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{{Short description|Video game series}}

{{Use mdy dates|date=January 2025}}{{About|the video game series|the first game in the series|Bionic Commando (1987 video game)|the NES game based on the arcade game|Bionic Commando (1988 video game)|the Game Boy game|Bionic Commando (1992 video game)|the second game in the series|Bionic Commando (2009 video game)}}
{{Infobox video game series
|title              = Bionic Commando
|creator            =[[Tokuro Fujiwara]]
|image              = Bionic Commando NES logo.gif
|caption            = In-game logo (NES)
|developer          = [[Capcom]]<br />[[Nintendo Software Technology]]
|publisher          = Capcom<br />[[Nintendo]]
|genre              = [[Platformer|Platform]]
|composer           = [[Harumi Fujita]] (Arcade)<br/>Junko Tamiya (NES)<ref name="Tamiya">{{cite web|url=http://www.vgmonline.net/junkotamiyainterview/ |title=Junko Tamiya Interview: Creating Capcom's Incredible NES Scores |publisher=Video Game Music Online |date=2014-05-19 |access-date=2016-02-13}}</ref><br/> [[Tim Follin]] (C64, Amiga, Spectrum, ST)
|platforms          = [[Arcade video game|Arcade]], [[Nintendo Entertainment System|NES]], [[Game Boy]], [[Game Boy Color]], [[Amiga]], [[Atari ST]], [[Commodore 64]], [[Amstrad CPC]], [[MS-DOS]], [[ZX Spectrum]], [[PlayStation Network]], [[Xbox Live Arcade]], [[Nvidia Shield]], [[Microsoft Windows|Windows]]
|spinoffs           =
}}

'''''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 character, Nathan "Rad" Spencer, uses this as a [[Grappling hook|grappling gun/hook]] to swing, climb and descend through levels. Seven games have been released, from the original [[Bionic Commando (1987 video game)|1987 ''Bionic Commando'']] to 2011's ''[[Bionic Commando Rearmed 2]]''. The series is based in an alternate timeline in which [[Nazism]] is not completely eradicated following World War II.

==Gameplay==
[[File:Bionic Commando.png|thumb|left|The protagonist's bionic arm is a core gameplay element in the series. It is used for traversal and combat.]]
The ''Bionic Commando'' titles share core gameplay elements that pertain to the use of protagonist Nathan "Rad" Spencer's bionic arm, which is used as a [[Grappling hook|grappling gun/hook]] to swing, climb and descend through levels. It is also used during combat to pull towards or push away enemies. Beginning with ''[[Bionic Commando (2009 video game)|Bionic Commando]]'' in 2009, the developers gave Spencer a simple jump mechanic that works in conjunction with the bionic arm gameplay. Before, Spencer was unable to jump as a gameplay mechanic. Spencer was also able to jump in the  follow-up title ''[[Bionic Commando Rearmed 2]]'' 

All games except 2009's ''Bionic Commando'' are played from a 2D perspective; the game is played primarily from a side-view perspective as and action [[platform game]], though some sequences are played in a top-down view. With the 2009 iteration the game was given full 3D exploration, with perspective being over the shoulder. In addition to the arc of Spencer's swing, the player can control left-right sway of the swing to adjust for targets. For the ''Rearmed'' entries the games are rendered in 3D but gameplay is still restricted to a 2D plane, making these [[2.5D]] platform games.{{citation needed|date=September 2024}}

