Developer: Nintendo
Genre: Arcade
Hammerin’ Harry – known in its Japanese homeland as Daiku no Gen-san, or” Gen the Carpenter” – begin as an arcade game by Irem that soon spun off into several different incarnations. The real star of the game, of course, is the hero’s gigantic hammer, which, in addition to pounding enemies into submission, also has a number of various uses, which different from game to game.
In many ways, Hammerin’ Harry is sort of like a modern day version of Mystical Ninja / Goemon – both involve slightly absurd renditions of Japanese society, although Harry has a bit less mysticism. It’s no wonder that the series rarely saw light in the USA, perhaps coming off as “too foreign”. Although the first games in the series keep to fairly realistic settings, later games go all crazy and have Harry fighting ghosts or sending him into outer space. After retiring from the world of video games, he began starring in a number of pachinko games, before leading to his resurgence as the star of a 2008 PSP game.
Hammerin’ Harry begins with the Rusty Nail Construction Company demolishing Harry’s home. (Why, exactly? Well… hmmm.) He sets off to exact retribution with his sole remaining possession – a gigantic hammer. In addition to whacking things, you can use the hammer as a shield by ducking, or smash the ground with it, causing a minor earthquake which can stun most enemies on the screen. Each stage is usually littered with objects – boxes, bricks, etc – which can be whacked and sent flying across the screen, damaging enemies in the process. There’s one part where you can hit a mountain of pipes, which then roll across the screen, fall in the water, and act as platforms to continue. None of this is scripted either – it’s a very cool early implementation of physics.
Like many arcade games of old, particularly ones from Irem, Harry can only take a single hit before dying, sending him back to the most recent checkpoint. It’s tough, but not as tough as earlier Irem titles like Ninja Spirit or Legend of Hero Tonma. And thankfully, unlike, say, R-Type, the checkpoints are reasonably close together, so you’re rarely sent back more than a few screens. You’ll occasionally find power-ups, like helmets, which can absorb a single hit; chili peppers, which allow you to swing your hammer in a circle; and POW icons, which grant you an extra big ass hammer. The game’s only six stages long, and while there are plenty of cheap hits, it manages to be challenging without being extraordinary frustrating. The final boss is against a greedy little business who flies around in a hovering wheelchair and attacks by throwing deadly dollar bills. There’s some kind of message about the evils of greed in here somewhere, but damned if anyone can figure it out.
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