Introduction
US, European & Japanese boxart respectively
Greetings. You've stumbled upon the let's play of Dynamite Headdy for the Sega Genesis / Mega Drive. If you're new to the game, here's some text (or you can scroll down and watch the intro video).
About the game
Dynamite Headdy was released on the Sega Genesis in 1994. The company behind the game was Treasure, also responsible for McDonald’s Treasure Land Adventure and Gunstar Heroes on the same console. Usually at least one of these games is found on pretty much every Top XX Genesis games list, although I think Dynamite Headdy is the one that flew under the radar moreso than the other two. This doesn’t mean it’s not as good, far from it.
Dynamite Headdy is a 2d platformer. You’re playing as the hero of a puppet theatre show who arrives to the Puppet Town, only to find it under siege by the Imperial Forces led by Dark Demon. Headdy is captured, but manages to escape and now has to save the puppet world. The plot is nothing special. But pretty much everything else is.
If you’ve played any 16-bit era games by Treasure, you know they have a certain quirkiness to their games. Dynamite Headdy is no exception. First of all, you attack by using your head. Not only that, you have a number of different heads to choose from, each with different abilities. The vanilla head alone would probably carry the game, but the collection of different heads really makes it shine and allows several replays of the game, since you can try out different heads in different situations. Also the entire game is essentially a puppet theatre show, with a cast of puppets, acts for levels, clever use of props for the levels and all kinds of funny mechanics. Nearly all levels have some sort of gimmick and there's a general weirdness to the whole thing. It’s also visually very appealing, with vivid colour schemes and a ton of small details. And the music is awesome. So are the controls. All in all, it's one of my favourite games of all time. If you like platformers and haven't played it yet, get to it.
About the LP
This will be an informative video LP. I will show off all the different heads, find all secret bonus points, take different paths, point out different ways of dealing with bosses and so forth. I aim to show off just about everything. We'll see how it goes.
I’m playing the international release (US / Europe) of the game, since that is what I grew up with. It’s quite different from the Japanese original; most importantly it’s a fair deal harder, but there are other differences. For instance, the plot was completely stripped from the international release. Who knows, maybe we'll be looking at those differences at some point.
Videos
Intro (Baldurdash | Youtube | blip.tv | Download | Post)
Act 1 (Baldurdash | Youtube | blip.tv | Download | Post)
Act 2 (Baldurdash | blip.tv | Youtube | Download | Post)
Act 3 (Baldurdash | Youtube | blip.tv | Download | Post)
Act 4 (Baldurdash | blip.tv | Youtube | Download | Post)
Act 5 (Baldurdash | blip.tv | Youtube | Download | Post)
Act 6 (Baldurdash | Youtube | blip.tv | Download | Post)
Act 7 (Baldurdash | blip.tv | Youtube | Download | Post)
Act 8 (Baldurdash | blip.tv | Youtube | Download | Post)
Act 9 (Baldurdash | blip.tv | Youtube | Download | Post)
Dynamite Headdy - Bonus Act + Stuff (Baldurdash | blip.tv | Youtube | Download | Post)
Cast of Puppets
Headdy - "The hero of star of the show. Champion of truth, justice and jellybeans everywhere. Ever since he came off the production line twelve years ago, Headdy has always been special: he has the ability to use his head in unique ways."
Heather - "The mysterious woman in Headdy's life. Just what is she doing with all those keys?"
Bino - "The little maintenance guy pops up on stage from time to time, usually when there's a Key Master about. Seems like he's always in the way..."
Trouble Bruin - "Here's another puppet who uses his head... on various mechanical bodies. He'll stop at nothing to defeat Headdy, his arch-rival!"
The bad dude behind all the bad stuff that's been going down. He's an asshole.
Headcase - "carries a box with two or more different Power Up Heads at a time. To use a Power Up Head, attack Headcase when the icon for the desired Power Up Head appears. To cancel a Power Up Head, press Button A. Not all Power Up Heads can be canceled."
