A Konami jeep run'n'gun on NES. Rescue POWs under intense fire. Explosive two-player co-op, frantic action. Overlooked but truly excellent. A must-play on the console.
Your verdict
Category
Action2 players12+
Co-op
Description
Top-down run-and-gun featuring a military tank liberating hostages in war zones. Published by Konami, released in the USA in 1988. Tank in top-down view with missiles and bombs, hostage rescue in enemy bases and two-player co-op. NES port of Konami's Jackal arcade.
Jackal review
3/5
Art direction
★★★★★
"Polished"
4/5
Music
★★★★★
"Excellent"
1/5
Story
★★★★★
"Anecdotal"
The themes take the bearing of a nervy military march, a purposeful main melody carried by a bass that never breaks step. The loops are short and come round quickly, a choice matching the jeep's continuous advance, and the motif played on freeing the prisoners breaks that regularity just enough.
Gameplay
"Solid"
Fun
"From the very first seconds"
Tearing along in a jeep to free prisoners, hosing enemy positions with machine gun and rocket launcher: this top-down run-and-gun runs on non-stop action. Two-player co-op multiplies the fun, between mutual cover and cascading explosions. Snappy, generous and always exhilarating, an arcade shooter built for two-player sessions.
Complete: box, manual and disc/cart very clean. Lightly handled.
Q1 damagedQ6 completeQ10 new
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Collector interest
The US NES port of Konami's vertical jeep shooter, released in a slightly edited form compared to the arcade. The loose grey US NES cart stays accessible, but CIB in an intact box with manual has become a target for co-op Konami NES collectors, the two-player jeep mode having marked many 8-bit co-op evenings. The cote rises moderately but consistently, sustained by clean CIB scarcity.
Better with friends
A top-down shooter aboard a jeep, built for a co-op duo where you free hostages while covering each other against waves of enemies. Mutual aid is the engine: one aiming while the other charges, sharing fire and syncing rescues builds real camaraderie. Snappy and readable, it chains scorching fronts and makes you want to push on, controller in hand, to clear the mission together.
Is Jackal still worth playing in 2026?
Jackal is a Konami top-down jeep run and gun on NES. Rescue prisoners of war under heavy fire, the concept reads instantly and pays off massively. Two-player co-op explodes into frantic action, Kinuyo Yamashita's score sticks and the progression keeps fine pacing. Overlooked outside a circle of insiders but truly excellent, among Konami's NES must-plays. Still a classic to absolutely discover today.