==Setting==
The ''Bionic Commando'' universe is set in a timeline in which [[Nazism]] is not completely [[Denazification|eradicated]] following World War II. While [[fascist]] undertones were present in the 1987 game, it wasn't until the 1988 game's appearance on the [[Famicom]] and [[NES]] that these became more apparent. The Empire in the Japanese version was actually a [[Neo-Nazism|neo-Nazi]] nation and the Imperial Army's insignia was a Nazi Swastika with a thunderbolt behind it. In the English version, the Nazis are referred as the "Badds", though the backstory in its manual refers to them as the "Nazz".<ref name="NES manual">{{cite book|title=Bionic Commando Instruction Manual |publisher=[[Capcom]] |year=1988 |location=[[Sunnyvale, CA]] |id=NES-CM-USA}}</ref>{{rp|4}}<ref name="IGN Rearmed preview">{{Cite web|url=http://www.ign.com/articles/2008/01/17/bionic-commando-rearmed-preview|title=Bionic Commando Rearmed Preview|last=Robinson|first=Martin|date=January 17, 2008|website=IGN|language=en-US|access-date=July 22, 2018}}</ref> The Imperial Army's Swastika insignia was changed into a new one resembling [[Reichsadler|an eagle]]; and the leader of the villains, originally called Weizmann in the Japanese version,<ref name="Top Secret manual">{{cite book | type=booklet manual | url=http://www.geocities.jp/frnyanko/setsumei/famicom/hitler/hitler.html | title=Top Secret: Hitler no Fukkatsu | publisher=[[Capcom]] | date=1988 | url-status=dead | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160602110005/http://www.geocities.jp/frnyanko/setsumei/famicom/hitler/hitler.html |archive-date=June 2, 2016 | access-date=February 20, 2021 | language=Japanese}}</ref>{{rp|4}} was renamed Killt, although the soldiers and characters keep their same Nazi-like appearance. The difficulty of the game was rebalanced and some of the areas were made less difficult.<ref>{{cite web|author=Elite Coder|date=|url=http://www.elitecoder.com/bionic/famiver.html|title=Bionic Commando Famicom Version|accessdate=}}</ref> One of the most prominent differences is the identity of the ultimate antagonist of the game, who is meant to be a revived [[Adolf Hitler in popular culture|Adolf Hitler]] in the Japanese version. For the English version, the character was renamed "Master-D", however his appearance remained the same.<ref name="IGN Rearmed preview" /> There is a gory ending sequence in which Hitler's face explodes, which was also kept intact in the English version.<ref>Sandvik, Per Arne (November 15, 2002) [http://encyclopedia-obscura.com/gameshorror.html The Horror!] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130703075819/http://www.encyclopedia-obscura.com/gameshorror.html |date=July 3, 2013 }} Encyclopedia Obscura. Retrieved on July 9, 2008</ref> Later games expanded on this alternate timeline and the fallout from the fascist regime toppling. Spencer goes on to confront terrorist groups and dictators.

==Games==
{{Timeline of release years
|compressempty = yes
|title= Bionic Commando
|1987 =''[[Bionic Commando (1987 video game)|Bionic Commando]]'' (Arcade/Home computer)
|1988 =''[[Bionic Commando (1988 video game)|Bionic Commando]]'' (Famicom/NES)
|1992 =''[[Bionic Commando (1992 video game)|Bionic Commando]]'' (Game Boy)
|2000 =''[[Bionic Commando: Elite Forces]]''
|2008 =''[[Bionic Commando Rearmed]]''
|2009 =''[[Bionic Commando (2009 video game)|Bionic Commando]]'' (PS3/X360/WIN)
|2011 =''[[Bionic Commando Rearmed 2]]''
}}
The original Japanese [[Bionic Commando (arcade)|arcade game]] and its [[Famicom]] [[Bionic Commando (NES)|counterpart]] (''Hitler's Resurrection'') are called {{Nihongo|'''''Top Secret'''''|トップシークレット,|Toppu Shīkuretto|lead=yes}}. The original arcade game was advertised in the United States as a sequel to ''[[Commando (arcade game)|Commando]]'', going as far to refer to the game's main character as Super Joe (the protagonist of ''Commando'') in the promotional brochure,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.arcadeflyers.com/?page=thumbs&db=videodb&id=122|title=The Arcade Flyer Archive - Video Game: Bionic Commando, Capcom}}</ref> who was originally an unnamed member of a "special commando unit" in the Japanese and World versions.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.arcadeflyers.com/?page=thumbs&db=videodb&id=5888|title=The Arcade Flyer Archive - Video Game: Bionic Commando, Capcom}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.arcadeflyers.com/?page=thumbs&db=videodb&id=5702|title=The Arcade Flyer Archive - Video Game: Top Secret, Capcom}}</ref> In [[1988 in video gaming|1988]], Capcom produced a home version for the [[Nintendo Entertainment System]], also titled ''[[Bionic Commando (NES video game)|Bionic Commando]]'', that was drastically different from the original arcade game. A version much truer to the coin-op original was released for the Amiga (OCS) in 1988;<ref>{{cite web|url=http://hol.abime.net/120|title=Bionic Commando, The Database of Amiga Games}}</ref> it was also ported to the other leading micros: the Atari ST, Commodore 64,<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.zzap64.co.uk/cgi-bin/displaypage.pl?issue=039&amp;page=012&amp;thumbstart=0&amp;magazine=zzap&amp;check=1|title = Impossible to Display Scan}}</ref> Amstrad CPC and ZX Spectrum. They were "wire [[Action game|action]]" games created by [[Tokuro Fujiwara]], based on his earlier 1983 [[arcade game]] ''[[Roc'n Rope]]''. He originally intended ''Bionic Commando'' to be an expanded version of its predecessor ''Roc'n Rope''.<ref>[http://www.glitterberri.com/developer-interviews/tokuro-fujiwara/ The Man Who Made Ghosts'n Goblins: Tokuro Fujiwara Interview] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120821053004/http://www.glitterberri.com/developer-interviews/tokuro-fujiwara/ |date=2012-08-21 }}, ''Continue'', Vol. 12, 2003</ref> The music for the original arcade game was developed by [[Harumi Fujita]], a member of the then all-female Capcom Sound Team. Fellow female video game composer Junko Tamiya adapted two of the original arcade tracks (The "Bionic Commando Theme" and "The Powerplant") and expanded the soundtrack by adding several new songs in the console versions for the Japanese Famicom and the NES ports of the game.<ref name="Tamiya"/>

