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 Kung-Fu Master. Players control "city sweepers", a police agent-like group who fight crime by taking down thugs in New York City in the year 2043.

Gameplay

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.

Characters
Playable characters:
 (known in the US version as Claude) - a scruffy Japanese former karate master who was banned from formal tournaments after killing a man in self-defense. He is a well-rounded character and similar in effect to Rosa. He also has the ability to shoot multiple fireballs.
 (known in the US version as Bubba) - an American ex-gridiron player turned city sweeper after being sent to rock bottom by a false accusation of murder. He is the most powerful but slowest character. However, he has the ability to run for a short period of time. Plus, he can dive through the ground when he uses his airborne attack.
 (known in the US version as Flame) - a tough British blonde female vigilante whose lover, Thomas, was murdered by thugs. She is the fastest and easiest used character, making her good for beginners. She can send surrounding waves of energy if surrounded by enemies.

Bosses:
  (known in the US as Cue Ball) - a Terminator-like cyborg. He is the only boss who can be defeated in two ways: either normally or being crushed in a garbage compactor (players, however, must be careful during this boss battle because this can also happen to their character).
  (known in the US as Fatso) - an obese, jackhammer-wielding dominatrix. She summons lesser enemies and cries when hit, and bawls more loudly when her life bar is half-empty.
  (known in the US as Gunpuncher) - the heavily armed leader of the mole creatures who utters simple Japanese phrases. He is armed with a machine gun and explosives.
  (known in the US as Cone Head) - a crazed carnival freak with a metal claw, who attacks with a wide range of concealed weapons.
  - the main antagonist in the game. He is a small, bespectacled scientist who transforms into a giant monster. He is confronted by the three protagonists near the end of the final stage before the final battle.

Home version
Undercover Cops was later ported to the Super Famicom by the company Varie. An American localization was planned, but canceled. The unreleased American version was reviewed in Vol. 58 of Nintendo Power. 

A physical re-release was released for the SNES by Retro-Bit.

In the Super Famicom version, the player can adjust the number of lives and credits, as well as the skill setting, although there is no two-player mode. Playing "Easy" mode only gets the player to the end of the third level, after which the game ends, giving the player a stern message in Japanese, then asking them in English to try the next level (normal). A noticeable difference is the appearance of the common female enemy Fox, whose breasts are visible after being knocked down in the arcade version. The console version slightly alters her shirt to be fully covered when knocked down.

Reception

In Japan, Game Machine listed Undercover Cops on their August 15, 1992 as being the sixth most-successful table arcade unit of the month. RePlay also reported the game to be the tenth most-popular arcade game at the time.

In 2023, Time Extension included the game on their top 25 "Best Beat 'Em Ups of All Time" list.

Legacy

Due to its small success in Japan, Undercover Cops also got its own manga by Waita Uziga, which was published in the Gamest Comics series by Shinseisha in 1993. The game was later followed by a Game Boy spin-off titled Undercover Cops: Hakaishin Garumaa, and a more accurate translation called , which retains the details of the original arcade version.

A few years later after its release, a lot of the team (artists, programmers, composers, designers, etc.) who made Undercover Cops went on to form the Nazca Corporation, who created the Metal Slug game series. The team have also worked on the Hammerin' Harry series, Superior Soldiers, In the Hunt and GunForce 2.

References

External links

Undercover Cops at arcade-history

1992 video games
Arcade video games
Cooperative video games
Game Boy games
Irem games
Multiplayer and single-player video games
Post-apocalyptic video games
Science fiction video games
Side-scrolling beat 'em ups
Super Nintendo Entertainment System games
Video games about police officers
Video games developed in Japan
Video games featuring female protagonists
Video games scored by Takushi Hiyamuta
Video games set in the 2040s
Video games set in New York City
{{비디오 게임 정보
|제목 = 언더커버캅스
|원제목 = Undercover Cops
|이미지 =
|설명 =
|개발사 = IREM
|발행사 = IREM
|배급사 = 
|디자이너 = 
|엔진 = 
|버전 = 
|출시 = 아케이드 게임 1992년 1월|장르 = 횡스크롤 액션 게임
|모드 = 싱글플레이, 2인 플레이, 3인 플레이
|언어 = 영어, 일본어
|이용가 등급 = 
|플랫폼 = 아케이드 게임,
|미디어 = 
|요구사양 = 
|입력장치 = 8방향 조이스틱, 3 버튼
|원작 = 
|이전작 = 
|후속작 = 
}}
《언더커버캅스》(Undercover Cops)는 IREM에서 1992년도에 제작한 액션 게임이며, D.A.S(Destroy And Satsujin)시리즈의 2번째 작품이다. 최초 아케이드 게임으로 개발되었으며 이후 여러 플랫폼으로 이식되었다.

