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Bionic Commando (1987 video game)
1987 arcade video game

Bionic Commando, released in Japan as Top Secret is a 1987 run and gun platform video game developed and published by Capcom for arcades. It was designed by Tokuro Fujiwara as a successor to his earlier "wire action" platformer Roc'n Rope (1983), building on its grappling hook mechanic; he was also the designer of Commando (1985). The music was composed by Harumi Fujita for the Yamaha YM2151 sound chip. It is the first installment of the Bionic Commando 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 arm featuring a grappling gun, allowing him to pull himself forward or swing from the ceiling. Despite being a platform game, 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 by Software Creations and published by Go!). Capcom later produced a home version for the Nintendo Entertainment System, also titled Bionic Commando, that was drastically different from the arcade game.

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Plot

The story takes place ten years after an unspecified World War between two warring factions.7 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 format, with eight-way scrolling.8 Unlike most platform games, 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-ups 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 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, Amstrad CPC, Commodore 64, ZX Spectrum, Amiga, and Atari ST. 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.9

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

ReceptionReview scores
PublicationScore
Crash92%10
Computer and Video Games9/1011
Sinclair User12
Your Sinclair9/1013
ACE838/100014
The Games Machine91%15
Awards
PublicationAward
Golden Joystick AwardsBest 8-bit Soundtrack16
CrashCrash Smash

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.17 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.18

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 Sinclair19 and CRASH.20

The game was voted Best 8-bit Soundtrack of the Year at the Golden Joystick Awards.21

Kurt Kalata of Hardcore Gaming 101 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".22

Legacy

The world record high score for Bionic Commando was set in October 2007 by Rudy Chavez of Los Angeles, California. Chavez scored 2,251,090 points.23

An emulation of the arcade version is included in Capcom Classics Collection Vol. 1 for PlayStation 2 and Xbox; and Capcom Classics Collection Remixed for PlayStation Portable.

Notes

References

  1. Japanese: トップシークレット, Hepburn: Toppu Shīkuretto /wiki/Japanese_language ↩

  2. "Makaimura o Tsukutta Otoko: Fujiwara Tokurō-shi Interview ni Tsuite" (「魔界村」を創った男：藤原得郎氏インタビューについて) [The Man Who Made Ghosts’n Goblins: Interview with Tokuro Fujiwara]. CONTINUE (in Japanese). Vol. 12. October 2003. Archived from the original on March 6, 2009. Retrieved April 16, 2021. (「魔界村」を創った男：藤原得郎氏インタビューについて) ↩

  3. "Junko Tamiya Interview: Creating Capcom's Incredible NES Scores". Video Game Music Online. May 19, 2014. Retrieved February 13, 2016. http://www.vgmonline.net/junkotamiyainterview/ ↩

  4. "The Arcade Flyer Archive - Video Game: Bionic Commando, Capcom". http://flyers.arcade-museum.com/?page=flyer&db=videodb&id=122&image=1 ↩

  5. "The Arcade Flyer Archive - Video Game: Bionic Commando, Capcom". http://www.arcadeflyers.com/?page=thumbs&db=videodb&id=5888 ↩

  6. "The Arcade Flyer Archive - Video Game: Top Secret, Capcom". http://www.arcadeflyers.com/?page=thumbs&db=videodb&id=5702 ↩

  7. Capcom. Bionic Commando (Arcade). Level/area: Instruction manual, page 1. It has been 10 years since the devastating world war. The enemy surprised us with gigantic missiles this time. ↩

  8. "Capcom: A Captive Audience". The Games Machine. No. 19 (June 1989). May 18, 1989. pp. 24–5. https://archive.org/details/the-games-machine-19/page/n23/mode/2up ↩

  9. "Capcom: A Captive Audience". The Games Machine. No. 19 (June 1989). May 18, 1989. pp. 24–5. https://archive.org/details/the-games-machine-19/page/n23/mode/2up ↩

  10. "Archive - Magazine viewer". World of Spectrum. Retrieved April 4, 2013. http://www.worldofspectrum.org/showmag.cgi?mag=Crash/Issue53/Pages/Crash5300019.jpg ↩

  11. "Archive - Magazine viewer". World of Spectrum. Retrieved April 4, 2013. http://www.worldofspectrum.org/showmag.cgi?mag=C+VG/Issue082/Pages/CVG08200063.jpg ↩

  12. "Archive - Magazine viewer". World of Spectrum. Retrieved April 4, 2013. http://www.worldofspectrum.org/showmag.cgi?mag=SinclairUser/Issue075/Pages/SinclairUser07500077.jpg ↩

  13. Berkmann, Marcus (June 14, 1988). "Reviews: Bionic Commando". Your Sinclair. No. 31 (July 1988). pp. 68–9. Archived from the original on June 16, 2013. Retrieved April 16, 2021. https://archive.org/details/your-sinclair-31/page/n67 ↩

  14. "Archive - Magazine viewer". World of Spectrum. Retrieved April 4, 2013. http://www.worldofspectrum.org/showmag.cgi?mag=ACE/Issue10/Pages/ACE1000059.jpg ↩

  15. "Archive - Magazine viewer". World of Spectrum. Retrieved April 4, 2013. http://www.worldofspectrum.org/showmag.cgi?mag=TheGamesMachine/Issue09/Pages/TheGamesMachine0900049.jpg ↩

  16. "Archive - Magazine viewer". World of Spectrum. Retrieved January 31, 2012. http://www.worldofspectrum.org/showmag.cgi?mag=C+VG/Issue092/Pages/CVG09200062.jpg ↩

  17. "Game Machine's Best Hit Games 25 - テーブル型TVゲーム機 (Table Videos)". Game Machine (in Japanese). No. 306. Amusement Press, Inc. April 15, 1987. p. 21. https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E3%82%B2%E3%83%BC%E3%83%A0%E3%83%9E%E3%82%B7%E3%83%B3 ↩

  18. "Capcom: A Captive Audience". The Games Machine. No. 19 (June 1989). May 18, 1989. pp. 24–5. https://archive.org/details/the-games-machine-19/page/n23/mode/2up ↩

  19. Berkmann, Marcus (June 14, 1988). "Reviews: Bionic Commando". Your Sinclair. No. 31 (July 1988). pp. 68–9. Archived from the original on June 16, 2013. Retrieved April 16, 2021. https://archive.org/details/your-sinclair-31/page/n67 ↩

  20. "CRASH 53". Crashonline.org.uk. Retrieved January 31, 2012. http://www.crashonline.org.uk/53/bionic.htm ↩

  21. "Archive - Magazine viewer". World of Spectrum. Retrieved January 31, 2012. http://www.worldofspectrum.org/showmag.cgi?mag=C+VG/Issue092/Pages/CVG09200062.jpg ↩

  22. "Bionic Commando (Arcade) – Hardcore Gaming 101". Retrieved January 12, 2024. http://www.hardcoregaming101.net/bionic-commando-arcade/ ↩

  23. "Bionic Commando High Score". TwinGalaxies.com. Retrieved March 15, 2011. http://www.twingalaxies.com/php/scores/getScoreDetails.php?si=94796 ↩