Bionic Commando Amiga

[Jackie Bullinger]

BionicCommando is a video game franchise consisting of an original arcade video game released in 1987 and several later versions and sequels. The games are platform games in which, with two exceptions, the player cannot jump. A bionic arm is used to cross gaps and climb ledges. The player character, Nathan "Rad" Spencer, uses this as a grappling gun/hook to swing, climb and descend through levels. Seven games have been released, from the original 1987 Bionic Commando to 2011's Bionic Commando Rearmed 2. The series is based in an alternate timeline in which Nazism is not completely eradicated following World War II.

Each of the Bionic Commando titles have core gameplay elements that center on the use of protagonist Nathan "Rad" Spencer's bionic arm. This is used as a grappling gun/hook to swing, climb and descend through levels. It is further used in combat to pull towards or push away enemies. Until 2009's Bionic Commando Spencer could not jump as a gameplay mechanic, however this and the follow-up title Bionic Commando Rearmed 2 gave Spencer a simple jump mechanic that works in conjunction with the bionic arm gameplay.

All games but 2009's Bionic Commando are played from a 2D perspective; the game is played primarily from a side-view perspective as and action platform game. Some sequences are played in a top-down view. With the 2009 iteration the game was given full 3D exploration, with perspective being over the shoulder. Here, in addition to the arc of Spencer's swing, the player can control left-right sway of the swing to adjust for targets. For the Rearmed entries the games are rendered in 3D but gameplay is still restricted to a 2D plane, making these 2.5D platform games.

The original Japanese arcade game and its Famicom counterpart (Hitler's Resurrection) are called Top Secret (Japanese: トップシークレット,, Hepburn: Toppu Shīkuretto). The original arcade game was advertised in the United States as a sequel to Commando, going as far to refer to the game's main character as Super Joe (the protagonist of Commando) in the promotional brochure,[7] who was originally an unnamed member of a "special commando unit" in the Japanese and World versions.[8][9] In 1988, Capcom produced a home version for the Nintendo Entertainment System, also titled Bionic Commando, that was drastically different from the original arcade game. A version much truer to the coin-op original was released for the Amiga (OCS) in 1988;[10] it was also ported to the other leading micros: the Atari ST, Commodore 64,[11] Amstrad CPC and ZX Spectrum. They were "wire action" games created by Tokuro Fujiwara, based on his earlier 1983 arcade game Roc'n Rope. He originally intended Bionic Commando to be an expanded version of its predecessor Roc'n Rope.[12] The music for the original arcade game was developed by Harumi Fujita, a member of the then all-female Capcom Sound Team. Fellow female video game composer Junko Tamiya adapted two of the original arcade tracks (The "Bionic Commando Theme" and "The Powerplant") and expanded the soundtrack by adding several new songs in the console versions for the Japanese Famicom and the NES ports of the game.[1]

An adaptation of Bionic Commando for the Game Boy was released in 1992. There was also an MSdos/386 version of the game available circa 1991. A sequel, Bionic Commando: Elite Forces, was released in 1999 for the Game Boy Color. Though it borrows some elements from its predecessors, Elite Forces has a different plot from the rest of the series. Also, the characters (an unnamed male or female commando) have a few more moves, such as the ability to climb down from platforms, and can also utilize a sniper rifle in some segments to eliminate distant enemies.

In November 2015, Capcom released the 5 Disc Senjo no Okami & Top Secret Original Sound Collection (戦場の狼トップシークレットオリジナルサウンドコレクション)[13] It included the soundtrack from all in-house developed games from those two series. Manami Matsumae wrote the liner notes.[14]

Protagonist Nathan Spencer has been featured as a playable character in Marvel vs. Capcom 3: Fate of Two Worlds and a follow-up title, Marvel vs. Capcom: Infinite. The Capcom free-to-play card game Teppen featured an event that combined Bionic Commando themes with Cannon Spike. Here Nathan Spencer is available as a card to collect and use.

