Commando

戦場の狼 (Senjō no Ōkami)Arcade, Commodore 64, ZX Spectrum, NES +151985

  1. JP1985
  2. NA1985
  3. EU1985
  4. RU—

Commando is called 戦場の狼 (Senjō no Ōkami) in Japan, and a version released outside Japan as Space Invasion turned the enemy soldiers into robot-like figures. Today the easiest legal way to play the arcade original is as an add-on for Capcom Arcade Stadium.

Commando is a run-and-gun game that Capcom released in arcades in May 1985; in Japan it is called 戦場の狼 (Senjō no Ōkami). Tokuro Fujiwara designed it. The player controls the soldier Super Joe, who fires in eight directions but throws grenades only upward. It was also Capcom's first arcade game with FM sound.

Data East distributed the arcade game in North America, and Elite published the British home computer versions in November 1985. The Famicom version followed on 27 September 1986. It loops four level designs instead of the arcade's eight stages and adds hidden underground rooms; it was also Capcom's first Famicom port made in-house.

Outside Japan, Bionic Commando was marketed as a sequel, and Mercs (1989) came out in Japan as Senjō no Ōkami II.12

Names and releases

RegionTitle on the boxPlatformDatePublisherSrc
NA Commando Arcade May 1985 Data East 1
NA Commando NES November 1986 Capcom 1
JP 戦場の狼 Arcade May 1985 Capcom 1
EU Commando Arcade July 1985 Capcom 1
EU CommandoNorth America in mid-1986. Commodore 64 November 1985 Elite Systems 1
EU CommandoAlso Amstrad CPC and BBC Micro. ZX Spectrum November 1985 Elite Systems 1
JP 戦場の狼 NES Sep 27, 1986 Capcom 1
JP 戦場の狼Also PC-8801 and FM-7. MSX 1987 ASCII 2
JP カプコンジェネレーション 第4集 孤高の英雄Capcom Generation 4 compilation; also on Saturn. PlayStation 1998 Capcom 2
JP 戦場の狼Virtual Console Arcade; North America 6 December 2010, PAL 17 December 2010. Wii Oct 5, 2010 Capcom 1
WW Capcom Arcade Stadium: CommandoAdd-on for Capcom Arcade Stadium. Switch Feb 17, 2021 Capcom 3

Also known as: 戦場の狼 JP2Senjō no Ōkami JP1Space Invasion2

Version differences

  • ContentFamicom/NES

    The NES version repeats four level designs with small changes and rising difficulty instead of the arcade's eight stages; grenading certain spots opens hidden underground rooms with ammo, points and weapon upgrades.1

  • GraphicsFamicom/NES

    Sprite flicker and enemies suddenly vanishing are more common on the Famicom than in the arcade game.2

  • CensorshipSpace Invasion

    A version released outside Japan as Space Invasion redraws the enemy infantry as robot-like figures; the gameplay stays the same.2

All differences (5)

Where to play legally today

Reception

Capcom sold over 15,000 arcade boards by June 1985. Commando was the highest-grossing arcade game of 1985 in the UK and one of the top three US arcade earners that year. The home computer versions topped the UK charts, earned two Software Publishers Association Gold Awards in 1987, and the NES version sold 1.14 million copies worldwide.1

In lists

Sources

  1. 1en.wikipedia.org
  2. 2ja.wikipedia.org
  3. 3en.wikipedia.org
  4. 4store.steampowered.com
  5. 5store.steampowered.com
  6. 6store.steampowered.com

Checked: 2026-10-13Text reviewed: 2026-10-13

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