Hey everyone, Aaron Thomas from GameXplain here to talk to you about something near and
dear to my heart.
No, not making fun of Andre spending an hour breaking down a two minute teaser trailer,
though that is one of my favorite pastimes.
I want to talk to you about the top ten big head modes of all time… in history… ever.
There are tons of great games with Big Head Modes - at least 65 according to GiantBomb.com,
but only the best made our top ten.
Let's get started with a look at the games that just missed the cut.
Super Pac-Man.
Released in 1982, Super Pac-Man was full of dumb ideas, like no dots.
But it did have one sweet feature: a huge version of Pac-Man.
Is this a true big head mode?
It depends on whether or not you think of Pac-Man as just a big two-dimensional yellow
head.
If so, there's no doubt that this is the first big-head mode in gaming.
Something which should be celebrated.
Next up is the dreadful Star Wars: Masters of Teras Kasi for the original PlayStation.
Can you believe that back in the mid-90's we were so hard up for Star Wars content that
we were excited to see…
Ok, that sounds kind of cool, but trust me, it wasn't.
But big head mode makes this plodding game somewhat enjoyable because look at the size
of Darth Vader's helmet!
How come nobody thought of that before?
Oh, fair point.
Anyway.
This game was a dud, with sluggish, button-mashing gameplay.
That's ok because we're still able to appreciate for its top-notch big heads.
Release in the United States in 1990 for Turbografx 16, a system which almost nobody owned.
An average platformer, Bonk's Adventure mainly got attention because of Bonk's huge
friggin' head, which is also invincible because if you're cursed with a giant head
like Bonk's it stands to reason that you get a stupid super power as well.
He doesn't even qualify for a big head mode because his dome is big all the time.
Poor Bonk.
The Ratchet & Clank series is known for great running and gunning gameplay, and according
to some reviewers, too much variety that makes you do less-interesting stuff instead of running
and jumping around.
One thing everyone can agree on is that it has been a champion of big-head modes for
years across multiple systems.
The only real knock here is that both Ratchet and his robot buddy, Clank, already have big
ol' heads, so making them a little bigger just isn't quite absurd enough.
Uh-oh, get out your pitchforks and send your angry tweets to @GameXplain because Banjo-Kazooie,
didn't make the top ten.
Or don't send angry tweets and hear me out.
Banjo's big head mode is pretty good, but as with many things Rare, you've got to
do too much to unlock it.
You've got to beat the game, go solve a puzzle, and then go somewhere else to jump
around and enter a code letter by letter.
Sure, your eventual reward is a decent big-head mode, but unfortunately, the juice isn't
worth the squeeze.
Gears of War 3 rounds out the honorable mention category for part 1 of our look at the best
big head modes ever.
The gears dudes have always had big craniums, but Gears 3 takes things to a whole new ridiculous
level.
This big-head mode looks pretty great, but like Banjo before it, it takes too much work
for the casual player to unlock, as you've got to defeat 1,000 hordes to earn your prize.
But hey, we're here to make your life easier, so enjoy some big-head goodness without all
the effort.
And now it's on to the top ten best big head modes in history of all time, or whatever
we're calling it.
Perfect Dark cracks the top ten thanks to passionate tweets from the GameXplain audience.
I was all "it's too much like Goldeneye" but you guys were all "I love the big head
mode in this game more than my parents," so good on ya, it's here.
Perfect Dark's big head mode is known as DK mode, which like Goldeneye, is an homage
to Donkey Kong, a game noteworthy for everything BUT the size of the bad guy's head.
Anyway, DK mode gives everyone long arms and big heads, which is ape-like, but I repeat,
does not remind anyone of Donkey Kong.
They renamed it "Monkey Mode" in the Xbox Live Arcade version of the game because fun
is never allowed when it comes to copyright.
But at least now the mode makes more sense!
One of the best things about DK mode in Perfect Dark is that it applies to cut-scenes, which
are absolutely absurd with the crazy arms, heads, and copius amounts of clipping.
On to number 9.
What could it be?
Iiittttttt's Turok!
This 1997 Nintendo 64 release places you in the role of an American Indian time-traveling
warrior know as Tal'Set but also Turok.
It's been a long time since I've played, so please excuse me if I get any of the game's
backstory wrong.
Or don't.
