Ikari Warriors

How to play Ikari Warriors online

• Move your soldier or tank: arrow keys
• Fire bullets (or tank shells): tap the Space bar
• Throw a grenade: hold the Space bar for a second or two
• Leave the tank: hold the Space bar for a second or two while inside
• Choose one or two players: F11 (the console’s Select switch) or up/down on the joystick on the title screen
• Start or restart a game: F12 (the console’s Reset switch)
• Player 2: T/F/G/H to move, A to fire
• Save and load your progress: Ctrl + 0–9 saves to a slot, Alt + 0–9 loads it

The arcade machine used special rotating joysticks and two buttons. The 2600 version works with a normal one-button joystick, so it runs fine with the keyboard here.

Gameplay

You play one of the Ikari Warriors, dropped behind enemy lines. You push forward through jungle, wade across rivers and pass bombed-out buildings, while enemy soldiers, helicopters and tanks try to stop you. You start with three lives, 99 bullets and 50 grenades. Touching an enemy soldier or being hit by enemy fire costs a life, and the game ends when the last one is gone. You win by rescuing the colonel held prisoner by the enemy.

Ammunition runs out, so watch the counters in the status bar. Walking or driving over a supply icon marked S tops up your ammunition and your tank’s fuel. Unlike the arcade game, there are no weapon upgrades. If you find a tank, walk onto it to climb in. It keeps you safe from bullets, but grenades can still destroy it, and you go up with it if it explodes. Tanks only work on dry land and need fuel, and a tank that runs dry blows up.

Tips

• Tap, don’t hold. Holding fire throws a grenade, so keep your taps short when you only want bullets.
• Use cover. Rocks and rubble stop bullets, but not grenades. Don’t stay behind the same rock for long.
• Hit and back off. Move in, shoot, and retreat before the enemy can aim at you.
• Run them over. In a tank, driving over soldiers saves shells.
• Never pass a supply icon. Grab every S you see, especially when you are driving a tank.
• Play with a friend. In two-player mode you fight side by side, which makes the busier screens easier.

History

SNK released Ikari Warriors in arcades in 1986, and Tradewest distributed it in North America. It was one of many games that followed Capcom’s Commando, but it stood out with its rotary joysticks and two-player co-operative play. The game was inspired by the film Rambo: First Blood Part II, and SNK had originally wanted it to be an official adaptation, but could not get the rights in time. The arcade version was a big hit in Japan and the USA, and in London’s arcades too.

Home versions followed on many computers and on the NES. Atari Corporation brought it to the Atari 2600 and 7800 in 1990, near the end of both consoles’ commercial lives. The 2600 cartridge also runs on the Atari 7800. SNK later made two sequels, Victory Road and Ikari III: The Rescue.