June Prototypes

This is a sub-page of Proto:Dynamite Headdy (Genesis).

Six localization prototypes were released in drx's massive February 23, 2008 prototype dump:

Mutual Localization Changes#

The following differences from the final localized game are already present, even in the earliest prototypes:

Region lockout has been removed.
The player starts with no continues.
13 Continue Icons are needed to earn a continue, not 10 as in the Japanese game.
All enemy palette changes are in effect.
The lift light, Head Trip, program sheet, and Final Scene graphics are already changed.
Rebecca, Yayoi, and Maruyama have been swapped with Mons Meg, Gatekeeper, and Trouble Bruin.
All scenes use the final localized titles.
Trouble Bruin's light orbs in Scene 1-1 are identical to the final English versions.
The boss fight in Scene 5-2 uses the final version's attack pattern and HP.
All changes in Scene 6-1 (The two enemy wave changes and the claw's speed) are already in effect.
Nasty Gatekeeper has increased HP compared to Izayoi.
The flipping HangMen in Scene 8-3 take 2 seconds to flip rather than the 3 seconds they do in the Japanese game.
Twin Freaks only takes 17 HP and has a smaller hitbox.
Dark Demon has 17 HP, not 9 HP as in the Japanese version.
The final international ending sequence is complete at this point.

June 14th to June 16th Changes#

As noted above, the June 16th prototype has a different stage select that's enabled by default. This replaces the Japanese version's stage select, which can only select the first part of each stage.

There are also 8 extra scenes (if they can be called that) that can be selected.

A-1: Ending Demo
A-2: Cast Roll
A-3: Credits
A-4: Secret Number Pad
A-5: Secret Boss Fight
A-6: True Ending
A-7: Game Over Screen
A-8: Basketball Mini-Game

June 16 to June 22 Changes#

Title Screen#

June 16th	June 22nd

"Press Start Button" lost its Button, and the copyright became a little less lengthy.

June 16th	June 22nd

"Configuration" is no longer abbreviated, and "Cancel" is the more descriptive "Cancel Head" in the international builds.

Audio#

The applause sound effect now plays during Headdy's victory animation.
The track "Geisha Robot" and the generic enemy explosion sound effect are no longer accessible from the sound test.

Graphical Changes#

June 16th	June 22nd

June 16th	June 22nd

Trademark symbols were added to certain graphics starting with this build.

June 16th	June 22nd

The Cast Roll sign now uses its final, correctly spelled design.

June 16th	June 22nd

This inexplicable change to the Super Finagler's lasers first appeared in this version of the game. If this was made to make the beam harder to see: Boo. Boo, I say.

Stage Differences#

Scene 3-1
The HeadCase in the Flying Soldier arena is gone from this point on in development.

Scene 6-4

June 16th	June 22nd

The separate power-up screens from the Japanese game were merged into one starting with this build.

Scene 8-1 / Scene 8-2
The biggest surprise, gameplay-wise anyway, in these prototypes are in these scenes. In addition to carrying the Pin Head and Spike Head, HeadCase carries the Super Head in the June 14th and 16th prototypes.

This is a most unusual addition. The Super Head doesn't appear here in the final English game, the final Japanese game, or even in the April prototype! It seems to have been added specifically for the localized game, then quickly taken out by the June 22nd build.

Text Changes#

Even though the boss dialogue has already been cut out, there are still plenty of text changes. Headdy's buddies are a chatty bunch.

Scene 2-1#

Meet HeadCase#

June 16th Text	June 22nd Text	Final Script
HELLO,HEADDY‼ FINALLY YOU ESCAPED‼ I'M HAPPY TO SEE YOU AGAIN. WHAT? ARE YOU LEAVING SO EARLY? OK,I WILL HELP YOU DURING YOUR JOURNEY. YOUR HEAD WILL BE POWERED-UP WHEN YOU GET AN ITEM BY ATTACKING ME	HELLO HEADDY‼ I'M HEADCASE. HIT ME TO CHANGE YOUR HEAD. PRACTICE NOW TO SEE WHAT SORT OF HEADS YOU HAVE.	HELLO HEADDY‼ I'M HEADCASE. HIT ME TO CHANGE YOUR HEAD. PRACTICE NOW TO SEE WHAT SORT OF HEADS YOU HAVE.

