Hard Head (bootleg, set 1) - MAME machine

Arcade Video game published 36 years ago:

Hard Head © 1988 SunA.

Players control the character Hard Head, who can use a bubble gun to entrap enemies, then jump on their heads to defeat them. Often compared to Nintendo's Super Mario Bros., the game met with some favorable reviews on release and its offbeat sense of humor has been noted. Enemies include monsters and ducks. Hard Head can use his head to break bricks, some of which contain power-ups. Levels are completed by finding a soccer ball and kicking it through a goal to finish the stage. There are 16 levels in total. A two-player simultaneous mode is also available, allowing another player to control the second Hard Head twin.

SunA subsequently released a sequel to the game, Hard Head 2, which featured the same characters but different gameplay.

TECHNICAL
Game ID: KRB-14

Main CPU: Zilog Z80 (@ 6 Mhz)
Sound CPU: Zilog Z80 (@ 6 Mhz)
Sound Chips: YM3812 (@ 3 Mhz), AY8910 (@ 1.5 Mhz), Custom (@ 1.5 Mhz)

Screen orientation: Horizontal
Video resolution: 256 x 224 pixels
Screen refresh: 60.00 Hz
Palette colors: 256

Players: 2
Control: 8-way joystick
Buttons: 2

TRIVIA
Released on September 14, 1988.

Classical music is extensively used as the soundtrack for this game.

Edited extracts from Tchaikovsky's Swan Lake Op. 20 (1st movement), Mozart's 40th symphony K. 550 (1st movement) and Chopin's Fantaisie Impromptu Op. 66 can repeatedly be heard through the game.

A bootleg of this game is known as "Popper (Unknown)".

SERIES

• Hard Head (1988)
• Hard Head 2 (1991)

CONTRIBUTE
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