Hard Head

Hard Head and Hard Head 2 were two arcade platform scrolling video games made by SunA corporation.



The original Hard Head, released in 1988, was a classic platform game. Although the game contained some original elements, such as kicking a soccer ball throughout the level or demolishing walls with a hammer, its most notable features were its rather naif and kitsch appearance and graphics, its many references to (or better, ripoffs of) other videogames and its overall being a very bizarre videogame. It was essentially a very heterogeneous mixture of ripoffs of other games, largely of doubtful taste.

Among the items to use depending on the part of the game, the player is able to shoot the enemies with a bubble soap gun. After a bubble soap hits the enemy, it moves upwards. At this time, you are able to jump over the bubble soap to kill the enemy trapped inside the bubble soap. Other parts of the game you are able also to dig out paths through bricks with a hammer. Some checkpoints are achieved like when you kill a kind of Chinese dragon made of stone by means of using the bubble soap gun (each hit on the dragon makes a damage on a part of the dragon tail). Other chief enemies also appear during the game.

When the player completes a level, there is a chance to score a GOAL, playing with a soccer ball. If the player makes it, then it is possible to get an extra bonus. The funny part is when the player starts the next level, he appears with a woman and a kind of small dog. It resembles to a typical daily scene, when a man goes to work and leaves the woman and dog at home.

During each level, there is also the "heart bonus". It is always located in some difficult place to reach. For instance some times the player has to make combination of trapping an enemy inside a bubble soap and then jump over it, so that the player can reach a big jump to get the heart. Once the player have got the heart, a big window showing the player and his love appears, where he kisses the girl.

Finally there is also the cooperative player, when it is possible to player 1 and 2 go through the game at the same time. The old arcades had two joysticks to make it possible.

Hard Head 2, released in 1991, was a largely unsuccessful sequel, which had better graphics but looked even more kitschy.

The enemies and the level graphics looked very similar to Toki's, but what made the game really singular was the fact that the main characters remained completely naked after being hurt once by an enemy contact or projectile. In addition, the references (or rather, ripoffs) from other games abounded.