The June 16th script is a rough translation of the Japanese text. This and all other dialogue was completely rewritten for the June 22nd script, which is short and to the point.
The June 22nd script has an unnecessary line break in the second chunk of text.

June 16th Text	June 22nd Text	Final Script
CONGRATULATIONS‼ YOU DEFEATED ALL THE ENEMIES. HERE YOU GO. THE SECRET BONUS‼ I HAVE OTHER KIND OF ITEMS. PLEASE FIND THEM DURING YOUR ADVENTURE.	CONGRATULATIONS‼ YOU'VE JUST GOT A SECRET BONUS. N'T LOSE YOUR HEAD,HEADDY.	CONGRATULATIONS‼ YOU'VE JUST GOT A SECRET BONUS. DON'T LOSE YOUR HEAD,HEADDY.

The June 22nd text adds a high-larious pun to the last bit of text...
...which cuts off the first two letters of the line. Oops. This was corrected in the final script.

Meet HangMan#

June 16th Text	June 22nd Text	Final Script
IT'S YOU HEADDY. YOU REALLY ESCAPED‼ YOU HAVE TO LEAVE NOW? THEN LET ME HELP YOU GRASP ME,AND YOU CAN GO TO THE PLATFORM WHERE SEEMS TO BE IMPOSSIBLE TO GO. YOU CAN GO UP, AND ALSO YOU CAN PULL THINGS TOWARDS YOU BY GRASPING ME.	HELLO HEADDY‼ I'M HANG MAN. GRAB ME AND THEN LET GO TO MOVE THINGS AROUND. PRACTICE NOW TO SEE HOW I CAN HELP YOU MOVE.	HELLO HEADDY‼ I'M HANGMAN. GRAB ME AND THEN LET GO TO MOVE THINGS AROUND. PRACTICE NOW TO SEE HOW I CAN HELP YOU MOVE.

HangMan, in comparison with HeadCase's text, is pretty darn Engrishy.
HangMan is Hang Man, two words, in the June 22nd script. It's one word everywhere else in the game.

June 16th Text	June 22nd Text	Final Script
YOU DID IT‼ YOU GOT A SECRET BONUS. CONGRATULATIONS‼ GRASP ME ANYTIME WHEN YOU SEE ME	CONGRATULATIONS‼ YOU'VE JUST GOT A SECRET BONUS. I'LL CATCH YOU LATER, HEADDY.	CONGRATULATIONS‼ YOU'VE JUST GOT A SECRET BONUS. I'LL CATCH YOU LATER, HEADDY.

More puns! Get it? Catch can mean two different things.
Another extraneous line break summarily removed from the final dialogue.

Meet Beau#

June 16th Text	June 22nd Text	Final Script
HOW ARE YOU, HEADDY‼ NICE TO SEE YOU AGAIN. AH, YOU ARE GOING TO THE CASTLE OF DARK DOLL.. WHY DON'T YOU HELP ME? VERY STRONG KEY MASTERS ARE WAITING FOR YOU AT THE END OF EACH AREA. I'LL TELL YOU THEIR WEAK POINT.	HELLO HEADDY‼ I'M BEAU. WATCH ME TO SEE WHERE KEYMASTER WAKE SPOTS ARE. PRACTICE NOW TO SEE HOW I HELP YOU TO ATTACK.	HELLO HEADDY‼ I'M BEAU. WATCH ME TO SEE WHERE KEYMASTER WEAK SPOTS ARE. PRACTICE NOW TO SEE HOW I HELP YOU TO ATTACK.

