Transformers: The Headmasters/Gameplay

Controls

Input	Vehicle Mode	Robot Mode
	Use the direction pad to guide each character through the level. For ground vehicles (Chromedome, Hardhead, and Rodimus Prime), press right to accelerate and advance the screen. Press left to slow down and eventually top. For air vehicles (Highbrow and Brainstorm), the screen scrolls automatically. Press up or down to change altitude, right to advance forward on the screen, or press left or nothing to return to the left side of the screen.	In Robot Mode, the controls for every character is the same. Every robot has the ability to hover in mid-air. Use the control pad to direct whichever robot you are currently in control of, throughout the room.
	For ground vehicles, press the A button to launch a ground-to-air missile. For air vehicles, press the A button to fire your guns.	Press the A button in robot mode to shoot your weapon. This can destroy weak enemies, and cause stronger enemies to freeze in place.
	For ground vehicles, press the B button to launch a forward ground shot. For air vehicles, pressing B to fires your guns just like A.	Press the B button in robot mode to punch your fist. This will destroy enemies that are strong enough to resist your gun.
	Press the Start button to pause the game and enter the robot selection mode. Press it again to return to the game.
	Press the Select button while in robot selection mode to toggle between available robots.

Player cast

Throughout the game, you will have the ability to control a cast of Autobots. You can only control one robot at a time, but you are free to switch between available robots at any time. At the beginning of the game, you only have access to Chromedome. You must rescue four other Autobots from various portions of other stages. Once you have rescued the other four Autobots, you will be able to access the final stage where all five Autobots join Fortress Maximus for the final showdown against Scorponok. At all times, the status bar (shown right) is visible at the top of the screen. In addition to showing your score, the status bar also shows which robots are available (red robot), which robots have died (black robot), and how many robots have yet to be rescued (blank box). Below each box is a number and a letter. The number represents the amount of energy each Autobot has remaining (on a scale of 1 to 8). The letter represents that Autobot's power, A being the weakest and E being the strongest. Finally, the meters on the right side indicate your currently selected Autobot's statistics, E for energy, P for power, and S for speed. For more information, see the Items section below.

Every robot is identical in almost every way except for the pattern of their weapons. At the early levels of power, every robot can only shoot a single bullet that travels relatively slowly. As power picks up, so does the speed. At maximum power, each robot's shots takes on a different spread, with Hardhead's being among the most effective. In vehicle mode, Chromedome, Rodimus Prime, and Hardhead are land vehicles, while Highbrow and Brainstorm are air vehicles. Land vehicles typically have one ground-to-air weapon, and one ground weapon. All ground-to-air weapons travel straight on a diagonal, and most ground weapons fire straight ahead with the exception of Hardhead's whose tank cannon is lobbed at an arc. Air vehicles have only one mode of fire, but it gets more effective as power levels increase.

	Artwork	Robot	Vehicle		Artwork	Robot	Vehicle
Chromedome: Accessible from the start of the game.				Rodimus Prime: rescued from Cybertron vehicle stage *.
Hardhead: rescued from Jail vehicle stage.				Highbrow: rescued from Cybertron robot stage.
Brainstorm: rescue from Jail robot stage.				Fortress Maximus: Only accessible in the final stage.			**

* Rodimus Prime is known as Rodimus Convoy in Japan.
** Unfortunately, the graphics for Fortress Maximus' alt form is not Fortress Maximus, but actually Metroplex's battle station mode.

Items

Items are obtained at random by defeating opponents. Items revealed by ground vehicles slowly float to the ground. Items revealed by air vehicles stay at the same altitude, but scroll to the back of the screen. Items discovered in robot mode remain stationary.

Item	Name	Description
	Energon	Autobots lose energon when they are attacked by the Decepticons. If their energon levels fall to 0, they go offline. Collect these energon capsules to restore lost energy. Every Autobot's energy meter goes from 0 to 8, and each energon capsule restores 2 units of energy.
	Power	Each Autobot starts off at the weakest level of power, rank A. This can be increased four times, up to the maximum rank E, by collecting four of these Power icons. With each icon, the rate of fire and sometimes the number of bullets fired increases. It is important to get the Autobots fire power levels up as quickly as possible.
	Speed	At the start, each Autobot starts out at the slowest level of speed. In order to increase their maneuverability, they must collect the star icons. By collecting these, they are better able to avoid traps at top speed.
	Deceptionc Insignia	In robot mode, the only way out of many rooms is to collect the decepticon insignia. Until you collect one, you will be unable to proceed to the next room. They are usually found by destroying enough enemies in a particular room. However, on Earth they can sometimes be found by destroying all of the "D" spheres in the room.