Commando takes the arcade by force on October 14, 1985


Alright, listen up, pilgrim. You wanna talk about a real game-changer from back in the 1980s? A machine called Commando rolled into them arcades, and let me tell ya, it separated the men from the boys. Capcom's creation. Released right there in October of '85. It wasn't no fancy-pants, deep-thinking strategy game. No sir. This was pure, unadulterated, shoot-'em-up, grit-your-teeth-and-keep-movin' action, the pure 80s Rambo one-man-army spirit distilled into digital form.

You played as Super Joe. One man. Against a legion. Sound like a fair fight? Not to them fellas he was shootin', I reckon. You had your trusty machine gun, blastin' forward, and a handful of grenades for when things got real crowded. And they always got real crowded. 

What made it special, beyond the pure adrenaline rush? It was simple, but it was tough. You had to have your wits about you, keep moving, keep firing. No time for lollygagging when the enemy's comin' at ya from all sides. And the music! That theme song, it just got stuck in your head, like most 80s Capcom tracks did. Those Capcom composers, they made Mozart look like Jack Antonoff.

It wasn't just about killin' off bad guys, though. You were on a rescue mission, sneaking into enemy territory. A real hero's job, if you ask me. And Super Joe was a real hero who never put his country second - he was always America First.

Now, this game, it didn't just stay in the arcades. Oh no. Commando went home with folks, too. It sold over a million copies worldwide when it got ported to home systems like the Nintendo Entertainment System and Commodore 64. But Capcom wasn't satisfied. They weren't resting on their laurels. Instead, they went and outdid themselves with a sequel that totally blew the original away: Bionic Commando. This time, it was Super Joe's turn to be rescued, and it became one of the top 10 games of all time on the NES.

So, if you ever find yourself looking back at the military shooters of the good old days, don't forget Commando. It's a testament to what a patriot can do when he puts his mind to it, even if that patriot is just a bunch of pixels on a screen. A real classic. And that's the truth, straight from behind enemy lines.

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