Mercs
A run and gun sequel to Commando.
Mercs, released as in Japan, is a 1990 run and gun arcade game developed and published by Capcom. It is a sequel to the 1985 arcade game Commando (in Japan) and was a moderate commercial success that received positive critical reception. The game was followed by Wolf of the Battlefield: Commando 3 in 2008.
Quick Facts
- Developer
- Capcom (arcade); Sega (consoles)
- Publisher
- Capcom (arcade)
- Sega (consoles)
- U.S. Gold (computers)
- Composer
- Manami Matsumae
- Genre
- Run and gun
- Modes
- Single-player, multiplayer
- Arcade system
- CP System
Facts from the source article.
Gameplay
Three players can team up as the Wolf Force, a covert mercenary squad. Joseph Gibson wears blue, Howard Powell red, and Thomas Clarke yellow. Their job is to free a former president from rebels in the fictional African nation of Zutula, which is run by an apartheid government. The game has six stages, plus a final one where the president must be rescued from the Hercules Transport. Players use an eight-way joystick and two buttons: one for a normal attack and one for the Megacrush Attack. A vitality gauge drops when enemies hit the character, but First-Aid Kits restore some energy, and power-ups boost maximum health. The default gun can be upgraded to an Assault Rifle, Shotgun, Grenade Launcher, or Flamethrower. The Megacrush bomb wipes out all enemies on screen, but its uses are limited and can only be refilled by collecting more bombs. In certain levels, players can take control of enemy vehicles.
Ports
A Mega Drive version was produced by Sega, first released in Japan on September 27, 1991, then in North America and Europe. It includes Arcade Mode (same plot and stages as the arcade) and Original Mode with a new plot and stages. Original Mode adds Weapon Shops where players buy power-ups with currency from defeated enemies, and allows switching between multiple characters, each with a distinct weapon (starting with an Assault Rifle). Unlike the arcade version, the Mega Drive port supports only one player, which MegaTech magazine noted as its only weakness. Home computer ports for Amiga, Amstrad CPC, Atari ST, Commodore 64, and ZX Spectrum were released in 1991 by U.S. Gold, with conversions handled by Tiertex, who also developed the Master System conversion.
Reception
When Mercs made its North American debut at Chicago's ACME show in March 1990, RePlay magazine and several big distributors called it the event's standout title. In the U.S., each arcade cabinet pulled in an average of $193.25 per week during November and December 1990. Japan's Game Machine ranked it the second-best table arcade unit in its May 1, 1990 issue, beating out games like Aliens and Final Fight. It also topped the new-release grossing charts in the May 1990 RePlay rankings. Still, it never reached the blockbuster status of the original Commando or its knockoffs such as Ikari Warriors. Tokuro Fujiwara, who designed the first Commando, regretted not making a sequel sooner, since by the time Mercs arrived, the market was crowded with similar shooters. Critics gave the arcade version generally favorable reviews in 1990 from Computer and Video Games, Sinclair User, and Your Sinclair. In the United Kingdom, Mercs became the best-selling Sega Mega Drive title in October 1991, and the home port earned positive notices from MegaTech and Mega magazines.
Legacy
The arcade version of Mercs, alongside Commando and Gun.Smoke, was part of the fourth Capcom Generations volume for the PlayStation and Sega Saturn in 1998. It later appeared in Capcom Classics Collection Vol. 1 for PlayStation 2 and Xbox in 2005, and in Capcom Classics Collection: Reloaded for PlayStation Portable in 2006. Sega released the Mega Drive/Genesis version on the Wii Virtual Console in North America on February 9, 2009, and Capcom followed in Europe on February 20, 2009, priced at 800 Wii Points, under the name Mercs: Wolf of the Battlefield. This version also appears on the Retrobit Generations Plug and Play console and was added to the Nintendo Classics service on November 27, 2024.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who composed the music for Mercs?
The music for Mercs was composed by Manami Matsumae.
Is Mercs single-player or multiplayer?
Mercs offers single-player and multiplayer play.
More in Capcom Games of the 1990s
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