Golgo 13: Top Secret Episode

Golgo 13: Top Secret Episode is an action-adventure game developed and published by Vic Tokai for the Nintendo Entertainment System. It was released in Japan in March 1988 as Golgo 13: Dai 1 Shō: Kamigami no Tasogare, followed by a North American edition in September of the same year. The game is based on Takao Saito’s long-running manga series and stars Golgo 13, also known as Duke Togo, a highly skilled marksman and professional assassin.

The story begins with the destruction of a helicopter carrying Cassandra-G, a dangerous biological weapon secretly developed by the CIA. Evidence at the scene appears to implicate Golgo 13, but the mysterious organization FIXER believes that the attack was actually arranged by the Drek group. Golgo is sent to recover the missing vaccine, uncover the conspiracy and eliminate Drek’s leader. His mission takes him through locations including East Berlin, Athens, Rio de Janeiro and Alexander Island near Antarctica.

Unlike most NES action games of its period, Top Secret Episode regularly changes its style of play. Much of the adventure consists of side-scrolling stages in which Golgo runs, jumps, kicks enemies and attacks them with his M16 rifle. These sections are interrupted by sniper assignments viewed through a telescopic sight, first-person shooting sequences, three-dimensional mazes, helicopter battles and underwater stages. Conversations with informants and other characters advance the plot, giving the game a cinematic structure divided into separate acts.

The variety is ambitious, although the individual elements are not equally successful. The side-scrolling action is generally straightforward, while the first-person mazes can be confusing without the maps supplied in the original instruction manual. Limited ammunition and steadily decreasing health add pressure, but defeated enemies can leave behind supplies. The lengthy campaign provides considerably more narrative and mechanical variety than typical NES shooters, although repeated deaths and imprecise combat can make some passages frustrating.

The North American edition altered references found in the Japanese original, most notably disguising the enemy organization’s connection to a revived Nazi regime. Even so, the game retained unusually mature material for a Nintendo release of its era, including smoking, implied sexual encounters and brief images of blood. Its detailed espionage story, frequent changes of perspective and adult atmosphere make Golgo 13: Top Secret Episode an unusual and memorable NES production, despite its uneven controls and difficult maze sections. Vic Tokai followed it in 1990 with another NES adventure, The Mafat Conspiracy.