
5. ^ [The Best Sega Genesis Games Under $10. RacketBoy. Retrieved on July 29, 2010

External links

• Treasure official website (Japanese)
• A fanmade walkthrough for Dynamite Headdy (US/European version), hosted by Webs.com.
• Dynamite Headdy (Genesis) at GameFAQs