''Bionic Commando'', released in Japan as is a 1987 run and gun platform

video game A video game or computer game is an electronic game that involves interaction with a user interface or input device (such as a joystick, game controller, controller, computer keyboard, keyboard, or motion sensing device) to generate visual fe ...

developed and published by

Capcom is a Japanese video game company. It has created a number of critically acclaimed and List of best-selling video game franchises, multi-million-selling game franchises, with its most commercially successful being ''Resident Evil'', ''Monster ...

for arcades. It was designed by

Tokuro Fujiwara , sometimes credited as Professor F or Arthur King, is a Japanese video game designer, involved in the development of many classic Capcom video games. He directed early Capcom titles such as the run-and-gun shooter ''Commando'' (1985), the plat ...

as a successor to his earlier "wire action" platformer '' Roc'n Rope'' (1983), building on its

grappling hook A grappling hook or grapnel is a device that typically has multiple hooks (known as ''claws'' or ''flukes'') attached to a rope or cable; it is thrown, dropped, sunk, projected, or fastened directly by hand to where at least one hook may cat ...

mechanic; he was also the designer of ''

Commando A commando is a combatant, or operative of an elite light infantry or special operations force, specially trained for carrying out raids and operating in small teams behind enemy lines. Originally, "a commando" was a type of combat unit, as oppo ...

'' (1985). The music was composed by Harumi Fujita for the

Yamaha YM2151 The Yamaha YM2151, also known as OPM (FM Operator Type-M) is an eight-channel, four-operator sound chip developed by Yamaha. It was Yamaha's first single-chip FM synthesis implementation, being created originally for some of the Yamaha DX series ...

sound chip A sound chip is an integrated circuit (chip) designed to produce audio signals through digital, analog or mixed-mode electronics. Sound chips are typically fabricated on metal–oxide–semiconductor (MOS) mixed-signal chips that process a ...

. It is the first installment of the ''

Bionic Commando ''Bionic Commando'' is a series of Platformer, platform video games developed and owned by Capcom. Unique from other platformers, the player character is unable to jump, instead using a bionic arm to cross gaps and climb ledges. The player char ...

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

bionic Bionics or biologically inspired engineering is the application of biological methods and systems found in nature to the study and design of engineering systems and modern technology. The word ''bionic'', coined by Jack E. Steele in August 19 ...

arm featuring a grappling gun, allowing him to pull himself forward or swing from the ceiling. Despite being a

platform game A platformer (also called a platform game, and sometimes a jump 'n' run game) is a subgenre of action game in which the core objective is to move the player character between points in an environment. Platform games are characterized by levels wi ...

, 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 In software engineering, porting is the process of adapting software for the purpose of achieving some form of execution in a computing environment that is different from the one that a given program (meant for such execution) was originally desig ...

Software Creations Acclaim Studios Manchester (formerly Software Creations) was a British video game developer based in Manchester, England. The company was established in 1985 by Richard Kay. They were primarily known for their video games based on movie and com ...

and published by Go!). Capcom later produced a home version for the

Nintendo Entertainment System The Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) is an 8-bit home video game console developed and marketed by Nintendo. It was first released in Japan on 15 July 1983 as the and was later released as the redesigned NES in several test markets in the ...

, also titled ''

'', that was drastically different from the arcade game.

Plot

The story takes place ten years after an unspecified World War between two warring factions. The game follows a commando who must infiltrate an enemy base and foil the enemy's plot to launch missiles by destroying the launch computer. The player then fights the final boss, the leader of the enemy forces, protected by armed bodyguards.

Gameplay

The game is presented in a

side-scrolling A side-scrolling video game (alternatively side-scroller) is a video game viewed from a side-view camera angle where the screen follows the player as they move left or right. The jump from single-screen or flip-screen graphics to scrolling grap ...

format, with eight-way

scrolling In computer displays, filmmaking, television production, video games and other kinetic displays, scrolling is sliding text, images or video across a monitor or display, vertically or horizontally. "Scrolling," as such, does not change the layout ...

. Unlike most

platform games A platformer (also called a platform game, and sometimes a jump 'n' run game) is a subgenre of action game in which the core objective is to move the player character between points in an environment. Platform games are characterized by levels wi ...

, the player is unable to jump, instead navigating the level via the use of a mechanical arm that can be used as a grapple to pull him up ledges, collect

power-up In video games, a power-up is an object that adds temporary benefits or extra abilities to the player character as a Game mechanics, game mechanic. This is in contrast to an Item (game), item, which may or may not have a permanent benefit that ca ...

s and as an offensive weapon against enemies. Prizes such as points and power-ups can only be obtained from crates that appear on the screen suspended from a

parachute A parachute is a device designed to slow an object's descent through an atmosphere by creating Drag (physics), drag or aerodynamic Lift (force), lift. It is primarily used to safely support people exiting aircraft at height, but also serves va ...

and are revealed by shooting them. Unlike most of the later games in the series, 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.

