Dynamite Headdy Review

Dynamite Headdy
Genre: Platformer/Action
Price: 800 Wii Points
Console: Wii Virtual Console
Programmers: Treasure

There is one thing I better say before I review this game... this is one screwed up game. But Im not saying that is a bad thing however... in fact, I say that if you look through your game collection, you will find at least 10 games that are insanely screwed up, for example, Super Mario Bros features an Italian Plumber jumping through several worlds collecting coins, squishing goombas, and growing huge when he gets a mushroom. Lets face it, Super Mario is a screwed up game, and that is part of its charm, the same goes with Dynamite Headdy.


Headdy is NOT amused by his logo

Dynamite Headdys' storyline goes something like this... you are a puppet calld Headdy, who has become well known around the puppet world for his detachable head, some bad guys are annoyed by all the fame and glory Headdy is getting, so they go out to try and destroy him, a robot captures Headdy and his friends, and is taken away by a robot to a factory, but Headdy manages to break free, along with all his friends.

The first level has you in a mad dash trying to run away from the robot who captured you, at the end of the level you will meet "Trouble Bruin'", the puppet that wants to destroy you, from here on the gameplay calms down a bit, and you will start to get a chance to explore around the place and get used to the controls.


Trouble Bruin' fails at making a snazzy intro

The controls are simple enough. By pressing 'A' you can jump, and by pressing 'B' you can through your head. Your head is your main weapon in the game, and you will attack bad guys by head-butting them. You can also use your head to climb up walls, if you have played Ristar, consider Headdys head to be similar to Ristars hands.

Now, time to point out some of the weak points of the game. For a start, there is no continues, which can be pretty harsh at some points, and learning curve is a bit steep, but if you keep playing, you should get the hang of things after a while.

Of course, I also have to point out the positive things about Dynamite Headdy. The game is very unique and has lots of cool gimmicks that don't miss the point (such as being able to swap your head for a different head, to get new powers) and the difficulty and length will keep you playing for a while (I still haven't finished the game myself) and the boss battles are very creative.

The bosses are quite simple yet complex in their own way, at the start of a battle one of Headdys friends will fly in and point out the bosses weak spot for you, then you are ready to battle. Power-Ups will be scattered around the place to help you in your battle against the boss. Just simply attack at the bosses weak spot until they give out. Most of the time though, the bosses will have a catch that will make them that little bit harder, such as in the second boss battle, you will have to destroy the bosses armor before you can inflict some damage on the boss.


When Headdy defeats a boss, his pink friend looks after the key the boss dropped

The main levels are quite big, and are fun to explore around, the creators of the game have also hidden in little easter eggs called "Bonus Points" which add an extra bit of replay value, the game itself is also very long, so the game overall will last you quite a while.

The graphics are pretty good, the 16-bit pixel graphics are very clean, and there are some cool 3D effects in some of the levels as well. The music is nothing special, but it suits the level design well, and it isn't going to make your ears bleed.

Dynamite Headdy is going to please many platformer fans, and is well worth the 800 points, just be prepared for a challenge.

8.5/10