NARC (Arcade)

NARC is the first arcade game to use a 32-bit processor. As for the game's content, well...here's what the arcade manual has to say:

"THE CITY'S OVERRUN! Slashers! Gangsters! Pimps! The punks are
everywhere! The scum of the earth! And only the player can restore law and
order! Trigger finger spraying hot metal before him... ROCKET BOMB at the
ready... The player is a macho urban guerrilla, defending our city from the
ultimate urban scourge! This is his neighborhood too. He's committed. He says
NO to inner city decadence. He carries a badge and a moral code. And he backs
them both with screaming lead."

The final boss is a giant head on a plate. Unsurprisingly this game was commonly used as an example of violent video games back in the day.

Sub-Pages#

Development Info Notes

Hidden Screens#

A series of hidden screens can be accessed through the following steps:

1. Hold 1P Up and 2P Right for the duration.
2. Press 1P Crouch + 1P Fire + 2P Jump + 2P Rocket Bomb.
3. Press 1P Fire + 1P Rocket Bomb + 2P Crouch + 2P Rocket Bomb.

To simplify this sequence to 1P Up + 2P Right + 1P Fire, put the following code in narc.xml:

  <cheat desc="Easy Credits Code">
    <script state="run">
      <action>user1.mw@B3FBC=0801</action>
      <action>user1.mw@B3FDE=0821</action>
    </script>
  </cheat>

Press any button to advance through the following screens.

The first screen is a simple set of game credits with a cycling rainbow border.

The second screen displays six audits that don't appear on the main game audits screen.

Errors	No Errors

If the game has encountered any errors since booting up, register information will be displayed on the third page. Otherwise, the screen on the right is displayed.

Pressing any key will send the player back to the title.

Officially Docummented Revisional Differences#

Several versions of the game are known to exist, according to internal documentation. Full info is available on the Notes page.

Out of all of these, only version 1.8, 2.0, 3.2, 4.0, 6.0, and 7.0 are available as ROMs.

Revision Comparison#

Version 1.80 has the most interesting differences:

• in Service Mode, inside Diagnostic Tests, there's no Sound Board Test;

1.8	7.0

• in Service Mode, inside Game Adjustment, no Easy Buy-In (going back to Red Level 1 after getting past it when a getting a game over) and no Auto Highscore Reset (clearing highscores automatically after certain number of plays) options. Some other options are named and ordered differently, and as stated above, default values are different, higher difficulty;

1.8	7.0

• The hud differs slightly: No 'score for extra life' indicator (but you still get the "Close call Max" message when getting a life in the invincibility period after losing your last life), the bullets look slightly different (and is the one thing 1.8 has over the other versions), and some things are positioned slightly lower (How interesting, right?);

1.8	2.0	Later

• No credits counter or tips below the sector radar;

1.8	Later

• The roads look completely different, lower color specially;

1.8	Later

• "We've got it" voiceline from when picking up keycards and in the Downtown level intro sounds like either a different take or the same take without the radio effect added, overall, notably much quieter (Don't mind the beeping);

• KRAK Street (level 2) looks almost completely different;

1.8	Later

• The players yell "police!", or "open up!", or both, when entering the building in KRAK Street sometimes;

• K.R.A.K Stop (level 2 sublevel) doesn't exist, instead you're taken to The Warehouse, which looks completely different and much less impressive;

• The second intro text in The Bridge (level 3) is different;

1.8	Later

• No helicopter intro in The Bridge, instead the players just spawn standing still;

1.8	Later

• You cannot crash your car into helicopters before they take off (Aw man...);

• Joe Rockhed/Dumpster Man and Kinky Pinky both have much more health (take more bullets to kill but still die to a single rocket), and walk a little faster too;

• In Sunset Strip (level 4), the women don't moan when the players get close;

• Sunset Strip's sublevels have different ceilings (see below);

• There's no bonus evidence to collect in The Kennel (level 4 sublevel);

1.8	Later

• Sunset Strip's sublevels differ in order: The Swamp takes place in door 2 instead of Kinky's Bigtop, and a clone of The Kennel takes place in door 3 instead of The Swamp;

• The camera in The Scrap Heap (level 4 sublevel) begins slightly off-screen to the left;

1.8	Later

• all Bevon Face enemies like to throw dynamite much more;

• Items in Caddilac trunks are harder to collect, must be done from behind the car specifically;

• Rockets in Caddilac trunks look different, smaller, like how the rockets look when shot;

1.8	Later

• Caddilacs explode more quickly and without warning after the driver is killed, and leave no wreck behind when they do. They still will if they're killed by your rockets, though;

• Skyhigh's Nursery and The Greenhouse (level 5) don't exist yet, instead the game skips straight to what would be the next level, Downtown. Thus, the Sgt. Skyhigh enemy, and green safecard, also don't exist (And no Ganja Bonus! Bummer!);

• Downtown has a car intro, instead of a helicopter intro;

1.8	Later

• Some HQ Posse carry rocket launchers, and can spam deadly shots really quickly. At least they drop plenty of rockets;

• The players cannot rob the 24HR Cash ATM in Downtown;

• 'Wheelchair' Mr. Big knockdowns aren't counted in the hud;

• The Inner Sanctum and 'giant head' Mr. Big (The best part of the game!) don't exist yet (Unfortunately). The game goes straight to Jackpot! after Mr. Big's Office.