I think we can all agree that the most important thing about Turok is shooting soldiers in
the face, right?
Just kidding!
It's about shooting dinosaurs in the face.
Suck it, Blue!
This absurdly fun game gets even more absurd and even more fun with the addition of big
head mode, which lets you, yawn, shoot big-headed soldiers in the face.
BUT ALSO LETS YOU SHOOT BIG-HEADED DINOUSAURS IN THE FACE, TOO!
Big head mode has been a staple of the series, and fans of capping dinosaurs have their fingers
crossed that it'll be a part of the next game in the series, whenever god stops being
angry with us and blesses us with more Turok.
Number 8 might be somewhat of a surprise.
It's Rise of the Tomb Raider.
This series is normally known for big breasts, not big heads.
Perhaps it's because of Lara's ever-shrinking mammaries that the developers decided to hook
us up with a fantastic big head mode.
Check this out.
That, is, wonderful.
Let's see it again.
I could watch that all day.
Does the big head mode make it better?
Let's compare.
Normal size is great, but big head is where it's at.
Even people who are bored of stealth will get a kick out of what is essentially a bobble-head
doll stalking their prey through the wilderness.
Don't like seeing the lovely Ms. Croft with a weird head?
Fair enough.
There's a big head mode for enemies that should be right up your alley.
Oh look at me, I got a streak of headshots – it must be because of my amazing skills,
not the freakishly huge melons I'm aiming at.
If this mode is so great, and it is, why is it number 8?
Too reasons: first, the cutscenes all show Lara with a normal sized head.
You have no idea how excited I was to see her try to cram her noggin through this tight
space.
What a let down.
But I did get to watch this, so that was cool.
But the main knock against the game is that you must unlock the mode with cards, which
can be purchased via ingame currency, or booooooo, real money.
What's worse is that these are single use cards, so you'll have to sped either a lot
of time or a lot of real cash to play this mode more than a few times.
At number seven, we have Naughty Dog's Jak and Daxter series.
Those of you who grew up with the PlayStation 2 no doubt have very fond memories of this
adventuresome duo.
And hopefully you have equally fond memories of playing through the trilogy with massive
melons, that stay huge even throughout the cutscenes.
The series would be higher, but like Ratchet & Clank, the main character's heads are
already pretty large and cartoony, so it's not especially jarring to see them blown up.
Unlessss, you use the small head mode to shrink them down, get used to playing that way and
the bwoooop make those craniums crazy big.
Niiiice.
Number 6 is only hear because of its vocal fans on Twitter.
It's the Timesplitters franchise.
Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying it's not worthy, it's just that when I played
these games, I did so with normal heads, which was definitely my loss.
For starters, you can view the big ol' heads in a character viewer mode, which really gives
you time to appreciate the grande cabezas.
Look at that… just beautiful.
Like Jak & Daxter, there's also a tiny head mode, which makes the big heads even more
exciting.
Developer Free Radical was committed to the big heads, which is something fans appreciate.
From the first game in 2000, to the last game in 2005, all of them have let you bust caps
in big-headed baddies.
Hopefully Timesplitters 4, which was announced in 2007 and later postponed will keep the
tradition alive, when, and if it ever arrives.
Before we get to the rest of our list, let's take a look at some other big heads that didn't
quite make the cut.
Here's ESPN's Lee Corso, who claims to predict the winner of a football game by putting
on the mascot's head when you and I both know he's hiding a wild big-head fetish
in plain sight.
We're not falling for it Corso!
Oh look, it's Nelson "Big Head" Bighetti from HBO's Silicon Valley, who manages to
be both the luckiest and unluckiest guy on the show.
Next are the perhaps the most famous big heads in the world: the statues of easter island.
Why'd they build them?
How were they moved?
This isn't StatueXplain – you're going to have to google those answers.
Some wacky person on Twitter suggest Funko Pop Heads, so here they are.
The company was quick to embrace gaming culture, and there are lots of big-headed game characters
to choose from.
I both love and am terrified of this cute Kratos figure, which is kind of adorable,
but also manages to look like it'll climb down the shelves, creep across your bedroom
floor, and shimmy up your sheets to slit your throat while you sleep.
The top three are just ahead, but before we get to the medal winners, it's time to give
a quick nod to a few more games with big heads that while enjoyable, just didn't make it
into the top ten.
