Head Over Heels

By Jon Ritman and Bernie Drummond
© 1987 Ocean Software Limited

The Menu System

Use any key other than ENTER or SHIFT to move the cursor. Use ENTER to select the entry indicated by the cursor. On the key menu return to main menu by pressing shift.

Main Menu

PLAY THE GAME. This will either start a new game or if an old game is in progress, will offer the chance to resume it.
SLECT THE KEYS. This allows your personal joystick/keyboard selection to be defined.
ADJUST THE SOUND. Choice of 3 sound levels.
CONTROL SENSITIVITY. Allows a selection of joystick/keyboard response.

Key Menu

It is important to utilise this function properly - Please read the screen prompts.

Move cursor to highlight the required control on which the keys are to be changed.
Press ENTER (clears all current keys).
Press all keys required for control (they will be printed on the current line as they are pressed). If you want to use the ENTER key then press it first. N.B. If you accidentally press the wrong key at this point go on to Step 4 and then back to 2. (This involves pressing ENTER twice).
When all keys are selected press ENTER.
If you want to change more controls then start again at Step (a), otherwise press SHIFT and return to Main Menu.

Sound Menu

There are 3 distinct sound levels within the game. These are different sound tracks as opposed to volumes. One may select from:

All music and game sounds
Useful game sounds
No sounds

Control Sensitivity Menu

This enables skill in control to be built up - the main difference being the way diagonal control is interpreted. The dafault value is on Low Sensitivity and is recommended for beginners.

The default controls have been defined as follows:

LEFT	0, 6	Joystick Left
RIGHT	P, 7	Joystick Right
DOWN	A, 8	Joystick Down
UP	Q, 9	Joystick Up
JUMP	Space, Symbol Shift, M, N, B	Joystick Fire
CARRY	Space, Enter, L, K, J
FIRE	Shift, Z, X, C, V
SWOP	S, D, F, G

Note: H is permanently defined as Hold, Once pressed a screen message will appear offering the options of either aborting or continuing the game.

Space is defined as Jump and Carry, this allows both actions with one key depression. At some parts of the game it is essential to use jump and carry together so leave at least one key defined as both.

History of the Blacktooth Empire

Far, far away from our star Sol lies the Blacktooth empire, an evil empire, four worlds enslaved by the planet Blacktooth. All of the slave worlds bubble with unrest, but due to the oppressive nature of their rulers they never reach boiling point, they all lack a leader to draw the masses of population together.

Blacktooth itself is not any better, a world rigidly controlled by its dynastic leaders for so long that the populace do not even think about revolution. The peoples of the neighbouring stars are getting very worried about signs of military expansion from Blacktooth and have sent a spy from the planet Freedom to see if he can push the slave planets into full rebellion by finding the crowns lost when Blacktooth took over.

The creatures of Freedom are very strange in that they are formed from a pair of symbolic animals that have adapted to operate either independantly or, to their mutual advantage, join together as one - Head saddled on Heels, and indeed these ARE their names and both are highly trained spies.

The Game

Head and Heels have been captured, separated and imprisoned in the castle headquaters of Blacktooth. Their cells contain 'keep fit' equipment, including a wall ladder that Head really must learn to climb. Your job is to get them both out of the castle and into the market place so they can join up again.

From there, the journey leads to Moonbase Headquaters, where you will have to decide either to try to escape back to Freedom or to be a true hero and teleport to one of the slave planets to search for its lost crown!

To overthrow the dictatorship on any of the slave planets would be a major blow to Blacktooth and you could return to Freedom in glory. Of course Blacktooth would probably enslave them again eventually but it would slow down any expansion plans for now. The populace of Blacktooth are so heavily oppressed that they would have to see all four of the slave planets revolt before the Blacktooth crown could cause an uprising. This of course would be the ultimate accolade, and unfortunately, almost certain suicide.

Egyptus

Once, a long time ago, a craft from Blacktooth got a bit lost while doing a hyperspace jump and landed on an unknown planet. Here the crew found a primative animal forming a sort of civilisation that appeared to revolve around wrapping corpses in lots of bandages and putting them into huge stone pyramids. When they returned to Blacktooth their emperor liked the sound of it so much that he rebuilt the capital city of one of the slave planets to resemble the story.

Penitentiary - The empire's prison planet

Millions are imprisoned here. A harsh planet, very mountainous, much climbing, skill required. The worst place is The Pit, try not to fall into it!

Safari

A densely vegitated planet, mainly used for hunting. The natives live in wooden forts in the junge, beware traps!

Book World

The emperor is very keen on cowboy books, and has devoted an entire world to a western library. Only the emperor's minions are permitted to read them. Information is rigotously suppressed in the empire.

Blacktooth

This planet has a large moon with three lunar space stations on it, the larger of these, Moon station HQ, is the main teleport centre for the empire, with a direction teleport to all the slave planets. Sometime after the Egyptus episode, the latest Emperor sent out a craft to find that same strange planet, and after much exploration it was finally located and the craft landed. However the crew found the people had changed: instead of pyramids they used castles, instead of wrapping corpses up in cloth, they wrapped living men in metal and then tried to turn them into corpses with sharp metal sticks. The Emperor, not to be outdone by his ancestor, built a castle on Blacktooth and used it as his headquaters. This castle is surrounded by a small market, and then a range of impassable mountains. The only way to leave is via teleport to one of the three lunar space stations.

