Albatross
From Bionic Commando Database
The Albatross is a huge robotic war machine and was the primary boss to the several versions of the game and also appears in the Worlds of Power book.
Contents |
NES
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| Hits | 40 |
| Area | 12 |
| Weapon | Albatross flames |
In the NES version, the Albatross is a gigantic floating doomsday device that the Nazis were building to help take over the world. However, before they could finish building it, the Allies began winning, Adolf Hitler killed himself, and the Axis lost World War II. The Federation found the Albatross plan, and it was somehow leaked to General Wiseman in the Imperial Army. Wiseman's ambition got the better of him and he decided to use the Imperial Army to put the Albatross project into action. He neared completion, but it turned out that some key information necessary to finish it existed only in the mind of Hitler. Wiseman then decided to resurrect Hitler to get the information. However, while Hitler was in the process of being resurrected the Imperial Army figured out the missing information on their own and finished Albatross. Hitler was just coming back to life as Rad entered the resurrection room, but Wiseman had other plans. With the Albatross completed, he no longer needed Hitler alive, but as he tried to pull the plug, Hitler fights back and somehow electrocutes Wiseman. When Hitler sees that the Albatross is functional he uses it to attack Rad.
Since the Albatross serves as the final boss in the NES version of Bionic Commando, destroying it is no easy task. It is a huge craft lined with flamethrowers that alternate in firing patterns, and the whole ship moves back and forth. The only weak point is up in the corner, deep in the middle of a gauntlet of flamethrowers requiring the player to use precise timing to swing up, latch onto a ledge by it, and fire, all while avoiding the Albatross's defenses and all before the weak point moves off-screen again.
The name was misspelled as Albatros in the NES version.
Game Boy
The Albatross was much larger this time around, being a multi-screen horror instead of the one-screen boss of the NES version.
Elite Forces
In the Elite Forces version, the Albatross is again much larger, comprising the entirety of Area 14, the final Area. According to the general, it is a weapon built by all of the people of the world in unison and used to fight off an ancient alien menace. It was then, as the story went, dismantled and buried deep underground so that no one faction would be able to use its awesome power to dominate the others.
However, Arturus claimed a different origin for the vessel- it was in itself of alien origin, with the ability to morph one who could harness its power into a being of unimaginable strength, in addition to its more obvious armaments of cannons and missiles. His version of the story was perhaps borne out over the General's when he did, in fact, turn into this invincible beast for short periods of time during his fight with one of the commandos from the Elite Forces on board the Albatross.
After the battle, the commando- and Commander Joe- narrowly escaped the exploding Albatross aboard an allied dropship as the charges they'd planted detonated, eliminating the threat once and for all.
Rearmed
The Albatross is once again set to fly again in Bionic Commando: Rearmed, a retelling of the events of the NES title.