"Dark Doll" is an obvious mistranslation of "Dark Demon". Not sure how that happened, his name is listed in English in the opening demo, but whatever.
Keymasters do not have "Wake Spots". They have "Weak Spots" Get it right, June 22nd script. Oh, you did. Sorry.

June 16th Text	June 22nd Text	Final Script
BRAVO‼ THIS IS A SPECIAL PRESENT FOR YOU. THE SECRET BONUS‼ WHEN YOU SEE ME IN THE BATTLE, THE ENEMY IS THE KEY MASTER‼	CONGRATULATIONS‼ YOU'VE JUST GOT A SECRET BONUS. SO YOU GET THE POINT,HEADDY?	CONGRATULATIONS‼ YOU'VE JUST GOT A SECRET BONUS. SO YOU GET THE POINT, HEADDY?

A little bit of information (Beau only points to a Key Master) was cut for another pun. Points for effort.
Like all good commas, the one in the final script is spaced away from the following text.

All Rooms#

All three of Headdy's friends have more dialogue in the Japanese and June 14th/16th prototypes: One chunk prompting to take the training, two for confirming or declining the training, and one for failing to complete the training. Here they are, in all of their clunky, unedited glory.

	HeadCase	HangMan	Beau
Confirmation	DO YOU WANT TO TRY? YES NO	PRACTICE NOW? YES NO	DO YOU WANT TO TRY? YES NO
Yes	OK,TAKE ANY ITEM AND TRY TO DEFEAT. THE ENEMIES UTILIZING THE ITEMS. GET ITEMS AGAIN AND AGAIN TO SEE MANY ITEMS. WHEN YOUR HP BECAMES 0,IT'S OVER‼ ARE YOU READY?	OW,LET'S START THE CLIMBING RACE‼ IF YOU GET TO VERY TOP, YOU WIN. IF YOU FALL DOWN,THAT'S IT. ARE YOU READY?	GOT IT. IT NEEDS YOUR QUICK RESPONSE. ATTACK WHERE I POINT QUICKLY. ARE YOU READY?
No	OH,YEAH? THEN TRY ME DURING THE ADVENTURE.	ARE YOU SERIOUS? OK,GRASP ME ANYTIME WHEN YOU FIND ME	I REALLY MISS IT.. SEE YOU AT THE END OF EACH AREA‼
Failure	OOPS,THAT'S IT‼ DON'T MIND, YOU'LL LEAM HOW TO USE THEM VERY SOON.	IT WAS SO CLOSE‼ YOU'LL BE ACCUSTOMED SOON GRASP ME ANYTIME WHEN YOU SEE ME‼	THE POINT IN THE ACTUAL BATTLE MOVES AROUND‼ WHEN YOU SEE ME IN THE BATTLE, THE ENEMY IS THE KEY MASTER‼

Scene 4-4#

June 16th Text	June 22nd Text	Final Script
HI,HEADDY. LOOK‼ IT'S CURIOUS. THE KEY MASTER HAS BEEN MISSING. WHERE HAS HE GONE? ANYWAY, YOU'RE LUCKY GUY.	LOOK HEADDY‼ NO KEYMASTER‼ HEATHER BEAT YOU TO IT,BUT NOW SHE'S GONE TOO.	LOOK HEADDY‼ NO KEYMASTER‼ HEATHER BEAT YOU TO IT, BUT NOW SHE'S GONE TOO.

The later scripts sorta spoil Heather's role in the story, while the 16th and Japanese scripts keep it vague.
A space was added after the comma in the second block of text.

Scene 8-4#

This stage's title, "VICE VERSA", is misspelled as "VICE VERSE" in the June 14th and 16th builds.

