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It’s amazing what taking such a simple feature such as jumping out of game to do. Over the years, it’s something we’ve become so accustomed to, it’s impossible to live without. Bionic Commando didn’t just take it out, it replaced with a far more difficult to master mechanic, the bionic arm. A video game legacy was born.

This remake, an update of the well known NES version (not the arcade original), is a phenomenal piece of retro gameplay fused with modern style. Bionic Commando Rearmed is both respectful to the original while changing certain aspects to make the game all out better. At the risk of sounding blasphemous, this is a far better game in all regards than the original.

At its heart is the bionic arm, an elegant device that at times can be a death dealing suicide mechanism for the unskilled player (or the spotty controls) or brilliant means of getting from point A to point B. The character cannot jump, not even over small ledges. The level designs can be devilish, forcing the player to think as much as they need to execute pin point precision throws of the arm.

A gorgeous visual upgrade ensures mistakes are always on the player’s hands, not the game. If you didn’t see a ledge and all of its beautiful details, that’s your fault. The increased animation and frame rate over the original makes swinging even more fun, and when in a rhythm, it’s hard not to feel as if you’re the one actually in the game swinging around.

A few new moves have been added, including the ability to shoot the arm straight ahead. This leads into even more moves, including grabbing enemies, knocking down walls, or throwing barrels Donkey Kong style to shove a foe off a ledge. All of this is done to a wonderful audio remix that keeps the best parts of the retro themes intact.

The new moves and visual highlights are nice, but toss in two-player co-op play completely changes the way you play. Enemy placement is different, there’s more of them, and the mechanics change as a whole while you work together. Two to four player deathmatch modes are mildly amusing at best, but like the co-op, this all offline only.

Additional replay value is included in the form of various training rooms. There are 56 standard ones and secret ones to unlock as well. These time trials start off easy, and by the end, only the highest level Bionic Commando players will find the means to solve all of them (and a worthwhile achievement as well).

Gorgeous, wonderfully updated, and one of the best games on the Live Arcade. That’s the only necessary information needed about Capcom’s finest remake yet, easily eclipsing 1942 Joint Strike and Commando 3. Retro fan or not, this is game that offers something to appease all generations of gamers.