Beau - "gives directions and points out a Key Master's weak spots. This may not be safe for him, but he'll never steer you wrong."
Hangman - "hangs from platforms, signs and other devices. Use him as a hook to pull yourself up to high places, or to pull things down to you."
Cast of Heads
Pig Head- Pros: Shoots rapid fire homing projectiles from your snout. What’s not to like?
- Cons: Can’t grab Hangman.
Vacuum Head- Pros: Cleans the screen, quite literally, whether it’s an enemy or a bonus.
- Cons: Doesn’t work on bosses or minibosses / can’t grab hangman.
Slammer Head- Pros: Deals 2-3 times the damage of your vanilla head. Can take bosses down in seconds.
- Cons: None whatsoever.
War Head- Pros: Fires constantly in all directions and does all your work for you; most enemies have 1 hp, so it will simply kill everything you bump into.
- Cons: None.
Protector Head- Pros: Vanilla Head + Fireball barrier.
- Cons: The barrier sucks.
Super Head- Pros: Run faster, shoot longer.
- Cons: Somewhat difficult to control.
Lotsa Heads- Pros: Three vanilla heads instead of one. Goes through enemies instead of stopping.
- Cons: Zip.
Spike Head- Pros: Enables wall climbing.
- Cons: Doesn’t allow spelunking? I don’t know.
Ticker Head- Pros: Freezes time.
- Cons: Only lasts for a few seconds.
Empty Head- Pros: Invincibility…
- Cons: … except against falling.
Bomb Head- Pros: Destroys all enemies on screen / deals major damage to bosses. Enables suicide!
- Cons: Can be difficult to time right and deals damage only once.
Sleepy Head- Pros: Replenishes your health.
- Cons: You'll wake up if someone bumps into you... But I guess that’s a good thing now that I think about it.
Air Head- Pros: 3-way shot, enables turning around
- Cons: None, Air Head rules
Rocket Head- Pros: Shoots through stuff
- Cons: Not Air Head
Feather Head- Pros: Might induce hilarity
- Cons: It's shit. Don't use it. Seriously, don't pick it up.
Liberty Head- Pros: Takes you to the basketball minigame
.
- Cons: Takes you to the basketball minigame
.
Pin Head- Pros: You’re small like an ant should be and can fit tight spaces.
- Cons: Ever try to kill an ant? Not exactly difficult (Actually, I don’t think you take more damage, but you’re a lot slower and your attack is really short).
Head Trip / Melon Head- Pros: Looks hilarious.
- Cons: Slows you down, disables jumping, disables attacking, disables dropping down ledges, disables fun… there’s no reason to pick this up. Don’t do it.
EXTRA STUFF
Click here for the full 530x666 image
White-collar Headdy - made by a non-goon friend. Thanks, miarf.
Click here for the full 1062x793 image
Headdly Premonition, by miarf. Thanks again buddy.
Music
Act 1:
- Escape Hero
- Hattari is here (options screen)
- Opening Theme
- Maruyama Appears
- That's the way the boss is killed
- Kejime kejime 1
Act 2:
Act 3:
- Danzen dungeon
- Hustle Maryuama
- Mystery Spot
- Ohnami konami (Gentleman Jim & Puppeteer)
- I sing (Wooden Dresser Theme)
Act 4:
Act 5:
Act 6:
Act 7:
Act 8:
Act 9:
- Dark Demon's Song
- Kejime Kejime 2
- It's good if it ends happily, isn't it?
- Crosswalk of love (Curtain call)
- Ballad for you (Credits roll)
Bonus Act:
Links
- Dynamite Headdy walkthrough by DH Fan, with a list of regional differences and other stuff. SPOILERS APLENTY!
- Secret bonus point - Remix album of Dynamite Headdy songs. Spoilers maybe. (Discovered by Small Frozen Thing)
- Dynamite Headdy Prototype information!