History VideoGame / LethalEnforcers

%%[[caption-width-right:544:PSX cover for Lethal Enforcers I and II. Not present: Lethal Enforcers 3.]]

[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/hqdefault_52.jpg]]

''Lethal Enforcers'' is a 1992 LightGunGame 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.

There is also a spin-off series called ''VideoGame/{{Police 911}}'' (The Keisatsukan in Japan and 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.

** ''Lethal Enforcers 3'' is a great ''VideoGame/TimeCrisis'' racing game.
!!The first game contains examples of:
* AllThereInTheManual: The player character is a police officer named Don Marshall and the game is set in Chicago, Illinois.
* ApatheticCitizens: Most citizens are just annoying jumping out of cover to yell at you to not shoot, but a few, notably in Chinatown Assault, seem to be completely unconcerned with the active shooting situation going on around them. Notably one old man in the subway station who is sleeping on a bench throughout the entire scene, only moving to scratch himself or look up annoyed at you.
* BankRobbery: The first stage of the game requires you to put a stop to this.
* BattleAmongstTheFlames: Before the FinalBoss battle in the Chemical Plant, an explosion occurs and the area darkens with flames in the background, forcing you to put on your night vision goggles while you shoot at the terrorists and tanks.
* BehindTheBlack: Every level has its own Mook type that emerge from below the screen right in front of you. Most shoot, though the asian enemies in Stage 2 will stab you instead.
* BlatantBurglar: Per the North American version of the trope, many of the bank robbers wear black clothing and balaclavas.
* {{Bowdlerise}}: Stage 4, "The Drug Dealer," becomes "The Gunrunners" in the Platform/SuperNES port. It also removes all references to Chinatown in "Chinatown Assault," with the title becoming "Downtown Assault" and the "China Inn" renamed to simply "Restaurant." Most oddly, no one flinches from any shot. Enemies will simply [[EverythingFades blink away]] in the frame of animation you shot them on; and hostages will be unharmed, but the game will throw a "Caution!" message on the screen and [[HostageSpiritLink take away a life]].
* CarChaseShootOut: The first and fourth levels have the player(s) taking on escaped bank robbers and drug dealers, respectively, in a car chase while firing at enemies periodically sticking themselves out to shoot at the players. Both levels culminate in a boss battle, respectively against a rocket-launcher wielding boss in an armored van and a helicopter whose side-turret spams missiles on the players.
* CardCarryingVillain: The Stage 2 boss has a kanji which means "villain". Also doubles as BilingualBonus.
* CigarChomper: Despite the low quality digitized sprites, the third level boss can clearly be seen clenching a cigar in his mouth throughout the battle. This adds to his distinctively grizzled, commanding look along with his [[OldSoldier advanced age]] and [[EyepatchOfPower eyepatch.]]
* DarkActionGirl: Plenty of female criminals will try to put a bullet through you. You must shoot them.
* DigitizedSprites: The first LightGunGame to use them.
* DualWielding: The Stage 2 boss has an infinite supply of swords to dual wield and [[ThrowingYourSwordAlwaysWorks throw at you]].
* DynamicDifficulty: When the game begins, enemies will take around three seconds to shoot. The longer you go without losing a life, however, the less time they wait before shooting, until you have to have superhuman reflexes to take them out. Losing a life will reset it back to normal. The game will also become tougher, with extra enemies showing up, if you play with two players.
* EverythingFades: Enemies flinch and blink out of existence when shot. Hostages simply vanish a few seconds after being shot, but not before the game admonishes and [[HostageSpiritLink punishes you]] for shooting them.
* {{Foreshadowing}}: The first boss attacks from the back of a Chemical Waste Service van. The final stage takes place in a chemical plant.
