by David Kamikaze

Created on: December 24, 2009

Think of the best video games ever made. Just take a moment, and focus. What pops into your head? Super Mario Bros. 3? The Legend of Zelda: A Link To The Past? Tomb Raider? World of Warcraft? All very good games, yes. And I'm sure you have others in your head as well. But you probably won't initially think of Dynamite Headdy, unless you have played it, as an example of the genius and design flair of the 16-bit era.

But to the game itself. Released in 1994, Dynamite Headdy was the brainchild of Treasure, a company with a long string of cult favourites to its name. You take the role of the leading man, Headdy, in the midst of a world played out as a puppet show. He arrives in North Town to find the evil puppet Dark Demon attacking the populace and kidnapping them - Headdy included - to decide who should be thrown into the garbage, and who should be converted into his evil minions. Unsurprisingly, with a detachable head, Headdy is considered to be broken and thrown into the trash, to be incinerated. He breaks free, and is chased to start with by a mechanical contraption that picks up various other puppets fleeing from the scene as well. On his way to free the puppet world, he encounters strange mechanical contraptions, a love interest in the Keymistress Heather (who has detachable hands, do feel free to make your own jokes up) and even a rival for the leading role in the form of Trouble Bruin - a rogue cat-like puppet with a detachable head who thinks he should be the leading man, and will stop at nothing to eliminate Headdy from the picture.

As odd as it sounds, the game is instantly charming. It's inoffensive and pretty and played out very much llike a puppet show - with levels split into "acts", as curtains are raised and fall as you progress. Headdy may have a strong bonce with which to throw at the evil puppets along the way, but he also needs some help - which come in the form of three characters; Headcase, Hangman and Beau. Headcase scuttles about on the ground for the most part, with a series of rotating icons that can change the function of Headdy's head - from throwing spike balls constantly around him to damage enemies over time, to turning it into a ticking time bomb and even a couple of comedy heads for good measure (Fat Head is annoying but incredibly funny!). Hangman basically hangs from ledges and walls, allowing Headdy to navigate up to otherwise unreachable platforms, and giving later levels some brilliant challenges as you navigate up at speed.

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