This is a crown jewel of 8 bit gaming. The graphics were very good at the time, and the unique controls of having a soldier who could not jump, but instead swings like Tarzan on the bionic arm is quite novel. The initial handicap of not being able to jump is almost nonexistent once you grasp the scheme of what the game requires you to do. There is gear to collect after winning each stage, all of which boil down to surviving the platforming and unusual enemies of each, then blowing up the reactors there. So you know there is shooting going on, lets talk quickly about the robot arm, then we'll get into the meat of the story, design and its challenges.
The most unique feature, the Bionic Arm!
You can swing this extending limb (it looks very Doc Oc from Spider Man) forwards, diagonally forwards, or straight up. If it hits a solid material object, it will grasp it. Thus you can use this to swing over a pile of boxes you would normally jump over, swing over giant pits of spikes, and climb levels instead of using stairs or ladders. Use it to collect powerups! Other uses are more interesting, such as a tiny space you cannot pass due to overhead pikes, you can grab onto a box horizontally on the other side, and pull yourself through without harm. It doesn't hurt or grab enemies, but it does shove them back, and can knock them off ledges. It can however, hurt the evil bio-birds things you see on a wilderness stage.
The story
You are a freedom fighter, the big BADD empire, the BADDs, are in control and its leader Generalissimo Kilt seeks to revive an infamous dictator to help them take over the rest of the world. Who is this evil dictator? Lets just say the subject they want to bring back from the dead has a little mustache. Get the picture? Yikes! The Hit-I mean MASTER D figure is to help them finish building a super weapon, only known as the Albatross. Your mission is to sneak into enemy lines; grabbing supplies and weapons from them, rescue Super Joe, and put a stop to bringing back MASTER D, and project Albatross. Victory can be achieved by conquering stage by stage.
When your bionic warrior goes to a stage to battle, you get a selection of icons. This is you outfitting yourself with gear.
- First is the weapon. You start with a long range rifle, but can get special 3-way shooting, rapid fire or even a bazooka!
- You also get some kind of armor if you find one. Each affords protection from one bullet (the amulet) to 3 (helmet)
- You also get a special item to pick. This could be anything from flares to health potion, to a rapid fire tool for your gun. Most of these are used with the select button.
- The last choice, is to pick a communicator radio, each colored differently. Its important to select the right one, as each stage has a radio room that often helps you gain access ahead. A group of connecting stages often share the use of one type of radio.
You start at the left end of the main map, and are trying to get to the top right. You will see different numbered stages, some with different colored backgrounds - marking them neutral zones, and blue trucks travelling between the stages on the lined roads. This looks like a board game but you can move as many times and can go backwards if you choose, the only rule is that your helicopter must follow the same roads as the trucks. I'll go into a bit of detail of each of the three icons on this map; stages, free zones, and the trucks themselves. I'll also detail a bit about the end game of the stages, the reactors confrontations.
The regular stages
They are numbered on the map and can be taken in largely any order, though some will block you until you receive a communicator with enough range to transmit to your superiors. You can still go in to later stages, but without radio support, locked doors often stay locked, barring you completing it. You will go into enemy territory and its more than just taking over military bases. One stage is a giant vertical climb up a communication tower. Mountain hideouts with no indoor lightning, or ones complete with bio-engineered defenses, even a sprawling city that can make one lose ones way, to sewer treatment plants.
Each stage is different and awesome in how its visuals change to what challenges it imposes. This brings out excellent graphics and sound for the NES, using a wide variety of colors and music for each stage. The control for this game is excellent, which you will marvel at once you start getting to critical uses of your bionic arm, such as when you're hanging over instant death, only a repeated use of Tarzan swings saving you from death.
There is a radio room in each stage, you will know it because the room is completely devoid of music. This is where the radio you've been lugging around for the stage is used finally! If its not the right radio for your stage you won't be able to receive any signal. Here you can contact your superiors and gain access and notes for the stage, or you can risk wiretapping enemy communications for clues about stages or bosses. Its risky because you might trigger an alarm and have to fight enemy soldiers! Be sure to collect bullets the soldiers drop as they will help you by extending your life!
