"King of Swing"

In the gaming days of yonder, it was rare to play a platformer starring a hero that didn't jump. Even rarer though, was to play a home console port of a game that turned out to be significantly deeper than the arcade version. Bionic Commando was both. Released by Capcom in the arcade in 1987, Bionic Commando continued the heroics of Super Joe, the one-man army from the original Commando. This time, he was on a mission to stop the enemy's military force from launching a devastating missile. The overhead perspective was replaced in favor of a side-scrolling platformer setup. Central to the gameplay was the method of getting around. Super Joe wasn't blessed with the ability to jump, but instead comes equipped with a nifty bionic grapple arm that he uses to swing and scale structures in order to reach higher ground or cross chasms. It was a bit on the short side, weighing in at a meager 5 stages in length. Going down in history as a cult classic, this was without a doubt one of more difficult games that you could spend your quarters on back then.

In those days, if a Capcom game did pretty well in the arcade, it was no surprise if it found its way to the home front about a year later. And in 1988, that's exactly what happened. Of all the console versions of Bionic Commando, the NES got the best treatment of them all. Being more than just a downgraded shell of the arcade original, Capcom took what was good about the gameplay and put it to further use. By the time all was said and done, the only thing that remained unmodified was the title itself. The end result was a more fleshed out game that still remains as one of my favorite games of all time. We were in for a mission of “Rad” proportions.

The events of console port take place after Super Joe's successful mission of the arcade version. It was recently discovered that the not-so-coincidentally Nazi-esque imperial force known as the Badds (“Nazz” according to the game manual) had a plan they called “Albatross” which was never put into action. What ever this plan was, you can rest assured that it wasn't kosher. Imperial leader Generalissimo Killt has recently decided to put this evil plan into action, presumably for world domination like so many of those other villains out there. In response to the impending threat, the federation deployed Super Joe to thwart their plans and avoid a major crisis.
But as fate would have it, the federation lost contact with Super Joe and no one knew exactly what happened to him. It is here that we are introduced to Rad (Ladd) Spencer—the new soldier outfitted with a bionic grapple arm and on a mission to rescue Super Joe and find just what this Albatross plan is all about.

The added depth in Bionic Commando is immediately noticeable right from the beginning. No longer is the game focused squarely on the hero himself. Now, the presence of you fellow soldiers is made know via communications form HQ and local field agents. Upon starting the game, you are greeted with a short summary of your mission, and your commanding officer gives the reassuring words “we rely on you”. No pressure, right? Progress is made by navigating the miniature helicopter through a stage-selection map with branching paths. Once you've chosen the area where you'd like to start, Spencer then parachutes down to begin his mission. When I first started playing this game, I wasn't sure if I liked the idea of only getting around with a grapple arm instead of jumping like in most platformers. But, little did I know just how well the non-leaping mentality would actually work. After a few minutes of swinging, climbing, and shooting enemy soldiers all in one seemingly effortless swoop, I was hooked on the idea. From that aspect, it kind of reminds me of Spider-Man, minus the web-shooters and lack of weaponry.

In addition to swinging and climbing, the grapple arm can be used to grab items and knock around enemy soldiers. A very useful feature when you're in a pinch.
While Spencer has the ability to sustain multiple hits before losing a life, you have to first build up health points by collecting bullets dropped by fallen soldiers. As can be expected, each subsequent health point requires a greater number of bullets before another point can be given. It added an interesting aspect to the game for me because I found myself trying to carefully kill an enemy, without knocking him off screen so I could collect the goods. With all the perils and dangers to be experienced, you can never have enough health points.

The majority of time will be spent taking Rad Spencer behind enemy lines, infiltrating strongholds, and destroying the underground power core while also facing down hordes of relentless soldiers and the boss guardian trying to prevent our hero from making it out of there alive. After completing such areas, you'll pick up a new weapon or item that will aide you making it further into the game with greater ease. There are, however, two other types of areas to be explored.
One of which can be seen when you cross with an enemy truck on the map. The scene switches to an overhead view and you'll have to fight your way through a blockade of soldiers—a nice throwback to the original Commando. Then there are “neutral zones”, where you'll mostly gather information, obtain helpful item for your inventory, and receive threats and insults from your enemies. Since this is a neutral zone, it is not wise to engage the opposing faction (or fire your weapon at all) because doing so result in you being constantly attacked by guards until you exit the area.

