Line #33 VideoGame/NARC


1	[[quoteright:308:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/N_A_R_C__1488.png]]
2	[[caption-width-right:308:Pictured: The war on drugs.]]
3	->''"Say no or die!"''
4
5	''NARC'' was an UsefulNotes/ArcadeGame released in 1988 by Creator/WilliamsElectronics where one or two players take part in the War on Drugs.
6
7	The player controls one of two members of N.O. (Narcotics Opposition) code-named "Max Force" or "Hit Man" as they wage war on drugs. And we do mean ''war''. The entire game consists of shooting drug dealers and other crooks with machine guns and rocket launchers ''en masse.'' For a bit of variety, sometimes you run them over with your car instead.[[note]]While you can arrest some enemies, this is harder, takes more time (therefore exposing you to more damage), and you can only arrest so many enemies per level before it stops working, leaving lethal force your only option. Also, some enemies are immune to arrest.[[/note]] Your ultimate goal is to defeat the man behind the entire operation, "Mr. Big". Naturally, the players do this by making him explode. Turning the murder-factor up to eleven was essentially the only way to make teenagers pay attention to a game with an anti-drug message.
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9	''NARC'' was very much a byproduct of UsefulNotes/TheWarOnDrugs. It’s notable for being the first arcade game to use the 32-bit TI [=TMS34010=] processor, which would run many of Williams and Midway's later titles, most notably the early ''Franchise/MortalKombat'' entries.
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11	The Platform/NintendoEntertainmentSystem version, developed by Creator/{{Rare}}, was released in 1990 by Creator/{{Acclaim}}. It was also released on various home computer formats in 1990 courtesy of Ocean Software. An emulation of the original arcade game was included in the compilation ''Midway Arcade Treasures Vol. 2'', released for the [=PlayStation 2=] and Xbox.
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13	Max Force appears as one of the main characters of the "Power Team" animated segments in the Acclaim-sponsored TV show ''WesternAnimation/VideoPower'', where Mr. Big and his henchmen, Dr. Spike Rush and Joe Rockhed, also served as the show's main villains.
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15	A [[TheRemake remake]] was released in [[VideoGame/Narc2005 2005]], changing the formula from an arcade shoot'em up to a ''VideoGame/GrandTheftAuto''-style experience. It had rather mixed reviews.
16	-----
17	!!''NARC'' provides examples of:
18
19	* AWinnerIsYou: A very odd example; after defeating Mr. Big, players are rewarded the message, "You have completed the NARC training mission... Nice work. CONTACT YOUR LOCAL DEA RECRUITER."
20	* AllThereInTheScript: The name of the dynamite throwing enemy is never revealed in the game. The manual for the NES port refers to him as "Bevon Face".
21	* AmazingTechnicolorPopulation:
22	** Hypoman will occasionally appear with purple-toned skin.
23	** When first brought up on the police monitor, each one of Mr. Big's [=mooks=] appears using a different color: Das Lof appears orange; Spike "Hypoman" Rush, purple; Joe "Dumpsterman" Rockhed, teal; Kinky Pinky, red; Sgt. Skyhigh, brown; the HQ posse, a light tan; and Mr. Big is green.
24	* AnimatedAdaptation: Max Force was one of the main heroes in the Acclaim's ''Power Team'' cartoon, while Mr. Big and his lackeys (Dr. Spike Rush and Joe Rockhed) were the main villains.
25	* AttackItsWeakPoint: The true Mr. Big is only vulnerable when shot in the eyes. Then after he turns into a skull, his spine has to be blown apart vertebra-by-vertebra starting at the top.
26	* {{Beating A Dead Player}}: If Max Force or Hit Man loses his last life to a dog, the dog will drag his body around the screen during the continue countdown.
27	* {{BFG}}: Your rocket launcher. It can bring down a mass of mooks with one rocket. Even those you can't touch: Joe Rockhed (who would beat you to death) and Kinky Pinky (who'd use his butcher knife) among humans, and the dogs (who'd rip you apart) and bugs (which would drain life until you died).
28	* BigBad: Mr. Big is the leader of the K.R.A.K. syndicate, and your goal is to defeat him.
29	* BoobyTrap: Sergeant Skyhigh has [[SchmuckBait a few of his ganja plants rigged with explosives.]] You've got to hope the plant you take won't explode. Joe Rockhed might also grab a plant so he can hurt you when he throws it, then you WANT the plant to explode and take Joe down (same effect as hitting him with a rocket).
30	* {{Bowdlerise}}: All from The NES version:
31	** The blood spray on the title screen has been removed.
32	** The blood spatter color was changed from red to yellow.
33	** "K.R.A.K." was renamed to [[ElmuhFuddSyndwome "K.W.A.K."]]
