Two soldiers cross open ground and never stop moving. That is the whole idea behind Ikari Warriors on the NES, a shooter viewed from above that asks players to push through wave after wave of enemy soldiers with little more than a machine gun and a stock of charges that clear the ground around them.
The Setup
Ikari Warriors puts one or two players in control of soldiers dropped into enemy ground and told to fight their way through. The camera stays locked from above. Enemy soldiers arrive from every side, and the screen fills fast with fighters and armored vehicles.
Getting your bearings is where the trouble starts. The game uses a control method built around turning a soldier to face a new direction, and on the NES controller that turn takes real effort. Enemy soldiers do not wait for players to line up a shot.
Fighting and Vehicles
The charges clear out groups of enemy soldiers, and the machine gun handles single foes, but the real relief comes from taking control of an armored vehicle left behind on the ground. These vehicles take far more damage than a soldier on foot and can push through lines of enemies that a player on foot would struggle against.
The trouble is that an armored vehicle can be destroyed fast, and losing one in the middle of a fight sends a player straight back to facing enemy fire without cover. The pace of the game moves between armored and safe, and exposed and vulnerable, and this makes it hard to settle into.
Bringing a second soldier into the fight helps.
A second player can cover more ground and share the losses enemy soldiers cause. The core trouble does not go away with a partner, though. The control method still fights back, and the difficulty still rises without warning.
How It Compares With Other NES Shooters
| Feature | Ikari Warriors | Common NES Shooter |
|---|---|---|
| Control method | Facing controlled by turning, awkward on NES controller | Direct facing in four directions |
| Vehicle use | Armored vehicles, high risk and high reward | Rare or absent |
| Difficulty | Rises fast and without warning | Rises gradually |
| Second player | Joint play supported | Often absent |
The table above shows where Ikari Warriors sits next to its peers on the console. It took risks other shooters did not attempt, and some of those risks pay off. Others do not.
The arcade version of Ikari Warriors ran on hardware built for its exact control needs. The NES version leaves that behind and puts a different method in its place, one that never quite feels right. Turning to face an enemy soldier costs time a player does not have, and that cost adds up across a full level.
Enemy soldiers appear in numbers that can press past even a careful player. Health falls fast, and there is no way to recover it during a level. One mistake near the end of a portion of fighting can send a player back to its start.
None of this means Ikari Warriors is without merit, though. The armored vehicle portions bring great strength few other NES shooters offered at the time, and pushing through a line of enemy soldiers while protected still feels good even now.
The Verdict
Ikari Warriors is a game of highs and lows. The armored vehicle portions and the joint play choice show what the game does well, while the control method and the fast rise in difficulty show where it falls short. Neither side cancels out the other.
Players willing to push through the rough patches will find a shooter with real moments of payoff. Those without patience for an awkward control method may lose interest early.
The final score: 5.9 of 10.
