Virtual Console Roundup

Dynamite Headdy

• Platform: Megadrive
• Wii Points: 800
• In Real Money: £5.60 (8 Euros)

No, he really does have two Ds in his name. Not sure why. But then, when you're talking about a sentient puppet that kills things by throwing his head at them, grammatically curious nomenclature is the least of your worries.

It's a little bit Rayman, and a lot Decap Attack, but this toy-themed platformer isn't without its own innovations. Headdy can make use of a generous fifteen different heads, for instance. Eighteen if you include ones available in the sporadic flying levels. Some offer new attacks, others turn you invisible, shrink you, or make you fall asleep so you can restore your health.

It's fairly tricky - the European release featured tougher enemies than the Japanese original - and some skittish control doesn't help. Still, it's a decent enough platformer - just not one that really commands the 800 point price tag, or stands out from the crowd of similar titles already available.

7/10

Drop Off

• Platform: TurboGrafx 16
• Wii Points: 600
• In Real Money: £4.20 (6 Euros)

I love it when old games have completely arbitrary and pointless stories tacked on. In this case it's the tragic tale of Izumi, the sweetheart of Takashi. One night a demonic force creeps into Izumi's dreams and keeps her there, unable to wake. A goddess then tells Takashi that he must enter the dreamworld, defeat the evil entities within, and save his true love.

He does this by bouncing a ball at masses of descending fruit. And diamonds. And skulls.

Hmm. So it's Breakout, with slight elements of Galaga, as you manoeuvre Takashi (or the blue testicular orb that represents Takashi in the dreamworld) to rebound a ball, destroying the inexorably advancing items to create a safe passage. Doing this one by one is doomed to failure, so you must try to detach large clumps of objects by chipping away at areas where they join together. Occasionally, you'll face a boss fight. Like the one against a giant purple cat with wings. Hmm again.

It's amusing enough for what it is and can be quite addictive in a simplistic sort of way but, with little variety between levels and no power ups to speak of, I suspect most gamers will find the basic appeal wears off quite rapidly.

6/10