NARC

Moby ID: 10327
Arcade Specs
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Description official descriptions

Narc is a 1-2 player game, where your mission is to infiltrate the Mr. Big Corporation, the scourge of the underworld. To do this, you must get through the game's eight stages, with over ten sectors like the junkyard, subway, drug lab, nursery, downtown, Sunset Strip, and even the corporation, where Mr. Big resides. In order to get through the stages, you are required to collect a number of safe cards, and insert them in the slot next to the stage exit. Each sector includes a map, and should be easy to read. For example, the blue or red dots represent you, and the white dots are the missile launchers, while the "E" indicates the exit.

Your mission is not going to be easy, as you will come face-to-face with enemies including the canine mutts, Das Lof Gang, Dr. Spike Rush, Joe Rockhead, Kinky Pinky, Sgt. Skyhigh, HQ Posse, and Mr. Big himself. You have two ways you can deal with them: either put a bullet in them or make arrests. Furthermore, they will try to blow you up the minute they see you. Fortunately, you're armed with a shotgun and missile launcher, but these both have a limited supply of ammunition. If your bullet counter reaches one, you can only fire one bullet at a time, so you need to find some more. Also, it is important not to waste all of your missiles: you might need them later when you deal with later enemies like Mr. Big. You are also backed up by a chopper and a mean shiny street machine.

More often than not, when you blow up enemies, you can pick up several items that they drop, including drugs, money, ammunition, missile launchers, and if you're lucky, safe cards. Even if you got the safe card and can pass the level, you can keep blowing up enemies to score more points.

Spellings

  • N.A.R.C. - Alternate spelling

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Screenshots

Promos

Credits (Arcade version)

12 People

Reviews

Critics

Average score: 62% (based on 31 ratings)

Players

Average score: 2.8 out of 5 (based on 49 ratings with 1 reviews)

Just Say "Yes", To Vigilante Justice

The Good
NARC was a fun, ultra violent coin-op arcade game, which was perfect for the mood of 1980s America.

These were the days when many of our popular heroes and politicians supported a "get tough" approach to crime (instead of fretting about Constitutional niceties) and sought to solve the nation's complex drug problem with simple slogans and a bit of Wild West, urban vigilante justice.

1980s American politics and pop culture aside, their is something undeniably fun (if not over the top) about controlling one or (if a friend wants to play) two "bad ass" modern cowboys waging a heavily armed war against crime and violence...with violence.

While the NES version of NARC cannot match the arcade graphic and sound capabilities, the graphics and sound are both above average for the NES and the fun, vigilante justice-style game play is, largely intact.

True, Nintendo censors required noticeable changes to the NES version before it could be released. However, none of these changes really distract from the fun, if not silly, violent arcade-action nature of the game.

The Bad
The controls for NARC on the NES are a bit annoying. This may be due to practical limitations in how the NES controller was designed, but their are certainly times when I wish it was easier to consistently jump and fire off my missiles.

The Bottom Line
NARC is an adrenaline rush of vigilante justice with a body count that would probably make even the baddest, 1980s Hollywood cop/action hero blush. Game play-wise playing it on the NES is still, largely, as enjoyable as playing it in the arcades.

Remember Kids: Drugs Are Bad, but Destroying Everything In Sight With Automatic Firearms and Missiles is Really Cool.

NES · by ETJB (428) · 2012

Trivia

1001 Video Games

The Arcade version of NARC appears in the book 1001 Video Games You Must Play Before You Die by General Editor Tony Mott.

BPjS/BPjM index

On September 28, 1991, NARC was put on the infamous German index by the BPjS. For more information about what this means and to see a list of games sharing the same fate, take a look here: BPjS/BPjM indexed games.

Cover

The cover for the NES version has the blood color on the NARC logo changed to yellow

The Pixies

The influential American rock band The Pixies reinterpreted the game's title music in the track Theme From NARC, for the CD and 12" versions of their Planet of Sound EP released in 1991.

In-Game Animals

Strangely, in most versions of the game (including the arcade version), while you're free to massacre hundreds of human criminals, killing dogs is apparently considered beyond the pale. When shot or blown up, the dogs don't die, but merely turn into puppies that run away or vanish.

Ironically, in the game's manual, a tip for getting rid of landmines stated: "Avoid 'em. Or coax a pitbull to run over 'em."

Uncensored

Surprisingly, this game was released practically uncensored for the NES.

Information also contributed by M4R14N0 and Xoleras

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  • MobyGames ID: 10327
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Contributors to this Entry

Game added by Katakis | カタキス.

NES added by RKL. Atari ST added by Riamus. ZX Spectrum, Amstrad CPC added by Martin Smith. Arcade added by Pseudo_Intellectual.

Additional contributors: Martin Smith, CaptainCanuck, Havoc Crow, formercontrib, FatherJack.

Game added September 13, 2003. Last modified January 19, 2024.