Mercenary Force ROM

Also, be sure to check out The Hunt for Red October.

Mercenary Force or Tenjin Kaisen in Japan, is a third-party Game Boy game based on feudal Japan. It was published by Nintendo in Europe. Mercenary Force is a 2D shooter released in 1990.  By controlling four characters of your choosing at once, it involves shooting enemies and defeating a boss at the end of every level.

Over one hundred years ago during the mighty Shogun era, the Lord of Darkness sent his fearsome army to terrorize the Japanese countryside. Using the Dark Lord’s powerful magic, his evil minions spread famine, plague, and pestilence wherever they went, leaving the peaceful population hopelessly oppressed. All who challenged the wicked Lord were mercilessly slain as a warning to all those who had any further thoughts of rebellion.

Then one day while meditating, the great Shogun, Tokugawa, had a divine vision where he saw a small group of mighty warriors rise up to defeat the evil Lord. He immediately set out to recruit the five bravest and most skillful fighters in the land. After months of searching he was finally ready to put his dream into action.

It was time to unleash the Mercenary Force. Mercenary Force is a side-scrolling shooter based on 19 century Japan wherein the player controls four mercenaries of their choosing. Each level starts with a screen where the player can hire up to four of the five mercenary characters (multiples can be chosen) to fight through the level with.

The five different mercenaries have differing Yen costs although the more expensive mercenaries are not necessarily stronger than the lower end mercenaries. The gameplay primarily consists of moving the group of mercenaries around and shooting their various projectiles at the oncoming hordes of enemies. In standard fashion, once the player successfully moves through the level they encounter a boss which ends the level.