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The SHMUPS (aka Shoot ’em up) game genre grew in popularity in the 1980s. Its addictive and simple gameplay, which, combined with rich, but not overloading the gaming hardware, graphics forced people to line up in long lines at the slot machine halls. But with the advent of new technologies and new video game genres, the demands among the gaming audience have also increased. One game about a flying ship in space is fine, two or three are fine, but more than a hundred is too much. The queues are gradually thinning out, and developers, whether they like it or not, have to attract people with something new. A new genre of “Run and Gun” is being brainstormed and born. In 1985, Capcom created the now classic game Commando. No space, asteroids or other extraterrestrial things. You have a machine gun and a machine gun belt the size of an entire continent (read: coins for a slot machine), and in front of you are crowds of Viet Cong or Nazis, depending on your preferences. And there is no time left for talking, you will have to go through hell to survive. Here we’ll say thank you to the stupid and therefore terribly cool action films about crazy soldiers with their insane zeal to destroy all evil on planet Earth at the expense of the state. A year after the release of the Capcom game, SNK (Capcom’s sworn enemies) decided to release their own Rambo. In 1986, a game entered the battlefield that was supposed to be better, stronger and faster than its opponent. Let’s take a look at how cool the action movie about hard-boiled commandos in a red and blue bandana fighting neo-Nazis in the jungle turned out to be. Sounds promising at least.
ME VS IKARI WARRIORS
(There was a Flash player, but since 2020 Flash is not supported by browsers)
Plot: The player takes on the role of one of two soldiers named Colonel Ralph and Second Lieutenant Clark (in the American version, their names were replaced by Paul and Vince), who must protect the village of Ikari from the attacks of unknown but embittered military terrorists and save General Kawasaki in the Japanese version of the game (named after the former president of SNK Eikichi Kawasaki) and Colonel Cook in the US/European version (named after the founder Tradewest by Leland Cook). And if in the Western versions it is not entirely clear who the main characters are fighting against, then in the Japanese everything is extremely clear and understandable thanks to the huge swastika on the floor at the level with the last boss. Neo-Nazis dreamed of a third world war, and they got it in the person of Ralph and Clark. But the villains did not know that they would destroy everything in their path just to complete the task. We still need to look for such loyal soldiers to the country. And yes, the name of the game (and in the original there is no place for the word Warriors) is translated from Japanese as “Fury”. Excellent point, gentlemen, developers. The game evokes, for the most part, exactly this emotion.
Game mechanics: Gameplay is straight forward and dumb like 1980s action movies. It should be noted that for its time, a game about ordinary soldiers with guns on planet earth without extraterrestrial technology was a rare phenomenon. Despite the fact that from the very beginning of the game our helicopter is shot down and we have to stomp to our destination on our own two feet. We run straight, destroying everything in our path, using pistols, machine guns and grenades for this purpose. The most interesting thing is that cartridges, like the supply of grenades, are finite, and during firefights you also have to try to save ammunition. The matter, I tell you, is difficult, because enemies are attacking you from behind and in front almost without stopping. There are many of them, unlike your lives. In the arcade version of the game, when you die (you only have three lives to spare), you have to start all over again. In fact, there is still an opportunity to continue the game after death, using the coins inserted into the slot machine, holding down the fire button and then pressing the start button. A strange way to continue the game, and your humble servant found out about it only after a hundred replays of the initial location. Here, by the way, unlike the version of the game on nes, there are no divisions into long and similar levels. He ran forward to the very end (without turning anywhere) and after destroying the corpse of a huge Nazi (WHAT IS THIS MONSTER?!) consider that you have completed the game. By the way, Colonel Cook is also a decent sized guy. In comparison, the main characters are hobbits. Why send them on a mission?? He’s probably a fake agent or something.
