Play Mercenary Force (USA, Europe) Online

Mercenary Force came out for the Game Boy in 1990, published by NCS Corporation. It was one of those early portable titles that tried something a little different, mixing strategy with straightforward action in a way that felt ambitious for the hardware. You don't see many games from that time that ask you to manage a whole squad on such a small screen.

You control a group of four mercenaries, each with a unique weapon like a sword, shuriken, or gun, and you move them as a single block through side-scrolling stages. The main goal is to defeat enemies and bosses across various levels, but the key mechanic is swapping which mercenary is at the front of the formation to use their specific attack. You have to think about positioning and who to expose to incoming fire, because if one dies, they're gone for good. The game moves at a steady pace, but the difficulty spikes quickly, especially during boss fights that fill most of the screen. It feels tense and tactical, forcing you to plan each move carefully to keep your team alive.