The neutral zones
The neutral zones are marked differently on the map, and going to them is all about NOT FIRING on the grounds. Any shot fired triggers the white-clothed guards to come at you for the duration of the stage. The only place the guards don't go and the only safe place to fire is in rooms. At these spots you can often get nice items, though some are a little tricky to get or require some backtracking later. Things as simple as one-ups, bullets to gain extra health points, to radio communicators can be found here. Now while you are not allowed to fire outside in the neutral zone, there will be some instances of an enemy who will try to kill you in one. Or perhaps you meet a captured soldier in a room and shooting at him won't make him talk. These zones are mainly about platforming and light puzzle solving. If this seems very out of pace with the action game, its really not, each zone is very brief, and usually only has 3 rooms to visit or people to talk to.
Truck mini-game battles
If a truck intercepts your craft, you go into a short overhead battle, reminiscent of Commando. You are allowed to pick your weapon just like its a regular stage, but this one is quite different. There is no platforming here with the top down view. Your claw for this part acts as a keep-away tool, designed to give you room - it does not hurt the enemy. There are 3 different terrains you can fight on- which are dependent on what background the truck meets you at. The most critical thing about these stages is that you should run not ignore them, each features two big enemies that when killed, drop the medal looking much like an armed forces Colonel symbol (eagle holding arrows). These medals are vital to get as they are really continues. The only way to continue is to get one of these first. You can have up to nine, thought the game will keep letting you collect them and omitting the surplus. There is also a hidden underground stage, perhaps you can find it on your own.
Boss Fights and Showdowns
At the end of the main stages only, there are boss battles, sorta. Some have bosses, some are just a unending squad of enemies who try to stop you. With or without killing the bosses (or enemies) your main goal is to attack the stationary center core at the far right of the stage. Sadly the reactor showdowns are often the easiest part of the game. As with some stages, the core battles are different and can harder than others, mainly due to the bionic moves over a lack of firepower. I won't spoil the reactor bosses, but rest assured the end boss is totally different and features perhaps the first instance of gore in a Nintendo game. While its fairly graphic, it fits in with the game.
Difficulty-wise, once you get the right weapon and a long enough life bar, you're pretty safe. Sure there are instant death pits, but with practice of your bionic arm, you will master the timing needed. Other than certain hazards in a stage, such as the rare maze-like rooms towards the end, or the instant-death, misinformation makes this game seem hard. The four things not mentioned enough in game that I would point out are these:
The select button- use it for flares, healing, don't forget its there
Bullets- Get as many as you can. The more you have the longer your life bar.
Continues- Find a few trucks on the overhead map and purposely run into them. Continuesare vital as theres no password!
The warp out - There are a few stages where you need a certain item just to proceed: This can be a certain weapon to clear an obstacle, to a special permit. Pressing Select and Start will warp you out to the main map. Very handy if you forget or don't have the item, as often where you get stuck there is no way to let yourself be killed!
This is one of the best NES games ever. A total smash success. However its not perfect. I had to look a bit to find faults. One is the balance of weapons. That is, one weapon is overpowered. When I got the bazooka midway through, I used it for the duration of the game.
Another issue is lack of password or save feature. The game has many stages to clear, and it must be done in one sitting, so the lack of a save can be rough. Getting stuck at a barred stage and not knowing the warp-out command would make you reset your game!! Some of the reactor fights should be a little harder. And wiretapping on the radio seems like a missed opportunity to open secrets or give you items.
But the rewards are worth it and outweigh these petty issues. Different weapons? Check. Minigame stages between levels? Very important to do, and check. Very light rpg aspects of talking to people in the Neutral Zones? Check. Is each stage very different from the last? You bet your check they are. This is a brilliant game from Capcom, who surpassed the very shallow arcade version of this game. And 20 years later, its still good to know Generalissimo Kilt and Master-D are always waiting for your challenge. When I feel nostalgia, I always play this to the finish, its a fun game.
