Operation Wolf - Zapper Playthrough (Actual NES Capture)

This is a capture of me playing through Operation Wolf on the NES. This is not an emulator and was not played on the Wii Virtual Console. This footage was recorded directly from my front-loading NES using an actual Operation Wolf cartridge. I'm using the Zapper light gun to play through the game.

I haven’t uploaded NES footage in quite a while, and this is the last NES recording that I needed to redo in 60 fps, so here’s a new playthrough. Interestingly, the original arcade version of Operation Wolf was recently released on the Switch through Operation Night Strikers, and I will be getting my physical copy of that compilation around January.

Even though I grew up with the NES in the late '80s/early '90s, I only managed to play a few Zapper games (Duck Hunt, Hogan's Alley and Gotcha!), but I have a fondness for light guns in general, so in 2013 I started looking for additional Zapper titles to pick up.

I saw Mark's review of Operation Wolf on Classic Game Room, and I thought the game looked interesting with the Zapper, so I decided to give it a shot. I had no history with this game and simply picked up a complete copy for dirt cheap off eBay.

The original arcade release of Operation Wolf used a positional gun similar to Terminator 2, but the NES port is severely downgraded due to the weaker NES hardware and the Zapper itself. Whereas the Operation Wolf arcade game gave you a persistent cursor on screen with rapid fire, the NES version doesn't do that unless you're using the standard NES controller. But even if you use a standard controller, you’ll still have to use the D-pad to control the cursor, which I don't find ideal (I didn't like it in T2: The Arcade Game on the SNES).

Unfortunately, the Zapper is incapable of fully automatic fire. It can't provide a cursor on screen because it has to make the screen flash to detect each individual shot (unlike the more advanced Super Scope on the SNES). So playing with the Zapper is like using a semi automatic pistol in instead of a fully automatic submachine gun. Also, since the Zapper only has one button, you have to use a standard controller at the same time to fire rockets (hold B on the controller and fire the Zapper to shoot a rocket).

It's not really an ideal control scheme, but it’s clever, and I'll give the developers a ton of credit for porting this game to weaker hardware while including light gun support, which I feel is a noble effort to bring the arcade experience home as best as possible.

Playing Operation Wolf with the Zapper is incredibly taxing on your hands, and makes you feel like you’re using a grip strengthener. However, once you've toughened up your hands, the Zapper becomes a quite capable controller for this game. As you can see here, I managed to blast through the levels while minimizing damage and not losing a single life. The Zapper was a mixed bag in terms of accuracy, but it got the job done.

I would rate the two different control schemes as follows: The standard controller has a lower learning curve and is less taxing physically, but your reaction is slowed down and you're more likely to waste ammo due to rapid fire. The Zapper has a higher learning curve and is more physically demanding, but you have faster reaction times and you're less likely to waste ammo.

The Zapper won't work with an HDTV, so I used my old Philips Magnavox CRT TV to play the game. Since the Hauppauge only outputs through component cables (a format not supported by my old TV), I used a distribution amplifier to split the NES's audio/video signal and send one set of cables to the CRT TV while sending another set of cables to a DVD Recorder, which was then connected to the Hauppauge.

Recorded with the Hauppauge HD PVR and a composite connection at 60 frames per second. I used a Toshiba model D-R550 DVD Recorder to upconvert the NES's native 240p signal to 480i so that the Hauppauge could capture the console's audio/video signal.