Head over Heels (video game)

Ocean Software

Company type	Private
Industry	Video games
Founded	1983
Headquarters	Manchester , United Kingdom
Products	Video games, including Head Over Heels

Head Over Heels is an action-adventure game released by Ocean Software in 1987 across various home computer systems. It features an isometric engine inspired by the Filmation style originally developed by Ultimate Play the Game. Created by Jon Ritman and Bernie Drummond, it served as a follow-up to their well-received 1986 Batman title. The game was met with widespread critical praise, with Zzap!64 describing it as an "all time classic."

In 2003, Retrospec produced a remake compatible with Windows, Mac OS X, BeOS, and Linux platforms. Subsequently, in 2019, Piko Interactive adapted it for the Atari Jaguar using the Atari ST version as a base. A Nintendo Switch edition became available in October 2021.

Gameplay

Players alternate between controlling two distinct characters who possess unique abilities:

• Head excels at higher jumps, can maneuver while airborne, and uses a hooter to shoot doughnuts that temporarily stun foes.
• Heels moves at a faster pace, climbs staircases inaccessible to Head, and carries items within a bag.

After approximately one-sixth of the gameplay, their abilities merge, allowing players to solve intricate puzzles spread over more than 300 rooms. This level of complexity was groundbreaking at the time, providing gameplay depth beyond earlier releases.

Bernie Drummond contributed surreal artistic touches that enriched the game's atmosphere, including robots combining Charles III’s head with Dalek-like bodies and adversaries sporting elephant heads. Noteworthy elements also include staircases composed of dogs that vanish through teleportation upon being stepped on.

Plot

The protagonists, Headus Mouthion (Head) and Footus Underium (Heels), are secret agents from the planet Freedom assigned to free four subjugated worlds: Penitentiary, Safari, Book World, and Egyptus. Their mission begins with escaping imprisonment in Castle Blacktooth, reaching the Moonbase in orbit, then teleporting to each planet to recover stolen crowns. Overcoming the Emperor will restore liberty and earn them hero status.

Development

Jon Ritman modified the isometric engine used in his previous Batman game to support simultaneous control of two characters. The Commodore 64 edition was fine-tuned to minimize CPU usage, ensuring consistent performance across different platforms.

Reception

Head Over Heels garnered widespread acclaim on numerous systems. Your Sinclair awarded it a 9/10 score and placed it fifth in their top 100 games list while naming it ZX Spectrum's Game of the Year for 1987. Sinclair User also rated it 9/10. Crash magazine gave it a 97%, describing it as "the best fun you are likely to have with a Spectrum for quite some time."

The Commodore 64 version received a remarkable 98% rating from Zzap!64, earning its prestigious Gold Medal Award—the highest honor ever given by the publication—and was hailed as "an all-time classic." Commodore Force ranked it third among all Commodore 64 games. Additional high scores included 95% from Amstrad Action, 93% from Computer + Video Games (for the Spectrum re-release), alongside multiple strong ratings in subsequent reissues.

The game collected several awards such as Crash Smash, SU Classic, Gold Medal from Zzap!64, CVG Hit!, and Mastergame from Amstrad Action. Furthermore, Amiga Power listed it as the 24th greatest game ever made.

External links

• Head over Heels on MobyGames
• In-depth examination of Head over Heels at gamestudies.org