Lethal Enforcers (リーサルエンフォーサーズ) is a 2-player light-gun shooting game originally released for the arcades by Konami in 1992. It was ported to the Sega Mega Drive and Sega Mega-CD in 1993, as well as the Super NES (with censorship) at around the same time.
In order to make an accurate conversion of the arcade game, Konami opted to produce their own light gun called The Justifier rather than using the existing first-party light gun, the Menacer. Both the Mega Drive and Mega-CD version of Lethal Enforcers were packaged with a light blue Justifier; no stand-alone version of the game without the gun was sold. The game includes a mail-in card for purchasing a pink Justifier, which daisy-chains into the blue Justifier, for player two.
Mega Drive version of Lethal Enforcers was later sold unofficially by pirates with original or changed names like Gun Fighter or The Punisher.
The game is a light gun shooter played from a first-person perspective. The camera automatically moves on a set path through each stage. Stages consist of multiple scenes in which criminals appear and fire on the player if not dispatched quickly. Most enemies are killed in one shot. Each stage ends with a boss encounter. Using a standard control pad, the D-pad moves the crosshair around the screen and or fires. The player's revolver holds six rounds and can be reloaded with . Using the Justifier, pulling the trigger while pointed toward the screen shoots and pulling the trigger when aimed away from the screen reloads.
Sometimes special weapons, such as a rifle or a shotgun, appear and can be picked up by shooting them. These weapons are generally more powerful and last until the player takes damage. These weapons are fired and reloaded the same way as the standard revolver, though the machine gun and grenade gun cannot be reloaded.
The player starts with three to five points of health (depending on the difficulty level) and loses one when hit by enemy fire. Players also lose a point of health if they shoot civilians or fellow police officers. If the player runs out of health, the game ends but can be continued as long as credits remain. The player gains an extra credit for every 2,000 points earned. The game supports two-player simultaneous play.
Players are ranked based on their accuracy after each stage. The ranks are Patrolman, Detective, Sergeant, Lieutenant, Captain, and Commander. Players lose a rank for each innocent bystander killed. Players must meet a certain rank requirement to advance to the next stage. In two-player games, both players must meet the requirement.
Weapons
Shoot weapon icons to pick them up. Special weapons are lost when the player takes a hit.
Magnum
Does more damage. Holds 6 rounds.
Automatic
Does more damage. Holds 12 rounds.
Assault Rifle
Fires three consecutive shots. Holds 12 rounds.
Shotgun
Does area damage. Holds 6 rounds.
Machine Gun
Fires continuously when trigger is held. Holds 36 rounds and cannot be reloaded.
Grenade Gun
Does large area damage. Holds 8 rounds and cannot be reloaded.
Stages
The Bank Robbery
Players must attain the rank of Detective to progress to the next stage.
Shooting Range 1
Chinatown Assault
Players must attain the rank of Sergeant to progress to the next stage.
The Hijack
Players must attain the rank of Lieutenant to progress to the next stage.
Shooting Range 2
The Drug Dealer
Players must attain the rank of Captain to progress to the next stage.
The Chemical Plant
History
Release
At least ten special copies of the Mega-CD version were known to be given away in a contest by the Japanese magazine Famitsu.[15][16] [More information on this is needed.]
The Mega-CD version of Lethal Enforcers was the second game to be given an MA-17 rating by Sega's Videogame Rating Council[17], following Night Trap. The game was banned in Germany[18].