* FlunkyBoss: The second and fourth level bosses will occasionally have enemies come in for backup, but the third level boss makes it a key strategy, ducking out of view and repositioning while his minions storm out to assault you.
* FriendlyLocalChinatown: The not-so-friendly setting of Stage 2 (Chinatown Assault).
* GameplayGrading: From "Patrolman" to "Commander." Being a good shot will raise your rank, but shooting innocents will lower it.
* GasMaskMooks: The terrorists in the Chemical Plant wear NBC[=/=]hazmat equipment, complete with gas masks. The hijackers in the airport also wear gas masks.
* GrenadeLauncher:
** You can pick one up in Stage 3 (Stage 6 in the consoles); it has a wide blast range and (like the below-mentioned Magnum) can shoot enemies through their cover. However, it cannot be reloaded; once you're out of ammo, you revert to your default revolver.
** The third level boss attacks with a large rotary grenade launcher, though the projectiles act the same as rockets fired from other bosses.
* GunsAkimbo: You can do this with both guns--if you're good enough.
* HandCannon: The Magnum, which allows you to shoot enemies through their cover.
* HostageSpiritLink: One of the {{Trope Codifier}}s; shooting an innocent will cost you one life.
* ISurrenderSuckers: Be on guard for mooks who pop up armed and who do something along the lines of screaming "DON'T SHOOT!".
* MacrossMissileMassacre: On the hardest difficulty, the FinalBoss in the Chemical Plant Sabotage mission will launch more missiles at you to shoot at.
* MoreDakka: The assault rifle (with a three-round burst) and machine gun, which will cause most {{mook}}s in the arcade version to flinch from each shot. If you're fast on the trigger, you can replicate this with your revolver and shotgun.
** The bonus at the end of a level is based on how many hits you've landed, too, meaning that applying this trope is the quickest path to a OneUp.
* NightVisionGoggles: You throw these on in Stage 5 (The Chemical Plant) when the power goes out near the end.
* PainfullySlowProjectile:
** Some mooks will throw grenades that can be shot out of the air. Stage 2, Chinatown Assault, features enemies throwing daggers at you instead.
** As is custom for many light gun games, in order to let you defend yourself against opponents that aren't taken down with one shot, the bosses all attack with a barrage of projectiles that can be shot out of the air. Most use explosive projectiles like rockets or grenades, while the second level boss [[ThrowingYourSwordAlwaysWorks throws swords.]]
* ParryingBullets: The Stage 2 boss can block bullets with his swords, though thankfully he isn't perfect with his reflexes, and sometimes gets hit regardless.
* PinkIsFeminine: The cabinet art for the first game shows a female cop in a pink tank top as Don Marshall's partner.
* PointOfNoContinues: No matter if you have lots of coins handy, even the arcade version can limit the number of times you can continue per playtrough! Downplayed in that second players can still join in should things go downhill for you after continuing for the final time in a particular playthrough, so you'd better count on them.
* PuzzleBoss: The chemical plant boss' helicopter will effortlessly tank every single round you put into the fuselage until you first destroy the numerous guns and missile pods on each stabilizer wing, at which point a life meter appears and you can finally start doing damage to the pilot.
* RedShirt:
** During the opening montage for stage 2 ("Chinatown/Downtown Assault"), a police officer is shown being shot to death. This gets censored in the Super Nintendo port, though.
** It's implied that another police officer is shot and killed during the opening montage for stage 4 ("The Drug Dealer/The Gunrunners").
* RewardingVandalism: Given you are in the middle of a ferocious firefight. You can still deliberately shoot surveillance cameras, glass windows, car fenders, etc. and uncover gun power-ups.
