Dynamite Headdy

Dynamite Headdy
US Genesis Box Art
Developer(s)	Treasure
Publisher(s)	Sega Tectoy
Designer(s)	Koichi Kimura
Platform(s)	Mega Drive/Genesis, Game Gear, Master System (Brazil only), PlayStation 2 (Treasure Box), Virtual Console, Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 (Sonic's Ultimate Genesis Collection)
Release date(s)	Mega Drive/Genesis NA 1994-08-04 JP 1994-08-05 Europe 1994
Genre(s)	Platformer
Mode(s)	Single Player
Rating(s)	Videogame Rating Council: GA, ESRB: Everybody

Dynamite Headdy (ダイナマイト・ヘッディー) is a video game released in 1994 by Sega and produced by Treasure. It was released on the Sega Genesis system, with ports to the 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.

The style of the game is platform/action. In the game you play as 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 got a Steam port in 2012, available for just $1.

The game was on the Sega Genesis Mini console in 2019, with both the USA and JPN versions available by selecting the language from English to Japanese.

The game made its latest appearance on Nintendo Switch Online's Sega Genesis app, as one of the December 2021 update's five new games alongside Altered Beast, Sword Of Vermillion, Thunder Force II and ToeJam And Earl.

Plot

Headdy, the central protagonist of the game, arrives in North Town to find that the evil puppet 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 Dark Demon'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 elite guard, the Keymasters. To make matters worse, Headdy is followed by Trouble Bruin, a puppet jealous of Headdy's success. Trouble Bruin wants to be the star instead of Headdy, and will stop at nothing to be rid of him.

Characters

• Headdy - 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) - A girl with floating hands. She has an interest in collecting the keys left behind by the Keymasters Headdy defeats.

• Dark Demon (King Dark Demon) - An evil emperor wanting to take over the world of puppets.

• Trouble Bruin (Maruyama) - A bounty hunter who wants to defeat Headdy and upstage him. In the US/European version, he is brown with cross (angry) eyes, whilst 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) - One of Headdy's friends. He walks around areas with a revolving selection of heads that Headdy can use by hitting him.

• Hangman (Fukkun) - 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) - The third of Headdy's friends, who shows up during boss fights, pointing to a boss's weakness and yelling 'Target'.

• Bino - An odd person with big ears who appears from time to time. Hitting him often rewards a secret bonus point.

• Mad Dog (Bounty Boundy) - The first Keymaster. A huge toy like dog. She attacks with a basketball, a caterpillar, and a ball of dogs.

• Wooden Dresser (Jacqueline Dressy) - The second Keymaster. A huge wooden puppet figure that has the ability to become any costume it wants to be.

• Spinderella (Motor Hand) - The third Keymaster. A giant floating ball with extendable arms.

• Baby Face (Mitsuru) - The fourth Keymaster. A floating baby head. After taking enough hits he changes into the boys head, the man's head, and finally an old man's head.

• Gatekeeper (Yayoi) - An evil robot that guards Dark Demon's castle. After its initial defeat, it becomes the Nasty Gatekeeper (Izayoi), who is angrier and whacks you wildly with its extendable claw.

• Twin Freaks (Rever Face) - A monkey-like head. When he's green, he's happy, but when he's red, he's angry.

• Smiley (Smily) - A medallion who claims he belongs to the greatest puppet in the world.

Scenes

Act 1

• Scene 1: The Getaway (Escape Hero!) - Boss: Trouble Bruin (Original Form) - BGM: Escape Hero, That's The Way The Boss Is Killed (Boss)

Act 2

• Scene 1: Practice Area (Three Friends) BGM: Headdy The Hero
• Scene 2: Toys n the Hood (North Town) - Mini Boss: Catherine Derigueur - Scene Boss: Snake Eyes (Optional) - BGM: North Town's Theme
• Scene 3: Mad Dog and Headdy (Concert Panic) - Boss: Mad Dog (1st Keymaster) (Not Trouble Bruin (Floating Platform Form)) - BGM: Nutcracker

Act 3

• Scene 1: Down Under (Fire Carnival) - BGM: Danzen Dungeon
• Scene 2: Backstage Battle - Scene Boss: Trouble Bruin (Tail Hanger Form) - BGM: Hustle Maruyama (Part 1)
• Scene 3: The Green Room (Guest Area) - Scene Bosses: Puppeteer & Gentleman Jim - BGM: Mystery Zone, Ohnami Konami (Boss)
• Scene 4: Clothes Encounters (Starlight Storm) - Boss: Wooden Dresser (2nd Keymaster) - BGM: I Sing

