A revolutionary action-platformer where jumping is impossible. The grappling hook is everything. Brilliant mechanic, inspired level design. One of the most inventive NES games, still perfectly playable.
Your verdict
Category
Action1 player7+
Description
Run-and-gun in which Rad Spencer uses his bionic arm cable to grapple and battle. Published by Capcom, released in the USA in 1988. Bionic cable for swinging movement, varied weapons to collect, dense war levels and no jumping mechanic. American version of Capcom's Bionic Commando masterpiece on NES.
Bionic Commando review
4/5
Art direction
★★★★★
"Striking"
4/5
Music
★★★★★
"Excellent"
2/5
Story
★★★★★
"Classic"
The bionic arm imposes its own visual writing: the grapple unfolds in clearly drawn articulated segments, and the entire reading of the scenery goes through the search for anchor points. The levels, forest bases, hangars, laboratories, are built vertically, and the dialogue scenes show large contrasted portraits.
Junko Tamiya writes themes that stand up on their own, strongly marked melodies and active bass, with writing that exploits the chip's three voices without ever sounding cramped. The area pieces alternate tension and drive, and the infiltration theme has remained one of the most cited in the machine's catalogue.
Gameplay
"Masterful"
Giving up jumping to advance solely with the grappling arm upends every reflex and grounds a platformer of total originality. Swinging from platform to platform, once the move is mastered, delivers a heady satisfaction. Demanding to get the hang of, this classic retains a unique mechanic and a clever level design that have no equal.
The US NES version of the cult Capcom title built on the grapple arm without conventional jumping, on the console's flagship market. Widely distributed at the time, the loose US pressing stays affordable, with value concentrating on graded sealed copies and clean CIB whose cardboard box, quick to warp, makes nice examples fragile. The NTSC version keeps the aura of an atypical action design that sustains steady demand beyond mere scarcity.
Is Bionic Commando still worth playing in 2026?
Bionic Commando is a revolutionary Capcom action platformer where the jump is replaced by a grappling hook. The entire grammar of the game builds on that single radical choice, and the result is an experience of rare intelligence for 1988. Inspired level design, non-linear stages, a surprising story with its famously shocking ending and a memorable soundtrack make it one of the most creative NES titles ever made. Still perfectly playable today once you accept the learning curve. A must for ambitious 2D action fans.
