Lethal Enforcers

n/a

Mega Drive NTSC-J
Lethal Enforcers
System(s): Sega Mega Drive, Sega Mega-CD
Publisher: Konami
Developer: Konami
Original system(s): Arcade boards
Sound driver: Konami/Lethal Enforcers
Peripherals supported: The Justifier
Genre: Shooting
Number of players: 1-2
Release Date RRP Code JP 1993-12-10 ¥9,800 (10,094)9,800e T-95073 US 1993-06-25 $49.9949.99 T-95096 US ▼ (Sega Channel) 199x SUBsub EU 1993 T-95096-50 UK 1993-10-29 £54.9954.99 T-95096-50 AU 1993 $159.95159.95 AS 199x JP 1993-10-29 ¥9,800 (10,094)9,800e T-95014 JP (Famitsu-ban) 199x US 1993-11 T-95015 EU 1993-11-19 T-95015-50 UK 1993-12-03 £54.9954.99 T-95015-50
Non-Sega versions Arcade Super NES

Lethal Enforcers (リーサルエンフォーサーズ) is a 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 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 standalone 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.

Gameplay

The game is a light-gun shooter played from a first-person perspective. It supports two-player simultaneous play. Players assume the role of police officers in a big city and stop dangerous criminals such as bank robbers and drug dealers. Digitized photographs are used for the sprites and backgrounds. Stages consist of multiple scenes in which criminals appear and fire on the player if not dispatched quickly. The camera automatically moves on a set path through each stage. 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 . There is a sound cue that plays when the weapon is out of ammo. Using the Justifier, pulling the trigger while pointed toward the screen shoots and pulling the trigger when aimed away from the screen reloads. Guns can be calibrated before starting the game.

The officers are initially armed with standard-issue .38 service revolvers. Sometimes special weapons, such as a rifle or a shotgun, can be found in the stages and 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 (except the machine gun and grenade gun, which cannot be reloaded).

Each player starts with four to six points of health (depending on the difficulty level) and loses one when hit by enemy fire. In two-player games, player one is hit by shots on the left side of the screen, and player two is hit by shots on the right side of the screen. Players also lose a point of health if they shoot a civilian or fellow police officer. Enemies (besides bosses) have their faces obscured by sunglasses, ski masks, or gas masks to make it easier to distinguish them from civilians and fellow police officers. If a player runs out of health, the game ends but can be continued as long as credits remain. Players share credits in two-player games.

Players are ranked based on their accuracy after each stage and given a promotion if it is high enough. The ranks are Patrolman, Detective, Sergeant, Lieutenant, Captain, and Commander. Players lose a rank for each innocent bystander killed. Promotions are cumulative. Players must meet a certain rank requirement to advance to the next stage; otherwise, the same stage must be played again until the requirement is met. In two-player games, both players must meet the requirement.

There are three difficulty levels (Easy, Normal, and Hard), which affects how many enemies appear, how quickly they shoot after appearing, the starting number of health points (4 on Easy, 5 on Normal, and 6 on Hard), the starting number of credits (4 on Easy, 5 on Normal, and 6 on Hard), and how often extra credits are awarded (every 1,000 points on Easy, every 2,000 points on Normal, and every 3,000 points on Hard).

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

There are two game modes: Arcade, which plays through all of the stages, and Practice, which only plays the shooting gallery.

	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. [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, following Night Trap. The game was banned in Germany.

Legacy

The original arcade game was successful and and helped pioneer the use of digitized sprites and backgrounds in light-gun shooting games, along with the earlier T2: The Arcade Game. This would be the most popular approach to the genre, seen in later games such as Revolution X and Area 51, until Sega's Virtua Cop popularized the use of 3D polygons in light-gun shooters.

The Mega Drive version of Lethal Enforcers was later sold unofficially by pirates with original or changed names like Gun Fighter or The Punisher.

Lethal Enforcers was followed by Lethal Enforcers II: Gun Fighters, which was also ported to both the Mega Drive and Mega-CD.

A more faithful port of the arcade game would be released, along with its sequel, for the Sony PlayStation in the compilation Lethal Enforcers I & II. A release was planned for the Sega Saturn as well but canceled.

Versions

The Mega Drive and Mega-CD versions have reduced color depth compared to the arcade game and remove the destructible objects in stages. The Mega-CD version has more animations for enemies and better quality audio (including a Red Book audio reproduction of the arcade soundtrack and PCM sound effects).

The Super NES version has some censorship, such as removing the blood effect when a player is shot, removing death animations for enemies, and renaming the "Chinatown Assault" and "The Drug Dealer" stages to "Downtown Assault" and "The Gunrunners" respectively. However, it has greater color depth and lacks the rank requirement to advance to the next stage. It also allows players to choose the order in which to play the first four stages (which was a DIP switch setting in the original arcade game).

Production credits

Mega Drive version

Arcade Game Staff

• Programmer: Y.Hatano
• Game Graphics: S.Johnson
• Photographers: J.Narita
• Sound Effects: H.Maezawa
• Music Composer: K.Fukui
• Hardware Design: H.Matsuura, H.Ueno
• Cabinet Graphics: K.Hale, D.Marshall
• Director: Y.Hatano

Genesis Staff

• Programmers: M.Ueno, Y.Matsuhana, Moai Sasaki, K.Hashimoto
• Game Graphics: N.Takemoto, N.Sasaki
• Sound Effects: Devi Kobayashi, Como Soeda, Ikejirioduchi, Otsumami Matsuo
• Sound Programmers: A.Fujio, O.Kasai
• The Justifier Design: M.Okada, T.Ohishi
• Package Design: Yoshihashi
• Director: M.Ueno
• Producer: Tomikazu Kirita

Copyright 1993 Konami

All Rights Reserved.

