[[quoteright:544:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/le_i_and_ii_psx_na_cover.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:544:PSX cover for Lethal Enforcers I and II. Not present: Lethal Enforcers 3.]]

-> '''Criminal''': Eat lead, Copper!
-> '''Hostage''': Don't shoot!
-->-- '''You'll be hearing these words [[BrokenRecord a lot.]]'''

''Lethal Enforcers'' is a 1992 LightGunGame series by Creator/{{Konami}} in which you are a police officer trying to take out criminals and terrorists. Shooting the bad guys will increase your rank, which is needed to get through the stages, but killing any innocent bystanders or police officers in the process will reduce your rank instead. There are five missions to complete in the game, each ending with a BossBattle. The Bank Robbery, in which you must stop bank robbers from escaping and stealing the money, Chinatown Assault, in which you must battle TheTriadsAndTheTongs as well as Chinese knife-wielding triads that have overrun Chinatown, The Hijack, in which you must prevent a general and his group of terrorists from taking a plane and escaping, The Drug Dealers, where you must stop a shipment of drugs at the dock, and The Chemical Plant, where you must stop terrorists from sabotaging a chemical plant to poison the water supply.

Among the light gun games that filled the arcades, ''Lethal Enforcers'' stood out as the first to use DigitizedSprites, specifically based on photographs of live actors and locales, giving the game a photorealistic (if pixelated) appearance. Combined with violent gameplay, like the similar use in ''VideoGame/MortalKombat1992'' (albeit [[BloodlessCarnage without the famous blood and gore]]), this resulted in controversy.

In 1994, Konami released a sequel, ''Lethal Enforcers II: Gun Fighters'' (called ''Lethal Enforcers II: TheWestern'' in Japan). While the previous game was set in modern times, this game changes the setting to TheWildWest. The gameplay is the same, only now you fight outlaws in Old West settings such as a saloon and a stagecoach holdup.

Home ports of both games were released for the Platform/SegaGenesis, Platform/SegaCD and Platform/SuperNintendoEntertainmentSystem (first game only) bundled with the Justifier light gun. These were followed by a CompilationRerelease for the Platform/PlayStation.

''Lethal Enforcers 3'' was released in 2005 for arcades only, and plays completely different from its predecessors (but similar to the ''Police 911'' spinoff). This is because [[DolledUpInstallment it is actually the localization of]] ''Seigi no Hero'' ("Heroes of Justice"), the SpiritualSuccessor to the ''Police 911'' spinoff. The game plays like a mix between a gun game and a racing game; you and an opponent race through each stage, clearing out enemies in order to reach the goal before the other player, while using a ''Time Crisis''-style cover system to avoid enemy gunfire.

There is also a spin-off series called ''VideoGame/{{Police 911}}'' (The Keisatsukan in Japan/Asia), also a sequel to the first game and is set in Japan. In these games, you race through each stage, clearing out enemies in the HighSpeedBattle in order to reach the CatAndMouseBoss stage, while using a motion tracker as you can physically move your body to dodge enemy gunfire. You are tasked to tracking down an international Yakuza group named Gokudou-kai.

'''Titles''':
[[index]]
* VideoGame/LethalEnforcers1 (MediaNotes/ArcadeGame, Platform/SuperNintendoEntertainmentSystem, Platform/SegaGenesis, Platform/SegaCD, Platform/{{Playstation}})
* VideoGame/LethalEnforcersIIGunFighters (MediaNotes/ArcadeGame, Platform/SegaGenesis, Platform/SegaCD, Platform/{{Playstation}})
* VideoGame/LethalEnforcers3 (MediaNotes/ArcadeGame)
[[/index]]

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!!The series as a whole contains examples of:

* BloodlessCarnage: A slash mark appears on the screen when a blade hits you, but otherwise no blood is shed.
* CompilationRerelease: ''Lethal Enforcers I & II'' for the [=PlayStation=].
* EveryTenThousandPoints: Downplayed as extra lives are earned for every ''1,000'' points.
* InstantDeathBullet: Every shot fired by the player will kill a {{mook}} instantly. In the third game, this applies to bosses as well.
* PoliceAreUseless: Every cop except you. While other officers will show up to provide "backup", they don't actually help you at all and really do nothing except provide more innocent targets that player has to avoid shooting by mistake.
* RailingKill: Many times, an enemy on high ground will tumble forward and fall off when shot.
* SeanConneryIsAboutToShootYou: The cover art of the [[http://www.emuparadise.me/Sega%20CD/Box%20Scans/Lethal%20Enforcers%20%28U%29%20%28Front%29.jpg first]] [[http://media.gamestats.com/gg/image/object/005/005608/LETHAL_ENFORCERS_SEGACD_BOX_FRONT.jpg two]] games.
* JustForFun/XMeetsY:
** ''Lethal Enforcers'' is what you might get if ''Film/DirtyHarry'' and ''Film/BeverlyHillsCop'' gets crossed with a LightGunGame. The classic sedans featured -- similar to vehicle era of ''Film/TheDeadPool'' -- help reinforce this, the vehicle pursuit song "[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q6Ky9P6O2Q4 Shoot Into the Street]]" has a rough feel to Glenn Frey's "[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C070_4ya98Y The Heat is On]]" during the chorus and you even deal with a plane hijacking like in ''Film/MagnumForce''. [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=09le4jyqqzc Yoshiaki Hatano, the creator of the game]], said the game was inspired by the ''Dirty Harry'' series as it is his personal favorite film series and he liked all five of them.
** ''Lethal Enforcers II: Gun Fighters'' has nods to the ''Film/DollarsTrilogy'', such as [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CyboyK2eo6c similar music]], and has the feel of the SpaghettiWestern genre in general, but riding the coattails of the original game, you're playing as law enforcement rather than as an bounty hunter.
** ''Lethal Enforcers 3'' is a great ''VideoGame/TimeCrisis'' racing game.