Can you see one of the most awesome explosions in NES history? The ending is quite fitting, for this games story is still being told happily today. This is a crown jewel of 8 bit gaming. The graphics were very good at the time, and the unique controls of having a soldier who could not jump, but instead swings like Tarzan on the bionic arm is quite novel. The initial handicap of not being able to jump is almost nonexistent once you grasp the scheme of what the game requires you to do. There is gear to collect after winning each stage, all of which boil down to surviving the platforming and unusual enemies of each, then blowing up the reactors there. So you know there is shooting going on, lets talk quickly about the robot arm, then we'll get into the meat of the story, design and its challenges.
The most unique feature, the Bionic Arm!
You can swing this extending limb (it looks very Doc Oc from Spider Man) forwards, diagonally forwards, or straight up. If it hits a solid material object, it will grasp it. Thus you can use this to swing over a pile of boxes you would normally jump over, swing over giant pits of spikes, and climb levels instead of using stairs or ladders. Use it to collect powerups! Other uses are more interesting, such as a tiny space you cannot pass due to overhead pikes, you can grab onto a box horizontally on the other side, and pull yourself through without harm. It doesn't hurt or grab enemies, but it does shove them back, and can knock them off ledges. It can however, hurt the evil bio-birds things you see on a wilderness stage.
The story
You are a freedom fighter, the big BADD empire, the BADDs, are in control and its leader Generalissimo Kilt seeks to revive an infamous dictator to help them take over the rest of the world. Who is this evil dictator? Lets just say the subject they want to bring back from the dead has a little mustache. Get the picture? Yikes! The Hit-I mean MASTER D figure is to help them finish building a super weapon, only known as the Albatross. Your mission is to sneak into enemy lines; grabbing supplies and weapons from them, rescue Super Joe, and put a stop to bringing back MASTER D, and project Albatross. Victory can be achieved by conquering stage by stage.
When your bionic warrior goes to a stage to battle, you get a selection of icons. This is you outfitting yourself with gear.
- First is the weapon. You start with a long range rifle, but can get special 3-way shooting, rapid fire or even a bazooka!
- You also get some kind of armor if you find one. Each affords protection from one bullet (the amulet) to 3 (helmet)
- You also get a special item to pick. This could be anything from flares to health potion, to a rapid fire tool for your gun. Most of these are used with the select button.
- The last choice, is to pick a communicator radio, each colored differently. Its important to select the right one, as each stage has a radio room that often helps you gain access ahead. A group of connecting stages often share the use of one type of radio.
You start at the left end of the main map, and are trying to get to the top right. You will see different numbered stages, some with different colored backgrounds - marking them neutral zones, and blue trucks travelling between the stages on the lined roads. This looks like a board game but you can move as many times and can go backwards if you choose, the only rule is that your helicopter must follow the same roads as the trucks. I'll go into a bit of detail of each of the three icons on this map; stages, free zones, and the trucks themselves. I'll also detail a bit about the end game of the stages, the reactors confrontations.
The regular stages
They are numbered on the map and can be taken in largely any order, though some will block you until you receive a communicator with enough range to transmit to your superiors. You can still go in to later stages, but without radio support, locked doors often stay locked, barring you completing it. You will go into enemy territory and its more than just taking over military bases. One stage is a giant vertical climb up a communication tower. Mountain hideouts with no indoor lightning, or ones complete with bio-engineered defenses, even a sprawling city that can make one lose ones way, to sewer treatment plants.
Each stage is different and awesome in how its visuals change to what challenges it imposes. This brings out excellent graphics and sound for the NES, using a wide variety of colors and music for each stage. The control for this game is excellent, which you will marvel at once you start getting to critical uses of your bionic arm, such as when you're hanging over instant death, only a repeated use of Tarzan swings saving you from death.
There is a radio room in each stage, you will know it because the room is completely devoid of music. This is where the radio you've been lugging around for the stage is used finally! If its not the right radio for your stage you won't be able to receive any signal. Here you can contact your superiors and gain access and notes for the stage, or you can risk wiretapping enemy communications for clues about stages or bosses. Its risky because you might trigger an alarm and have to fight enemy soldiers! Be sure to collect bullets the soldiers drop as they will help you by extending your life!
