G.I. Joe (NES)
Encyclopedia
G.I. Joe is a 1991 run and gun game published by Taxan
for the Nintendo Entertainment System
based on the toyline
of the same name
. The game was produced by Ken Lobb
and developed by the same Japanese team that later formed KID
. It was followed by a single sequel titled G.I. Joe: The Atlantis Factor
released the following year.
The player takes control of a team of three G.I. Joe characters, each with their own specialty. The player's goal is to navigate through six stages (with several areas each) on a mission to finally bring down Cobra. The initial character roster consists of Duke
, Snake Eyes, Blizzard, Captain Grid-Iron, and Rock 'n Roll
. A sixth character, Hawk
, gives orders to the team between missions, and becomes available as a playable character for the final stage. Each level had a character that was pre-determined to lead the team, meaning that one character in the given area would be chosen by default, and the player would then select the two other operatives to complete their team.
The player collects power-up
s in the game that increases an individual character's abilities. Gun icons increases firepower, K-rations recovers energy, and Chevron icons increases the current character's maximum stamina. Bullet icons refills the player's collective ammunition and bulletproof vest
icons that grant temporary invincibility are also available at designated locations on each area. Icons flashing in red are more valuable than ordinary icons. All upgrades garnered during the course of the game are permanent, provided of course the character survives the mission.
Certain areas have empty enemy vehicles that the main character can operate. The three different vehicles available are the Buzz Boar, the Pogo, and the Battle Copter. The player can still plant bombs while riding these vehicles.
The format of each stage is broken up into three different areas, which follows the following formula: In the first area, the player's team would fight their way into one of Cobra's bases. In the second area, the player's team has to plant a certain number of bombs inside the base before a pre-determined amount of time. The final area of the stage is a fight with the base's commander. The game issues the player a password for each level completed. The Cobra soldiers and bosses (Range-Viper
, Metal-Head
, Overlord, Voltar
, Destro
and Cobra Commander
) are all based on characters from the toyline.
, Antarctica, New York City
, The Black Hills
, and the Sahara
. The game's final mission takes place in Cobra Headquarters.
Taxan
TAXAN is a subsidiary of Kaga Electronics, a Japanese electronics company. It was founded in July 1981, and in the late-1980s and early-1990s, the US division published several video games on the NES and Game Boy....
for the Nintendo Entertainment System
Nintendo Entertainment System
The Nintendo Entertainment System is an 8-bit video game console that was released by Nintendo in North America during 1985, in Europe during 1986 and Australia in 1987...
based on the toyline
Action figure
An action figure is a posable character figurine, made of plastic or other materials, and often based upon characters from a film, comic book, video game, or television program. These action figures are usually marketed towards boys and male collectors...
of the same name
G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero
G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero is a military-themed line of action figures and toys in Hasbro's G.I. Joe franchise. The toyline lasted from 1982 to 1994, producing well over 500 figures and 250 vehicles and playsets. The line reappeared in 1997 and has continued in one form or another to the...
. The game was produced by Ken Lobb
Ken Lobb
Kenneth Alan Lobb is an American video game designer formerly employed by Taxan USA Corp., Namco Hometek, and Nintendo of America, and currently employed by Microsoft Game Studios....
and developed by the same Japanese team that later formed KID
KID
KID, whose name is an acronym of Kindle Imagine Develop, was a Japan-based company specializing in porting and developing bishōjo games....
. It was followed by a single sequel titled G.I. Joe: The Atlantis Factor
G.I. Joe: The Atlantis Factor
G.I. Joe: The Atlantis Factor is the title of a NES video game developed by KID and published by Capcom in the United States in 1992. The game is a sequel to the G.I. Joe video game released for the NES by Taxan in 1991.-Storyline:...
released the following year.
Gameplay
Duke (G.I. Joe)
Duke is a fictional character from the G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero and G.I. Joe: Sigma 6 lines of military-themed toys. The character is featured in both the animated series and comic books. Duke is portrayed by actor Channing Tatum in the 2009 live-action film, G.I. Joe: The Rise of...
, Snake Eyes, Blizzard, Captain Grid-Iron, and Rock 'n Roll
Rock 'n Roll (G.I. Joe)
Rock 'n Roll is a character from the G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero toy line, comic books and cartoon series of the 1980s. He is the G.I. Joe team's original machine gunner and debuted in 1982.-Profile:...
. A sixth character, Hawk
Hawk (G.I. Joe)
Hawk is a fictional character from the G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero line of military-themed toys. He appears in the animated series, comic books, toyline, and movie.-Profile:...
, gives orders to the team between missions, and becomes available as a playable character for the final stage. Each level had a character that was pre-determined to lead the team, meaning that one character in the given area would be chosen by default, and the player would then select the two other operatives to complete their team.
The player collects power-up
Power-up
In computer and video games, power-ups are objects that instantly benefit or add extra abilities to the game character as a game mechanic. This is in contrast to an item, which may or may not have a benefit and can be used at a time chosen by the player...
s in the game that increases an individual character's abilities. Gun icons increases firepower, K-rations recovers energy, and Chevron icons increases the current character's maximum stamina. Bullet icons refills the player's collective ammunition and bulletproof vest
Bulletproof vest
A ballistic vest, bulletproof vest or bullet-resistant vest is an item of personal armor that helps absorb the impact from firearm-fired projectiles and shrapnel from explosions, and is worn on the torso...
icons that grant temporary invincibility are also available at designated locations on each area. Icons flashing in red are more valuable than ordinary icons. All upgrades garnered during the course of the game are permanent, provided of course the character survives the mission.
