Collection essentials #40: Bionic Commando (NES)

 

Here’s the first of very many games in this blog from legendary developer Capcom.

Bionic Commando is a side-scrolling platformer that immediately stands out in the genre for a certain peculiarity…you can’t jump!! How do you have a platformer with no jumping? Well, by using your bionic arm, of course. You can stretch out your arm to grab onto ceilings to either pull yourself straight up, or swing to cross a gap. As the game has a wartime setting, you’ve got a gun which can receive a variety of power-ups. Speaking of the wartime setting, the original Japanese release is literally about fighting Nazis and is entitled “Hitler's Resurrection: Top Secret”, and it’s no surprise that in the US release they changed these names to other things…but perhaps it IS a surprise that they didn’t change Hitler’s appearance, so his original identity is quite obvious!

Anyways, back to gameplay, another thing that helps set the game apart is its non-linear structure. You choose what stages to tackle from a world map, and it’s not immediately obvious where to go so you’ll have to experiment or find clues. But even if you DO know, you may want to explore different places anyway to hunt for more items and power-ups. Some segments also switch up the gameplay to a top-down perspective with all shooting, no platforming.

Bionic Commando is a well-regarded NES title and it’s not hard to see why. I don’t have a ton to say about it because I didn’t grow up with the game, though I have taken the time to play through and beat it as an adult! The game also received a remake with 3D graphics in 2011 called Bionic Commando Rearmed which was also well-received. I own but haven’t played through Rearmed yet, so I don’t have an opinion as to which version is better.

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