Iron Commando - Koutetsu no Senshi

1995 beat 'em up that was originally on the Super Nintendo (or Super Famicom) but only in Japan despite being made by a French developer. You can only control with the D-pad on your gamepad which is fine because there was no analog control for the SNES. After playing it, I can understand why Iron Commando is so obscure and forgotten. I had trouble beating the first level at easy. I kept being hit when I shouldn't have been. I felt underpowered even with weapons. It is a lazy port with limited options. There are big borders on the sides but that can be excused by the original 4:3 ratio. In the options, select Full screen and Stretch unless you prefer to play in a small box. Configuring the gamepad with the buttons I wanted was an exercice in frustration, and I still didn't know how to use the special grenade power reliably. Turns out you have to jump and then hit the grenade button. This wasn't explained anywhere. If you're looking for a brawler to scratch that Final Fight or Streets of Rage itch, look elsewhere.

Iron Commando: Koutetsu no Senshi is a relic from the 16-bit era that demonstrates how creative developers could be when working within the limitations of classic hardware. Developed by Arcade Zone and brought to Steam by Piko Interactive, this side-scrolling action game originally appeared in Japan during the final years of the Super Nintendo's lifespan. Although it never achieved the same level of fame as many of its contemporaries, its modern re-release gives players the opportunity to experience a title that embraced excess, variety, and arcade-style spectacle long before such design choices became nostalgic selling points. The game follows two operatives, Jack and Chang Li, as they pursue a dangerous terrorist group that has stolen a mysterious radioactive meteorite. The storyline is intentionally simple, serving mainly as a vehicle for a fast-paced journey across multiple locations packed with enemies and environmental hazards. While the narrative is hardly groundbreaking, it succeeds in establishing a classic action-movie atmosphere that fits the game's identity. Every stage feels like a new chapter in an over-the-top adventure, ranging from urban battlegrounds to more unus…

beat em up so bad i would rather be beat up.

"I do not recommend" -Khlamos the Wise The rating reflects the overall suckatude of the source game even without the Piko release making it worse. Granted, they give you the translated ROM as the 'game' file so you cannot blame them for re-releasing someone else's old turd as-is. I paid 30 cents for this travesty and that was 1,000 bucks too much. This game feels like an awful job. It is SUPER PAINFUL AND BORING. You are not going to beat this game without save states - the extra time spent on replaying the parts is not what your sanity can take. I beat it in about 2.7 hours (no, I do not want the Piko Special Mednafen audio lagging to add suffering to the experience - I used a real emulator ZSNES) and it felt like a year. It was that monotonous and boring. The controls are super stiff to the point you move slow, your moves will root you to the place for a second (e.g. a punch not connecting = ur ass is beat). Enemies move relatively fast and accurately, so you have to rely on few AI pattern glitches to get them to throw for you. One of them is punching them off-screen and then punching before they appear to make them get stuck. If you play normally, the enemies will surround y…

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One of the least good beat'em ups of all time. I played the heck out of this on the SNES, and a fair amount here on Steam. It's a bit of a like/hate relationship. The game is hard because of some shoddy gameplay, but hot dang does the music slap. I really only recommend it because the music is so good.