The video game developer Treasure alone made the Sega Genesis worth owning. That’s not to discount the first party efforts on the platform, but if you owned the system odds are you had at least one Treasure title in your library. The go-to has always been Gunstar Heroes. In my opinion it overshadows the developer’s other efforts. Dynamite Headdy is one of these such titles. It’s more of a platformer than Treasure’s other titles, but it still has all of their trademark trappings. I’ve always had a soft spot for this title because it’s also one of their more unique games. Today I’ve decided to pop in the cartridge and take it for a modern spin. Fortunately Dynamite Headdy remains to this day one of the best games for the Sega Genesis. Let’s dive right in.
The scenario here is a very unique one. You play as a puppet named Headdy who can freely detach his head and use it as a short range projectile attack. It’s not so strange that we play as a intelligent puppet because the world here is composed of various stage sets all inhabited by other puppets. The game begins as the land falls under turmoil as an evil entity called the King Dark Demon begins transforming all of the inhabitants into his minions. It’s up to Headdy to rise to the occasion and defeat him along with his army of henchmen. While the story is pretty standard fare I must give props to Treasure for going with such an interesting motif. They really went all in on it. All of the backgrounds are composed of moving set pieces. It may sound odd, and it is, but it’s really charming.
Dynamite Headdy is an action platformer with heavy emphasis on the action part. As the titular character you move left and right, and even up/down through a variety of side view stages. Along the way you’ll have more than your fair share of foes to deal with. They come at you in all directions which means you’ll have to stay on your toes. As I mentioned earlier your primary means of attacking is by shooting Headdy’s head at enemies. This only moves a short distance before coming back, but it’s fast and feels really good to use. In addition I find it really neat that you can fire it off in all eight directions including diagonally. You’ll need to do so, and frequently, because the game really likes to throw you into situations where it’s absolutely necessary. It can be awkward and has a pretty big learning curve.
The best part of the game is the variety of power-ups it has. These come in the form of different heads, and there are a whole lot of them. Seriously, there are few other games of this kind with this many abilities. Headdy can find a bomb attachment which makes his head into an explosive which is thrown. You also have one that fires sparks continuously off of him, a head which renders him invisible (and thus invincible), one that shrinks him to reach new areas, a hammer that increases his attack power, etc. I’ve only scratched the surface here. What’s neat is that they all have their uses, but at times they are purposely detrimental. During boss fights the icons will cycle through and land on whichever one you grab. In some cases becoming small renders you unable to reach the foe.
What’s even better than the prolific and crazy power-ups? The level designs. Treasure was absolutely on point when they were drawing these out. They’re seriously technical and require you to use all of Headdy’s abilities on a frequent basis. Normally I’m not a fan of tutorials but the one included here is surprisingly helpful. It gives you the basic skills you’ll need to get past at least the first few stages otherwise new gamers will probably be lost. Sometimes the aforementioned head power-ups are required or unlock new paths, but you’ll also need to rely on Headdy’s ability to grab specific objects. Holding on to the attack button as his head hits one of these icons allows you to hold on to it, and releasing will propel you in that direction. It’s kind of like Knuckles Chaotix, but the gimmick is significantly better here.
Gameplay scenarios are also incredibly good. The first stage acclimates you to the basics, but after that you’ll have to deal with a bunch of wacky mechanics. You’ll find a floor that rotates in 3D space (you can slide right off of it if you’re not careful), a tower that you work your way around as platforms come into view, and more. There’s even a segment of the game that simulates horizontal shooter and it’s surprisingly fun. Each level keeps things fresh and focuses on different aspects of Headdy’s abilities. The boss encounters are absolutely incredible. Typically they are huge, but have specific weak points you have to strike to beat them down. Meanwhile you’ll have power-ups to choose from, and as I mentioned earlier some of them can actually be detrimental to your cause.
In tradition of Treasure’s other releases Dynamite Headdy is a hard game. They outdid themselves this time. Headdy can take multiple hits before he dies. What’s nice is that when you call down a cliff you’re thrown back into the action and only take damage. Your health is indicated by a spotlight which changes color as you come closer to death. Different enemies cause more pain to Headdy so it’s hard to tell just how many hits he can take. Expect to be knocked around quite a bit because the enemies take up signfiicant real estate on the screen. I frequently struggled in these encounters. The key to winning is to memorize patterns and find the small areas where you will be safe during each attack. There’s a lot of trial and error here, and the fact that you have only three lives is a little frustrating.
In my opinion Dynamite Headdy is one of the best looking Sega Genesis games. Many titles on the platform are held back by the limited color palette. Somehow Treasure was able to tap into some extra power because Dynamite Headdy is one of the most vibrant games of its time. The developers really took advantage of this as each area looks absolutely incredible. I’m a huge fan of the art style Treasure implemented here. The stage sets, with different moving pieces was a stroke of genius. Character designs range from weird to wacky, and I mean that in the best way possible. The only one I’m really not fond of is, surprisingly, Headdy himself. He seems to be a humanoid bird of some sort (it looks like he has a beak) and it doesn’t make much sense. The soundtrack is pretty good but suffers from the Genesis’ trademark screeching.
