Bionic Commando is a Capcom action platformer released for the Famicom in Japan on 20 July 1988 as ヒットラーの復活 トップシークレット (Hitler no Fukkatsu: Top Secret). It reached North America in December 1988. Although it is based on Capcom's 1987 arcade Bionic Commando, it plays very differently: the hero, Ladd, cannot jump and has to use his bionic grappling arm to climb, swing and cross gaps.
Between missions the player moves a helicopter around an overworld map. Enemy interceptions lead to overhead shooting stages, the only places to earn continues. For the English release Capcom stripped out the Nazi references and renamed Hitler "Master-D", but kept his appearance and his exploding-head ending.
The story was retold in a futuristic setting for the Game Boy in 1992, with the same stages and gameplay, and in 2008 Grin remade the NES game as Bionic Commando Rearmed for PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 and Windows.1
Names and releases
| Region | Title on the box | Platform | Date | Publisher | Src |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| NA | Bionic Commando | NES | December 1988 | Capcom | 1 |
| JP | ヒットラーの復活 トップシークレットHitler no Fukkatsu: Top SecretFamicom | NES | Jul 20, 1988 | Capcom | 1 |
| EU | Bionic Commando | NES | Oct 26, 1990 | Capcom | 1 |
Also known as: ヒットラーの復活 トップシークレット JP2Hitler no Fukkatsu: Top Secret JP1Hitler's Resurrection: Top Secret JP1Top Secret JP3
Box art by region
NA Bionic Commando 
EU Bionic Commando
Box art © its publishers, shown to identify each release. Scans: libretro-thumbnails.
Version differences
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CensorshipNES (NA/EU)
The English release removed the Nazi references: the neo-Nazi Empire's swastika-and-thunderbolt emblem became an eagle, the Nazis became the "Badds" and the villain Weizmann was renamed Killt. Hitler became "Master-D" but kept his look and his exploding-head ending.1
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DifficultyNES (NA/EU)
The difficulty was rebalanced for the English release, and some areas were made easier.1
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ContentNES (NA/EU)
In Area 14 the Japanese version has a friendly Imperial commander, Captain Mack; the English versions replace him with ten bullet canisters, and the Japanese route where answering "yes" to his question shows a credits text is gone.3
Where to play legally today
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Nintendo Switch Online Subscription
Bionic Commando (Game Boy)
1992 Game Boy retelling, not the NES game
Checked: 2026-10-134nintendo.com
Reception
Famitsu gave the Famicom version 26 out of 40, and a Capcom employee later said it did not sell well in Japan. In the West it fared better: it was on the cover of Nintendo Power's second issue in 1988, Electronic Gaming Monthly ranked it 32nd among console games in 1997, and Nintendo Power placed it 17th among NES games in 2008.1
In lists
Sources
Checked: 2026-10-13Text reviewed: 2026-10-13
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