Undercover Cops

Undercover Cops
Japanese arcade flyer
Developer(s)	Irem
Publisher(s)	Irem
Composer(s)	Takushi Hiyamuta
Platform(s)	Arcade Super NES
Release	Arcade: JP: July 1992 Super NES: JP: March 3, 1995
Genre(s)	Beat 'em up
Mode(s)	Single-player Multiplayer (up to two players)
Cabinet	Horizontal
Arcade system	Irem M-92 system hardware
CPU	V33 (@ 9 MHz), V30 (@ 7.15909 MHz)
Sound	YM2151 (@ 3.579545 MHz), GA20 (@ 3.579545 MHz)
Display	Raster, 320 x 240 pixels, 60.00 Hz, 2048 colors

Undercover Cops
Manga
Published by	Shinseisha
Magazine	Gamest Comics
Published	August 30, 1993 - February 10, 1995
Volumes	2

Undercover Cops (アンダーカバーコップス) is an arcade-style beat 'em up video game developed and published by Irem, originally for the arcades in 1992. It is Irem's first attempt in the modern beat 'em up genre that was founded by Capcom's Final Fight. Players control "city sweepers", a police agent-like group who fight crime by taking down thugs in New York City of the year 2043.

The video game is notable for its detailed backgrounds and grimy futuristic setting. For its time, it was relatively gory, featuring crow-pecked skeletons in the midst of its urban wastelands and forcing players to lose a life by being crushed by a garbage compactor during the first boss battle. While the gameplay is inspired by Final Fight, some of the enemies are unique. Besides the usual human thugs, players fight strange mole creatures and mutants with jet packs and blades for hands. Players can never use enemy weapons, but the stages contain objects that can be picked up and used instead such as burning oil drums, steel girders, long concrete columns that shatter on impact, boxes of hand grenades and fish. The characters eat mice, frogs, birds and snails to restore their health (many people in Japanese society eat these for their nutritional value but also attribute the development team's sense of humor later seen in the Metal Slug series.).

The Japanese arcade version differs from the World version in several respects. The characters have a number of moves not seen in the World version, including dash + jump attacks, up to two different kinds of throws, and a powerful airborne special attack. The backgrounds and graphics are also different, especially at the start of Level Two and the end of Level Three. The music in the Japanese version has a more electronic feel and includes more voice samples. Some enemies carry broken bottles, knives and axes (in the World version these are replaced by planks and clubs). The mole creatures are weaker, taking only one hit to kill. Players' jump attacks do less damage, but their wider range of attacks makes them much more versatile.

The appearance and functions of the police car seen at the end of Undercover Cops exactly resembles the appearance and functions of the tank from Moon Patrol, another arcade game by Irem. The boss from Stage 1 of the first R-Type, also by Irem, can be seen on the screens of some red television sets. Undercover Cops was later advertised on a blimp seen in the arcade flyers of Irem's other beat 'em up, Ninja Baseball Bat Man.