Aww look, it's the adorable Spyro the Dragon with a big giant head.
This series has long been a champion of big-headedness, and for that we salute you.
The next game is Grand Theft Auto Liberty City Stories for the PSP.
I can't think of much better than running around any of GTA's cities with a giant
melon, but as far as I can tell, this is the only Grand Theft Auto with a big head mode.
Please Rockstar, embrace this mode once again.
Oh my god, can you imagine Red Dead with big heads?
Time for a couple of fighting games.
First up is Mortal Kombat 4 which is absolutely fantastic with big heads.
But the million dollar question is: Are there big-headed fatalities?
You betcha!
Tekken 2 brought big heads to the popular PlayStation series in 1996.
Let's take a look.
Will Heihachi's enormous cranium prevent him from powerbombing Nina to end the match?
No chance.
The Lego games got a lot of mentions from you guys, so here's a look at some great
big heads from Lego Marvel Superheroes 2.
Finally Tony Stark's physical head matches the size of his ego.
I wanted to give some love to Lego Dimensions, but to unlock big heads in that game, you've
got to buy the PowerPuff Girls pack, find a hidden brick, and then spend in-game currency
to unlock it.
Weak sauce.
I want to give a special honorable dishonorable mention to the gang at the Smacktalks YouTube
channel for almost tricking me into including their latest April Fool's joke into the
top ten.
I was this close until I found it odd that no other games in the series had this mysterious
ego mode.
They used a mod to make this fantastic WWE 2k18 footage and I think it's safe to say
that next year's game MUST have freakishly massive heads.
You listening Yukes and Visual Concepts?
And last up is Toad, who, as just recently proven by science (aka, the Internet with
too much time on their hands), has perhaps the biggest head-to-body ratio out there.
Dear lord, why couldn't Nintendo have just stuck with the story that it was just a big
hat?
Now I'm scared of mini-kratos and Toad killing me in my sleep.
Let's get back to the top 5 before things get worse.
Let's see if the intro for number 5 on our list brings back any fond memories.
The Tony Hawk series has been a supporter of enlarged skulls since its inception, way
back in 1999.
This game was all about playing over and over, trying to beat your – or your buddie's
score, so having a big head option was a great way to spice things up on your 400th run through
the warehouse.
I'm always a fan of games like Tony Hawk that let you see and admire the big heads
in a non-gameplay setting.
It's a great way to enjoy the absurdity.
The 2012 HD remake of the original game was a bit of a disaster, but it did respect the
series commitment to big heads and even made them a part of gameplay with a survival mode
that had skaters do tricks try to keep their heads from inflating and exploding.
Insane?
Yep.
Awesome?
For sure.
Number 4 is the O.G. – the game that introduced big head mode to the world: NBA Jam.
It's hard to explain now how cool it was to roll into an arcade, enter a quick code
and BAM give you're a big head to stand out from the rest of the noobs, but trust
me, it was cool.
The mode fit in perfectly with the game's fast-paced, over-the-top gameplay, and for
many, playing without big heads isn't even an option.
Fun Fact: In 2013, USA Today reported that after an oversize cutout of Charle's Barkley's
big head began to appear at game, the Marquette Golden Eagles men's basketball team had
a record of 33 wins and five loses.
The series made a triumphant return in 2010 and of course original announcer Tim Kitzrow
and big heads combined for wonderfulness like this:
How can you not love it?
Our number three best big head mode ever of all time… in history, or whatever we're
calling this goes to Batman Arkham City and Batman.
Both excellent games made better with big heads.
Arkham City kicked things off in 2011 with its absurdly over-the-top big head mode, which
can be unlocked at any time with a few button presses.
Not only does Batman get the monstrous melon treatment, so do the game's bad guys.
Look at how adorably terrifying the Penguin is here.
Awwwww.
But things get even better.
Both games carry the big-headedness over into their cutscenes, which makes for a surreal
mix of goofy and terrifying.
Check out the intro to Arkham Knight for example.
Is there more?
You know it.
How about super high quality character models that you can zoom in on and rotate to your
heart's content.
Woah, take a look at the size of Harley Quinn's big, round… head.
Come on people.
And finally, you can use the game's multiple costumes in conjunction with big head mode,
which means you can enjoy a somehow even dorkier version of the original Robin, and an oddly
intimidating Adam West-era Batman wreaking havoc on Gotham's baddies.
