Cobra Command

Cobra Command was the closest thing officially released on the original Nintendo that resembled Choplifter. As a kid I loved Choplifter especially the arcade version by SEGA. Being a fan of Rambo it reminded me a lot of the ending to Rambo 2. I believe Choplifter predates that movie but the idea of rescued hostages in the thick of battle has always appealed to me.

So ever since I "discovered" Cobra Command I have been intrigued. Watching eBay daily I might have finally won a copy. I had submitted a BestOffer on a Cobra Command / Operation Wolf lot. This was 30 minutes before the close of the auction and it ended with no bids. I'm hoping the seller will cave.

Anyways Cobra Command is similar to Choplifter in that you rescue hostages. Instead of blowing up enemy strongholds and landing to retrieve the hostages as in Choplifter, Cobra has you drop a rope and the prisoner climbs up it. The animation is pretty nifty. Cobra also has missles in addition to the similar bullets of Choplifter.

Perhaps the neatest feature of Cobra is how you die. In Choplifter if you wrecked or got hit by a bullet you were done- your only recourse was to slap the buttons in hopes that enough hostages would parachute to safety so you wouldn't have to start the level over. Cobra on the otherhand is hardcore! If you take on a bullet while flying you will still crash however you still have a few seconds of struggling with the controls before you slam into the ground. Take those few seconds and blow the junk out of the enemy! Anyways if I win the lot I'll share further details about it in the mean time check out the changes to the Nintendo Price Guide.