34	** The game's catchphrase was edited from "Say no... or die" to "Just say no."
35	** The prostitutes--rather, the "innocents"--from Kinky Pinky's introductory stage have been taken out of the NES version.
36	** Oddly enough, considering this is a game on a ''[=Nintendo=]'' system in 1989, there are several surprising aversions:
37	*** The LudicrousGibs that result from a rocket impacting the Das Lofs, Hypoman, and HQ Posse [=mooks=] are still intact--probably due to the system's limited color palate.
38	*** Kinky Pinky's introductory stage still has building that have "adult books" and "XXX" markings on them.
39	*** All visual references to marijuana remain intact.
40	* TheBrute: Mr. Big has two:
41	** Muscle-wise Joe Rockhed, TheJuggernaut and PCP addict. You've got to blast him with lots of bullets or one rocket; he'll kill you if you try to bust him.
42	** Gun-wise, Sergeant Skyhigh. His machine gun and his flamethrower can keep up with your own machine gun and BFG.
43	* {{Cap}}:
44	** The counters for both cocaine and dirty money top out at 99, but it's possible to collect 100 or more and get bonuses for each and every pickup.
45	** Rewards for busts aren't as plentiful, maxing out at 50 perps, limiting this particular end-of-stage bonus to 250,000.
46	* CarFu: You can run over some of the bad guys with the Porsche -- the exception is Joe Rockhed, but he can be blasted with the Porsche's machine guns. If an enemy chopper is on the ground, you can go at it with the Porsche, then jump out before impact to take down the chopper and score the points for the drug bags in it.
47	* CollisionDamage: Inverted with the weaker mooks: Colliding with them immobilizes them, and if you can keep them that way for about a second you slap a pair of cuffs on them and they disappear. Played straight by EliteMooks Joe Rockhed and Kinky Pinky, as well as the attack dogs. Averted both ways for Sergeant Skyhigh; you and he will pass right through each other.
48	* ColorCodedMultiplayer: Max Force has light skin and wears a blue outfit; Hit Man has dark skin and wears a red outfit.
49	* CoolCar: The Porsches on the Bridge stage. They have BottomlessMagazines for the machine guns inside them, so you won't run out of ammo if you stay in the Porsches AND don't get them destroyed (by crashing into stuff, driving onto a mine, or getting bombed by an enemy chopper).
50	* CoverVersion: Music/ThePixies covered the game's main theme as a B-side. The lyrics are literally just Black Francis wailing "Theme from NARC!"
51	* CowboyCop: You ''are'' playing a police officer... one who solves his problems with military-grade weapons. In a slight subversion, you ''are'' encouraged to bust enemies whenever you can, instead of shooting them. (Shooting might drop cash worth 1,000 points or drug bags worth 2,000, while a "BUST" gives you 5,000 points.) However, there is a limit to the number of busts you can make per level, after which you can no longer arrest perps and wasting them is the only option. That said, it's a pretty high number, and grinding for it is risky. There are also a few enemies -- Joe Rockhed, Kinky Pinky, Mr. Big, and the attack dogs -- who cannot be busted at all, leaving [[ViolenceIsTheOnlyOption violence as the only option]].
52	%%* TheDragon: Spike Rush in the "Power Team" cartoons.
53	* DrugsAreBad: Why else would the cops walk down Main Street shooting all the drug users with fully automatic weapons?
54	%%* DumbMuscle: Joe Rockhed in the above "Power Team" cartoons. Befits as he's also TheBrute.
55	* ElmuhFuddSyndwome: The NES port's "K.W.A.K."
56	* [[Every10000Points Every 100,000 points:]] Every 100,000 points grants a OneUp, and if you get hurt, it's a WoundThatWillNotHeal. There are NO healing items in NARC, nor is your current player's life replenished at the start of the next stage. So you have to hope you can get plenty of extra lives (though 20 busts is a quick way to get an extra life, as well as loading up on cash and drug bags), or just be prepared to spend a lot of quarters.
57	* EvilCripple: Mr. Big uses a wheelchair. Although given how quickly he crawls away every time you blast him, it's debatable how much he really needs it.
58	* EvilGenius: For his organization, Mr. Big has two: Spike Rush is the drug maker, while Kinky Pinky runs the porn operations. Given that Sergeant Skyhigh grows the marijuana (ganja), he might be a third.
59	* FunWithAcronyms: Our heroes are employed by a group called the Narcotics Opposition, or "N.O." for short.
60	* GiantSpaceFleaFromNowhere: So... why exactly does Mr. Big turn out to be a disembodied big giant head that shoots fire out of its eyes and spits out an endless stream of severed tongues?
61	* {{Gonk}}: Mr. Big. He's a FatBastard with about five chins chomping on a cigar.
