How to play Ikari Warriors online
- Move: arrow keys
- Fire bullets (or tank shells): Z (left button)
- Throw a grenade: hold X (right button) until it launches
- Climb into a tank: walk onto it and press X
- Turn the tank’s turret without moving: hold X and use the arrow keys
- Leave the tank: press Z and X together
- Choose players and difficulty: F2 (Select) or up/down, confirm with Z or F3
- Restart with the same options: F3 (Reset)
- Pause: F4
- Full screen: F9
Both the USA (NTSC) and Europe (PAL) cartridges are on this page; use the switch above the game to change.
Gameplay
You and an optional partner are commandos deep behind enemy lines. The goal is to reach and rescue a captured colonel, which is worth a million points. You start with three lives, 99 bullets and 50 grenades, and both run out quickly, so keep an eye on the counters in the status bar. A single enemy hit costs a life, and so does touching an enemy soldier. Rocks and ruins give cover from bullets but not from grenades. Rivers and the sea slow you down, though you can still shoot while wading.
Empty tanks wait along the way. Inside one you are safe from gunfire, but grenades can still wreck it, and it only drives on dry land. Tanks burn fuel, and a tank that runs dry explodes, taking you with it if you are still inside. Get out as soon as it stops moving.
Walk over icons to collect supplies and upgrades:
- Bullet and grenade supplies: 50 more of each
- Energy supply: fills the tank’s fuel and adds 99 bullets and 50 grenades
- F (Super Bullets): bullets that pass through rocks and walls and destroy tanks and bunkers
- L (Range): doubles the range of bullets and tank shells
- B (Super Grenades): stronger grenades
- K (Super Bomb): destroys every enemy on screen
- S: a 200-point bonus
The F, L and B upgrades last only until you lose a life. You earn an extra life every 20,000 points. Soldiers are worth 100 or 200 points; bunkers, helicopters and enemy tanks 600; gates 1,000.
Difficulty levels
Novice, Intermediate, Advanced and Expert. Higher levels put more enemies on screen and make them move faster.
Tips
- Hit and back off. Step in, fire a burst, and retreat before the soldiers can aim at you.
- Save the Super Bomb. Walk over the K icon only when the screen is crowded; it is wasted on an empty screen.
- Watch the fuel gauge in a tank. Bail out early rather than ride a nearly empty tank into an explosion.
- Use cover against gunfire, not grenades. Hiding behind rocks stops bullets, but move away when a grenade is coming.
- Learn where enemies wait. Knowing where the next attack comes from lets you shoot first.
The story behind Ikari Warriors
SNK released Ikari Warriors in arcades in 1986. It stood out for its rotary joysticks and its two-player cooperative mode. SNK had first hoped to make it an official game of the film Rambo: First Blood Part II, but could not get the rights; the name Ikari comes from part of the film’s Japanese title.
The home conversions for Atari consoles came late. Atari Corporation released Ikari Warriors for the Atari 2600 and the Atari 7800 in 1990, as some of the final games published for those systems. The 7800 version, developed by Imagineering, uses the standard two-button controller, so guns and grenades sit on separate buttons instead of a rotating stick.