Ports

There are home ports for

MS-DOS MS-DOS ( ; acronym for Microsoft Disk Operating System, also known as Microsoft DOS) is an operating system for x86-based personal computers mostly developed by Microsoft. Collectively, MS-DOS, its rebranding as IBM PC DOS, and a few op ...

Amstrad CPC The Amstrad CPC (short for "Colour Personal Computer") is a series of 8-bit home computers produced by Amstrad between 1984 and 1990. It was designed to compete in the mid-1980s home computer market dominated by the Commodore 64 and the ZX Spec ...

Commodore 64 The Commodore 64, also known as the C64, is an 8-bit computing, 8-bit home computer introduced in January 1982 by Commodore International (first shown at the Consumer Electronics Show, January 7–10, 1982, in Las Vegas). It has been listed in ...

ZX Spectrum The ZX Spectrum () is an 8-bit computing, 8-bit home computer developed and marketed by Sinclair Research. One of the most influential computers ever made and one of the all-time bestselling British computers, over five million units were sold. ...

Amiga Amiga is a family of personal computers produced by Commodore International, Commodore from 1985 until the company's bankruptcy in 1994, with production by others afterward. The original model is one of a number of mid-1980s computers with 16-b ...

, and

Atari ST Atari ST is a line of personal computers from Atari Corporation and the successor to the company's Atari 8-bit computers, 8-bit computers. The initial model, the Atari 520ST, had limited release in April–June 1985, and was widely available i ...

. 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. The UK home computer versions were published by U.S. Gold. The music for the ZX Spectrum, Atari ST, Amiga, and Commodore 64 PAL conversion was arranged by Tim Follin, using a music driver programmed by Stephen Ruddy.

Reception

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. 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. 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 ''Your Sinclair'', originally ''Your Spectrum'' or ''YS'', is a discontinued British computer magazine for the Sinclair range of computers, mainly the ZX Spectrum. It was commercially published between 1984 and 1993. History The magazine was la ...

'' and '' CRASH''. The game was voted Best 8-bit Soundtrack of the Year at the

Golden Joystick Awards The Golden Joystick Awards, also known as the People's Gaming Awards, is a video game award ceremony; it awards the best video games of the year, as voted for originally by the British general public, but is now a global event that can be voted ...

. Kurt Kalata of ''

Hardcore Gaming 101 ''Hardcore Gaming 101'' is an online video game magazine founded by Kurt Kalata in 2004. Kalata established the site after graduating college, when he noticed the overabundance of game strategy guides, and felt that someone should create more boo ...

'' called ''Bionic Commando "''totally brilliant" for how it replaces the jumping mechanics used in most platformer games with grappling mechanics, writing, "It necessitates almost entirely rewiring one’s brain in order to successfully play the game".

Legacy

The world record high score for ''Bionic Commando'' was set in October 2007 by Rudy Chavez of

Los Angeles, California Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

. Chavez scored 2,251,090 points. An emulation of the arcade version is included in '' Capcom Classics Collection Vol. 1'' for

PlayStation 2 The PlayStation 2 (PS2) is a home video game console developed and marketed by Sony Interactive Entertainment, Sony Computer Entertainment. It was first released in Japan on 4 March 2000, in North America on 26 October, in Europe on 24 Novembe ...

and

Xbox Xbox is a video gaming brand that consists of four main home video game console lines, as well as application software, applications (games), the streaming media, streaming service Xbox Cloud Gaming, and online services such as the Xbox networ ...

; and '' Capcom Classics Collection Remixed'' for

PlayStation Portable The PlayStation Portable (PSP) is a handheld game console developed and marketed by Sony Interactive Entertainment, Sony Computer Entertainment. It was first released in Japan on December 12, 2004, in North America on March 24, 2005, and in PA ...

Notes

References

{{Bionic Commando 1987 video games Amiga games Amstrad CPC games Arcade video games Atari ST games Capcom games Commodore 64 games Crash Smash! award winners DOS games Golden Joystick Award winners Platformers Run and gun games Side-scrolling video games ZX Spectrum games Bionic Commando Multiplayer and single-player video games Video games developed in Japan Video games about cyborgs Video games scored by Harumi Fujita Video games scored by Tim Follin sv:Bionic Commando