Top Secrets
The year is 1988, and Badds, an evil empire, has declared war against the Federal States of America. But that’s not all, the leader of the imperial army Generalissimo Killt plans to resurrect the empire’s long dead founder, Master-D. Why? Because the master is the only one who can finish the nation’s final war machine, the Albatross. Super Joe, the FSA’s best soldier, goes behind enemy lines but is swiftly caught. So the FSA’s second-best soldier, Nathan ’Ladd’ Spencer, must kill Generalissimo Killt, Master-D, and rescue Joe. This is the story of Bionic Commando, specifically for the NES. But the game franchise had gone through a lot before this entry.The first game in the Bionic Commando series wasn’t even a game in the Bionic Commando series. It was Roc’n Rope, released in 1983 for the arcades by Konami. The game is about an archeologist climbing a mountain to reach a phoenix. The archeologist scales the rocks using a harpoon gun. It wasn’t classified as a platformer but instead was said to be a part of the ‘wire-action’ genre since the player moves by grappling with the harpoon gun and not jumping.
Commando came next in 1985. It was a standard top-down shooter for arcades. Super Joe is a soldier fighting off enemy combatants in a jungle. It’s hardly revolutionary. But CAPCOM couldn’t let go of the idea of a super soldier. It’s just that the game needed something to spice it up. But what? So, a couple of years go by, and some questions are asked. What if Commando was an action-platformer instead of a shmup? What if it was in the wire-action genre? What if the commando was… bionic?
That was when Bionic Commando came out for arcades in 1987. Ladd can’t jump and instead moves by swinging on ceilings, cliffs, and searchlights with his bionic arm. It launches out a claw that tethers to objects and can pull on pillars and barrels. But the game had no story. So, the 1988 home release added some. But you see, everything I had previously told you about was related to the NES version. The original Japanese Famicom release was completely different, especially the name. When it was released in Japanese arcades, Bionic Commando was titled Top Secret. As for the Famicom release? It was titled The Resurrection of Hitler: Top Secret.
The ghostly Hitler says it all.
The Badds are Nazis.
Look Who’s Back
Tokuro Fujiwara is one of those figures in game development history whose legacy is far less recognized than it deserves to be. He was the producer of a ton of CAPCOM video games like Mega Man, Final Fight, and all of those Disney games that the company released throughout the 80s and 90s. He also created the Ghost & Goblins series and even created Sweet Home, the cult classic on the Famicom that would eventually inspire CAPCOM’s most profitable series, Resident Evil. He got his start at Konami but quickly moved on to CAPCOM. This is here he brought his wire-action concept, which he developed in Roc’n Rope, with him. Bionic Commando was a combination of the world set up in Commando with his wire-action genre.
He wanted a story fit for an 80s action movie. You know the type: explosions, guns blazing, a wicked cool protagonist, and an equally evil antagonist. So why not make the game’s antagonists the most villainous group ever, Nazis? The Badds Empire was actually a branch of the Nazi German army that avoided capture at the end of the second world war. Surviving for decades in secret, the army has reemerged and conquered territories in Europe. But their ultimate goal is to revive their Fuhrer after his suicide to revive the Third Reich.
Of course, the West is incredibly sensitive to how Nazis are depicted in media compared to Japan. So, Nintendo of America heavily edited the story and visuals to make them less offensive. However, they never changed Master-D’s appearance. He is still obviously Adolf Hitler, including his infamous mustache.
Years go by, and there isn’t a new Bionic Commando. There was nothing outside of two small games for the Gameboy in 1992 and 2000. Until 2008, when CAPCOM decided to revive the series with a remake. However, the concept behind the original game is still unacceptable. Any video game with Nazis in it is immediately rated M for Mature by the ESRB. Germany outright forbids any game with Nazi iconography from being sold or distributed. Even Japan itself has instituted rules about Nazis in video games. CERO does not allow for any modern historical figures to appear in video games unless it is a parody.