Bonus Game#

June 16th Prototype	June 22nd Prototype	Final Build
GET ITEMS FIGHT!	MAKE SHOTS FIGHT!	MAKE SHOTS
YOU GOT ITEMS TRY AGAIN	YOU MADE SHOTS WORK ON YOUR GAME	YOU MADE SHOTS WORK ON YOUR GAME
YOU GOT ITEMS CONGRATULATIONS! SECRET NUMBER ''	YOU MADE SHOTS CONGRATULATIONS! REMEMBER ''	YOU MADE SHOTS CONGRATULATIONS! REMEMBER ''

The June 16th build keeps the Japanese text, while the June 22nd build is mostly the same as the final, save for "FIGHT!" lingering around in the instructions.

Cast Roll#

Almost every single character in the cast roll received a name change:

Japanese	June 16th Prototype	June 22nd Prototype	Final Build
General
Mokkun	HeadCase	HeadCase	HeadCase
Yakkun	HangMan	HangMan	HangMan
Fukkun	Beau	Beau	Beau
Fingy	Heather	Heather	Heather
King Dark Demon	Dark Demon	Dark Demon	Dark Demon
Smily	Smily	Smiley	Smiley
Maruyama	Maruyama	Trouble Bruin	Trouble Bruin
Scene 1-1
Maruco Mathai Luca Johane	Puppetons	Townsfolk	Townsfolk
Paul 1	Paul 1	Wee Spike	Wee Spike
Paul 2	Paul 2	Spike	Spike
Paul 3	Paul 3	Big Spike	Big Spike
Toruzo-Kun	Toruzo-Kun	Robo-Collector	Robo-Collector
Super Red Arrow	Super Red Arrow	Yellow Baron	Yellow Baron
Maruyama & Kuma Body	Maruyama & Kuma Body	Trouble Bruin	Trouble Bruin
Scene 2-1
Miss Carroll Mr.Kiosaku Bobo	Miss Carroll Mr.Kiosaku Bobo	Miss Daisy Mr.Kiosaku Dr.Bob	Miss Daisy Mr.Yello Dr.Bob
Scene 2-2
D.D. Soldiers	D.D. Soldiers	Soldiers	Soldiers
Honeywan I Catherine Degoon Honeywan II	Honeywan I Catherine Degoon Honeywan II	Honeywan II Catherine Derigueur Honeywan III	Old McGee Catherine Derigueur Mule McGee
Happy Comecome	Happy Comecome	Snake Eyes	Snake Eyes
Scene 2-3
Octopus Trap	Octopus Trap	Floating Platfrom	Floating Platfrom
Bounty Boundy	Bounty Boundy	Mad Dog	Mad Dog
Scene 3-1
Bob Netter Under Soldier	Bob Netter Under Soldier	Paddock Mario Net Under Soldier	Paddock Mario Net Miner Soldier
Scene 3-2
Tail Hanger	Tail Hanger	Rocket Grappler	Rocket Grappler
Scene 3-3
Marrio & Nettoh	Marrio & Nettoh	Puppeteer & Gentleman Jim	Puppeteer & Gentleman Jim