Act 4

• Scene 1: Terminate Her Too (South Town) - 1st Mini Boss: Mons Meg, 2nd Mini Boss: Super Tank Machine - BGM: South Town's Theme
• Scene 2: Mad Mechs (Working Gear) - BGM: South Town's Theme
• Scene 3: Mad Mechs 2 (Restless Factory) - BGM: South Town's Theme
• Scene 4: Heathernapped (Mystery Spot) - Boss: Bino (A 3rd, mysterious Keymaster is defeated by Heather) - BGM: Mystery Zone

Act 5

• Scene 1: Go Headdy Go (Puppet Tower) - BGM: Tower Of Puppet
• Scene 2: Stair Wars (Go Up!) - Mini Boss: Trouble Bruin (Flying Scythe Form) - BGM: Tower Of Puppet
• Scene 3: Towering Internal (Rolling Rolling) - 1st Mini Boss: Great Pillar - 2nd Mini Boss: Armordillo - BGM: Tower Of Puppet
• Scene 4: Spinderella (On The Sky) - Boss: Spinderella (4th Keymaster) - BGM: Sky High

Act 6

• Scene 1: Flying Game (Air Walker) - Mini Boss & Scene Boss: Sky Battleship - BGM: Schumacher Fly
• Scene 2: Fly Hard (Reckless Wheel) - Scene Boss: Trouble Bruin (Wheeler-Dealer Form) - BGM: Hustle Maruyama (Part 1)
• Scene 3: Fly Hard 2 (Light Velocity) - BGM: Schumacher Fly
• Scene 4: Baby Face - Boss: Baby Face (5th Keymaster) - BGM: Schumacher Fly, Sky High (Boss)

Act 7

• Scene 1: Headdy Wonderland (Paradise?) - Phase 1 Boss: Gatekeeper, Phase 2 Boss: Nasty Gatekeeper - BGM: Paradise, Walk Towards Me (Boss 1), You're Izayoi (Boss 2)

Act 8

• Scene 1: The Rocket Tier (Fight!) - BGM: Walk Towards Me
• Scene 2: Illegal Weapon 3 (Missile Base) - Scene Boss: Missile Man - BGM: Walk Towards Me
• Scene 3: Fun Forgiven (Radical Party) - Mini Boss: Tarot - BGM: Tonight's A Jazzy Night, A Man Of Sun (Boss/Latter Half)
• Scene 4: Vice Versa (Reverse World) - Scene Boss: Sparky - BGM: Tonight's A Jazzy Night
• Scene 5: Twin Freaks (Funny Angry) - Boss: Twin Freaks - BGM: Funny Angry

Act 9 (Final Act)

• Scene 1: Fatal Contraption (The Rival) - Scene Boss: Trouble Bruin (Super Finagler Form) (Phase 1) - BGM: Hustle Maruyama (Part 1), Hustle Maruyame (Part 2) (When the Spider Mech goes haywire)
• Scene 2: Far Trek (Brain Break!) - Scene Bosses: Trouble Bruin (Detached from Super Finagler) & Super Finagler (Phase 2) - BGM: Hustle Maruyama (Part 1)
• Scene 3: Finale Analysis (Final Attack) - Final Boss: King Dark Demon - BGM: Dark Demon's Song

Act 10 (Secret Bonus Act)

• Scene 1: Sega President's Office - Pre-Bosses: Twin Hitmen - Secret Bonus Boss: Sega President - BGM: I Love Goldie Hawn

Puns

• The Escape is a pun on the movie The Great Escape.
• Toyz 'n the Hood is a pun on the movie Boyz n the Hood.
• Mad Dog and Headdy is a pun on the movie Mad Dog and Glory.
• Clothes Encounters is a pun on Close Encounters of the Third Kind.
• Terminate Her Too is a pun on Terminator 2: Judgment Day.
• Mad Mechs and Mad Mechs 2 is a pun on Mad Max and its sequel.
• Heathernapped is a pun on the movie Kidnapped.
• Stair Wars is a pun on the Star Wars film series.
• Towering Internal is a pun on the movie The Towering Inferno.
• Spinderella is a pun on the Cinderella fairy tale.
• The Flying Game is a pun on the movie The Crying Game.
• Fly Hard and Fly Hard 2 are puns on the movies Die Hard and its sequel.
• Headdy Wonderland is a pun on the title of the song Winter Wonderland.
• The Rocket Tier is a pun on the movie The Rocketeer.
• Illegal Weapon 3 is a pun on the movie Lethal Weapon 3.
• Fun Forgiven is a pun on the Clint Eastwood movie Unforgiven.
• Twin Freaks is a pun on the series Twin Peaks.
• Fatal Contraption is a possible pun on the 1987 thriller Fatal Attraction.
• Far Trek is a pun on the series Star Trek.
• Finale Analysis is a pun on the movie Final Analysis.

Trivia

• Alien Soldier, another of Treasure's games, uses sound effects from Dynamite Headdy.
• This game has many similarities with Gunstar Heroes.