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1[[quoteright:243:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/nam1975_7456.jpg]]
2[[caption-width-right:243:Yep, it's exactly like that.]]
3-->''The roar of the helicopters overhead snaps us back into reality. We will never forget the nightmare of that summer...''
4
5''NAM-1975'' is a ''VideoGame/{{Cabal}}''-esque shooting game developed by Creator/{{SNK}} for the Platform/NeoGeo in 1990. Going by its serial number, it is notably the first game developed for the system.
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7During the final months of UsefulNotes/TheVietnamWar, two American soldiers, Silver and Brown, reenter the war to rescue Dr. Richard Muckly, a US Army scientist who has been kidnapped by the "North Side Terrorists" along with his daughter Nancy.
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9This game is one of those ''VideoGame/{{Cabal}}'' [[FollowTheLeader clones]]. It's also rather unusual for a Vietnam War video game, because the [=VCs=] are equipped with anachronistic, not to mention sci-fi weapons or vehicles.
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13!!This game provides examples of:
14%%Administrivia/ZeroContextExamples are not allowed on the wiki. Please expand them with context before uncommenting them. Thank you.
15* ArtisticLicenseHistory: Where to begin...The Vietcong were largely decimated after the Tet Offensive of 1968, and certainly did not field large reserves of US vehicles and mechs. [[spoiler: Possibly justified that you aren't actually fighting the Vietcong.]]
16* BigBad: [[spoiler: Dr. R. Muckly.]]
17* BittersweetEnding: [[spoiler: After foiling Muckly's plan, the war may be over but the hero bitterly states that "[[ShellShockedVeteran the hell]] [[AndTheAdventureContinues continues]]".]]
18* CheatCode: There is a hidden input sequence for triggering the [[https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLM8k9CwNYEuQm60myTU3PstoZwEz9C92k secret stages]] that otherwise appear at random between stages.
19* ColonelKurtzCopy: [[spoiler: Dr. R. Muckly.]]
20* DamselInDistress: Nancy Muckly. The moment you find her, [[spoiler:[[HisNameIs she tries to spill her father's evil plan]] and is KilledMidSentence for it]].
21* TheEndOfTheWorldAsWeKnowIt: What happens if you [[EarnYourBadEnding get the Bad Ending]].
22* ExtremelyShortTimespan: By the end of the game, it's taken 51 hours to go from South Vietnam into North Vietnam.
23* {{Foreshadowing}}: The fact that the enemies speak English is not TranslationConvention... [[spoiler: they're US soldiers and deserters on Muckly's payroll.]]
24* HaveANiceDeath: All the bosses taunt you when you die against them, but the final boss does something ''[[NonStandardGameOver far]] [[ItsAWonderfulFailure worse]]''.
25* HumongousMecha: Of all things, the [[spoiler: DangerousDeserter slash MadScientist slash ColonelKurtzCopy Dr. R. Muckly]] uses it against you.
26* LuckBasedMission: There are mini-boss battles between each levels, and whether they appear or not is more or less completely random. Downplayed a bit as even if they do appear, they're usually no more difficult to bring down than the mandatory mini-bosses throughout the normal levels.
27* MadScientist: Dr. Muckly is basically [[spoiler: a DangerousDeserter slash ColonelKurtzCopy slash MadScientist who runs [[PrivateMilitaryContractors a private army]] there]].
28* MadScientistsBeautifulDaughter: Nancy.
29* MoreDakka: On your end, the Vulcan gun powerup gives you extremely rapid fire for a while. On the enemy's end, setting the game to higher difficulties sees enemies laying down EXTREMELY rapid bursts of fire and explosions to near-BulletHell levels.
30* NintendoHard: Very much so.
31* OneManArmy: Or two, depending if there's a second player. Subverted according the cutscenes, which imply that there's a whole squad around Silver and Brown, along with offscreen fighting.
32* PointOfNoContinues: Exaggerated. The very moment the final boss appears, you can no longer continue, nor can a 2nd player join in - if you lose all your lives at this point (hope you weren't on your last!), you will be given the BadEnding[[note]][[spoiler:[[TheBadGuyWins Dr. Muckly will succeed in taking over and destroying the world with his laser weapon]] [[EvilLaugh as he laughs evilly]]]][[/note]] and your game will be over for real!
33* RuleOfCool: What begins as a fairly realistic military shooter ends up in a fight against a MadScientist and his PrivateMilitaryContractors.
34* ShellShockedVeteran: The player characters, even moreso once the game is over.
35-->"Now, we are called heroes... But, the Hell continues."
36* ShoutOut: Many of the game's cutscenes homage (and at times, outright [[http://www.hardcoregaming101.net/tracing/tracing5.htm trace over]]) shots from ''Film/FullMetalJacket''. In particular, the first level's DualBoss includes a man who's basically just Gomer Pyle in a straitjacket and who traded in his rifle for a flamethrower.
37* SkippableBoss: The game will occasionally allow you to kill the two female snipers tied up during the final boss battle before [[spoiler: Dr. Muckly]] emerges with his laser weapon.
38* SNKBoss: Dr. Muckly and his superweapon predates [[VideoGame/FatalFury Geese Howard]] by a year, having his insanely precise projectiles putting players down, and [[PointOfNoContinues you don't even have a chance to continue nor invite a 2nd player to, should you totally lose to him]], so while there IS a pretty distinct timing to his attacks, you'd better learn it FAST.
39* WarIsHell: The protagonists certainly think so.
40* WeaponsUnderstudies: The [=VCs=] use American vehicles, but little to no Soviet equipment. [[spoiler: Justified that they're not Vietcong, they're [[PrivateMilitaryContractors private armies]] and [[LesCollaborateurs deserted collaborators]] under Muckly.]]
41* WholePlotReference: A US Army personnel went missing, and leading his own private army against the US? Sounds like ''Film/ApocalypseNow'', [[spoiler: however the Kurtz equivalent here fields an entire military division, including air force, and the Kurtz equivalent himself built a large superweapon capable of destroying the world.]]

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