Head (Headus Mouthion)

This creature is a symbiotic partner to Heels and will normally be found sitting on top of one. Head is descended from a breed of flying reptile and still has rudimentary wings that allow Head up to twice his own height and to guide himself though the air.

Heels (Footus Underium)

During Heels's evolution the arms have totally disappeared while the legs have become very powerful. Heels can jump his own height and can also run very fast.

Reincarnation Fish

The strangest animal in the known universe! This fish likes to be eaten! There have been cases of it jumping onto plates! But there is more: when you eat one, its prodigious memory remembers everything about you. Its memory is so good that if you die at some later date, you will be reincarnated at the very place you ate the fish, and you will even have the taste still in your mouth! How a fish can remember anything when its been eaten has never been successfully explained. You must be very careful to check that the fish is alive and wriggling as dead fish decompose very quickly and it rapidly turns so poisonous that a single lick can kill.

WARNING: Even living reincarnation fish taste horrible!

Cuddly Stuffed White Rabbits

The cute toy bunnies magically enhance your powers. The status display at the bottom of the screen will keep you informed as to which powers are temporarily enhanced. If Head and Heels are connected when they pick up a Life or Iron pill they will both get the enhanced power. There are four types:

Two extra lives.
Iron Pills (to make you invulnerable). [Shield Icon]
Jump higher bunny. This only works on Heels. [Spring Icon]
Go faster bunny. This only works on slow moving Head. [Flash Icon]

If Heels pick up a go faster bunny or Head picks up a jump bunny the bunnies power is wasted!

Hooter

The hooter may be used by Head to fire doughnuts at attacking mosters. This will freeze them in place as they lick the doughnuts off their faces. The hooter may only be used by Head and requires a tray of doughnuts to be of any use.

Doughnuts

Tray of six doughnuts are few and far between so don't waste shots. Only Head may pick up doughnuts. The number of remaining doughnuts will be displayed above the doughnut icon at the bottom left of the screen.

Bag

The bag may be used to carry small objects around a room. It is essential for Heels to find and get the bag as it is impossible to get far without it. The object in the bag will be displayed immediately above the bag's icon at the bottom right of the screen. To pick up an object just stand on top of it and press the CARRY key. It is not possible to drop an object in a doorway.

Crowns

Find a crown and start a revolution. At the beginning of each game a screen showing all five planets with a crown above each will be displayed. As each crown is collected this screen will be shown again with the appropriate crowns in a bright colour.

Teleports

Standing on a teleport will activate its machanism, this will sound a warning siren. Pressing the jump key will cause you to teleport. Not all teleports are two way, some are linked in a chain.

Springs

Simply push the switch to switch things off and on! WARNING: Switching a deadly monster off will stop him moving but he will still be deadly to touch.

Conveyor Belts

The rollers on the conveyor simply push you along it. If you wish to go the opposite direction you have to jump along.

Hush Puppies

These are a very strange type of beast, they are increadibly sleepy, in fact they never wake up and it is quite normal for them to sleep for their entire lives. They are often used as tables and even used as building bricks. They are a native of Freedom and for many thousands of years Head and his ancestors have been mistaking them for Heels and causing so much trouble to the poor old hush puppies they they evolved a defence mechanism, they somehow learned to teleport themselves away. Nobody knows where they go but the instant they see any of Head's race they disappear and won't return until thay are sure the coast is clear.

The Emperor's Guardian

The guardian blocks the door to the throne room in Blacktooth castle, he is very dangerous and he doesn't like doughnuts. Only a true hero may pass the guardian.

Swop Key

If Head is sitting on Heels the swop key will, on each push, give you control of:
(1) Heels. (2) Head & Heels. (3) Head. (4) Head & Heels.

If Head is not on Heels the swop key will, on each push, give you control of:
(1) Head. (2) Heels.

At all times the character(s) whose icon is lit is under player control. When Head and Heels are joined together all their abilities are combined. It is not possible to swop if standing in a doorway.

Hints and Tips

Beginners should aim to escape from Blacktooth and get back to Freedom initially. Only the very skilled can hope to liberate a planet or two.
When you first get Head and Heels in the same location, practice placing Head on top of Heels and joining them together accurately with the swop key. Both of their icons will light up when they are successfully joined.
Remember Head and Heels are a team. Just because both are in the same room does not mean you have to join them together, and in fact some problems may only be solved by separating Head and Heels.
Make sure Head learns to climb ladders, this is an essential skill.
Both Heels's bag and Head's hooter must be collected at the initial stages for there to be any chance of completing the game.
If Head and Heels are in the same room, extra jumping height may be obtained by on jumping off the other's back.
Find a safe spot and get used to how far Head and Heels may move over the edge of a brick before they fall, this will enable you to make the longest jumps. Both Head and Heels will jump slightly further if they are running as they jump.
Learn the difference in distance and control betwen Head's jumps and Heels's jumps.
Make a map.
Do not waste doughnuts, they are not easy to find.
Display screens such as the Five planets or the Final score may be aborted by pressing any key.
Do not get confused, only Heels may carry anything and only Head may fire.
To discover if there is a room above, pile objects high as possible and jump from the top. If there is a spring in the room, put it on the top for extra jumping height.
If you can't understand a room, try exiting and entering again, watching carefully for any movement in the room as you enter.
If you wish to freeze the game without the pause message obscuring the screen display, keep the pause key depressed.