M.I.A.: Missing In Action is an Arcade Game released by Konami, which was released worldwide in 1989. It serves as a spiritual sequel to Rush'n Attack.
The game changed the setting from Russia to Vietnam. Aside from the improved graphics and sounds, the play mechanics are pretty much identical to the original, except the player can now crawl on the floor and carry more than one special weapon, switching between them on the fly with a weapon select button. And like the NES version of the original, it can be played simultaneously with a second player as well.
It is a two player game (although one player can play M.I.A.); one player assumes the role of a United States Army Special Forces commando. The other player assumes the role of a United Nations soldier.
MIA: Missing in Action features examples of:
- Difficulty by Region: The export versions of M.I.A. randomizes the order of the first three stages and mirrored the layouts of all the even-numbered stages, meaning that the player starts from the right and proceeds to the left in those stages (as opposed to the other way around).
- Escort Mission: Once you've rescued the POWs, you must keep at least one alive.
- Non-Standard Game Over: If all of the POWs die, the words "Mission Failed" flash on the screen and the game is permanently over.
- One-Hit-Point Wonder: Carried over from its prequel, there's nothing that can't be killed with a single knife stab.
- Whole-Plot Reference: The game's premise of a POW rescue in Vietnam is based on Missing in Action and Rambo: First Blood Part II.
