Hammerin' Harry, known in Japan as Daiku no Gen-san (大工の源さん, Carpenter Gen), is a series of platforming video games developed and published by Irem in 1990. The titles were developed and published for the arcades, Famicom, Game Boy, Super Famicom and Sony PSP platforms. The series is centered around the titular Harry (or "Genzo Tamura" in the original Japanese), a hammer-wielding carpenter who protects his hometown of Beranme from the corrupt construction companies that mean to tear it down.

Hammerin' Harry
North American arcade flyer of Hammerin' Harry, the first game in the series.
Genre(s)Platform
Developer(s)Irem
Publisher(s)Irem
Atlus

Games

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The following is a list of games released in the series.

Japanese title English title System Year
大工の源さん 〜べらんめ町騒動記〜
Daiku no Gen-san: Beranme-chō Sōdōki
(Carpenter Gen: Beranme Town Uproar)
Hammerin' Harry Arcade 1990
大工の源さん
Daiku no Gen-san
(Carpenter Gen)
Hammerin' Harry Famicom 1991
大工の源さん ゴーストビルディングカンパニー
Daiku no Gen-san: Ghost Building Company
(Carpenter Gen: Ghost Building Company)
Hammerin' Harry: Ghost Building Company (Europe)/
Carpenter Genzo: Ghost Kingdom (Hong Kong)
Game Boy 1992
大工の源さん2 赤毛のダンの逆襲
Daiku no Gen-san 2: Akage no Dan no Gyakushō
(Carpenter Gen 2: Redheaded Dan's Counterattack)
Hammerin’ Harry 2: Dan the Red Strikes Back Famicom 1993
がんばれ!大工の源さん
Ganbare! Daiku no Gen-san
(Good Luck! Carpenter Gen)
Super Famicom 1993
大工の源さん ロボット帝国の野望
Daiku no Gen-san: Robot Teikoku no Yabō
(Carpenter Gen: The Robot Empire's Ambition)
Carpenter Genzo: Robot Empire (Hong Kong) Game Boy 1994
大工の源さん カチカチのトンカチがカチ
Daiku no Gen-san: Kachikachi no Tonkachi ga Kachi
(Carpenter Gen: The Hardest Hammer Wins)
Game Boy Color 2000
いくぜっ! 源さん 夕焼け大工物語
Ikuze! Gen-san: Yūyake Daiku Monogatari
(Let's Go! Gen: Sunset Carpenter Story)
Hammerin' Hero (USA)/GenSan (Europe) PSP 2008

Reception

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The original arcade game received positive reviews from critics. John Cook of CU Amiga gave it a 93% score.[1] Julian Rignall of Computer and Video Games magazine gave it a 91% score.[2] Sinclair User magazine gave it an 87% score.[3]

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The first spin-off in the series was Kizuchida Quiz da Gen-san Da! (木づちだ クイズだ 源さんだ!, It's a Mallet, It's a Quiz, It's Gen!), a quiz game released for the Game Boy on December 19, 1992, exclusively in Japan. Others were various Japan-only, pachinko machines, as well as home ports of them for PlayStation, PlayStation 2, Windows-operated PCs and Game Boy. Outside of the franchise, Hammerin' Harry was represented in a Japan-only Game Boy title, Shuyaku Sentai Irem Fighter along with three other Irem franchises: R-Type, Ninja Spirit and Mr. Heli. Hammerin' Harry can be seen on the arcade flyers of Ninja Baseball Bat Man, also by Irem.

Anime

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An anime series based specifically on the PSP title Hammerin' Hero, titled as Ikuze! Gen-san (いくぜっ!源さん, Let's Go! Gen), aired on GyaO's website in March 24 until June 9, 2008. There were 24 9-minute webisodes aired. A DVD compiling the episodes was released in April 2009.[4]

Re-Release

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On April 18th, 2023 Retro-Bit announced the re-release of Hammerin’ Harry and Hammerin’ Harry 2 as Collector's Edition NES cartridges.[5]

References

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  1. ^ Cook, John (26 October 1990). "Hammerin' Harry". CU Amiga. No. 9 (November 1990). p. 95.
  2. ^ Rignall, Julian (16 September 1990). "Arcade Action". Computer and Video Games. No. 107 (October 1990). pp. 98–100.
  3. ^ "Coin Ops". Sinclair User. No. 105. United Kingdom: EMAP. November 1990. pp. 54–5.
  4. ^ "Animedao". Saturday, 11 December 2021
  5. ^ "Hammerin' Harry Comes Out Swinging with New Limited-Edition Box Set from Retro-Bit". Friday, 26 January 2024
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