[[Bionic Commando (1992 video game)|An adaptation of ''Bionic Commando'']] for the [[Game Boy]] was released in 1992. There was also an MSdos/386 version of the game available circa 1991. A [[sequel]], ''[[Bionic Commando: Elite Forces]]'', was released in 1999 for the [[Game Boy Color]]. Though it borrows some elements from its predecessors, ''Elite Forces'' has a different plot from the rest of the series. Also, the characters (an unnamed male or female commando) have a few more moves, such as the ability to climb down from platforms, and can also utilize a sniper rifle in some segments to eliminate distant enemies. An [[enhanced remake]] of the 1988 NES version was developed by [[Grin (company)|Grin]] and published by [[Capcom]] for [[Microsoft Windows]], [[PlayStation Network]], and [[Xbox Live Arcade]] and was released on August 13, 2008, under the name, ''[[Bionic Commando Rearmed]]'' (バイオニック コマンドー マスターD復活計画, ''Bionic Commando: Master D Resurrection Project'' in Japan). The remake serves as a prelude to the [[2009 in video gaming|2009]] video game ''[[Bionic Commando (2009 video game)|Bionic Commando]]''. A sequel, ''[[Bionic Commando Rearmed 2]]'', was released in February 2011.

In November 2015, Capcom released the 5 Disc ''[[Commando (video game)|Senjo no Okami]] & Top Secret Original Sound Collection'' (戦場の狼&トップシークレットオリジナルサウンドコレクション)<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.e-capcom.com/ec/srDispProductListProductLink/doProductLink/1/1/A10005760/10/10/srDispProductList/|title=e-Capcom page of Commando and Bionic Commando Original Sound Collection, Capcom}}</ref> It included the soundtrack from all in-house developed games from those two series. [[Manami Matsumae]] wrote the liner notes.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://twitter.com/chanchacolin/status/651906997952974848|title=Manami Matsumae details her involvement with the Sound Collection, Manami Matsumae via Twitter}}</ref> [[Nathan "Rad" Spencer|Spencer]] appears as a playable character in the crossover fighting games ''[[Marvel vs. Capcom 3: Fate of Two Worlds]]'', ''[[Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3]]'' and ''[[Marvel vs. Capcom: Infinite]]'', sporting his look from the 2009 game. [[Dameon Clarke]] provided his voice.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://kotaku.com/5659506/the-newest-marvel-vs-capcom-3-characters-are |title=The Newest Marvel Vs. Capcom 3 Characters Are... |last=McWhertor |first=Michael |date=October 8, 2010 |website=Kotaku |publisher=Gawker Media |access-date=May 12, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180513151904/https://kotaku.com/5659506/the-newest-marvel-vs-capcom-3-characters-are |archive-date=May 13, 2018 |url-status=live  }}</ref>

==References==
{{reflist}}

{{Bionic Commando}}
{{Franchises by Capcom}}

[[Category:Bionic Commando| ]]
[[Category:Capcom franchises]]
[[Category:Video game franchises]]
[[Category:Video game franchises introduced in 1987]]
[[Category:Amiga games]]
[[Category:Amstrad CPC games]]
[[Category:Commodore 64 games]]
[[Category:ZX Spectrum games]]
[[Category:Atari ST games]]