Jackal (NES review)

Developer: Konami
Publisher: Konami
Released: 1988

Jackal is a top-down, run 'n' gun game that was first released in the Arcades in 1986.

Playing as a Green Beret, your mission is to rescue trapped POWs across six stages and destroy the enemy's main fortress. To do this, you control an attack jeep that features a machine gun (fires straight ahead), hand grenades (can be launched in any direction) and bazookas (can be powered-up by rescuing certain POWs). The controls work flawlessly and despite what you might expect your vehicle is incredibly nimble! A big plus is that unlike Gun.Smoke (1988, NES) you can fire in any direction, giving you complete freedom rather than having to play within the limitations imposed by the developers. The awesome level design stretches both horizontally and vertically, and there's a decent amount of variety, such as Stage 2's falling debris and grenade launching helicopters. Another highlight is Stage 5's bunkers that block your projectiles; it's a simple, but effective idea that forces you into firing diagonal shots to hit the target. However, the best part of the action is the endless satisfaction you get from trampling over enemies in your jeep! The option to rescue POWs encourages you to explore the playfield rather than rushing through, and I like how trying to survive with each one intact until they're picked up at the end of stage heliport (for points) becomes a mini-game in itself. The difficulty level throughout is spot-on and the game eases you into the action, while rewarding pattern recognition and repeated attempts in later stages. The ability for 1-2 players to battle simultaneously is great, and from a technical standpoint there's zero sprite flicker or slowdown. My only criticism is that the screen doesn't always scroll far enough, which can lead to blindside deaths when a bullet or enemy vehicle enters the playfield.

Jackal is a top-tier NES title that plays and controls smoothly, while having an ideal difficulty progression. Couple that with the exquisite level design and you're left with a hugely entertaining game that's non-stop fun whether you're playing alone or with a friend.

Random trivia: In Japan, the game was released on the Famicom Disk System, and featured different layouts and missing stages due to the smaller disk card size.

Ikari Warriors (NES review)

Developer: Micronics
Publisher: SNK
Released: 1986

Ikari Warriors is a vertically scrolling run 'n' gun game that takes inspiration from the Arcade classic Commando (1985).

It supports 1-2 players simultaneously and the objective is to infiltrate and destroy an enemy nation. Your basic weapons are a machine gun and grenades although you can occasionally take control of tanks and helicopters. As soon as the action begins it's startling how jerky the scrolling is and how slow your character moves. Enemies can shoot further and faster than you can retreat so cheap deaths are a common occurrence. Unless you collect an L power-up your range of fire is incredibly small so you have to put yourself in harms way if you want to kill anything. Your character always shoots to the right-hand-side of his sprite and it takes a long time to adjust to moving further than you normally would to hit an enemy. The controls are laggy and I didn't like that your character doesn't automatically turn in your chosen direction; instead he first has to spin around which, while realistic, allows enemies to advance on you with too much ease. Also, if you want to quickly run backwards to avoid a projectile your soldier will advance forward a few paces first which puts you in harms way. Whenever you die the game doesn't place you back in the same spot and frequently you'll end up wading through the water or getting stuck in a rock! There's only four levels but they last forever and outstay their welcome by around 10 minutes each! There's tons of flicker and the animation is poor, especially when you kill an enemy, as they jump backwards and flap their arms as if they're performing ballerinas! The music is appalling with repetitive tracks and annoying beeping sounds.

Ikari Warriors on the NES isn't enjoyable in the slightest and playing it through to the end is a test of endurance that rivals the Desert Bus mini-game in Penn & Teller's Smoke and Mirrors! (Mega CD). Do yourself a favour and stick to Super C instead as it's a much better example of the genre on the NES.

Random trivia: The game was also released on numerous other platforms including the Atari 2600, Atari 7800, Amiga and ZX Spectrum.

Commando (NES review)

Developer: Capcom
Publisher: Capcom
Released: 1986

Commando is a vertically scrolling run 'n' gun game that was originally released in the Arcades in 1985.

There's four missions (with four acts each) and your objective is to defeat an evil army that attack you on foot, in bunkers, as well as by motorcycle and truck. You're armed with a rifle and limited grenades that can be topped up by collecting flashing boxes. The game is challenging from the outset; you're constantly outnumbered and the worst thing you can do is stand in one place; the best method is to run as fast as you can and only engage in combat where necessary. This makes it feel more like a vertically scrolling shoot-em-up rather than a more strategic run 'n' gun game. While most areas consist of bland desert settings there are some cool sections with bridges you can walk under and roads lined with turrets. By throwing grenades you can uncover secret bunkers where you can pick up extra points and rescue hostages. At the end of each area you'll face a boss who's surrounded by henchmen; after you take out most of them he'll start waving a flag to surrender and you move onto the next area. Using a turbo button throughout is recommended as it fixes one of the game's main problems which is imprecise diagonal shooting. The hit detection is also spotty and sometimes bullets will fly straight through an enemy. There's tons of flicker, the scrolling isn't smooth and sprites frequently disappear from the screen. The difficulty doesn't really increase or pace itself so if you've passed the first mission there's nothing else to see. At least there's unlimited continues and fair checkpoints for those that want to see it through to the end. There is a two-player option but unfortunately it doesn't allow for co-op battle.

The NES port of Commando has repetitive gameplay and various technical problems that make it hard to recommend. With only one mission that repeats itself there's little replay value and in my opinion you're better off sticking to Capcom's Gunsmoke (1988, NES) as it's a much improved example of the genre.