* SequentialBoss: The FinalBoss. After you take out the helicopter's machine guns, missiles, and rockets, the pilot will take you on personally using a handgun.
* ShootingGallery: The bonus stage.
* ShoutOut:
** The game as a whole was inspired by the ''Film/DirtyHarry'' franchise, right down to the [[http://gamesdbase.com/Media/SYSTEM/Arcade/Title/big/Lethal_Enforcers_-_1992_-_Konami.jpg title screen]] resembling [[https://lastroadreviews.files.wordpress.com/2013/06/20130628-204918.jpg the opening titles]] to ''Film/MagnumForce''. The game also features the famous .44 Magnum sound effect from the films for the player's default gun.
** Near the end of the Drug Dealers level, an enemy resembling a [[Franchise/{{Terminator}} T-800]] is fought.
* SunglassesAtNight: If they're not wearing masks, the enemies are wearing sunglasses, even indoors.
* TheTriadsAndTheTongs: You're fighting them in the second stage.
* ThrowingYourSwordAlwaysWorks: The Stage 2 boss attacks this way, and he is quite accurate, forcing you to [[PainfullySlowProjectile shoot the swords out of the air]] to avoid taking damage.
* UnnecessaryCombatRoll: Some enemies will roll out of cover. The knife throwing bad guys in Chinatown Assault tend to really ham it up, cartwheeling out from cover to throw knives at you.
* VideoGameCrueltyPunishment: The Genesis port is very unforgiving of shooting innocent civilians. Hitting a single one will force you to redo the entire stage ''after'' you've cleared it, on top of the standard [[HostageSpiritLink life loss.]]
* WesternTerrorists: The last stage has you fighting against these.
* WhatTheHellPlayer: The game will call you out if you shoot several innocent bystanders or fellow cops with comments such as "What are you doing?!" and "Concentrate, man!"
* WraparoundBackground: Present in Stage 1 and 4's car chases and the subway train battle in Stage 2. The chase in Stage 1 (The Bank Robbery) takes place on a seemingly never-ending block with "a lot of National Rubber Stamp Co.'s," as noted by WebVideo/TheAngryVideoGameNerd while reviewing the Platform/SegaCD version.
!!This second game contains examples of:
* BadGuyBar: The location of the aptly named Saloon Showdown.
* BankRobbery: You start off having to stop one in the Old West, too.
* {{BFG}}: The player can pick up ''cannons'' and use them as a personal firearm, which acts like the GrenadeLauncher from the previous game. Just like before, however, it cannot be reloaded; run out of cannonballs and it's back to the revolver.
* BoomHeadshot: You need to shoot the skeletons the final boss summons in the head, or else the head detaches from the body when destroyed and flies at you for a final LastDitchMove.
* DarkActionGirl: Just like the first game, female gunslingers are out for your hide.
* DynamicDifficulty: Same as the previous game, but even more punishing than before.
* EverythingFades: As in the first game.
* GameplayGrading: From "Posse" to "U.S. Marshall," working much like the previous game.
* GatlingGood: The Old West style hand cranked version is available.
* GiantSpaceFleaFromNowhere: The mastermind of the outlaws is a {{necroman|cer}}tic [[MagicalNativeAmerican Native American shaman]].
* GunsAkimbo: The double rig allows DualWielding six-shooters. You can also try playing with both guns if you're good enough.
* {{Homage}}: The SpaghettiWestern genre.
* HostageSpiritLink: Shooting innocent folks deducts a life just as before.
* ISurrenderSuckers: Beware, some outlaws will pretend to give up but are still hostile.
* MagicalNativeAmerican: The above-mentioned final boss, who casts {{fireballs}} and ''[[{{Necromancer}} raises the dead]]'' to fight for him ("Arise, my braves!").
* MarketBasedTitle: It's called ''Lethal Enforcers II: TheWestern'' in Japan.
* PainfullySlowProjectile:
** Like the previous game, with the exception of the [[ShowdownAtHighNoon third stage boss,]] every boss attacks with some form of projectile you can shoot out of the air, such as cannonballs, explosive barrells, or bundles of dynamite. The final boss conjures fireballs that can be dispelled by shooting them, while the skeletons he summons toss tomahawks.
** Native enemies shoot arrows at you, which can also be shot out of the air.
* {{Posse}}: Your starting rank.
