Ah yes, Captain Commando, one of the fan favorite characters in the Marvel vs. Capcom series, but sadly, a good portion of these fans don't realize that Captain Commando had his own game once, and a mighty fine game it was.
This is one of my favorite beat 'em up games, and I am reviewing the arcade version.
Play it here:
Retro Uprising - Arcade - Captain Commando (World 911014)
Now doesn't that promotional artwork get you interested in the game just a bit?
Now then, let's begin:
Story:
I don't really understand it, some bad stuff is going down and it is up to a group of commandos to save the world. It is about this group's campaign to erase crime from the world, by taking out all of the criminals in the universe. There is a catch, some of these criminals are not mere criminals, but
Super-Criminals, these super-criminals have super powers or something and want to destroy everything. They are led by an even more super super-criminal named Scumocide. He is evil a pain in the ass to kill.
It feels like and old science fiction movie. I don't know if it was funny by accident or on purpose though.
Gameplay: 4
This is a basic game, move to the right and punch the crap out of anything that tries to stop you. There are several stages, and at the end of each stage you are greeted by an annoying boss that wants to see an end to your campaign to stop crime.
The player is given a choice of one of four characters, and there is actually a capacity for four players to play simultaneously and work together to fight crime.
The four characters are as follows
Captain Commando
Capcom's poster boy, and the leader of the commandos.
His special move is a two way lighting attack that stays on the ground. He also has the ability to shoot fire and is the most balanced of the characters. (Capcom seems to like to use blond hair, fire-shooting Americans as poster boys for the games in which they appear and the entire company)
"Ninja Commando" Ginzu
A ninja descended from the bushin-ryu ninpo that Guy uses in Final Fight, he is fast and uses two swords that can mow down enemies. His special move is a jump kick where he surrounds himself in smoke that explodes. He is my favorite of the characters.
"Mummy Commando" Mack the Knife
Mack isn't a mummy at all, but rather an alien. He is equipped with sonic knives that melt the enemies into puddles of goo. He is pretty quick. His special move has him extending out his bandages and spinning really fast. He's kind of badass, being purple and wearing his orange hat backwards.
"Baby Commando" Baby Head
A super genius baby who built himself a robotic suit so he could fight crime. His special move is a knee missile from the robot. Yup he's a baby. He is strong and relatively slow, and has the biggest variety of grappling moves, like Mike Haggar in Final Fight.
The gameplay is sort of repetitive, but is certainly a step up from Final Fight, with more moves, and the ability to dash among the major improvements.
There are also more weapons for the player (or the enemy) to utilize: handguns, ray guns, machine guns, rocket launchers and mechs among others.
That's right, you can pilot mechs, each of which has a few unique attacks.
The point is, it is a fun game, one that fans of beat 'em ups will surly appreciate.
Graphics: 4
Released in 1991 on Capcom's CPS-1 hardware, the graphics have aged a little bit, but still look good, among the best of the time period.
Animation is smooth, sprites are detailed, but I am not a huge fan of the whole pallet swap thing.
Sound: 4
I like the music and sound effects, I don't know what it is, but it just sounds nice, to hear it you have to play the game.
Replay Value: 4
Despite it's repetitive nature, it is fun to pick up and play every now and then, it's fun to try and play with different characters or to play with a couple of friends. It doesn't get old.
Challenge: 4
Being a game made to eat away quarters in an arcade, the bosses are a pain in the ass, I think I went through five or six virtual quarters on the final boss the last time I played.
Overall: 4
One of the best beat 'em ups out there, it's certainly worth checking out. I recommended to all, especially some of the Marvel vs. Capcom fanboys who think Captain Commando is the greatest, yet don't even realize that Captain Commando had his own goal.
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