Scene 3-4
Jacquline Dressy	Jacquline Dressy	Wooden Dresser	Wooden Dresser
Scene 4-1
Clowny	Clowny	Tumblesets	Tumblesets
Rebecca	Castle Cannon	Mons Meg	Mons Meg
Browny Bon-Bon	Browny Bon-Bon	Happy Campers	Happy Campers
Super Machine Tank IV	Super Machine Tank IV	Super Tank Machine	Super Tank Machine
Funky Ronmell	Funky Jeepman	Funky Jeep Man	Funky Jeep Man
Scene 4-2
Momoiro Gozen	Momoiro Gozen	Wise Women	Wise Women
Scene 5-2
Tower Crasher	Tower Crasher	Flying Scythe	Flying Scythe
Scene 5-3
Armored Soldier	Armored Soldier	Armordillo	Armordillo
Scene 5-4
Motor Hand	Motor Hand	Spinderella	Spinderella
Scene 6-1
Back Speeder Go Moon Rocket Jayron	Back Speeder Go Moon Rocket Jayron	Flying Shark Rocket Soldier Jayron	Flying Shark Rocket Soldier Hover
Sky Jaws	Sky Jaws	Sky Battleship	Sky Battleship
Scene 6-2
Chris Wheel	Chris Wheel	Wheeler-Dealer	Wheeler-Dealer
Scene 6-4
Mitsuru	Mitsuru	Baby Face	Baby Face
Scene 7-1
McKenzy Steven Sam McKenzy	McKenzy Steven Sam McKenzy	McKenzy Steven Sam MacKenzy	McKenzy Steven Sam MacKenzy
Yayoi	Space Keeper	Gatekeeper	Gatekeeper
Izayoi	Space Keeper 2	Nasty Gatekeeper	Nasty Gatekeeper
Scene 8-2
Base Captain	Base Captain	Missile Man	Missile Man
Scene 8-3
Mustle Nasunasu Anne Beath Robinson	Mustle Nasunasu Anne Beath Robinson	Penguin Anubis Moloch	Penguin Anubis Moloch
Taro	Taro	Tarot	Tarot
Head Spitter	Head Spitter	Venus Headdy Trap	Venus Headdy Trap
Scene 8-4
Shogun Floor Sweeper Mary Trick Hat	Shogun Floor Sweeper Mary Trick Hat	Shogun Oarsman Flipper Topo	Shogun Oarsman Flipper Topo
Thunder Captain	Thunder Captain	Sparky	Sparky
Scene 8-5
Hyottoko Guy Rever Face Okame Gal	Hyottoko Guy Rever Face Okame Gal	Bean Head Twin Freaks Money Head	Bean Head Twin Freaks Money Head
Scene 9-1
Pachinko Sub Ojizo	Pachinko Sub Ojizo	Propeller Head Cocoa	Propeller Head Cocoa
Julian Battle Tanky	Julian Battle Tanky	Julian Tiny Tank	Julian Tiny Tank
Maruyama & Spider Phantom	Maruyama & Spider Phantom	Super Finagler	Super Finagler

