Dynamite Headdy

"More proof that Treasure is a god"

Treasure. Ahhh. The name of a company of ex-Konami employees who decided to form together to make games that break away from the mainstream. They even made a McDonalds game that was great. Anyway, one of the many gems that they made was Dynamite Headdy, a game where you fight by throwing your head around. And not only that, the game is set up to be a play. You see the stage the whole time. Before one boss battle, you even see people roll a green tarmac on the stage. My god, these people are wonderful!

Graphics- Sprites are colorful and well animated. The stages are really well done. I'm talking about things actually happening in the background. You have the stage in the foreground. A floor that actually rotates in the midground. And a background with Trouble Bruin peeking at you from a window. Enemies are bizarre, with bosses that include a giant mechanical dog and an android who dresses up as a ballerina.

Sound- For some reason, every time a company tries to use the voice chip on the Genesis, it comes out raspy and awful. But everytime Treasure uses the voice chip (not counting Contra Hardcorps. That was only some members of Treasure.) it comes out nice and clear. Sound effects are also pretty cool, but hearing your sidekick shriek in terror after a boss swats him away is just too cool.
Music is also really good. While it seems standard at first, playing it will reveal some tunes that can be considered memorable. I'm thinking about the mechanical stage in particular.

Gameplay- This is what Treasure really focuses on in their games. Something that turns an old format into something totally new and refreshing. Try the 2D platformer. Take a normal platformer and make it seem like a new concept. They did that with Gunstar Heroes, Alien Soldier, Silhouette Mirage, and this game. First off, everything controls very well.(Though your thumb will hurt after one stage.) But the thing I really liked is the fact that it is a hard game, but not impossible. Unlike most hard games that I've played, this one gives a feeling of being damn near impossible when you first play a section, but once you get past it, you realize that it was so simple, that once you replay the game, you fly by that part with ease into another part that you didn't get to and get your ass whupped over again. Sometimes, the enemies change their strategy too, so you still are on your toes when you replay the game.

Replay- There is some replay value. For one thing, most levels have more than one path. Sometimes, you will completely miss a mini-boss because of the path you've taken. But the game has hidden things in it, which gives you points after each level. While they may not unlock extras or anything, it is still fun to play the same game differently in order to get a secret bonus point. For example, one mini-boss is a puppet master swinging a puppet at you. While it makes sense to kill the puppet first, killing the puppet master first gets you a bonus point.

Overall- I got this game for ten bucks. This game feels like it should be $80. In other words, if you have a Genesis, then buy this game. And play, play, play!

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 12/05/03