====================Bionic Commando====================
====================Return of Hitler===================
========================V 1.05=========================
Genre: Action

Source language: Japanese

Platform: Famicom

Patch language: English

Author: Pennywise

E-mail: yojimbogarrett@gmail.com
http://yojimbo.eludevisibility.org/
 
======================================================
About Bionic Commando
======================================================
Background: 

Bionic Commando is one of those classic NES games and it
also happens to be one of the classic examples of
old-school censorship back in the day by Nintendo
et al. All references to the Nazis and Hitler were
removed from the game for its English release. Not
that I'm obsessed with all that Nazi crap, but I
feel it's one of the things that makes the game
memorable.

From what I've been told, Bionic Commando Rearmed
was basically a retranslation of the original
game, but it still features the same, dated
names from the translation. Master D etc.
I find it silly that it still doesn't come
out say the obvious like what the original
Japanese game did. Maybe it was a stylistic
choice, maybe not, I have no idea.

So what you have with this translation is that
it's immediately known that you are fighting
against a neo-nazi empire and that Hitler is
resurrected and consequently killed by Rad.
What could be more empowering than that?
None of that stupid Master D crap.

There were liberties taken with the translation.
Mostly some embellishments for the villains in
the game. Also, the Germans talk like Germans
to you with accents etc. This does not apply
to their radio communications.
To each his own, but this definitely isn't a
literal translation. Please accept that when
playing the translation or play the US version
or just the Japanese version.

On the technical side, there really wasn't a whole
lot to do. Part of the text was relocated to
another bank and fits comfortably in the ROM
despite being over twice the size of the
original. Also the game originally was setup so 
that you couldn't have multiple screens of
text without filling the screen first. I added
a control code so I can stop the text whenever
I want, clear the screen and start over.
Also there was a limitation in the amount of characters
a text string could be. A single string could only be
$FF bytes, which equates to 255 characters, which
gets eaten up pretty fast in the game. In fact, the
first time you actually meet Super Joe, his portrait
resets for no reason. Well, that's because they
ran into that limitation and had to start a new
string instead. Needless to say I removed that
limitation.

In an effort for full disclosure, I should mention
that there was actually a patch to uncensor the American
release of the game by Chris Covell, but the game
needed a bit more than that for a good translation.

The original translation was not very good and it
felt like a very literal and dry translation, possibly
translated by the Japanese devs due to the amount
of engrish in it. Mind you, it wasn't the worst
translation ever, but it's not acceptable for today's
standards.

So I took it upon myself to translate the Japanese
version of the game from scratch. We've spent quite a
bit of time on it and I believe this translation is
the definite version of the game. Do enjoy.

======================================================
Version History
======================================================
1.0 - Initial release
1.01 - Update to fix a few technical issues and minor
script changes
1.02 - Fixed the torture gameplay, updated title screen
and minor script changes
1.03 - Botched the translations for a few dev messages,
which have been fixed.
1.04 - Fixed a few translations and fixed the broken
prisoner torture.
1.05 - Typo fix
======================================================
Game Tips
======================================================
*In area 15 there is a weapon that destroys the barrier,
allowing you to access the rest of the area. However,
you can also get past the barrier with your bionic arm.

*In area 7 there is a hidden communication room where
a few of the devs give you some hints.

*In area 17 there is a prisoner you can torture for
information. After a few hits, he tells you about
the secret tunnels, but if you continue to hit him
he will eventually give you all the weapons in the
game if you don't already have them.

======================================================
Patching Instructions
======================================================
There are two patches, one in the standard IPS format
and one in the BPS format, you will need to download
beat to patch the later or use the program Floating IPS
instead. It can be found here:

http://www.smwcentral.net/?p=section&a=details&id=11474

Apply either patch to the Japanese version of the game:

Hitler no Fukkatsu - Top Secret (J).nes

We would be highly grateful, if you find some time to 
contact us with proposals or corrections. Information
on found bugs or corrections would be highly 
appreciated.

P.S.

Support the game industry by buying used games!

Even if the money doesn't go to the developers
directly, as the games become rare and harder
to find, the price goes up, and people become
more inclined to buy new releases "while they can!"

======================================================

Credits go to:

Pennywise - hacking, testing, editing

catfoodmoney - translation

Ryusui - misc spot translations

Esperknight - script extraction

M-Tee - title screen design and misc hacking

FlashPV - previous title screen design

Gideon Zhi - special thanks

Carnivol - testing


All those who contributed into this process.

======================================================


Compiled by Pennywise. September 2025.