The story begins with a solo narrative: somewhere in the 1980s, a top-secret WWII-era Nazi document called "Plan Albatross" was discovered by the Imperialists. Generalissimo Weitzmann, leader of the Imperial army, decided to realize the plan himself. Another superpower, "the Republic" (ostensibly modeled after the real-life United States), then at war with the Imperial State, sent a commando named Super Joe to retrieve the plan and to stop Weitzmann. However, Joe lost contact with Republican HQ not long after he entered Imperialist territories.