Dynamite Headdy is much better than any character action game has any right to be. Once again Treasure had created a visually stunning and vibrant side scroller for Mega Drive, almost like a proto Rayman meets Mischief Makers but much better. There’s a tonne of extras, special awards, bonus games that spell out a word for post-game goodies and difficulty settings. Unfortunately I stuck with standard difficulty and still needed to cheese some sections (rewinds), I don’t have as much time and patience that I used to. Basically a must play for Mega Drive.

Treasure never misses once again. This game feels like Treasure took everything they learned from their previous games and made just the most creative, interesting, engaging, and stunning platformer they possibly could, and by all accounts and purposes, they succeeded. Each level has you doing a brand new unique challenge that will test your skills while at the same time doing things that I personally never had seen before in a mega drive game. The soundtrack is also phenomenal. While Alien Soldier is my personal favorite game Treasure has made, I believe that in terms of design and creativity, this game is Treasure's mega drive magnum opus. Do be prepared though, this game is tough, as lives and continues are limited. The Japanese version of this game includes a more balanced difficulty and story cutscenes, while the US version removes the cutscenes and makes the game harder, so if you can read japanese (or use a translation patch) I would suggest going for the JP version.

I had already played a few platformers before D. Headdy in the early 90s, both on NES and Megadrive.

You could say I was a connoisseur of the genre. This was without a doubt a must play.

Colourful, dynamic, action packed... I really liked it.

Recently replayed this game and it's still fun as hell. The creativity and style of this game carries it. The whole game is a play filled with props, spotlights and behind the scenes sections. It's colorful and wacky with a lot of charm. Easily top 10 Genesis games (see my list to know where I rank it lol).

I remember this game being hard but man is it harder than I remember. There's even a 1 hit hard mode I never knew about.

It wasn't till decades after it's release that I learned the Japanese version is easier and even has dialog that was cut from the western version.

I suppose this is technically a PS2 game, since I played it on the Gunstar Heroes Treasure Box, and even then I played that via PSN on my PS3. Though this is a game I've beaten many times, this is the first time I've beaten the Japanese version. The last time I tried, Funny Angry (aka Twin Freaks) stopped me, but I persisted this time and managed to beat him! It took me a little over an hour and a half to beat the game.

Dynamite Headdy is an action platformer made by Treasure for the Genesis. Headdy, the Puppet Hero, must battle his way through the Puppet Kingdom to defeat the evil King Dark Demon and save the land. Headdy attacks by flinging his head to headbutt things, and you can get all sorts of different power ups to help you through various parts of each stage, ranging from heads that shink you, make you hit harder, heal you, or even a booby-trapped head that basically makes you just sit and do nothing for like 20 seconds XP. Stages are very varied from world to world, as are the bosses, as they utilize all sorts of gimmicks ranging from a shoot-'em-up world to messing with 3D-ish effects.

There are numerous changes between the Japanese and international versions of the game that largely serve to make the Japanese version more story-rich and easier than its counterparts across the sea. In the Japanese version, there's a lot more dialogue and much more of a story, Headdy can take more of a beating before dying, earning continues from defeated bosses is easier (and you actually start with some banked continues), and there are quite a few cosmetic differences (sometimes as small as some color changes, and occasionally an enemy design with be totally different, such as the boss Rebecca, a giant doll in the Japanese version, but a giant lego-looking robot in the American version). I'm much more practiced on the American version, so changes particularly to Funny Angry make that fight a lot harder for me (his hit box is larger in this version, but he also has a lot more health), but overall the Japanese version is a far easier time.

The Treasure Box collection itself is a really cool way to experience this, despite it taking a decent while to come to grips with playing this on a Playstation controller rather than a Genesis controller. You can choose to play either the Japanese or the "OVERSEA" version of the game, as well as look at tons of concept art, read through the American or Japanese manuals for the game, access a sound test, and even save and load replays. Given that it also has Gunstar Heroes and Alien Soldier with their own respective versions of those extra goodies, it's a really stellar pick-up for like 800 yen on the Japanese PSN store.

Verdict: Highly Recommended. Dynamite Headdy is my favorite game on the Genesis, and I enjoy it every time I play it. The American version will always be closer to my heart than the Japanese one because of how much more I've played it, but I'm really glad to have finally seen the Japanese version in its entirety. Dynamite Headdy, and by extention the Gunstar Heroes Treasure Box, are two games I can easily recommend for a great time with some Treasure games ^w^

One of the best Sega Genesis games, and in my opinion, the best game made by Treasure.

Yes, it's true that they ramped up the difficulty for the Western release, and while that kind of stinks I still think this game is fully approachable to anyone in 2023. For the younger people on here...this is basically Cuphead with more a bit more platforming and a play aesthetic.

Shame that the Super Nintendo port was cancelled, and, if I recall...there may have even been a Sega CD game planned. Oh well, at least it's on NSO for the five people paying for the premium package.