Decap Attack

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Decap Attack was a weird Platform Game released for Sega Genesis/Megadrive in 1991, and probably the only game in existence which starred a headless mummy. However, it began its life as a totally unrelated Japanese game called Magical Hat Flying Turbo Adventure, based upon the Anime Magical Hat. It received a total uplifting before coming to US and Europe, and became a wacky horror adventure set in an island shaped like a human body.

The story is, as always, pretty simple: the demon Max D. Cap emerges from the underworld and breaks Body Island into seven parts. Mad Scientist Frank N. Stein creates a headless mummy named Chuck for the sole purpose to try and defeat Max and rescue the island.

Decap Attack was adapted into a long-running comic strip in British magazine Sonic the Comic, which brought the zaniness of the game Up to Eleven.

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The game provides examples of:

• Advancing Totem Pole Of Doom - Stage 3-1.
• Bedsheet Ghost - Some enemies.
• Bigfoot Sasquatch and Yeti - The sixth boss is a big, friendly-looking yeti.
• Chain Reaction Destruction - How are bosses destroyed? By having multiple small red explosions cover their nonexistent body after flashing a lot.
• Contractual Boss Immunity - The potions that destroy every enemy on screen don't work on the bosses.
• Dem Bones - Among the enemies there are living fishbones.
• Divorced Installment - As stated above, it was originally a licensed game about a very obscure anime. Almost everything was changed.
• Expy - Max D. Cap is essentially Satan.
• Goomba Stomp
• Hearts Are Health: Played with; your health meter is comprised of actual, realistic beating hearts.
• The Igor - Dr. Stein has a green faced hunchbacked assistant.
• Mad Scientist - Dr. Stein, Chuck's creator, complete with hunchbacked assistant.
• Ominous Pipe Organ - Whenever you die.
• Punny Name - Almost every name in this game is a pun of some sort. Main character is called "Chuck D. Head" ('coz he kills enemies by throwing a head at them!), his creator is named "Frank N. Stein" and the Big Bad is "Max D. Cap". The names of the various locations are all puns on the name of the body part they resemble, such as "Armington", "El Beau (elbow) Island", "Tibuland" and so on.
• Skippable Boss - You can avoid the second boss altogether after having found the object, by jumping on certain platforms.
• Slippy-Slidey Ice World - Stage 6, "Last Leg Land".
• Spiritual Successor - To Psycho Fox for the Master System.
• Stock Femur Bone - Enemies die, two of those fly off of them.
• Technicolor Death - When the bosses die, they flash like strobe lights, and stars appear.

The comic provides examples of:

• Affectionate Parody: Of monster archetypes.
• Aloof Big Brother: Chuck's "big brother" is fellow monster, Boris. However, Boris quickly grew bored with life at the castle and went off to become a film star.
• Ascended Extra: Head. In the game he was merely an optional item for Chuck (with no indication of being an actual character), while the comic turns him into a comedic foil of sorts.
• Chaotic Neutral: Best describes Professor Stein.
• Daddy's Little Villain: The Thin Controller - Max D. Cap's daughter - qualifies as this. She's smitten with Prof. Stein, who doesn't reciprocate due to...well, she's a demon.
• Dem Bones: Head, the talking skull.
• Expy: Max D. Cap is basically Satan, albeit quite genial in nature. Professor Stein should be obvious.
• Fifth Ranger: Kevin of the TPC (that's Transylvanian Pest Control). He only ever appears to tackle the dreaded pumpkin menace.
• Fire and Brimstone Hell: Hell is like this. No one seems to mind.
  • The trains even run on time!
• Funetik Aksent: Stein's German accent portrayed like this.
  • It's also fake; he's really from Cardiff.
• Gang of Bullies: Stein was plagued by one during his school days. However, he eventually got his revenge and the experience put him on the path to Mad Science.
• Gosh Dang It to Heck: At the end of the day, regardless of the monstrous nature of its cast, it's a comic for kids.
  • The word "Hell" was used on a few occassions. Granted it was because the cast were literally in Hell.
• Heroic Comedic Sociopath: Igor. The "heroic" part is up for debate.
• Hurricane of Puns
• I Just Want to Be Normal: Chuck. Or he wants a normal life, anyway.
• Improbable Weapon User: Due to an accident during his creation, Chuck's head is imbedded in his torso. He can attack people by extending it outwards to headbutt them with all the force of a truck.
  • Or, failing that, he can hurl chuck Head.
• Informed Attribute: Max is described by the Professor as being one of the most evil beings alive, as he borrowed the Professor's lawnmower and never returned it.
• Lightning Can Do Anything: Especially bring monsters - and other crimes against nature - to life.
• Mad Scientist: Prof. Stein, obviously. He enjoys his work.
• Monster Mash
• Nightmare Fuel: DER PUMPLEKINS.
  • Chuck is visited by a dentist in one issue. It was not pleasant.
  • The Loan Sharks.
• No Name Given: The Thin Controller.
• Our Zombies Are Different: Some people call Chuck a zombie, others peg him as a mummy. Regardless he doesn't hunger for human flesh...in fact, he's quite fond of cheese.
• Punch Clock Villain: The demons of Hell.
• Shout-Out: Many.
• Sickly Neurotic Geek: Head is this. Sort of.
• Smug Snake: Igor.
• Suddenly Voiced: The "Pumplekin" pumpkins, which are silent in their first appearance and snarky gits in their second.
• Take That: Against Milton Keynes. Huh.
• The Igor: An unorthodox depiction of an Igor.
• Token Evil Teammate: Igor, Stein's lab assistant, constantly tries to kill Chuck and generally just insults everyone.
• Treasure Is Bigger in Fiction: "B" coins are unusually large.
• Unstoppable Rage: Chuck, while normally a nice guy, can descend into this if you're not careful.
• With Friends Like These...
• A Worldwide Punomenon: Lots of them. See Punny Name above.
• You Gotta Have Green Hair: Professor Stein. It's dyed.