The end terminus of a windy road of a video game series, in which six separate franchises somehow participated across three unique titles. I can't, as of this writing, vouch for any of the other properties involved in this series. But I can say that Decap Attack is... okay.

Decap Attack is a game of confused identity. That much is unsurprising from how the game came to be (most immediately: a reskin of a tie-in to anime series Magical Hat), but I don't know that enough was done thematically to give the game its own sense of self. Like, the idea is that it's supposed to be this spooky, grimy world in which a mummy is reuniting a skeleton-shaped world that was split by a demon, and he attacks by lobbing his spare skull or thrusting his torso-head at enemies. Weird, rad, gross. So why are the bosses mostly silly animals? Like I would've thought for sure that the toad and mole bosses were holdovers from the Magical Hat version, but they appear to have been invented wholesale for the spooky game. Kinda odd to go from a skull-and-blood motif to a doofy whiskery mole with coolguy shades.

But I also think the most definitive element of this video game series - those sticks you fling yourself into and launch from - is starting to feel vestigial here. Granted, I understand that they were hell to deal with in Kid Kool, and less than ideal in Psycho Fox. They're not exactly great here, either, being awfully fiddly and hard to get a consistent angle on. They have the strange function of healing you here (you didn't go into the Options and lower your hit points, did you?), which is certainly a way to keep them relevant. Sorta suggests that they threw it in to try and inject some purpose, considering Hat from Magical Hat is a one-hit wonder.

I don't think Decap Attack is bad or anything. It's certainly a weird little title, which is always a plus in my book. But it's over and done with pretty quickly, and just feels like an "also-ran" in every SEGA Genesis collection it crops up in.

...which makes it all the funnier that it's far and away the best part of the Fleetway Sonic the Comic. Like, holy crap, if you haven't read it, you have no idea. I wanna see Chuck & Head show up in SEGA crossover stuff exclusively because of Nigel Kitching's brilliant, brilliant reinterpretation of the property. I know it'd never happen, but a guy can dream...

Played as a kid.

Well.

I liked this game a lot as kid. I was also much more patient as a kid. It's pretty, it's Halloween themed, you throw a disembodied head around, all fun. The issue is the gameplay itself. I cannot be assed to go around the entire levels searching for one little item that I can't progress without. At least make it easier to see, for God's sake.

Well this was weird as hell. I had quite alot of initial shock starting this from how crispy, goofy, and honestly rather ugly this game's style was but it gives this game it's own charm; in a weird way I guess. The gameplay is a bit jarring at first as well, with the weird physics and all, but it doesn't take too long to get used to how it plays. After that it becomes some pretty standard platforming. It kinda reminds me of Alex Kidd in the Enchanted Castle in a way, with the whole item inventory, the stage entrances, and even how it looks and plays feels very oddly similar. Were the same developers behind this? Or were things recycled between the two? I dunno, it's just something super odd to think about. I will say that Decap Attack is definitely the better game in comparison, with how it's designed much more fairly than Alex Kidd (For example, you don't die in one goddamn hit here), so their similarities aren't much to worry about. I will say that the 5th world, Pumpington, is rather noticeably more unfair than the rest of the game. Like, seriously, what the fuck was up with that mole boss? I couldn't find any discernable pattern with it, so I just hoped I got lucky with moving under the rocks. Maybe that's close to what you're supposed to do but whatever, it's still frustrating. There's other annoyances as well like the enemies that take multiple hits, enemies that spawn when breaking an item stone so you have to be careful when opening them, and that one comedic relief mechanic where you slide over the edge of a platform and Chuck flails around before falling like he's in a cartoon got a bit intrusive the more it happened as I just wanted to go into a free fall already once I had it happen later in the game. (I also recall it got me hit one time I was trying to get away from an enemy so there's that too)

So yeah, like I said at the start, that was weird as hell. It's sheer zaniness is quite the spectacle, and it was honestly kinda hilarious. (Seriously, I can't really describe the whiplash I felt once I started playing)

[played on original Mega Drive hardware]

My only exposure to Decap Attack before this playthrough were the brilliant strips based on it in Fleetway's Sonic the Comic... which ended up having very little to do with the game after the first arc (and even in said first arc, the connections were very tenuous). But enough about 20-year old comics based on an old game, what about the old game itself?

By 1991, the Mega Drive/Genesis had built up a decent library of platformers, and while Decap Attack doesn't reach the highs of something like Revenge of Shinobi or Sonic 1, it's still a super solid time! Everything feels very deliberately designed, and there's a fair amount of variety in the stage layouts; there's levels where you're climbing upwards and auto-scrollers where you're chased, as well as one where you're descending downwards, which was a nice subversion. The presentation ends up capturing a really unique vibe, with the muddy colour palette and soundtrack feeling unabashedly "Genesis" whilst also fitting the horror theme quite nicely.

Overall, I ended up being surprised by Decap Attack more than anything. It's not really a must-play, but if you've exhausted every other great Mega Drive platformer, it's definitely worth a look!

This is one of those games where I played it for like an hour as a kid, didn't vibe with the controls, and never touched it again. I recently bought an 8bitDo M30 (highly recommended btw if you need a good readily available controller with a Sega styled D-pad) and was messing around with it on a bunch of different games. For some reason this game popped into my (Chuck D.) head, was expecting to put it down like I did as a kid, but instead I actually beat it.

