Narc (NES) Playthrough
267A playthrough of Acclaim's 1990 run-and-gun shooter for the NES, Narc.
When it came out in 1988, Williams' Narc was famous for pushing boundaries. It was on the cutting edge of arcade tech, being the first coin-op to run on a 32-bit CPU and to feature "photo-realistic" high-resolution graphics with thousands of colors displayed simultaneously. It was also perhaps the most adult-oriented game yet to see a wide release in terms of both presentation and content, neatly packaged in a format that could be easily accessed by kids. As far as landmark moments in gaming go, Narc was to 1988 what Mortal Kombat was to 1992.
In Narc, you are a government agent who has been tasked with taking down KRAK (or "KWAK" on the NES), Mr. Big's terror-fueled drug empire. Armed with a pair of submachine guns and a missile launcher - and sometimes, a sports car - you mow down crowds of needle-slinging bums, junkies, pushers, and hungry dogs as you make your way through the city en route to the organization's headquarters. Or, if you're feeling charitable, you might arrest a few for bonus points as you take in the sight of severed limbs, heads, and baggies of crack raining down all around you. It's as fun and silly as it is excessive and violent, and it was an amazingly effective way to sell kids and teenagers on the government's War on Drugs. The DEA even gets a shout-out in the ending.
The NES version of Narc, made by Rare, is an unexpectedly faithful adaptation of the original game. The graphics and sound are crude in comparison, sure, and the control scheme is uncomfortably cramped on a two-button controller. The core gameplay, however, survived the transition reasonably intact, as did many of the game's more controversial elements. Bodies still gib, baddies are still drug piñatas, and a clown named Kinky Pinky still tries to stab you to death in front of a porno theatre. Good stuff. Nintendo's censors must have been out sick the day this one rolled through their offices.
Even with the concessions that had to be made for the hardware, on the family-friendly NES, Narc remains a fun, difficult, and utterly tasteless game. I like it.
_____________\nNo cheats were used during the recording of this video. \n\nNintendoComplete (http://www.nintendocomplete.com/) punches you in the face with in-depth reviews, screenshot archives, and music from classic 8-bit NES games!