Certain areas have empty enemy vehicles that the main character can operate. The three different vehicles available are the Buzz Boar, the Pogo, and the Battle Copter. The player can still plant bombs while riding these vehicles.
The format of each stage is broken up into three different areas, which follows the following formula: In the first area, the player's team would fight their way into one of Cobra's bases. In the second area, the player's team has to plant a certain number of bombs inside the base before a pre-determined amount of time. The final area of the stage is a fight with the base's commander. The game issues the player a password for each level completed. The Cobra soldiers and bosses (Range-Viper
Range-Viper
In the G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero series of action figures, Range Vipers are members of Cobra specializing in wilderness combat and survival tactics. Range Vipers have made appearances in the Marvel Comics G.I. Joe comic book, G.I. Joe Animated DiC series, and are part of the G.I...
, Metal-Head
Metal-Head
Metal-Head is a character from the G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero series where he is a member of the Iron Grenadiers. He first appeared in the 1990 edition of the toyline. He is not to be mistaken for another character with a similar name Metalhead from G.I...
, Overlord, Voltar
Voltar (G.I. Joe)
Voltar is a character from the G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero toyline, comic books and cartoon series of the 1980s. He is affiliated with the Iron Grenadiers as Destro's general and debuted in 1988.-Profile:...
, Destro
Destro
Laird James McCullen Destro XXIV, usually referred to simply as Destro, is a fictional villain from the G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero line of military-themed toys from Hasbro. He is portrayed by Christopher Eccleston in the 2009 live-action film, G.I...
and Cobra Commander
Cobra Commander
Cobra Commander is a fictional character from the G.I. Joe franchise. He appears in the toyline, animated series , comic books, video games, and movie as the usual principal antagonist. He is the supreme leader of the terrorist organization Cobra, and archnemesis of the Joes...
) are all based on characters from the toyline.
Plot summary
The six missions that the G.I. Joe team members must progress through each take place in a different part of the world: the AmazonAmazon Rainforest
The Amazon Rainforest , also known in English as Amazonia or the Amazon Jungle, is a moist broadleaf forest that covers most of the Amazon Basin of South America...
, Antarctica, New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
, The Black Hills
Black Hills
The Black Hills are a small, isolated mountain range rising from the Great Plains of North America in western South Dakota and extending into Wyoming, USA. Set off from the main body of the Rocky Mountains, the region is something of a geological anomaly—accurately described as an "island of...
, and the Sahara
Sahara
The Sahara is the world's second largest desert, after Antarctica. At over , it covers most of Northern Africa, making it almost as large as Europe or the United States. The Sahara stretches from the Red Sea, including parts of the Mediterranean coasts, to the outskirts of the Atlantic Ocean...
. The game's final mission takes place in Cobra Headquarters.
Playable characters
There are five initial characters in the game (with a sixth character that becomes available for the final stage), each with his strength to bring to the game. The player can choose a team of three for each area. During gameplay, the player can switch between characters after pausing the game. The characters’ skills are agility, stamina, strength and firepower.- DukeDuke (G.I. Joe)Duke is a fictional character from the G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero and G.I. Joe: Sigma 6 lines of military-themed toys. The character is featured in both the animated series and comic books. Duke is portrayed by actor Channing Tatum in the 2009 live-action film, G.I. Joe: The Rise of...
– The most balanced, possessing the mid-level skills and powers of his comrades. He leads the team in Amazon mission. - Snake-Eyes – Can jump higher and punch/throw faster than his teammates. He is also the only one who does not use up any ammunition, using white fireballs instead (described in game as a sort of Jujitsu). While being able to conserve vital ammunition, Snake-Eyes' weapon is weak. He leads the team in New York's sewer mission.
- Capt. Grid-Iron – Has the greatest fist power and is average in other departments. He is very similar to Duke, but with a shorter jump and a smaller spread weapon (described as grenade launcher). He leads the team in Black Hill Mission.
- Rock ‘n RollRock 'n Roll (G.I. Joe)Rock 'n Roll is a character from the G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero toy line, comic books and cartoon series of the 1980s. He is the G.I. Joe team's original machine gunner and debuted in 1982.-Profile:...
– He has the strongest firepower (machine gun) and the widest range of all but all his other ratings below average. He leads the team in the dessert mission. - Blizzard - He is sub-par in most skills except stamina. Blizzard may come in handy during the Antarctic world, but otherwise does not stand out in any specific areas, though his (grenade) throwing speed is almost as fast as Snake-Eyes. His special ability is that he can shoot through solid walls. He is in charge on the Antarctica missile base mission
- General HawkHawk (G.I. Joe)Hawk is a fictional character from the G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero line of military-themed toys. He appears in the animated series, comic books, toyline, and movie.-Profile:...
– His appearance is based on the 1991 edition of his action figure. He is the only character who can fly and a requirement when facing Cobra Commander. He only becomes available for use in the final stage. In the course of the game, he was kidnapped by Destro and Rock 'n Roll led a team of operatives to rescue him from the desert.
External links
- Game of The Week: G.I. Joe at GameSpy
- Nobuyuki Shioda ~ 塩田信之 （しおだ のぶゆき） at GameMusicComposerMEMO