Ikari Warriors Nintendo NES Review - The Old School Game Vault

Ikari Warriors was certainly a game, that when it came out, it was labeled truly impressive. The two-player mode allowed for hours of fun for you and a friend. I know as; my friends and I spent hours playing this game in the early 90s.

As, like most NES games I played when I was a kid, I still have in my library today.

Unfortunately, Ikari Warriors will be one of those games that I remove from my childhood library.

Ikari Warriors seems just like any other Vietnam War/shooter game to me.  It was apparently inspired by the Rambo films of the early 80s. This is a top moving scrolling shooter, with poor controls, and not the best of graphics to stand the test of time. The object is to rescue your trapped friends and allies along the battle lines.

Game Play:

You have the option to play the game as a one (1) player game or a two (2) player game.  There is not much difference between a single or multiplayer.  I would definitely play this game with a friend, as the single player is pretty brutal.  There are an abundance of enemies and a friend would certainly aid in taking down the enemies. 

This game certainly uses the entire thumb pad, you need to be pretty skilled shooting and moving at an angle.  The (A) button throws a grenade and the (B) button fires your weapon.

You start off the game

Blasting all the enemies that come your way. You are equipped with a certain amount of bullets and grenades. They are blue dressed enemies coming at you, then you have the red dressed enemies.

The red enemies supply you with more ammunition and grenades.

The thing that bothers me most is the controls, if you shoot at any enemy who is not in your direct line, he won’t die. It seemed like for many NES games, you have a straight line for which you can shoot at or fight at.

If the enemy is not directly on this straight line

Then you miss. This is so damn annoying, you can miss an enemy by 1 mm, and he is still alive. It seems like most of the shooting is done firing at an angle, which makes it even worse.

The grenades also have to be pretty precise or your enemies won’t die. The only part where the grenade, doesn’t need to be exact, is when you blow up enemy buildings and tanks.   The enemy buildings and tanks can be pretty easy to destroy, and they really only fire in a straight line. With a little skillful tactics, you can defeat these obstacles pretty easily.

This leads me to the rest of the story;

Along the way you can find tanks that you can drive in. This is probably the best part, the tank moves faster than your character, and you can destroy so much more. You also need to pick up gas and ammunition while you are driving your tank. Attack Choppers are, another facet you can control, but the controls of the chopper are pretty poor.

Cheats: Using the Game Genie

I’d probably recommend an infinite life cheat, as it's way too easy to die. Seriously, if you sneeze too close to a blown up enemy or building, you will meet your death. Other-wise, I’m sure there are an abundance of cheats to utilize, just like another Nintendo NES game of this genre.

Conclusion: Would I recommend Ikari Warriors in the 2020s?

No, I have too many issues with this game.  For example, the main character you play with walks around the game board killing enemies in all directions, but the character is so slow. You find yourself walking through water and your character moves like molasses. The poor directional controls, and the speed of the game, make Ikari Warriors a boring shooter that has not stood the test of time.  However, the second installment of the game, Ikari Warriors II Victory road, is a much better title for today's retro gamer.