is a

turn-based strategy Strategy video game is a major video game genre that focuses on analyzing and strategizing over direct quick reaction in order to secure success. Although many types of video games can contain strategic elements, the strategy genre is most commo ...

video game based on the 1960s television series originally broadcast on the

ABC Television Network The American Broadcasting Company (ABC) is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network that serves as the flagship property of the Disney Entertainment division of the Walt Disney Company. ABC is headquartered on Riverside ...

. It was released for the

Super Famicom The Super Nintendo Entertainment System, commonly shortened to Super Nintendo, Super NES or SNES, is a Fourth generation of video game consoles, 16-bit home video game console developed by Nintendo that was released in 1990 in Japan, 1991 in No ...

exclusively in Japan.

Summary

The player can play either as Sgt. Saunders or as one of the Axis forces that fought in

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

and

North Africa North Africa (sometimes Northern Africa) is a region encompassing the northern portion of the African continent. There is no singularly accepted scope for the region. However, it is sometimes defined as stretching from the Atlantic shores of t ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

(

Vichy France Vichy France (; 10 July 1940 – 9 August 1944), officially the French State ('), was a French rump state headed by Marshal Philippe Pétain during World War II, established as a result of the French capitulation after the Battle of France, ...

Fascist Italy Fascist Italy () is a term which is used in historiography to describe the Kingdom of Italy between 1922 and 1943, when Benito Mussolini and the National Fascist Party controlled the country, transforming it into a totalitarian dictatorship. Th ...

, and

Nazi Germany Nazi Germany, officially known as the German Reich and later the Greater German Reich, was the German Reich, German state between 1933 and 1945, when Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party controlled the country, transforming it into a Totalit ...

MIDI Musical Instrument Digital Interface (; MIDI) is an American-Japanese technical standard that describes a communication protocol, digital interface, and electrical connectors that connect a wide variety of electronic musical instruments, ...

-quality sound faithfully captures the

theme music Theme music is a musical composition which is often written specifically for radio programming, television shows, video games, or films and is usually played during the title sequence, opening credits, closing credits, and in some instances at ...

of the original television program. In addition, the

montage Montage may refer to: Arts and entertainment Filmmaking and films * Montage (filmmaking), a technique in film editing * ''Montage'' (2013 film), a South Korean film Music * Montage (music), or sound collage * ''Montage'' (EP), a 2017 EP by ...

of the series cast added a sense of austerity and seriousness into the game itself. The graphics and animations are neither cute,

super deformed ''Chibi'', also known as ''super deformation'' (''SD''), is an art style originating in Japan, and common in anime and manga where characters are drawn in an exaggerated way, typically small and chubby with stubby limbs, oversized heads, and ...

, or in the

anime is a Traditional animation, hand-drawn and computer animation, computer-generated animation originating from Japan. Outside Japan and in English, ''anime'' refers specifically to animation produced in Japan. However, , in Japan and in Ja ...

style - depicting a "live action war" with "live action characters". Although most of the characters in ''Sgt. Saunder's Combat!'' are fictitious, there are four

commanding officer The commanding officer (CO) or commander, or sometimes, if the incumbent is a general officer, commanding general (CG), is the officer in command of a military unit. The commanding officer has ultimate authority over the unit, and is usually give ...

s in the game that actually existed and served in World War II: * Lesley J. McNair (U.S. Army) *

Anthony McAuliffe General Anthony Clement "Nuts" McAuliffe (2 July 1898 – 10 August 1975) was a senior United States Army officer who earned fame as the acting commander of the 101st Airborne Division defending Bastogne, Belgium, during the Battle of the Bulge ...

(U.S. Army) * Karl Bülowius (German officer for

Panzer Army Africa The Panzer Army Africa (German language, German: ''Panzerarmee Afrika''; Italian language, Italian: ''Gruppo Corazzato Africa'') was a joint German-Italian field army that fought in the North African campaign during World War II. It consisted of ...

) - listed in game as ''Karl'' *

Joachim Peiper Joachim Peiper (30 January 1915 – 14 July 1976) was a German ''Schutzstaffel'' (SS) colonel, convicted war criminal and car salesman. During the Second World War in Europe, Peiper served as personal adjutant to Heinrich Himmler, leader of the ...