The neutral zones
The neutral zones are marked differently on the map, and going to them is all about NOT FIRING on the grounds. Any shot fired triggers the white-clothed guards to come at you for the duration of the stage. The only place the guards don't go and the only safe place to fire is in rooms. At these spots you can often get nice items, though some are a little tricky to get or require some backtracking later. Things as simple as one-ups, bullets to gain extra health points, to radio communicators can be found here. Now while you are not allowed to fire outside in the neutral zone, there will be some instances of an enemy who will try to kill you in one. Or perhaps you meet a captured soldier in a room and shooting at him won't make him talk. These zones are mainly about platforming and light puzzle solving. If this seems very out of pace with the action game, its really not, each zone is very brief, and usually only has 3 rooms to visit or people to talk to.
Truck mini-game battles
If a truck intercepts your craft, you go into a short overhead battle, reminiscent of Commando. You are allowed to pick your weapon just like its a regular stage, but this one is quite different. There is no platforming here with the top down view. Your claw for this part acts as a keep-away tool, designed to give you room - it does not hurt the enemy. There are 3 different terrains you can fight on- which are dependent on what background the truck meets you at. The most critical thing about these stages is that you should run not ignore them, each features two big enemies that when killed, drop the medal looking much like an armed forces Colonel symbol (eagle holding arrows). These medals are vital to get as they are really continues. The only way to continue is to get one of these first. You can have up to nine, thought the game will keep letting you collect them and omitting the surplus. There is also a hidden underground stage, perhaps you can find it on your own.
Boss Fights and Showdowns
At the end of the main stages only, there are boss battles, sorta. Some have bosses, some are just a unending squad of enemies who try to stop you. With or without killing the bosses (or enemies) your main goal is to attack the stationary center core at the far right of the stage. Sadly the reactor showdowns are often the easiest part of the game. As with some stages, the core battles are different and can harder than others, mainly due to the bionic moves over a lack of firepower. I won't spoil the reactor bosses, but rest assured the end boss is totally different and features perhaps the first instance of gore in a Nintendo game. While its fairly graphic, it fits in with the game.
Difficulty-wise, once you get the right weapon and a long enough life bar, you're pretty safe. Sure there are instant death pits, but with practice of your bionic arm, you will master the timing needed. Other than certain hazards in a stage, such as the rare maze-like rooms towards the end, or the instant-death, misinformation makes this game seem hard. The four things not mentioned enough in game that I would point out are these:
The select button- use it for flares, healing, don't forget its there
Bullets- Get as many as you can. The more you have the longer your life bar.
Continues- Find a few trucks on the overhead map and purposely run into them. Continuesare vital as theres no password!
The warp out - There are a few stages where you need a certain item just to proceed: This can be a certain weapon to clear an obstacle, to a special permit. Pressing Select and Start will warp you out to the main map. Very handy if you forget or don't have the item, as often where you get stuck there is no way to let yourself be killed!
This is one of the best NES games ever. A total smash success. However its not perfect. I had to look a bit to find faults. One is the balance of weapons. That is, one weapon is overpowered. When I got the bazooka midway through, I used it for the duration of the game.
Another issue is lack of password or save feature. The game has many stages to clear, and it must be done in one sitting, so the lack of a save can be rough. Getting stuck at a barred stage and not knowing the warp-out command would make you reset your game!! Some of the reactor fights should be a little harder. And wiretapping on the radio seems like a missed opportunity to open secrets or give you items.
But the rewards are worth it and outweigh these petty issues. Different weapons? Check. Minigame stages between levels? Very important to do, and check. Very light rpg aspects of talking to people in the Neutral Zones? Check. Is each stage very different from the last? You bet your check they are. This is a brilliant game from Capcom, who surpassed the very shallow arcade version of this game. And 20 years later, its still good to know Generalissimo Kilt and Master-D are always waiting for your challenge. When I feel nostalgia, I always play this to the finish, its a fun game.
Can you see one of the most awesome explosions in NES history? The ending is quite fitting, for this games story is still being told happily today. |
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