The June 16th build keeps the Japanese name for almost all enemies, except for the redesigned bosses and, for some reason, Funky Ronmell.
Headdy's helpers, Heather, and Dark Demon, on the other hand, already have their final names at this point. Smiley and Trouble Bruin would be changed by the June 22nd build.
Already depriving them of their individual identities, the four pink puppets are "Puppetons" in the June 16th game. This was changed to the less interesting "Townsfolk".
"Mons Meg" is known as "Castle Cannon" in the June 16th build.
"Funky Jeepman" changed to "Funky Jeep Man" because Jeepman is not a word.
"Gatekeeper" and "Nasty Gatekeper" are under the preliminary names "Space Keeper" and "Space Keeper 2" in the June 16th script. Which is odd, since with these names, the Ghostbusters reference isn't there.
Mr.Kiosaku, Under Soldier, and Jayron got to keep their Japanese names in the June 22nd script.
Through some freak accident, Honeywan I and Honeywan II became Honeywan II and Honeywan III in the June 22nd build. They were eventually given different names entirely.

Credits#

June 16th Prototype	Final English Game
DYNAMITE HEADDY STAFF	DYNAMITE HEADDY CREDITS (IN JAPAN)
GAME PRODUCER KAFUICHI	PRODUCER KAFUICHI
MAIN PROGRAMMER MAEGAWA	MAIN PROGRAMMER MASATO MAEGAWA
ENEMY PROGRAMMER FUJITA SRK YAIMAN	PROGRAMMERS KEIJI FUJITA SRK YAIMAN
SUPPORT PROGRAMMER ISHIDA	SUPPORT PROGRAMMER KAZUHIKO ISHIDA
PUPPET&BG DESIGNER KIMURA	CHARACTER DESIGNERS KOICHI KIMURA MAKOTO OGINO
BG DESIGNER SHINDOH	BACKGROUND DESIGNERS KOUICHI KIMURA KANAME SHINDOH
PUPPET DESIGNER OGINO	GUEST DESIGNER TENKABITO
SOUND PRODUCER NAZO^2SUZUKI	SOUND PRODUCER NAZO^2SUZUKI
SOUNDD CREATER MURATA	SOUND EFFECTS SATOSHI MURATA
MUSIC COMPOSER SUZUKI YASUKO KOUJI AKI NON	MUSIC COMPOSERS KATSUHIKO SUZUKI YASUKO KOUJI AKI NON
SPECIAL THANKS PP ETSUKO	PUBLIC RELATIONS HIROYUKI TAKE
GUEST DESIGNER TENKABITO	DIRECTOR HIROSHI ASOH
PUBLIC INFORMATION HIROYUKI TAKE	SPECIAL THANKS TO PP ETSUKO
MANAGER HIROSHI	INTERPETERS SHINOBU SHINDOH JAMES SPAHN
INTERPRETER SHINOBU	(IN AMERICA)
PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT MAX	PRODUCER MAX TAYLOR
N/A	American Staff credits go here
COMPUTER DESIGNED BY TREASURE	DEVELOPED BY TREASURE™
PRESENTED BY SEGA 1994	PUBLISHED BY SEGA™ 1994

The June 14th script is missing the American credits: In fact, the entire set of credits in this build is a severely truncated version of the Japanese credits.
Obviously, the June 14th script doesn't have the (IN JAPAN) and (IN AMERICA) headers.
Several lucky staff members got to use their full names in the final English credits. This isn't the case in the June 16th script or in the original Japanese credits.
"Game Producer" was shortened to just "Producer".
The "Enemy Programmers" job was shortened to the less descriptive "Programmers".
The June 14th script gives Koichi Kimura, Makoto Ogino, and Kaname Shindoh their own separate section of the credits. The final script combines them under two sections.
- "Puppet Designer" was changed to "Character Designer".
- "BG Designer" became the unabbreviated "Background Designer".
- Because of this change, Koichi Kimura is listed in the credits twice...under two different romanizations!
The "Guest Designer" credit was moved after the Background Designer section.
The obviously misspelled "Soundd Creater" section was corrected to "Sound Effects".
"Music Composer" is properly pluralized as "Music Composers". There's more than one, you see.
The "Special Thanks" and "Public Relations" sections swapped places in the final English credits.
The Manager section was moved to where the Guest Designer slot used to be, and the section title was rewritten as "Director".
James Spahn was added under the Interpreter section, which was updated to the plural "Interpreters".
Max Taylor was upgraded from Product Development to a Producer, and is now under the (IN AMERICA) header.
The company credits were changed, much like the ones on the title screen. They also gained trademark symbols.

SCENE X
SECRET POINTS
0/Y

0000000

SCENE POINTS

000000

STAGE X
STAGE POINTS

000000

SECRET POINTS
0/Y

0000000

The score recap was changed to match the format used at the end of each stage. Secret Points are no longer listed first.
They're called Scenes in the early text and Stages in the finished English credits.

June 22nd Proto	Final English Game
STAGE 9 SECRET POINTS 0/4 0000000 STAGE POINTS 000000	STAGE 9 STAGE POINTS 000000 SECRET POINTS 0/4 0000000

Strangely, in the June 22nd prototype, Stage 9 (and only Stage 9) uses a hybrid format of the old and new styles.

June 16th Proto	Final English Game
TOTAL POINTS THIS PLAY 0000000 PUSH START BUTTON	FINAL POINTS 0000000 PRESS START

More rewriting, and, like on the title screen, "PUSH START BUTTON" is shortened to "PRESS START".

YOU GOT
SECRET NUMBER

/4

YOU GOT #/4

SECRET DIGITS

The final (finally) bit of text that was changed. Just sounds better, doesn't it?

(Source: Original TCRF research)