The game was advertised in the United States as a sequel to Commando, going as far to refer to the game's main character as Super Joe (the protagonist of Commando) in the promotional brochure,[8] who was originally an unnamed member of a "special commando unit" in the Japanese and international versions.[9][10]

The protagonist is a commando equipped with a bionic arm featuring a grappling gun, allowing him to pull himself forward or swing from the ceiling. Despite being a platform game, the player cannot jump. To cross gaps or climb ledges, the hero must use the bionic arm.

It was later released for several home systems (ported by Software Creations and published by Go!). Capcom later produced a home version for the Nintendo Entertainment System, also titled Bionic Commando, that was drastically different from the arcade game.

The story takes place ten years after an unspecified World War between two warring factions.[11] The game follows a commando who must infiltrate an enemy base and foil the enemy's plot to launch missiles. The hero must stop a missile from launching and then fight the final boss, the leader of the enemy forces, guarded by an armed bodyguard.

The game is presented in a side-scrolling format, with eight-way scrolling.[12] Unlike most platform games, the player is unable to jump, instead navigating the level via the use of a mechanical arm that can pull him up ledges. The arm may also be used to collect pickups.

Prizes like points and power-ups can only be obtained from crates that come on the screen in a parachute, which can be revealed by shooting them. Unlike most of the later games, the player cannot use the arm and shoot at the same time, the arm cannot be used in the air and the only power-ups are weapon enhancements.

There are home ports for MS-DOS, Amstrad CPC, Commodore 64, ZX Spectrum, Amiga, and Atari ST. For the Commodore 64, there are two distinct versions: a US version by Capcom, and a UK version by Software Creations. In some versions, there is an additional level between levels 3 and 4, featuring enemy helicopters.[citation needed] The UK home computer versions were published by U.S. Gold.[12]

In Japan, Game Machine listed Bionic Commando on their April 15, 1987 issue as being the fifth most-successful table arcade unit of the month.[20] U.S. Gold's release for home computers sold 70,000 copies in the United Kingdom by 1989, becoming their best-selling Capcom release up until then.[12]

Home versions generally received average or decent reviews, apart from the ZX Spectrum version which was greeted by some critical praise, receiving ratings of 9/10 and 92% from Your Sinclair[16] and CRASH.[21]

Bionic Commando (トップシークレット, lit. "Top Secret") is an arcade game produced and released by Capcom in 1987. It was later released for several home computers (ported by Software Creations and published by Go!).

The protagonist of the game is a commando called Super Joe. He is equipped with a bionic arm featuring a grappling gun, allowing him to pull himself forward or swing from the ceiling. The series is notable for being one of few instances of a platform game in which the player cannot jump. To cross gaps or climb ledges, the hero must use his bionic arm.

Step 1:

Go to the classicreload site. In the top right of your browser screen, find an icon with "ad blocker" or something similar in the title (hover or click the icons to find out what they do.)

Even though Indie Retro News has been flooded with new game updates, we have another Amiga news story to share with you all. As if you have been following Neeso Games upcoming Amiga game of Jackal, which is a remake of the NES top-down shooter of the same name, then you might be interested to know the same developer *might* be working on a Bionic Commando clone on the Amiga with the Scorpion Engine. Although he does state "Basic movement is there, now I have to replace the jump with the hook mechanic, it's going to be tricky :)".

Here is what Wikipedia says about the classic game of Bionic Commando. "Bionic Commando was originally released by Capcom in the arcades in 1987 designed by Tokuro Fujiwara as a successor to his earlier "wire action" platformer Roc'n Rope (1983), with the music composed by Harumi Fujita for the Yamaha YM2151 sound chip. The protagonist is a commando equipped with a bionic arm featuring a grappling gun, allowing him to pull himself forward or swing from the ceiling. Capcom later produced a home version for the Nintendo Entertainment System, also titled Bionic Commando, that was drastically different from the arcade game".

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Bionic Commando, released in Japan as .mw-parser-output .t_nihongo_iconcolor:#00eTop Secret (トップシークレット,, Toppu Shīkuretto?), is a 1987 action platform game released by Capcom for the arcade. It was later released for several home computers (ported by Software Creations and published by Go!). An emulation of the arcade version is included in Capcom Classics Collection for PlayStation 2 and Xbox; and Capcom Classics Collection Remixed for PSP.

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