Mission: Impossible (NES) Playthrough

Mission: Impossible for the NES is one of Konami’s more unusual licensed games. Released in 1990 through Ultra Games in North America, it is based on the late-1980s television revival rather than the later Tom Cruise movies. Instead of making a straightforward action game, Konami created an ambitious mix of stealth, exploration, combat and puzzle solving built around controlling a three-man IMF team. Rating: 7.5/10 You can switch freely between Max Harte, Grant Collier and Nicholas Black, and each agent has abilities that make him useful in different situations. Max carries a long-range rifle and remote explosives, making him the strongest choice for direct combat. Grant is the fastest member of the team, fights with his fists, carries sleep gas and can open certain electronic doors. Nicholas attacks with a boomerang and can use disguises to move past guards without immediately attracting attention. This character-switching system is easily the game’s strongest feature. Choosing the right agent can make a difficult section far easier, and keeping all three alive becomes important because losing one removes his unique abilities for the remainder of the mission. Most stages are viewed from an overhead perspective and are considerably more open than the average NES action game. You explore streets, buildings and enemy facilities while collecting items, talking to contacts, opening restricted areas and avoiding security systems. Cameras, guards and environmental hazards make careless movement dangerous, while attacking innocent civilians can cause additional problems. The emphasis on infiltration and planning gives Mission: Impossible a slight Metal Gear flavor, although combat is still a major part of the experience. The game contains six main areas and regularly changes things up. Alongside the standard infiltration stages are sequences involving a speedboat and skiing through the Swiss Alps. These sections are simpler than the main game but help provide variety, while locations such as Moscow and Venice give the adventure a convincing international espionage atmosphere. Unfortunately, Mission: Impossible is extremely difficult. Large stages are full of traps and dangerous enemies, and success often requires memorizing layouts and knowing exactly when to switch characters. Losing the wrong agent can make an already difficult section even harder, and dying usually means repeating a substantial portion of the stage. Unlimited continues and passwords make things slightly more forgiving, but this is still a game built around repeated attempts. The controls are responsive, so most failures feel like the result of poor planning rather than bad handling. That also makes successful runs satisfying. Once you know where enemies are positioned, which routes are safe and which agent should handle each obstacle, the game develops a rewarding rhythm of preparation and execution. Visually, Mission: Impossible is solid rather than spectacular. Sprites are clear, environments are varied enough to remain readable and the overall presentation fits Konami’s usual NES style. The music is stronger, with tense action themes and a recognizable adaptation of the classic Mission: Impossible theme. Mission: Impossible is demanding, occasionally frustrating and far less accessible than many NES action games, but it is also creative and surprisingly deep. Its three-agent system, semi-open stages and emphasis on infiltration make it stand out from most licensed games of the era. For players willing to learn its layouts and tolerate its unforgiving difficulty, it remains a distinctive and rewarding NES espionage game.