* QuickDraw: The boss fight in Stage 3 is this trope versus three gunslingers ''at the same time''. If you have two players, however, you have to deal with ''six'' gunslingers.
* TheSavageIndian: Some of the enemies in Stage 2 are this type; their arrows must be shot out of the air before they hit you.
* TheSheriff: The player character is one. Available as a rank.
* ShootTheBullet: As with the previous game.
* ShowdownAtHighNoon: Subverted, the boss battle of the third stage is a one-draw duel against three gunslingers, but the sky is visibly dark implying nighttime.
* StrippedToTheBone: Upon defeating the MagicalNativeAmerican final boss, he deteriorates into nothing but a pile of bones.
* ThrowABarrelAtIt: The Stage 2 boss tosses a limitless supply of exploding barrels out of the back of a stagecoach at you.
* ThrowDownTheBomblet: The Stage 4 boss throws bundles of dynamite as his weapon.
* TheWestern: The game is set in the Old West in the 1880s.
* WhatTheHellPlayer: Shooting the gunslingers during the ShowdownAtHighNoon boss battle in the third stage before they draw will prompt the gunslingers to say, "You can't shoot 'til we draw!"
!!The third game contains examples of:
* ArtShift: While all the other scenarios have standard intro sequences, "Justice and Judgment" begins with an anime-style intro.
* BattleInTheRain: The BossBattle in "Justice and Judgment" takes place in a thunderstorm.
* BigBad: Yoshiki Tokita, [[spoiler: the leader of the rogue JGSDF troops in the final mission.]]
* BilingualBonus: The game is entirely in Japanese.
* BuddyCopShow: The "Rival Heat" stage, which has two rival detectives teaming up to take down the [[VideoGame/Police911 Gokudo-kai]].
* DolledUpInstallment: This was originally ''Seigi no Hero'', a SpiritualSuccessor to ''Police 911''.
* DubNameChange: Mission titles. "Justice and Judgement" is actually "Lethal Enforcers 3" in Japanese version.
* GenreShift: The game doubles as a ''RacingGame'', since you're trying to beat your opponent to the next checkpoint by taking out enemies who are slowing your progress down.
* ElitesAreMoreGlamorous: At one point, you'll play as operators from Special Investigation Team (SIT) and Special Assault Team (SAT) tactical teams.
* FarEastAsianTerrorists: The villains of "Airport 2004".
* ForkliftFu: Akihito Kawanishi attacks the player using one in "Coast Intruders".
* HostageSpiritLink: [[AvertedTrope Averted]]; shooting innocents won't lose you a life, but it'll cost you your rank.
--> '''Newspaper headline:''' "''(victim occupation)'' shot by mistake"
* MarketBasedTitle: As mentioned above, the original title was ''Seigi no Hero'' ("Heroes of Justice"); "Lethal Enforcers 3" was the original name of the "Justice and Judgment" level. "Cops in the City" was also originally labeled as part of ''The Keisatsukan'', the Japanese version of ''Police 911''.
* MiddleEasternTerrorists: The main villains of "Justice and Judgment", who take over a nuclear plant, with their leader resembling UsefulNotes/OsamaBinLaden. The JGSDF is sent in to take the plant back from the terrorists.
* NoCelebritiesWereHarmed: The boss in "Justice and Judgment" is basically UsefulNotes/OsamaBinLaden with an eyepatch.
* RightWingMilitiaFanatic: The main villains of "Airport 2004".
* RogueSoldier: [[spoiler: The rogue JGSDF soldiers in "Lethal Enforcers 3" after they raid the Diet building.]]
* TakeCover: Point the gun away from the screen to raise your shield.
* TitleDrop: The final mission in both versions.
* TimedMission: The game runs on a strict timer. Once it reaches zero, you lose all lives and continuing will demote you back to the lowest rank.
* TheTriadsAndTheTongs: The main villains of "Coast Intruders" are the Dragonheads.
* {{Yakuza}}: Your opponents in "Rival Heat", who are actually Gokudou-kai members.
----
-> ''"Situation under control, Unit 5 out."''

