Bionic Commando

What if a platformer had no jump? This single, daring question makes Bionic Commando one of the most distinctive action titles on the NES — a game that takes away your most basic ability and hands you something far more interesting in its place.

The hero, you see, can't jump. His only means of moving upward and across chasms is the bionic arm — a grappling hook you use to latch onto platforms, swing over enemies, and literally pull yourself through the world. It sounds like a limitation, but it actually changes the entire logic of play. Instead of mindless hopping, you have to plan every grab, judge the trajectory, and perceive space in a completely different way than in an ordinary platformer.

The structure is likewise unconventional. You advance across a map divided into areas that you move between, communicate with units over the radio, and infiltrate enemy bases. This layer of tactics and espionage atmosphere gave the game a pleasantly more serious, military flavor for its time, one that set it apart from the more colorful competition.

The graphics are snappy, the music catchy, and the combat system — a combination of shooting and skillful swinging — rewards those who learn to control the arm instinctively. At first you'll hang helplessly in place and plunge into chasms, but once the mechanic gets into your blood, movement becomes unexpectedly fluid and satisfying.

Bionic Commando is exactly the kind of game that stands on a single bold idea and carries it through to the end. That's precisely why it earned a reputation as a hidden gem of the NES library, and its hook became a model for a whole host of later games.

Why play: For the unforgettable feel of movement based purely on the bionic hook — once you get used to the absence of a jump, you won't want anything else.