Most action platform games involve running around, attacking, and jumping. Capcom's daring Bionic Commando did away with that last bit by removing the jump button, forcing the player to rappel around the landscape with a retractable arm. Its original incarnation was an innovative, yet clumsy arcade game, but the mechanics were refined and assembled into a much better package with the NES version, which is a totally different game.
The inability to jump initially proves puzzling for overcoming the most simple obstacles. It takes a bit of time to unlearn the techniques of other 2D platformers and instead think indirectly, but soon the snap-swing-go mechanics of the arm become second nature, and then almost every other game feels worse for not having it. It requires some split second reflexes, but flinging yourself from point to point – like a futuristic Tarzan, feet never hitting the ground – is some of the most fun you can have in a platformer. One of the greatest levels is a straight shot upwards, using all of the skills you've learned at this point to scale a massive tower.
The stages are not always entirely linear, but rather sprawl in all directions quite often, giving you appropriate room to explore the landscape with your swinging abilities. The map screen between stages, as well as the rather large arsenal of weapons and equipment, present a sense of scale rarely seen in 8-bit action titles. Each zone has at least one communication room, where you can hack into the enemy's network and listen in on their conversations, giving some insight into the workings of an evil empire. All of this is encased around a pulpy story involving a bunch of neo-Nazis attempting to resurrect Hitler, a daring concept for a game marketed towards children, and so lazily bowdlerized in the American release that it becomes even more strangely hilarious.
A fully 3D reboot came from Capcom in 2009, featuring some beautiful swinging mechanics but trapping them in an otherwise overwrought, depressing game. More impressive was Bionic Commando Rearmed, a remake of the original NES game that was intended to be a marketing tool for the reboot, but ended up overshadowing it. Unlike most Western-made games, the redone graphics keeps the bright colors of the original while still giving a modern sheen. The remake offers innumerable improvements, including new weapons, revamped bosses, substantially improved enemy AI, extra levels, co-op play, and rearranged music. Rearmed not only tunes up the minor issues of the original game, but turned this side project into one of the best games of the 360/PS3 era.
Even though Rearmed is a beautiful remake, the original NES game has aged astonishingly well, and is still definitely worth playing. Its direct sequel, Rearmed 2, adds an unnecessary jump button and changes up the swinging mechanics and level structures just enough to make it feel like a lesser game. For a different series, we cast our vote for Ninja Five-O, a GBA game developed by Hudson, and shoved out the door by Konami with little fanfare. Who knows why it was so poorly treated, as it's a brilliant ninja action game, combining the acrobatic rappelling of Bionic Commando with the terrorist slicing of Shinobi. It’s easily one of the best action games on the portable platform.
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