Bionic Commando: Elite Forces

Bionic Commando: Elite Forces

Game Boy Color - USA - 1st edition.

Developer Nintendo Software Technology Publisher Nintendo Published 2000-01-?? Platforms Game Boy Color Genres Action, Metroidvania, , Platform shooter, Platformer, Shooter Themes Action, Adventure, Science Fiction Series Bionic Commando Distribution Commercial

Bionic Commando: Elite Forces is a platform shooter developed by Nintendo Software Technology and published on the Game Boy Color by Nintendo in January 2000. Strangely, though Bionic Commando is Capcom's intellectual property, they chose to have Nintendo Software Technology develop the game essentially without their involvement. This was Nintendo Software Technology's very first game, and it shows. Unlike the Game Boy port which was mostly a remake of the NES game, Elite Forces is a completely new game in a different setting with a different enemy, with only a few similarities to the original. The game must not have sold well because Capcom didn't even bother with a Japanese release.

Personal

Own?	No.
Won?	Yes.
Finished	Mid 2000s.

Being a huge fan of Bionic Commando, I played this game around 2005 and was thoroughly disappointed. I'm glad I didn't spend money on it.

Review

4	4	4	4	3

Best Version: Game Boy Color

— This section contains spoilers! —

Good

• Capcom finally decided to give the game a unique title to distinguish it from the other games in the series!
• There are a couple new mechanics, like sniper shooting, which are interesting.
• Kudos to the developers for adding a female playable character option.
• The item graphics are large and well-drawn.
• The box art is pretty good.

Bad

• The game's graphics aren't very good. The sprites are passable, but the backgrounds are really messy.
• The music is adaquate for a Game Boy Color game, but it isn't up to par with the previous games in the series.
• The designers kept the main game mechanics the same, but changed all of the story elements. The game takes place in a fictional land, with fictional characters, and fictional enemies. This is not nearly as cool as killin' Nazis!
• Player control is sub-optimal, and the arm mechanic isn't as smooth as the NES or Game Boy games.
• The manual is poorly made.

Ugly

• Overall, the game is amateur. Capcom should have either made it in-house, or forced their developer to do a better job.

Media

Box Art

• 

  USA.

Documentation

• 

  Manual - USA.

Videos

Longplay.

Play Online

Game Boy Color

Representation

Strong female character?	Pass	You can play the whole game as a woman.
Bechdel test?	Fail	There is only one woman.
Strong person of color character?	Fail	Everyone appears to be white.
Queer character?	Fail	There are no queer characters.

Links