Captain Commando (Japan 911202) - MAME machine

Arcade Video game published 33 years ago:

Captain Commando © 1991 Capcom Company, Limited.

Captain Commando is a horizontally-scrolling beat-em-up for up to four players, set in the crime-ridden Metro City in the year 2026. Captain Commando, assisted by his three faithful Commando Companions, must rise up to protect the Earth and all the Galaxy from a gang of super-powered criminals.

Players can select between any of the four commandos (Captain Commando, Ginzu the Ninja, Baby Head and Mack the Knife) with each able to perform numerous combinations of attacks while standing or jumping. These include grabbing the enemy, as well as a special attack activated by pressing attack and jump simultaneously that will drain a portion of the player's vitality. An addition to the controls is the ability to dash by pushing the joystick left or right twice.

Players can pick up health-restoring food items hidden inside barrels and other destructible objects to restore their vitality, as well as other bonus items to increase their score. Weapons also can be picked up, such as three different types of firearms, as well as Shuriken that can only be used by Ginzu.

Players also can ride certain robots by dismounting their riders and jumping over the robot. The robots each have their own vitality gauge and if they sustain enough damage, they will be destroyed. There are three types of robots in the game: a punching robot, a flame-throwing robot, and a freezing robot. Weapons can be carried when the player makes the transition to a new area until the stage is completed.

The game consists of nine stages in total.

TECHNICAL
Runs on the "CP System" hardware.
B-Board #: 91634B-2

Players: Up to 4 simultaneously
Control per player: 8-way joystick
Buttons per player: 2
→ [1] Attack, [2] Jump

TRIVIA
Captain Commando was released in November 1991 in the Japanese arcades. It was known there as the 17th video game made for the CP-S system.

CAPtain COMmando = CAPCOM

The stages of the game takes place in "Final Fight"'s Metro City, but in the year 2026.

Captain Commando is Capcom's own homage to classic American sci-fi shows and magazines and the work of artists like Frank R. Paul. It was not the only game, though; "Battle Circuit" is even a better example of Capcom's enthusiasm for this stuff.

Each of the player's button on the dedicated 4-player cabinet uses a unique two-in-one play action button design: two large half circle buttons (red & blue) placed straight side by straight side to form one big circle, thus making two buttons look like one big button cut in half vertically.

Mack the Knife's name is based on a song made popular in the mid 1950's by Louis Armstrong, and later by Bobby Darin.

Ginzu the ninja's name comes from the ginzu kitchen knives which were introduced in the 1970's which were made famous by its TV advertising campaign.

Sho (Ginzu the ninja's Japanese name) is probably based on Sho Kosugi who is a Japanese actor who is known for his portrayals of ninjas in various movies in the 1980's.

Pony Canyon / Scitron released a limited-edition soundtrack album for this game (Captain Commando: G.S.M. Capcom 5 - PCCB-00083) on March 21, 1992.

STAFF
Planners: Akira Yasuda (Akiman), Junichi Ohno (Ohno)
Character Designers: Kurisan, Ouji, Eripyon. N, Mattian, Q, Mayo, Ykaru M.
Scroll Designers: Koi, Konomi (Powerful Konomi), Sui, Buppo, Go
Programmers: Y. Egawa, Yokoyama, T. Ueno, Yoshizumi
Sound: Masaki Izutani (T. Yomage)
Sound-Sub: Syun Nishigaki (Syun)
Special Thanks: James Goddard (DJames), Scott, Tetsu, Akira Nishitani (Nin)

PORTS
Here is a list of ports released in Japan only. To see non-Japanese ports, please see the Export version entry; "Captain Commando [B-Board 91635B-2]".

• CONSOLES:

[JP] Nintendo Super Famicom (mar.17, 1995) "Captain Commando [Model SHVC-QM]"
[JP] Sony PlayStation (sept.17, 1998) "Captain Commando [Model SLPS-01567]" by New, Inc.

CONTRIBUTE
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