* VideoGame/LethalEnforcers2 (MediaNotes/ArcadeGame, Platform/SegaGenesis, Platform/SegaCD, Platform/{{Playstation}})

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

* {{Bowdlerise}}: Stage 4, "The Drug Dealer," becomes "The Gunrunners" in the UsefulNotes/SuperNES port. It also removes all references to Chinatown in "Chinatown Assault," with the title becoming "Downtown Assault" and the "China Inn" renamed to simply "Restaurant." Most oddly, no one flinches from any shot. Enemies will simply [[EverythingFades blink away]] in the frame of animation you shot them on; and hostages will be unharmed, but the game will throw a "Caution!" message on the screen and [[HostageSpiritLink take away a life]].

* WraparoundBackground: Present in Stage 1 and 4's car chases and the subway train battle in Stage 2. The chase in Stage 1 (The Bank Robbery) takes place on a seemingly never-ending block with "a lot of National Rubber Stamp Co.'s," as noted by WebVideo/TheAngryVideoGameNerd while reviewing the UsefulNotes/SegaCD version.

''Lethal Enforcers'' is a 1992 LightGunGame 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 the bad guys from selling drugs to innocent people, and The Chemical Plant, where you must stop terrorists from sabotaging a chemical plant to poison the water supply.

* BehindTheBlack: Mooks, especially knife mooks, will emerge right on top of you, no matter how well you watch your position.
* BlatantBurglar: Per the North American version of the trope, all the bank robbers wear black clothing and balaclavas.

* CarChaseShootOut: The first and fourth levels have the player(s) taking on escaped bank robbers and drug dealers, respectively, in a car chase while firing at enemies periodically sticking themselves out to shoot at the players. Both levels culminate in a boss battle, respectively against a rocket-launcher wielding boss on an armored car and a helicopter whose side-turret spams missiles on the players.

* GasMaskMooks: The terrorists in the Chemical Plant wear NBC[=/=]hazmat equipment, complete with gas masks.
* GrenadeLauncher: You can pick one up in Stage 3; it has a wide blast range and (like the below-mentioned Magnum) can shoot enemies through their cover. However, it cannot be reloaded; once you're out of ammo, you revert to your default revolver.

* ParryingBullets: The Stage 2 boss can block bullets with his swords, but not always.

** During the opening montage for stage 2 ("Chinatown/Downtown Assault"), a police officer is shown being shot to death. This gets censored in the console ports, though.

* ShootTheBullet: The basic premise of surviving boss battles. You can also shoot any {{Mooks}}' thrown weapons.

* ThrowingYourSwordAlwaysWorks: The Stage 2 boss attacks this way, and it ''does'' Always Work unless you shoot the swords out of the air.

* MagicalNativeAmerican: The above-mentioned final boss, who casts {{fireballs}} and ''[[{{Necromancer}} raises the dead]]'' to fight for him ("Arise, my friends!").

* ShowdownAtHighNoon: Averted, the boss battle of the third stage is a one-draw duel against three gunslingers, where the sky is visibly dark implying nighttime.

* ThrowABarrelAtIt: The Stage 2 boss attacks this way.

* WhatTheHellPlayer: Shooting the gunslingers during the ShowdownAtHighNoon boss battle in the third stage before they draw will prompt the gunslingers to say, "I said you can't shoot 'til we draw!"

There is also a spin-off series called ''VideoGame/{{Police 911}}'', 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 ''VideoGame/TimeCrisis''-style cover system to avoid enemy gunfire. You are tasked to tracking down an international Yakuza group named Gokudou-kai.

* ElitesAreMoreGlamorous: At one point, you’ll play as operators from Special Investigation Team (SIT) and Special Assaul Team (SAT) tactical teams.

* RogueSoldier: [[spoiler: the rogue JGSDF soldiers in "Lethal Enforcers 3" after they raid the Diet building.]]