An interesting example of how CERO's rules has effected games includes Persona 2: Innocent Sin which included the dictator in its original release (1999) but redesigned him as 'The Fuhrer' in the rerelease (2011).
Fine Tuning The Bionics
The game was developed by Grin AB, a game developer from Sweden. They made the game with their Diesel Engine. It was pretty awkward to make because they had to reverse-engineer the game from the Famicom. It was especially hard to get the physics of the swinging bionic arm down to a T. According to the Creative Director Simon Viklund, the team took screenshots and videos of gameplay of the old game and played them on a screen next to their animation software to get the timing and spacing right.The game was featured alongside… something else… on the Bionic Commando website. There were fan polls, forums, and exclusive wallpapers and music for anyone to download. The game was marketed at San Diego Comic-con with a special trailer featuring Ichirou Mizuki singing an anime opening inspired song titled, “Go! Go! Bionic!” which is far more fun than you would expect it to be. Both the song and the rest of the game’s soundtrack were composed by Viklund himself.
One of the weirdest things I discovered in my research of the game’s development was the arguments CAPCOM had with Grin over pricing. Grin believed that since it was a digital-only release and the game was only a prelude for… something else… it should be priced at around $10. CAPCOM higher-ups thought the game had enough content for a $15 price tag. So, to settle the dispute, on February 19th of 2008, the Bionic Commando website was updated with another fan poll over whether the game should be $10 or $15. Obviously, the $10 option won by a landslide.
Bionic Commando Rearmed was released on August 13th, 2008, for the Xbox 360 and PS3. Though the price was $10 for Xbox and PS3, the PC release still cost $15, though it would eventually go down to $10 after a couple of years.
New Faces
From a super soldier to Val Kilmer
There is also Gottfried Groeder, the first bionic soldier of the Badds Empire, who was the one who captured Super Joe and becomes Rad’s rival throughout the story. He pops up every once in a while, and Rad will have a conversation with the beast. These tend to reveal his morbid and insane personality.
The old guys got redone, too. Nathan Spencer’s nickname has been changed to Rad because he’s just that radical. According to Viklund, they were inspired by 80s movie heroes like Iceman from Top Gun and Marty McFly from Back to The Future. This shows in Rad’s new haircut and Converse shoes. Super Joe also looks more like a Wild Western protagonist, with his main influence being a young Sam Eliott.
Master-D has still not had his face changed. In fact, the game softly acknowledges who he is by never giving him a name and always cloaking him in shadow. Now, Master-D is short for Master DNA Project, and all characters in the game only refer to him vaguely as ‘The Leader.’
Bionic Gameplay
Rad carries a revolver-rifle and his bionic arm at the beginning of the game. Other than that, all other equipment must be found in the levels. There are a total of twenty levels in the game, about half of which are FSA bases that Rad can visit for equipment. Beating the bosses in the Badds bases gives Rad some equipment too, and special upgrades to preexisting equipment are often hidden in levels.The level map allows Rad to select any level out of sequence, but he won’t be able to go far in later levels because he will most likely be missing equipment found in earlier ones. Also, on the map, several convoys of Badds soldiers will be wandering around on the roads between levels. If Haley’s helicopter encounters one of them, Rad will have to fight them in order to progress. Interestingly, these quick encounters with soldiers are in a top-down environment similar to the stages of Commando.
Enemy bases have communication terminals that Rad has to hack into to communicate with FSA officers or to listen in on Badds soldiers’ conversations. During their talks, the soldiers will often drop hints on how to beat the boss of the level.
Rad gets a ton of weapons throughout the game, and they all have unique attributes, like how the shotgun deals significant damage but only within about a meter in front of Rad or the Vector Cannon, which fires lasers in random directions that bounce off walls. This makes it perfect for any enemies hiding behind cover. However, some equipment is more practical, like the flairs needed to see in dark levels or the iron boots that allow Rad to hurt enemies by kicking them as he swings.
The bionic arm is designed to be just like the one in the original NES game, which means that it is awkward and floaty. The game provides a basic tutorial level to get your bearings, yet I still found myself swinging off of platforms.
