Head Over Heels
Jon Ritman and Bernie Drummond had already proven the isometric formula with Batman; with Head Over Heels in 1987 they perfected it. Two captured agents, Head (a dog-like creature who jumps high and can shoot) and Heels (a fast-running feline who carries objects), must escape the planet Freedom's five kingdoms — separately, or joined together as a single character with both abilities at once.
Gameplay
Every room is a small, self-contained puzzle: a key needed elsewhere, a donut that grants temporary invincibility, a switch that only Heels can reach in time or a ledge only Head can clear. Splitting the pair open up routes neither could manage alone; joining them trades flexibility for raw capability. The genius is how naturally the game teaches you when each approach is right.
Technical notes
The isometric engine here is a generation more polished than its 1984 forebears — slicker scrolling-free room transitions, more expressive character animation, and puzzle logic dense enough to reward real thought without ever feeling arbitrary. It's frequently cited alongside Ultimate's catalogue as the high-water mark of the genre it helped popularise.
Verdict
Close to four decades on, the character-swap mechanic still feels ahead of its time, and the puzzle design holds up without needing any nostalgia to prop it up. If you only ever play one isometric Spectrum game, most Spectrum veterans would point you here.
Score breakdown
Play & download
- Download the tape image — from the archive at World of Spectrum.
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