(German SS Officer)

Gameplay

The object in the game is to defeat

Adolf Hitler Adolf Hitler (20 April 1889 – 30 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was the dictator of Nazi Germany from 1933 until Death of Adolf Hitler, his suicide in 1945. Adolf Hitler's rise to power, He rose to power as the lea ...

and

Benito Mussolini Benito Amilcare Andrea Mussolini (29 July 188328 April 1945) was an Italian politician and journalist who, upon assuming office as Prime Minister of Italy, Prime Minister, became the dictator of Fascist Italy from the March on Rome in 1922 un ...

so that the U.S. forces can concentrate on the Pacific Front against the

Empire of Japan The Empire of Japan, also known as the Japanese Empire or Imperial Japan, was the Japanese nation state that existed from the Meiji Restoration on January 3, 1868, until the Constitution of Japan took effect on May 3, 1947. From Japan–Kor ...

. The orders are in English, and are subtitled in Japanese, even though the game was never released in either North America or Europe. Using the ''Super Famicom'' mouse or the ''Super Famicom'' controller, the players gives commands to each individual unit that is under his or her control. Orders range from moving a friendly unit, attacking an enemy unit, treating a wounded person (including himself), summoning an

artillery Artillery consists of ranged weapons that launch Ammunition, munitions far beyond the range and power of infantry firearms. Early artillery development focused on the ability to breach defensive walls and fortifications during sieges, and l ...

attack, exchanging

weapon A weapon, arm, or armament is any implement or device that is used to deter, threaten, inflict physical damage, harm, or kill. Weapons are used to increase the efficacy and efficiency of activities such as hunting, crime (e.g., murder), law ...

s/ items, and even fixing weapons that get jammed after repeated use. The game has two difficulty levels; normal and expert. In the normal mode, Sgt. Saunders or his German counterpart (depending on the scenario) is strong and can fend off any blows, but in the expert mode, Sgt. Saunders can get wounded or even killed - causing the mission to immediately end with a complete failure for the player and an immediate victory for the computer opponent. After each player has completed all eight phases that consists of a single turn, both players engage all opponents that are on the same square as their unit(s) in a crisis mode. Before the next turn can begin, the player must either release the hostage, kill the hostage in hand-to-hand combat, or merely capture him as a prisoner of war. Just like in real life combat, not all actions will be successful and most will end in failure if the enemy is strong enough to resist. A percentage gauge in addition to an advisor gives players the chance of failure for each action. The closer to 100% the gauge is, the chances of success with a certain action will increase. During the campaign mode, a player is given a squad of units to command. While other infantry units, tanks, and motorized units (including half-ton trucks produced by GMC during the 1940s) can be seen in the game, they cannot be controlled by the player. Since this game is played by Japanese school children in

primary school A primary school (in Ireland, India, the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica, South Africa, and Singapore), elementary school, or grade school (in North America and the Philippines) is a school for primary ...

blood Blood is a body fluid in the circulatory system of humans and other vertebrates that delivers necessary substances such as nutrients and oxygen to the cells, and transports metabolic waste products away from those same cells. Blood is com ...

is considered to be completely absent in the game. Shooting the enemy requires the victim to go through a bureaucracy of stages - dizzy,

unconscious Unconscious may refer to: Physiology * Unconsciousness, the lack of consciousness or responsiveness to people and other environmental stimuli Psychology * Unconscious mind, the mind operating well outside the attention of the conscious mind a ...

, wounded, then finally

death Death is the end of life; the irreversible cessation of all biological functions that sustain a living organism. Death eventually and inevitably occurs in all organisms. The remains of a former organism normally begin to decompose sh ...

. Gunshots cause death slowly, while tanks and artillery can cause instant deaths; this can depend on the strength of the weapon in addition to the range between the victim and the unit that is using the weapon. After beating the campaign mode of the game, the ending screen consists of the surviving officers along with their ranks and their accomplishments during the war.

References

Notes

External links

''Sgt. Saunders' Combat'' Information

Videos of ''Sgt. Saunders' Combat!'' {{in lang, ja
at Nico Video 1995 video games ASCII Corporation games Japan-exclusive video games Super Nintendo Entertainment System games Super Nintendo Entertainment System-only games Video games based on television series Video games developed in Japan Video games set in Africa Video games with isometric graphics War video games set in Europe World War II video games Single-player video games

Summary

Gameplay

See also

References

Notes

External links