Bionic Commando
Bionic Commando | ||||||||||||||||||
Arcade - USA. |
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Bionic Commando is a military themed platform shooter developed and published by Capcom, originally released for the arcade on 1987-03-20, and later ported to many other platforms. This was the first title in the Bionic Commando series which has spawned several more games including various remakes and reboots.
In the game, you play a soldier who uses his bionic grappling hook arm to infiltrate an enemy army. You can throw your arm and connect it to various platforms to swing your way around the maps, but it can also be employed as a defensive shield by punching away enemies and their projectiles. You have to make your way through five stages before confronting the enemy general.
Contents
Personal
Own? | No. |
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Won? | No. |
I first learned about Bionic Commando after playing the NES remake. While I was creating a Web page shrine for the game, and learned about the original arcade game and its various ports. Having never even seen the game in an arcade, I played it on MAME, and was quite disappointed by it. The NES remake was markedly better. However, while playing the game, I spent of lot of time getting to know it, and, while I still find it to be pretty awful, can now appreciate it.
Review
3 | 3 | 5 | 5 | 2 |
Best Version: Arcade
— This section contains spoilers! —
Good
- The game is technically impressive for its time with impressive video and audio hardware.
- The game has a wide assortment of characters and backgrounds, all of which are beautifully drawn.
- Harumi Fujita's soundtrack sounds properly militant.
- Each stage is pretty unique introducing new enemies, hazards, and mechanics.
- The swing mechanic was certainly a creative concept.
Bad
- It takes a lot of practice to get used to the movement of the bionic arm.
Ugly
- The game is way too hard, even when you set it to easy mode. This is mostly due to a frustratingly slow bionic arm and obnoxiously fast enemies. But there are also sections of the game where you have no choice but to move up to a platform swarming with enemies, which is extremely difficult to do without getting hit. And, since this game doesn't give you hit points, it's often a death sentence.
Media
Box Art
North American releases for the Amiga, Commodore 64, and DOS (as well as the very different NES port) use this art. The painting is modified from the side art of the arcade cabinet. It's very nicely painted, and features many of the various enemies you meet in the game. It also uses the arcade cabinet logo. My only problem with it is that the main character doesn't look right. My favorite box.
European releases for the Amiga, Amstrad CPC, Atari ST, Commodore 64, DOS, and ZX Spectrum use this art. It's based off the Japanese arcade flyer, only with a more European cartoon style. The painting is pretty good, but the player's faces is pretty jacked. This uses the superior in-game arcade logo.
Documentation
Maps
Screenshots
Videos
Logos
There are four separate logos used for the various Bionic Commando arcade versions. The original Japanese Top Secret logo, the arcade cabinet logo, the arcade game logo, and a plural "Bionic Commandos" logo based on the in-game arcade logo.
Play Online
Amiga, Amstrad CPC, Arcade, Commodore 64, MS-DOS, ZX Spectrum
Representation
Strong female character? | Fail | There are no women. |
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Bechdel test? | Fail | There are no women. |
Strong person of color character? | Fail | Everyone appears to be white. |
Queer character? | Fail | There are no queer characters. |
Titles
Language | Native | Transliteration | Translation |
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English (Europe) | Bionic Commandos | ||
English (USA) | Bionic Commando | ||
Japanese | トップシークレット | Toppu Shikuretto | Top Secret |
Links
- thealmightyguru.com/Reviews/BionicCommando/Wiki/index.php - Bionic Commando Database.
- Video Games
- 1987 Video Games
- Video games developed by Capcom
- Video games published by Capcom
- Amiga Games
- Amstrad CPC Games
- Arcade Games
- Atari ST Games
- Commodore 64 Games
- DOS Games
- ZX Spectrum Games
- Video Game Genre - Action
- Video Game Genre - Platform shooter
- Video Game Genre - Platformer
- Video Game Genre - Shooter
- Media Theme - Action
- Media Theme - Science Fiction
- Media Theme - War
- Multiplayer
- Multiplayer Alternating versus
- Video Games I Don't Own
- Video Games I Haven't Beaten
- Video Game Rating - 3
- Video Game Graphics Rating - 5
- Video Game Sound Rating - 5
- Video games which can be played online
- Video games without a strong female character
- Video games that fail the Bechdel test
- Video games without a strong person of color character
- Video games without a queer character
- Video Game Prime Order - Action, Adventure, Strategy
- 4-bit Color Graphics