And before you ask: Yes, I did have to climb all the way back.
Secrets can be found in every level. Sometimes, it’s as simple as a weapon upgrade, but they could be a Yashichi, the same one from Mega Man. Collecting all twelve with grant access to a special room in Area 12. Inside, Spencer will find trinkets from the first Bionic Commando game and a new weapon, the prototype, which is far more powerful than the normal revolver.
Weapons have been rebalanced in this game. Initially, the only weapon worth using was the bazooka. But now, the weapon has a few drawbacks that make it harder to use. For example, here is me failing a boss fight because I got caught in the weapon’s splash damage.
Still think that the weapon is useful? Here’s me failing to hit a stationary target because the missile arches in the air as it flies.
On a more positive note, all of the guns can harm enemies, but there are a variety of enemies with a variety of weaknesses. The plasma rifle does next to nothing towards humans but makes quick work of any machines. The machine gun tears through flesh but not steel. So you will find yourself regularly switching weapons for each situation, which makes them far more interesting than they were in the original.
The game is difficult, but not impossible. Some areas were made more difficult than in the NES version since traps were cut during the localization. They’re back now, so watch out for any mines or lasers. But overall, the game is far easier than the original.
Road to Area 12
Rad goes through base after base of Badds soldiers, slowly gaining information on just what the Albatross is. Eventually, Rad encounters Gottfried. He is the Badds army’s attempt at a bionic soldier and is the one who defeated Super Joe. Proving he’s the better bionic, Rad beats him and rescues Joe, who reveals what the Albatross is. It is a large mobile fortress capable of conquering the world. The Leader was the original designer and planned to use it during the World War until he died. Now, Generalissimo Killt is trying to build the fortress using his predecessor’s design plans. But they are incomplete, with some knowledge dying with the master. However, they saved The Leader’s brain and Generalissimo will use it to revive him in a new body. All they have to do is build the Albatross up to a certain point, revive their master, and have him finish the machine.
Rad makes it to the Albatross construction site, where he finds that it is nearing completion. However, it is more so than the FSA would expect. Killt managed to figure out the missing designs by reverse engineering the concept and didn’t need the help of his boy from Brazil. Seeing as the resurrection is pointless, he goes to unplug his master only to find himself being electrocuted by the revival machine. It was too late, the Fuhrer is furious at Killt’s attempted regicide and kills him on the spot. Determined to rule the world, the great dictator launches the Albatross into the air.
Rad and Super Joe join together for the final level. Rad goes through the fortress, disabling its weapons and power supply. Joe heads for the supercomputer controlling it. After destroying everything he can, Rad heads for The Leader at the helm. He encounters Haley, whose helicopter is mysteriously shot down. In her dying breath, she gives Spencer the final upgrade to his Bazooka, remote-controlled missiles. Soon, Rad finds the killer, The Leader flying a large helicopter. Determined for revenge, Nathan shoots a final missile into the cockpit, blowing up the head of the inglorious bastard. Soon, Nathan and Joe escape the sinking airship and the downfall of Badds, but not before one final encounter with Gottfried, who decides to come and see his rival one final time. Of course, he can’t let him escape with his life and is determined to die on the Albatross with Spencer.
Fleeing the madman, Joe and Nathan hang on to an escaping FSA helicopter. They are the saviors of the world. They have triumphed over the will of an entire evil empire, and while it was a hard-fought battle with plenty of sacrifices, world peace was achieved.
Positive Additions and Changes
Rearmed has plenty of new cool features for Rad to take part in. Challenge levels are found in every FSA base and are automatically added to the main menu when Rad enters the room. They aren’t focused on combat, but platforming with the bionic arm. In other words, I was able to pass the first few and none more.There are a lot of modern niceties to the game, such as not requiring the player to select their equipment before the level. Keycards are used to access enemy communication terminals. Originally, Rad had to select which card he would bring into each level. This was pointless as he could only bring one, and if he brought the wrong one, he wouldn’t be able to read what the soldiers were saying or talk to HQ. Now, he always has every card that he’s found on hand.