 개요 
당시 스트리트파이터라는 대전액선게임이 선풍적인 인기를 끌고 있을 무렵 IREA에서는 롤플레잉 액션게임의 자존심을 지키기 위해 비장의 각오로 출시된 야심작이었다. 그러나 그렇게 공을 들여 만든 언더커버캅스임에도 불구하고 스트리트파이터의 영향이 너무 컸기 때문에 상대적으로 흥행에 실패했으며 이후 IREM은 롤플레잉격투게임을 포기하고 대전격투게임인 퍼펙트 솔져 (해외판:슈페리어 솔져)를 개발하기에 이르렀다.

 줄거리 
서기 2043년, 지구는 대재해로 인한 황폐지가 되었고 치안이 악화되어 악인들이 판치는 세계가 되버리고 만다. 사태를 해결하기 위해 통합군 정부는 '시티 스위퍼'(도시 청소부)란 용병들을 투입시키기로 결정, 주인공 일행들이 일본에 투입된다.

 주인공 
 쟌 타카하라
 2015년 1월 6일 생. 182cm, 68kg. 이종격투기 선수. 연인을 지키기 위해 휘두른 주먹으로 상대를 살해해 격투계에서 모습을 감춘다
 매트 게이블
 2018년 7월 4일 생. 195cm, 105kg. MVP까지 따낸 미식축구 선수. 넘치는 힘을 주체못해 미식축구계에서 영구추방되었다.
 로사 펠몬트
 2021년 1월 24일 생. 176cm, 55kg. 무술인. 자신의 연인겸 파트너 '토마스'를 악의 조직에게 살해당해 악을 용서치못하는 마음이 제일 강하다. 연인모집중.

 시스템 
 조작 
 8방향 이동.
 A 버튼 : 공격.
 B 버튼 : 점프.
 A + B : 필살기.

 초필살기 
초필살기는 일어버전에만 존재하며 북미버전에는 존재하지 않는다(알파버전에선 가능하다). 체력의 30%를 소모하는 대신 웬만한 적은 다 몰살시킨다.
 쟌 : B + ↓→ + A
 매트 : B + ↓↑ + A
 로사 : B + ← → + A

 메가드라이브 치트키 

 등장 요소 
 기물 
특이하게 음식 이외에 살아있는 동물이 체력회복 아이템으로 나오며 무기 역시 특이하게 전봇대, H빔, 폐차 등이 나온다.

 인물 
 켄지(kenji)
 기본 적, 현상금 10달러.
 두비(dooby)
 기본 적, 현상금 20달러.
 브레드(brad)
 기본 적, 날아차기로 공격함. 현상금 30달러.
 여우(fox)
 여자 적. 스테이지 2부터 등장. 현상금 30달러.
 마카쿠(makaku)
 야구선수. 방망이로 공격한다. 현상금 60달러.
 마드카(madca)
 양 손에 칼을 장비한 채 공중에 떠다닌다. 스테이지 2부터 등장. 체력은 비교적 약하다. 현상금 80달러.
 모그랄리안(moguralian)
 두더지형 적. 현상금 20달러
 베넷(bennet)
 폭주족. 현상금 30달러
 T900
 스테이지 1의 보스인 펄스와 동일하다. 현상금 60달러.
 가짜 쟌(jan black)
 쟌과 동일하다. 현상금 90달러.
 가짜 매트(matt black)
 매트와 동일하다. 현상금 90달러.
 가짜 로사 (rosa black)
 로사와 동일하다. 현상금 90달러.

 스테이지 
스테이지1 저수지
 보스 : 펄스(parcs) - 로봇. 강철팔을 이용하여 압착기로 던진다. 현상금 500달러.

스테이지2 공사현장
 보스 : 프랑소와즈(fransowors) - 엄청난 비만인 여자. 굴착기로 공격한다. 현상금 500달러.

스테이지3 지하
 보스 : 모그랄리안 베타(moguralianB) - 땅속으로 들어갔다 나오며 기관총으로 공격한다. 현상금 500달러.

스테이지4 도심지
 보스 : 발바로취(balbarotch) - 융단을 깔며 등장. 권투글러브와 회전공격을 한다. 현상금 500달러. 앞의 3명의 보스보다 훨씬 어려운 대신 체력은 60%정도밖에 안 된다.

스테이지5 닥터 클레이보른의 헬기.
 보스 : 닥터 클레이보른'''(Dr. Crayborn) - 자신의 헬기 안에서 핵미사일을 투하하려 시도한다. 그 후 괴물로 변신한다. 현상금 900달러.

평가 

아케이드 게임
1992년 비디오 게임
슈퍼 패미컴 게임
진행형 격투 게임
SF 비디오 게임
뉴욕을 배경으로 한 비디오 게임
게임보이 게임
2040년대를 배경으로 한 비디오 게임
협동 비디오 게임