Number two is…
Goldeneye for the Nintendo 64.
Alongside NBA Jam, this game is responsible for making big-head modes popular.
Let's take a look at why.
Well, for starters, this 1997 game was an introduction to first-person shooters for
many console players.
It was based on the first good James Bond movie in like a decade, and it had fantastic
multiplayer.
So we're already talking about a memorable game before we add big heads to the equation.
Of course, Goldeneye's big head mode is known as DK mode, which we already discussed
is kind of weird, but I suppose you can't argue with the oversized heads and ridiculously
long arms.
I some strange way, the game's low-res, low poly models make the big heads even more
insane, which adds to the appeal.
I mean, look at the faces on the freaks.
How can you not enjoy this?
Any gamer worth their salt will tell you that Goldeneye's multiplayer was best played
with DK and paintball mode on.
If you were born in the last 20 years, this four-player splitscreen probably looks absurd,
but trust me when I tell you that millions of us spent countless hours in front of a
standard def TV playing this, and we couldn't have been happier.
The game's 2010 remake on the Wii of course featured big heads in multiplayer, but unfortunately,
split-screen multiplayer on the Wii just didn't have the same cultural impact it did on the
Nintendo 64.
Still, its inclusion is appreciated by big-head afficianados.
Now it's time for the number one greatest big head mode ever… in history.
And it might be a surprise to many of you.
Your eyes aren't going crazy – it's Just Cause 3.
Just Cause 3 was the good, but somewhat disappointing follow-up to the surprise hit Just Cause 2.
Yeah it'skinda buggy, the story is dumb, and the framerate is sometimes ugh, but it's
easy to spend dozens of hours traversing the varied landscape with your grappling hook
and parachute in search of stuff to blow up.
It's when you pick up the game's DK Pistol (see, you don't have to be terrified of
the copyright police all the time), that things get really good.
For the love of god, will you look at the size of Rico's head?!
That's just wonderful.
OK, I hear you.
It's a lovely giant head, but what makes this the best big head mode ever?
Well, the gun doesn't just make your head bigger… oh no.
It let's you do Important science
We can use the DK pistol to answer these important scientific questions such as:
What happens if I shoot somebody with the DK Pistol?
A simple test reveals that it inflates their head a bit.
And a little bit more.
And a little bit more.
As with any scientific experiment it's important to replicate results, which as you can see,
I have done.
Does the large head impart any other characteristics onto its owner?
As you just saw Initial tests in this area resulted only in enlarged heads.
But when a grappling hook is introduced into the equation, things change.
That's correct, people float like balloons!
Look at this horrible, beautiful guitarist floating along the sea.
What happens when you release the grappling hook?
There's only one way to find out.
And he's gone!
What a majestic sight!
Can nuns fly?
Out of respect I've only shot the nun in the head once, which should be enough to get
her floating towards the heaven.
A quick grapple, and…
Oh, that's not good.
Why do I feel like I'll be answering for this at the pearly gates some day?
Are sports cars and big heads a good mix?
Initial tests were mixed, on account of a metal roof going right through Rico's head.
Personally, I didn't have a problem with it, but it didn't look super comfortable.
I decided to continue the test in the name of science.
Let's watch.
Final result: Sports cars and big heads are a bad mix for the cars, and a great mix for
the player.
Let's just go ahead and call this inconclusive for now.
What about jets?
Is it stupid to fly a jet with a giant head?
That's an oddly specific thing to test, but as I've clearly demonstrated, I'm
a man committed to science, so let's find out.
Ok, I'm going to say that the fit in the cockpit isn't great for Rico, but he's
in there, so the test can continue.
Let's just carefully take off.
Oh that's bad.
As you can see, the opportunities for insanity are plentiful when the DK Pistol is added
to the game's already wild gameplay, and this is just what happened when messing around
for 20 minutes capturing footage.
Imagine the possibilities!
Well, there you have it.
I hope you enjoyed this in-depth and extremely scientific look at the top ten world's best
ever games with big heads.
Please be sure to leave comments telling me what an amazing job I did.
Don't be shy.
Here, I'll help you get started: Hey Aaron, that was wonderful!
I enjoyed this video more than my first kiss.
Or something like that.
I'm sure you'll come up with something good.
Until next time, bye!
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