Now, all equipment is automatically equipped and weapons can be cycled through with the shoulder buttons.
The original game was hell to play through. There were no checkpoints, and Rad could only exit a level with a hidden button input. Now, the game is far more lax on the player. The final boss against The Leader has been greatly reworked. Originally, the player had to swing off a ledge and shoot a missile with perfect timing so that it hit the window of Master-D’s helicopter and blew up his head. Not only did this require pinpoint timing, but there was no way to retry the shot. The aircraft would immediately kill the player, and if they lost all lives, they would have to restart at the beginning of the level. Now, the helicopter is a proper boss fight, with Rad still blowing up the tyrant’s head. However, I dislike this change as the original one-shot kill was a reference to Mobile Suit Gundam that got removed in the remaking process.
Epileptic Warning: Video Features Flashing Lights
One of my prouder moments.
One of my prouder moments.
Go! Go! Bionic!
Bionic Commando Rearmed is the culmination of everything the Bionic Commando series had to offer. It is action-packed, campy, and vibrant. It’s a shame that there haven’t been any other Bionic Commando games since its release.Grin, the developers ended up shutting down about a year later after… something else… was released, and the company could not financially recover from the game’s poor sales. Most of the studio’s heads retired, except Simon Viklund, who still composes music as a freelance game developer. I recommend checking out some of his stuff.
Despite being so influential in the company, Tokuro Fujiwara left CAPCOM in 1997 to pursue his dreams. He created Whoopee Camp, a company he created with the aim of making games on his own terms. They are the developers behind Tomba! and Tomba! 2: The Evil Swine Return which, if you’re like me, are games you’ll only know because people would really prefer if you’d be quiet while they play them. Still, Fujiwara is often seen as one of the most important figures in CAPCOM history and is regularly ranked as one of the best developers of all time.
As for Bionic Commando, like I said, Bionic Commando Rearmed was the last game in the series. But what a send-off it was. I really loved playing this game for this article. I highly recommend it to anyone reading this. Seriously, check it out. It was initially released for Xbox Live Arcade and the PS3 Store, but the version on Steam is still up. You may need to finagle with your computer’s drivers to get the game to run since it hasn’t been updated in over a decade, but it’s worth it. It’s $10, but it goes on sale regularly. You can even save some money if you buy the Bionic Commando Pack, which includes it and-
Oh. Oh no.
No. No. Bionic.
I wanted to avoid this. I did. But you can’t talk about Rearmed without talking about why it was made to begin with. Bionic Commando Rearmed was just a prelude of sorts to the real remake that CAPCOM and Grin were working on. That thing, that something else that I’ve been referring to all throughout the article, this is it. An appetizer to tide the fans over until the real flesh feast began a year later. But there’s something wrong with Bionic Commando (2009). In fact, there are several things wrong with it. This is often seen as one of the worst video games published by CAPCOM, if not one of the worst video games ever made.In other words, PPR #08 - Bionic Commando (2009) is next! Make sure to preorder it for your game system today at the nearest Electronic Boutique!
Acknowledgments
This article was only possible because a friend gifted me a copy on Steam. They don’t want their name mentioned, but I want them to know that their help meant a lot.Thank you to shadedmagus on Protondb for writing a detailed tutorial on how to get Bionic Commando Rearmed to run on modern Linux computers. The game would not have run without their help.
Finally, thank you for putting up with my stupid jokes about Bionic Commando (2009) for the entirety of the article. I secretly snuck in a dozen or so titles to books and movies about Adolf Hitler and Nazis in this article, so feel free to have fun searching for them all.
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It's Easter Sunday where I am so I want to wish everyone a Happy Easter. Even if you don't observe the holiday, I still hope you have a great day today. As for the next article, it will probably take longer than normal. So to help tide you guys over, here's a meme that didn't make it into the article.
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