Unlike Capcom’s Commando, the gameplay here is not so fast. We move forward with measured steps, carefully destroying one crowd of enemies, then the next, and so on until the very end. But still, the difficulty is at a decent level. The main advantage of this game is the ability to play together. Even the Commando couldn’t afford this. There is also a rotating joystick (new technologies!), which was a very convenient and interesting innovation for its time, because it was not often in games that you could run in one direction and shoot in a completely different direction. You can also ride tanks and collect upgrades for guns and grenades. Tanks, however, due to these improvements, you can accidentally blow up before you even get into them (throw a grenade at the feet of the enemy standing next to the tank and see what I’m talking about). They have more lives, but are limited in terms of fuel. When its reserve reaches zero, the tank will self-destruct. It can self-destruct for any reason, and even if you manage to get out before the explosion, you will still need to run away from the blast wave at a decent distance. Good luck with that. I died this way all the time. In general, the gameplay is rich and lively. Incredibly complex and terribly dishonest in places, but very interesting for its time. I personally prefer this game more than Commando, but I honestly can’t name the reasons. In terms of hardcore they are twin brothers.
Game ports: There are many of them and most of them are trash. The most original, as always, was the version on nes. Many new levels, not the worst graphics and about the same degree of madness happening on the screen. On the other hand, the difficulty is higher, and the levels, as I have already noticed, are many times longer. The delusional final boss is no better than the huge corpse at the table, although it’s like I’m waiting for an explanation for all this madness in a game released in 1985. It’s best to try playing the Amiga and PSP versions of the game. They look, sound and most importantly play almost exactly the same as the original. But would you know how many graphical and gameplay ports the game has?. Row them with a shovel and you won’t be able to collect them all. Starting with the Atari 2600 and ending with the ZX Spectrum and the version for mobile devices.
The Atari 2600 version is the strangest port of a game I’ve ever seen. Why did this even have to be done??
Two half-naked and identical https://cryptozpincasino.co.uk/mobile-app/ anime soldiers glance gloatingly at the player from the cover of the Famicon (NES) version
Poster for the arcade version of the game
The Spaniards have their own cover for the arcade version of the game. Something on the level of "Turkish Rambo".
Even the main villain (or maybe the one they were supposed to save) escapes from these crazed and drug-addict-like maniacs. This is the cover from the Dreamcast version of the game.
Porn actors on the warpath. Nes version.
Another version with crazy twins on the cover. This time they are not even close to their originals. Atari 7800 greatly compressed them and modified them, apparently.
And even the ZX Spectrum is crazy. Looking at them with the naked eye it seems as if they are on vacation. Clark (the one on the right) seems to be drinking an alcoholic drink, or because of the adrenaline boiling in him, he forgot that he pulled the pin out of a grenade with his teeth.
This is the MSX2 version and in some ways it looks like a poster for a war movie in the style of “Apocalypse Now”.
Graphics: Quite good for its time. Given that the game takes place in the jungles of Latin America, expect an abundance of green, brown and blue. There are plenty of them here. Even on the NES version the game doesn’t look bad. Yes, it’s outdated, but it doesn’t hurt the eyes. The same Commandos suffers from a high concentration of brown color. It doesn’t hurt the eyes, but it’s still not pleasant. I won’t say anything about the animation. Isn’t it funny to see how after we hit the enemy, he doesn’t fall dead, but starts dancing?. Sound and music: Normal. Again, the soundtrack is of decent quality for its time. But unfortunately, you won’t find anything on Mega Man’s level here. I suggest you listen for yourself and decide for yourself the quality of the music. I’m not the only judge here.
(There was a Flash player, but since 2020 Flash is not supported by browsers)
(There was a Flash player, but since 2020 Flash is not supported by browsers)
1 – terrible (something on the level of Superman 64)
2 – bad (big problems, most likely in mechanics and gameplay)
3 – average (balances on the edge. The cons help the pros and vice versa)
4 – OKAY (graphics, music or something else prevents the game from taking off)
K.O.: The complex and crazy Ikari Warriors, although not a perfect example of video game art, still won the attention and respect of gamers. Even despite all its shortcomings, this game is still remembered to this day, and from time to time replayed simply out of curiosity or a surge of nostalgia. Considering that the heroes of this game still appear in games from SNK like King of Fighters and Metal Slug, the game will live forever. I recommend it to every fan of action films of the late eighties and early nineties, as well as just a fan of cool adrenaline action games.
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