Jackal - for NES

Jackal is Konami's overhead military shooter, developed and published for the Nintendo Entertainment System in 1988 following the arcade original. The Jackal squad is a team of four, Colonel Decker, Lieutenant Bob, Sergeant Quint and Corporal Grey, sent behind enemy lines in an armed jeep to bring home soldiers being held as hostages. Jackal stands out because it is a rescue game rather than a body count game: the shooting is there to serve the people you are trying to get out alive.

One or two players drive the jeep through six levels of enemy strongholds, breaking open buildings to free prisoners of war and then carrying them to helicopter pickup points before moving on. Each level ends with a boss, and the final level has two of them. The jeep is armed and its firepower can be improved as a run goes well, so the rhythm of Jackal is a loop of clearing ground, loading up, delivering safely and pushing deeper. Two player cooperative play is how most people remember it, with one jeep covering the other.

Jackal endures because of that loop. Carrying rescued soldiers changes the way you drive, since suddenly you have something to lose, and the simple act of reaching a helicopter and watching it lift away is more satisfying than any score counter. Konami's touch is all over the music, the tight controls and the clean, readable screen. For collectors, Jackal is one of the essential two player shooters on the Nintendo Entertainment System, a cartridge that sits comfortably beside Contra and Life Force and still gets picked up first when there are two people on the couch.

• Genre: Overhead Shooter
• Players: 1-2
• Region: NTSC
• Release Year: 1988
• Developer: Konami

Cartridge Only: No Box or Manual
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Condition & Authenticity
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