G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero is a 1991 run and gun game published by Taxan for the Nintendo Entertainment System based on the toyline of the same name. The game was produced by Ken Lobb and developed by the same Japanese team that later formed KID.
G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero (NES)
A sequel developed by the same team, titled G.I. Joe: The Atlantis Factor, was released the following year, but was published by Capcom after Taxan went out of business.
G.I. Joe on the NES garnered positive reception from reviewers since its initial release; praise was given to the colorful graphics, ability to choose between characters and form a team, soundtrack, controls, gameplay and music but the occasional flickering issues was criticized. Retrospective commentary has been positive.
The player takes control of a team of three G.I. Joe characters, each with his own specialty. The goal of the game is to navigate through six stages on a mission to finally bring down Cobra. The initial character roster consists of Duke, Snake Eyes, Blizzard, Captain Grid-Iron, and Rock 'n Roll. A sixth character, Hawk, gives orders to the team between missions, and becomes available as a playable character for the final stage. The player's first character is automatically assigned depending on the stage, while the second and third characters are freely chosen.
The player collects power-ups in the game that increases an individual character's abilities. Gun icons increases firepower, K-rations recovers energy, and Chevron icons increases the current character's maximum stamina. Bullet icons refills the player's collective ammunition and bulletproof vest icons that grant temporary invincibility are also available at designated locations on each area. Icons flashing in red are more valuable than ordinary icons. All upgrades garnered during the course of the game are permanent, provided of course the character survives the mission.
Certain areas have empty enemy vehicles that the main character can operate. The three different vehicles available are the Buzz Boar, the Pogo, and the Battle Copter. The player can still plant bombs while riding these vehicles.
Each stage is broken up into three different segments: In the first segment, the player's team would fight their way into one of Cobra's bases. After penetrating the base, the player's team must plant a certain amount of bombs inside the base before time runs out. Afterward, the player must fight against the base's commander. The enemy bosses include a Range-Viper, Metal-Head, Overlord, Voltar, Destro and Cobra Commander himself. A password is given at the end of each stage.
There are five initial characters in the game (with a sixth character that becomes available for the final stage), each with his strength to bring to the game. The player can choose a team of three for each area. During gameplay, the player can switch between characters after pausing the game. The characters’ skills are agility, stamina, strength and firepower.
Duke – The most balanced, possessing the mid-level skills and powers of his comrades. He leads the team in Amazon mission.
Snake Eyes – Can jump higher and punch/throw faster than his teammates. He is also the only one who does not use up any ammunition, using white fireballs instead (described in game as a sort of Jujitsu). While being able to conserve vital ammunition, Snake Eyes' weapon is weak. He leads the team in New York's sewer mission.
Capt. Grid-Iron – Has the greatest fist power and is average in other departments. He is very similar to Duke, but with a shorter jump and a smaller spread weapon (described as grenade launcher). He leads the team in Black Hills mission.
Rock ‘n Roll – He has the strongest firepower (machine gun) and the widest range of all but all his other ratings below average. He leads the team in the desert mission.
Blizzard - Sub-par in most skills except stamina. Blizzard may come in handy during the Antarctic world, but otherwise does not stand out in any specific areas, though his (grenade) throwing speed is almost as fast as Snake Eyes. His special ability is that he can shoot through solid walls. He is in charge on the Antarctica missile base mission.
General Hawk – His appearance is based on the 1991 edition of his action figure. He is the only character who can fly and a requirement when facing Cobra Commander. He becomes available for use only in the final stage. In the course of the game, he was kidnapped by Destro, and Rock 'n Roll led a team of operatives to rescue him from the desert.
The six missions that the G.I. Joe team members must progress through each take place in a different part of the world: the Amazon, Antarctica, New York City, the Black Hills, and the Sahara. The game's final mission takes place in Cobra Headquarters.
More details about this game can be found on
Wikipedia.org.
Find digital download of this game on
GOG
or
Steam.
Game controls:
The NES version of G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero was originally controlled via the NES controller with a cross-shaped joypad and two action buttons. The basic description of game controls is summarized in the table below. Detailed description of how to play this game can be found a in the attached game manual. Please note that individual
gamepad buttons are emulated by different keys on your PC keyboard depending on the settings of your online emulator (see the table next to the game).
Use the D-pad to move left (←), move right (→), to duck or enter vehicle (↓) or to shoot up in weapon mode, or throw a grenade up in the hand-to-hand mode (↑+B). Characters cannot throw a grenade while jumping. Press ↓+B to duck and shoot in attack mods, or duck and use hand-to-hand combat in hand-to-hand mode.
Jump. The longer the button is held, the higher the character will jump, up to that character's maximum jump height. Also works as “jump” while in the Cobra Buzz Boar and Cobra Pogo, and as “fly up” in the Cobra Interrogator. “A” vill also select a character for use from the character select screen.
Attack. Shoot weapon in the weapon mode, or use hand-to-hand attack in the hand-to-hand mode. Also works to fire the weapon of a vehicle, if you are riding in one. Each character uses a different weapon, and attacks with a different hand-to-hand combat method; see each character's description for more information.
Select between New Game and Password on the title screen, and select between Weapon modes and Hand-to-Hand mode in the action screens.
Start a new game or go to the password screen from the title screen; go to the character select screen (Pause) from the action screens. Start will also return the player to the action screen from the character select, selecting a new character if one is chosen.
Videogame Console:
This version of G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero was designed for the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES), which was an eight-bit video game console manufactured
by Nintendo in the years 1983 - 2003. In that time, it was the best-selling video game console for which more than 700 licensed games and a number of non-licensed
games were created. Worldwide, approximately 62 million units of this console were sold at approximately price $ 100 per unit. More information about the
NES console can be found here.
Recommended Game Controllers:
You can control this game easily by using the keyboard of your PC (see the table next to the game). However, for maximum gaming enjoyment, we strongly recommend using a USB gamepad that you simply plug into the USB port of your computer. If you do not have a gamepad, buy a suitable USB controller on Amazon or AliExpress or in some of your favorite online stores.
Available online emulators:
6 different online emulators are available for G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero. These emulators differ not only in the technology they use to emulate old games, but also in support of various game controllers, multiplayer mode, mobile phone touchscreen, emulation speed, absence or presence of embedded ads and in many other parameters. For
maximum gaming enjoyment, it's important to choose the right emulator, because on each PC and in different Internet browsers, the individual emulators behave differently. The basic
features of each emulator available for this game G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero are summarized in the following table:
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This version of G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero was designed for the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES), which was an eight-bit video game console manufactured
by Nintendo in the years 1983 - 2003. In that time, it was the best-selling video game console for which more than 700 licensed games and a number of non-licensed
games were created. Worldwide, approximately 62 million units of this console were sold at approximately price $ 100 per unit. More information about the
NES console can be found 