Random trivia: Capcom originally outsourced development of NES / Famicom games to a company called Micronics; however, this is the first one that Capcom coded themselves for the system.

Journey to Silius (NES review)

Developer: Tokai Engineering
Publisher: Sunsoft
Released: 1990

Journey to Silius is a run 'n' gun game that was released in Japan as Rough World.

It contains five stages and your mission is to stop terrorist's from destroying a colony development. Six different weapons are available and you're able to switch between them on the fly. The default weapon is a low-powered Hand Gun but as you progress you can pick up special items like a Shot Gun and a Laser Rifle. Each time you fire a special item it uses up some of your Gun Energy Meter although this can be topped up by collecting blue Energy Capsules. Red Life Capsules can also be found to increase your life meter. In many ways the game is a mixture of Mega Man's precise platforming and the frantic run 'n' gun action of Contra. Lots of memorisation is required and at times the enemy placement is so tough that it's impossible to advance without taking damage. Leaps of faith are sometimes required as you can't always see what lurks below the screen before you jump. Health power-ups are scarce so unless you know the level well enough you'll usually be close to death by the time you reach the boss. If you're in a crouching position there's also a slight delay between pressing the jump button and the game recognising it. The ability to switch weapons is excellent though and it encourages you to experiment. The bosses are also enjoyable with gigantic sprites and diverse attack patterns. The final level doesn't have any enemies and automatically scrolls while you dodge obstacles; it's a nice change of pace and forces you to focus solely on your platforming skills. The music is outstanding and some of the tracks wouldn't sound out of place in Sunsoft's Batman game (1989, NES).

Journey to Silius is a short but tough game that has some decent run 'n' gun action. The controls are a bit wonky and it doesn't have much replay value but if you don't mind a challenge that's 'NES hard' you might get some enjoyment out of it.

Random trivia: The game was originally based on the 1984 film Terminator but the licensing deal ultimately fell through. As a result the graphics and story were changed.

Contra Force (NES review)

Developer: Konami
Publisher: Konami
Released: 1992

Contra Force is a run 'n' gun game that started development as Arc Hound with no ties to the Contra series.

You control four characters with unique abilities (i.e. higher jumps, stronger weapons) and you can switch between them on the fly. Collecting briefcases moves up a special meter in the bottom-left; this houses power-ups such as Flame Throwers and Hand Grenades and you simply press Select to activate it when it reaches your desired weapon. A CPU partner can also be called in to provide covering fire for a short time. The first level is a side-scroller but the action is much slower than a normal Contra game. The controls and level design are good though with lots of unique areas to keep things interesting. The second level changes to a top-down perspective similar to Super C (1990, NES). It plays well enough and has some destructible scenery but doesn't have any memorable moments. The third level is another side-scroller and it has some annoying platforming sections where you need to use lifts and swing across ropes. The boss is fun though as you need to destroy a huge aeroplane piece-by-piece. The fourth level is back to a top-down view where you walk across moving planes! The scrolling is slow and many times you'll need to walk backwards to let it catch up so you aren't blind-sided by an enemy. The final level sees you chasing the main boss around and it mixes in some decent horizontal and vertical platforming sections. My main issues with the game are that it's very laggy and each level is repetitive in its design. Despite its flaws though many parts are just mindless fun and the character select and power-up options encourage you to experiment which increases replayability.

Contra Force is a mediocre run 'n' gun game but it's nowhere near as bad as some people would make you believe. It has some really interesting ideas but the spotty level design and severe slowdown prevent it from reaching its true potential.

Random trivia: Screenshots of the original game (Arc Hound) were shown in promotional art in 1991. You can view them here.

Super C (NES review)

Developer: Konami
Publisher: Konami
Released: 1990

Super C is the follow-up to Contra (1988) and in Europe and Australia it was released as Probotector II: Return of the Evil Forces.

The opening level is cinematic and sees you lowered from a helicopter before moving through a construction site with steep inclines. The action is similar to the first game but the difficulty has been ramped up. Enemies swarm from all directions and you need to be on constant alert to avoid the barrage of bullets flying around. The series is known for its variety and when you reach the second level the gameplay changes to a top-down perspective. These aren't as interesting as the 3D sections in the original Contra but they're tons of fun and the addition of sub-bosses is a great idea. Level 3 takes place in a jungle setting and there's a very cool area where you're able to duck underwater to avoid bullets while progressing forward. Soon after things change again to a vertically scrolling level where you use your platforming skills to jump across perilous cliff edges while dodging falling rocks. The level design is solid throughout these gameplay shifts and instead of feeling disjointed each one is a welcome challenge. The final level is almost a reworking of Alien's Lair from the previous game but it's more expansive and has ceilings that drop to impede your movement. Most of the bosses aren't particularly impressive which is a shame. The weapons are largely the same except Fire which now explodes into smaller projectiles once it hits an enemy; it can also be charged to create an even bigger explosion. The Spread weapon is still the most useful as you can spray several bullets at once. As you'd expect from Konami the graphics, music and SFX are brilliant.

Super C is an excellent sequel to Contra and one of the best run 'n' gun games on the NES. The difficulty is a bit too high (something that would continue with the 16-bit titles) but the polished gameplay and level design will keep you coming back for repeated play-throughs.

Random trivia: For some reason the famous Konami code (which gave you 30 lives in the original Contra) is absent from this game. Instead, a different cheat is available that only gives you ten lives.