Undercover Cops

Developer: Varie      Publisher: Irem      Released: March 3, 1995      Genre: Beat ’em up      Platform: Super Famicom

If you were to explore nearly any publisher’s back catalog you’ll find plenty of hidden classics that have gone unnoticed.  That is extremely evident with Irem.  Everyone of course knows them for R-Type, and rightfully so.  But they have many arcade gems that never received home ports.  I absolutely loved Gunforce 2, Blade Master, and Hook in the arcade but sadly that is where they reside today.  Undercover Cops was a Final Fight clone that hit the Super Famicom in 1993.  Sadly the US release was cancelled but it doesn’t matter.  This great game is one of the better SNES brawlers and worthy of a purchase.

I did not connect the dots before but the silly story is Fist of the North Star in everything but name.  In the year 2043 nuclear war has ravaged the planet.  Roving gangs and mutants terrorize the populace and the police can no longer keep up.  The government puts together a special squad of undercover cops to combat the rising level of violence.  These cops are special, with each (Matt, Zan, and Rosa) having their own reasons for wanting to take down Dr. Clayborn, the dictator who has taken over the city.

The similarities to Final Fight can’t be denied but Undercover Cops is more than that.  All three protagonists fit neatly into the pre-established roles but that doesn’t matter.  What separates the game from its contemporaries is its large roster of moves.  Your standard punch/kick combo can end in one or two different ways.  You have a variety of grappling moves when grabbing enemies and can also perform a number of dashing attacks.  Variety is the one factor that most beat em ups lack so I’m glad to see the number of options here.  You won’t find random weapons in trash cans here but occasionally you can pick up a massive telephone pole to smack bad guys around.  It should also be noted that this is based on the original Japanese arcade game, and not the stripped down western release, meaning all of the moves and content are intact.

While the story sounds serious there is an almost comedic tone to the game.  It has always been a bit outlandish that brawler heroes eat fully cooked meals out of garbage cans.  This game goes a step further as you are eating live pigs, snails, and mice!  And you have to catch them first!  Rosa’s attacks are a bit…risque to say the least.  The second boss is a burly woman with a hydraulic drill who kicks your ass.  But halfway through the fight she bursts into tears at the ass whipping your dealing out.

The wide arsenal of moves and enemies are good but can’t help with the game’s pacing.  Undercover Cops is about medium in length at five stages.  However the game is severely padded out with far too many enemy waves.  Each level brings one or two enemies which is great.  But once you’ve killed about fifty of them in the same drawn out level you’re sick of them.  The last two stages are a grueling gauntlet of repetitive enemy waves, almost as if the game requires two players.  The game does everything else so right that the bad pacing in the end game really stands out.

The lack of multiplayer makes the game’s second half a little more difficult than normal.  Many enemies possess cheap attacks that are hard to avoid.  When paired up in groups it is incredibly frustrating.  Even worse, it is easy to get knocked down repeatedly and chain killed to death.  I like the interactive elements that allow you to kill enemies quickly such as stage one’s compactor but it is just as easy to fall victim to the same tactic. Where do I begin with the cheap bosses?  You expect brawler bosses to be cheap but this goes a little too far.   The generous number of lives and continues disappear pretty quickly in light of these elements.  It isn’t game breaking, just frustrating.

Undercover Cops was made by many of the same team members who would go on to create In the Hunt and Metal Slug.  That means it has the same insane attention to detail in its art that makes it beautiful.  Surprisingly despite the gulf in hardware the SNES version is pretty faithful to the arcade.  Some background detail is missing and the sprites are slightly smaller but otherwise this remains one of the best looking brawlers on the system.  Some censoring has made some of the female enemies less suggestive.  The only other blemish on the presentation is the few instances of slowdown, mostly in stage 2.  The music is an interesting mix of jazz and techno that, while not exceptional, is pretty good overall.

In Closing

Undercover Cops is an excellent game and a gem that western gamers missed out on.  With Coop it would have been phenomenal but has to settle for just great.