POW Prisoners of War
POW Prisoners of War
POW Prisoners of War
POW Prisoners of War
POW Prisoners of War
POW Prisoners of War

POW Prisoners of War

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$14.99
$10.99

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Game only: the cartridge in a protective holder, no box or manual. The photos are of this exact copy — look them over closely for its condition, packaging and details. Every cartridge's shell, label and board are checked for authenticity when it comes into the store, and it's tested before it's listed. It ships in a collector's bag or a hard plastic case.

Item Description

Captured, disarmed and thrown into an enemy prison camp, you have one plan left: fight your way out with your bare hands. That is the premise of P.O.W.: Prisoners of War, SNK's 1988 arcade brawler, born in the wake of Rambo: First Blood Part II, Missing in Action and the wave of rescue-mission action movies they inspired. It also put guns in a brawler's hands earlier than most. Knock down a guard, snatch up his knife or rifle, and turn it on the next soldier charging in before the camp's defenders can swarm you.

SNK's 1989 NES version is a thoughtful conversion rather than a stripped-down port. The hero is code-named Bart, a Special Forces captain who lets himself be captured so he can bring down GOON, a shadowy organization running a worldwide smuggling ring out of its “escape-proof” camp. The route follows the arcade's, but the dramatic climbing and leaping transitions between areas have grown into short stretches of fighting, and doorways that only spat out enemies in the arcade now lead into rooms you can raid. Inside wait energy refills, brass knuckles that double the power of your punches, and body armor that makes you immune to knives and gunfire.

The other big change is the boss fights. The helicopter and armored personnel carrier that loomed in the background of the arcade game now have to be destroyed, and the only tools for the job are grenades looted from fallen soldiers or a machine gun you have managed to carry all the way to the end of the stage. GOON's leaders, Don James, Snivel and Angel, stand in your way before a final reckoning with the man known only as The Leader. Regular enemies go down in fewer hits than in the arcade, which keeps the pace brisk, and Toshikazu Tanaka, an SNK regular who later worked on Metal Slug, wrote a new soundtrack for the cartridge, with a theme for each boss.

P.O.W. never built the cult following of Double Dragon, which is exactly why it is such a satisfying discovery for NES brawler fans who think they have seen everything the system has to offer. It is a solo mission and it is tough, but it is lean, loud and full of late-1980s action-movie attitude: fists, grenades, a stolen rifle and a long walk to freedom through a camp built to keep you in.

Fast factsgame data via IGDB
Released
1989
Publisher
SNK
Players
Single player

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