62	* GoombaStomp: Your only defense against [[StalkedByTheBell giant flying roaches]].
63	* GunsAkimbo: You dual wield a machine gun and a rocket launcher.
64	* GratuitousLaboratoryFlasks: There are ''giant'' flasks and beakers (which can be shot and blown up) in Dr. Spike Rush's "clandestine drug lab."
65	* ImprobableWeaponUser:
66	** Spike Rush flings hypodermic syringes with enough drug to take a good bit of your life bar.
67	** Joe Rockhed picks up and throws garbage dumpsters. And trash cans. And in Sergeant Skyhigh's stage, ganja pots (but a few were rigged to explode on impact by Sergeant Skyhigh, so you WANT Joe to grab the rigged ones).
68	* KaizoTrap:
69	** Think you're home free after defeating Mr. Big's skeletal head form? Those huge deadly cockroaches will start spawning from his corpse to destroy you until you quickly enter the door.
70	** After beating Mr. Big and taking all the gold, don't dally around in the final room before entering the final door, otherwise mooks will actually spawn in and try to end your victory.
71	* LudicrousGibs: What happens when you hit a baddie with a rocket launcher. Surprisingly, this visual element was ''not'' removed from the [=NES=] port.
72	* MadBomber: Bevon Face will toss dynamite at you.
73	* MadeOfIron: Joe Rockhed can take a lot of bullets before dying. A rocket is still a OneHitKill for him, but it doesn't even reduce him to LudicrousGibs as it does with everyone else.
74	* MonsterClown: One of the villains, Kinky Pinky. For even more creepy, he's the one running Mr. Big's porn business. His butcher knife means you can't bust him, and must neutralize him with a bullet or rocket.
75	%%* MoreDakka: The players, and one of the {{Mook}} in stage five utilizes this.
76	* NamesToRunAwayFromReallyFast: The identities of the player characters are Max Force and Hit Man.
77	* NoAnimalsWereHarmed: For all the geysers of blood in this game, shooting an attack dog simply makes it [[RuleOfFunny turn into a puppy and run away]].
78	* NoIndoorVoice: Once you put a coin in the slot, you're almost knocked backwards by how loud the speakers are turned up (the synthesized quality of 80s video-game sound effects didn't help).
79	* OhCrap: In the first cutscene when a Das Lof Gang member emerges from the Pipeline hideout and realizes the NARC duo are coming for him:
80	-->"Oh no, the NARC, man!"
81	* OneHitPointWonder: Every [=mook=] other than Joe Rockhed, Kinky Pinky, and the wheelchair-bound Mr. Big.
82	* PoliceBrutality: Cops with machine guns and rocket launchers (and carte blanche to use them) are pretty excessive. And perhaps justified, as this is happening in a city where you can't walk down a street without encountering drug traffickers of increasing monstrousness.
83	* PublicDomainSoundtrack: Kinky Pinky's theme is a sinister version of "Pop Goes the Weasel".
84	* PyroManiac: Sergeant Skyhigh can also use a flamethrower as well as a [[MoreDakka machine gun]].
85	* RewardingVandalism: In Spike Rush's stage, destroying his drug-filled lab equipment grants bonus points.
86	* SmashMook: Joe Rockhed, a PCP addict who's super-strong and can lift dumpsters to hurt you. He takes a LOT of bullets or one rocket to bring down--don't even THINK about trying to arrest him as he will manhandle/kill you instead.
87	* StalkedByTheBell: Hanging out in the same area for too long after collecting the keycard will spawn large groups of attack dogs. Fighting them off will just invoke the wrath of black-furred dogs, the fastest enemies in the game who will quickly tear you to shreds. They dart off-screen after taking a life, but they'll be back soon. Fighting ''them'' off spawn deadly roaches the size of a television set who will just latch on and suck you dry, and they respawn with faster flight speed. The roaches also spawn from the final boss's corpse, so hurry to the right.
88	* SuperWheelchair: Mr. Big's wheelchairs come equipped with machine guns.
89	* UltraSuperDeathGoreFestChainsawer3000: Although the game has the simple name of "NARC", its style is very much this trope.
90	* ViolenceIsTheOnlyOption: With Joe Rockhed (he'll kill you if you try to bust him with his brute strength), Kinky Pinky (he'll stab you repeatedly with his butcher knife), and Mr. Big (you've got to first nail his weaponized wheelchair with a rocket three times, then take out his "giant head" form), you've GOT to kill them as you can't "Bust" them. And of course, the dogs can only be shot to turn them from full-grown into whining puppies.
91	* YourHeadAsplode: Dealing enough damage to Mr. Big causes his skin and muscle to violently blow clear off his skull.

Context VideoGame / NARC