I can totally see why people wouldn't like this game, slippery controls with wonky momentum based platforming on top of being somewhat of an action/exploration game? The latter combination can work, the former is where the game kinda fumbles a bit. It's also got that early Genesis stank, where the colors are colorful yet grimey, the sprites are a bit crude, and the music is farting out some butt metal.

But I dunno, I enjoyed it, I thought it was charming despite the platforming being jank, it felt good to run through the levels and kiss all of the enemies with my chest flesh face. The enemies are funny looking and the game isn't unfair, giving you infinite continues and plenty of items to pick up. I have a soft spot for these weirdo games that aren't mechanically great, but have enough character to pull me through them, Monster Party comes to mind. That game is also a pretty clunky action platformer with a horror theme.

All in all, it's no Dynamite Heady, but it's also not as bad as some of the truly awful Euro-jank platformers this game sits next to.

Okay, look, I'm sure this game has its fans and I'm very glad that you can find something of worth in this game, but good god I can't stand this thing.

My main problem is that the controls just feel bad. the running feels like I'm playing as a guy who has sticks of butter stapled to his feet, and the jumping physics are extremely floaty and imprecise. The simple act of landing jumps is an ordeal. It is just not fun to play in the slightest. There's no particularly interesting level design to soften the blow.

I first played this on the PS2 SEGA Genesis Collection and had a truly awful experience, then played it again on Sonic's Ultimate Genesis Collection to earn a trophy tied to playing it, and I constantly just wanted it to be over. Absolutely not gonna touch this ever again.

Initially I chose games in the Genesis compilation randomly, so ended up with this one really early on and kinda forgot about it by this point. Was goofing off in vc with friends tonight and figured I'd give it another look.

This game has some pretty goofy physics and mechanics, which at first take a minute to get used to but are pretty alright once you get the hang of them. The music is pretty solid, not much compared to Vic Tokai's later efforts such as Battle Mania Daiginjou but it's definitely one of the strongest suits here. The main issue is honestly the visuals. They're certainly distinct, but feature lots of garish color combinations, not dissimilar to something you'd find ported from the Amiga. Really leaves a bit to be desired, especially when the other aspects of the game are pretty decent. I suppose it's also a little bit overlong too, though, and the stage design kind of meanders in zone 6 in particular.

I was expecting to lower this from my original rating, but ultimately decided not to. It's rather surprisingly above average compared to what you'd expect from a simple glance at it, but I wouldn't actually toss it at you unless for shits and giggles or if you're another enthusiast of old and goofy ass games.

+platforming and handling is definitely ahead of most early genesis titles, thanks to tighter control, a light physics system, and the ability for chuck to flutter in the air to nail tight jumps. a particular touch I like is that when running off ledges, chuck does full cartooney coyote time where he continues to run on air before freaking out and attempting to get back
+some lovely fm synth tracks here, with no grating noises or what-not
+the amount of special items that can be used for buffs or special attacks at a moment's notice is smart, even if the implementation in a menu is a bit cumbersome. it would be interesting to see a version of this game with a 6-button controller to alleviate this
+boss design is much more forgiving overall than contemporaries, though a couple have truly frustrating projectiles.
+I was worried I would dislike the "find the important item in the third stage of each area to progress" gimmick, but it actually adds some much-needed spice. the item is usually out of the way but not too out of the way, and it encourages light exploration in a positive way

-throwing the head is a neat idea but you get it so rarely and lose it so quickly. would've made more sense to lose it on death instead of just getting hit once
-much to my surprise, there is persistance in the level objects, from breakable blocks to items to temporary platforms. this is good in some cases (keeping you from having to break through walls after dying or letting you know which item capsules you've already searched) but overall is a bit of a drawback. the big issue here is that later levels often require you to make your way on falling blocks across insta-death hazards, and after a certain number of retries you'll likely not have any of these platforms left. it also prevents you from getting heads, items, or most crucially health drops after you've found the boon once, making retries more taxing. while persistance would be great in a platformer this old, the implementation was not done well
-certain enemies just are not built for chuck to deal with, since you get no knockback on enemies when you hit them. there are multiple that both move fast and take multiple hits, and there's no good way to stop them in their tracks without expending items. on that note: the ghosts that hide in the item capsules are absolutely infuriating

it feels like basically every design choice in this game is novel or forward-thinking for the time but implemented in such a way that it detracts from the experience. it's a shame too, as the core design here is significantly better than most other genesis games of the time, and gives a non-sega flair to the action game scene on the system. it's definitely worth trying a couple levels, or messing around with the much cuter magical hat game that is similar to this in japan on the mega drive.

You may not find much depth to the gameplay, but Decap Attack's artstyle is unique to why the game is an enjoyable time and underrated to a degree. Audio is one of the best parts of the game, with unique tunes in most levels that are accompanied by wacky character designs. It is also not much of a time investment being less than 3 hours at the most. All the worlds are unique in their own right, barring the repetitive enemies in some levels. Platforming is easy, if your only aim is to finish the level, but exploring every part of the level proves to be a challenge. It is also nice how there is a sense of verticality, allowing you to have multiple paths to the same finish point. Unfortunately, the boss fights in spite of being well made all have similar patterns with an occasional gimmick every 1-2 worlds despite their unique designs. But, these minor gripes shouldn't stop you from playing an underrated and fun Genesis game.