In addition fighting the opposing military faction, the main stages in the game have communication rooms that allow you to check-in with your friendly soldiers and gather information that will usually be helpful in your advancement to other areas. In fact, in the very first stage on the map, you have to visit the communication room for further instructions; otherwise, the door you'll need to enter will be closed. Things like that may put off impatient players, but it's really not that big of a deal unless you completely miss those rooms altogether while exploring an area. Interestingly, you can also wire-tap and intercept communications from the enemy. Beware though, as sometimes wire-tapping will set off alarms in certain levels and barrage soldiers will start pouring (and parachuting) into the room. It's a nice touch really, because it gives it that kind if risk/reward aspect to folks who are brand new to the game. I did find that, with practice, I eventually started remembering which communication rooms were “booby trapped”, so to speak. It's worth noting that your ability to gather information in these rooms depends on the communicator you selected before starting an area. The default one you out with can only be used in a few areas in the game. You'll have to find other types of communicators and use them in the correct stage. Bringing the wrong type results in a short, garbled message that can't be understood. I didn't particularly care for the fact that I had to search different communication devices, but it still gave me reason to be thorough when going through a level collecting stuff.

The design of each successive area becomes increasingly fiendish in their tricky layouts. Hand-eye coordination is truly put to the test with the risky swing maneuvers you'll have to pull off to get across long chasms or spiked floors. There are other times when the combination of dropping off a platform and then extending the bionic arm to the next available ledge is needed in order to make your way to next part of the level you're on. Mind you, this not only requires good aim and even better timing, but you'll also have pay close attention to the enemies in you vicinity, as one hit can knock you back a few inches and throw off your best attempts at landing on solid ground. With all of the dangers involved in making it to end of any given area, it may prove to be a point of aggravation for less patient players out there who may be looking for an easy run-of-the-mill old school game. Otherwise, anyone familiar with the Capcom line-up of games on the NES will feel right at home with the challenges that demand an increasing amount of concentration, memorization, and forethought in order to survive long enough to make it to the final stage.

I do have one minor grievance, and it has to do with the way the controller functions were programmed. Specifically, the select button pauses the game, while the start button activates the special item you selected before beginning an area. Now I realize that maybe it's just me, but most games typically use the start button to pause, and the select key to whatever else. With all the action going on, I found myself accidentally activating my item, instead of pausing the game because I'd just instinctively hit start every time. While it's not a major problem in itself, it did annoy me when my prematurely used item of choice was an energy bottle that can only be used once per life in a level. I hate to waste such precious things, you know? Why the programmers did it this way is a mystery to me, but I never like having to think in reverse with regard to the start/select functions. And yes—I realize that I'm being crybaby over such a minimal quirk. It just bothers me, alright? That being said, I cannot otherwise find fault with the controls. It's all smooth sailing from there.

The game's soundtrack is very memorable and fits the action perfectly. The music from the last level in the arcade version is used here again for most of the main stages. My favorite tune is the one that plays when you're in one of the areas that involve continually climbing upwards before reaching the door leading to the underground base. It has a somewhat brooding tone that's just perfect for the occasion. The same good audio quality applies the sound of your grapple arm making contact with a solid object, or even little tone that plays when you get a 1-up. The extra effort put into the NES port, in my humble opinion, makes the arcade version pale by comparison.

This is one the few games that has stood the test of time, despite its age. The main attraction of swinging from place to place is nicely complemented with level structure that put this aspect of platforming to good use. When you couple that with a challenging gameplay design apropos to the hero himself, you get one of the best games to ever grace the NES.

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 07/15/09

Game Release: Bionic Commando (US, December 1988)