Source:

In-game credits

Mega-CD version

Arcade Game Staff

• Programmer: Y.Hatano
• Game Graphics: S.Johnson
• Photographers: J.Narita
• Sound Effects: H.Maezawa
• Music Composer: K.Fukui
• Hardware Design: H.Matsuura, H.Ueno
• Cabinet Graphics: K.Hale
• Director: Y.Hatano

Sega-CD Staff

• Programmers: Y.Matsuhana, Moai Sasaki, M.Ueno, K.Hashimoto
• Game Graphics: N.Takemoto, N.Sasaki
• Sound Effects: K.Muraoka, A.Fujio, K.Imai
• Music Arrange: Tappi
• Guitar Player: Motoaki Furukawa (Kukeiha Club)
• The Justifier Design: M.Okada, T.Ohishi
• Package Design: Yoshihashi
• Director: Sasaki & Ueno
• Producer: Tomikazu Kirita

Copyright 1993 Konami

All Rights Reserved.

Source:

In-game credits

Magazine articles

Main article: Lethal Enforcers/Magazine articles.

Promotional material

Print advert in Electronic Gaming Monthly (US) #52: "November 1993" (1993-xx-xx)
also published in:

• Game Players (US) #0612: "Vol. 6 No. 12 December 1993" (1993-1x-xx)
• Electronic Games (1992-1995) (US) #16: "January 1994" (1993-12-21)
• GamePro (US) #54: "January 1994" (199x-xx-xx)
• Electronic Gaming Monthly (US) #53: "December 1993" (1993-xx-xx)

Print advert in Computer & Video Games (UK) #145: "December 1993" (1993-11-15)
also published in:

• Computer & Video Games (UK) #146: "January 1994" (1993-12-15)
• Mega (UK) #16: "January 1994" (1993-12-16)
• Computer & Video Games (UK) #149: "April 1994" (1994-03-15)

Print advert in Mega Force (ES) #21: "Enero 1994" (1994-xx-xx)

Print advert in Beep! MegaDrive (JP) #1993-09: "September 1993" (1993-08-07)

Print advert in Beep! MegaDrive (JP) #1993-11: "November 1993" (1993-10-08)

Physical scans

Mega Drive version

Sega Retro Average
Publication Score Source

{{{{{icon}}}|L}}
Based on 0 review

Sega Retro Average

Publication Version Score 1700 igr dlya Sega (RU) 50 Beep! MegaDrive (JP) NTSC-J 68 Consoles + (FR) 79 Cool Gamer (RU) 50 Computer & Video Games (UK) PAL 80 Electronic Games (1992-1995) (US) NTSC-U 95 Famitsu (JP) NTSC-J 70 Game Power (IT) PAL 89 GamePro (US) NTSC-U 100 Hippon Super (JP) NTSC-J 70 Joypad (FR) NTSC-U 83 Mega (UK) PAL 89 Mega Machines (UK) PAL 91 Megazin (SI) PAL 79 Mean Machines Sega (UK) PAL 74 Player One (FR) 75 Power Up! (UK) 83 Power Unlimited (NL) 90 Sega News (CZ) 93 Sega Power (UK) PAL 78 Sega Zone (UK) NTSC 89 Sega Mega Drive Review (RU) 82 Sega Saturn Magazine (JP) NTSC-J 78 Todo Sega (ES) PAL 90 Tricks 16 bit (RU) 82 Video Games (DE) NTSC-U 63

	80
Based on 26 reviews

Lethal Enforcers

Mega Drive, JP
Cover
Cart Justifier

Mega Drive, US
Cover
Cart Manual Poster Justifier PCB

Mega Drive, EU
Cover
Cart Manual Justifier

Mega Drive, Asia
Cover
Cart

Mega-CD version

Sega Retro Average
Publication Score Source

{{{{{icon}}}|L}}
Based on 0 review

Sega Retro Average

Publication Version Score Beep! MegaDrive (JP) NTSC-J 68 Computer & Video Games (UK) 82 Electronic Games (1992-1995) (US) NTSC-U 93 Electronic Gaming Monthly (US) NTSC-U 65 Mean Machines: The Essential Sega Guide (UK) 82 Famitsu (JP) NTSC-J 70 Freak (IL) 93 GamePro (US) NTSC-U 95 GamesMaster (UK) PAL 93 GamesMaster (UK) 63 Hippon Super (JP) NTSC-J 70 Hyper (AU) 89 Joypad (FR) PAL 80 Sega Mega Drive Advanced Gaming (UK) PAL 78 Mega (UK) PAL 89 Mega Action (UK) PAL 85 Mega Force (FR) 66 Mega Force (FR) 67 Mega Machines (UK) PAL 92 Mega Play (US) NTSC-U 81 MegaTech (UK) PAL 80 Player One (FR) 50 Power Unlimited (NL) 90 Sega Magazine (UK) PAL 78 Sega Power (UK) PAL 89 Sega Pro (UK) PAL 88 Sega Zone (UK) NTSC 90 Sega Saturn Magazine (JP) NTSC-J 78 Todo Sega (ES) 87 Video Games (DE) PAL 63

	80
Based on 30 reviews

Lethal Enforcers

Mega-CD, JP
Cover
Disc Jewel Case Justifier

Mega-CD, JP (Famitsu-ban)

Mega-CD, US
Cover
Disc Manual Justifier

Mega-CD, EU
Cover
Disc Manual Justifier

Technical information

Main article: Lethal Enforcers/Technical information.

References

Lethal Enforcers games for Sega systems
	Lethal Enforcers (1993) | Lethal Enforcers II: Gun Fighters (1994)
	Lethal Enforcers I & II (unreleased)