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Encyclopedia > Ikari Warriors
Ikari Warriors
This screenshot of Ikari Warriors shows the player battling hordes of enemy soldiers.
Developer(s) SNK
Publisher(s) Tradewest
Release date(s) 1986
Genre(s) Run and gun
Mode(s) Up to 2 players simultaneously
Platform(s) MSX, Nintendo Entertainment System, Apple II, DOS, Atari ST, Atari 7800, Amiga, Commodore 64, Amstrad CPC and ZX Spectrum
Input Joystick (LS-30, 12-way rotary), 2 buttons
Arcade cabinet Upright
Arcade CPU(s) 3 x Z80-A running at 4MHz (2 co-processors, 1 sound processor)
Arcade display Raster, Vertical orientation, standard resolution (216 x 288), 1024 Colors

Ikari Warriors is a 1986 arcade game by SNK (manufactured in the United States by Tradewest). Known simply as 怒 (Ikari, literally "anger") in Japan, this was SNK's first major breakthrough US release and became something of a classic. This game is a Commando clone, though it included few original features too.[citation needed] screenshot Ikari_Warriors by me This is a screenshot of a copyrighted computer game or video game. ... A video game developer is a software developer (a business or an individual) that creates computer or video games. ... SNK Playmore (formerly SNK) is a Japanese video game hardware and software company. ... Video game publishers are companies that publish video games that they have either developed internally or have had developed by a video game developer. ... Tradewest is a now-defunct video game company based in Corsicana, Texas that produced numerous games in the 1980s and early 1990s. ... 1986 (MCMLXXXVI) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Computer and video games are generally and popularly categorised into genres. ... Contra, the quintessential run and gun A run and gun (also known as run n gun or for some variants, overhead shooter) is a sub-genre of video games that incorporates elements from shoot em up games and platform games. ... Sony MSX 1, Model HitBit-10-P MSX was the name of a standardized home computer architecture in the 1980s. ... NES redirects here. ... The Apple II was one of the most popular personal computers of the 1980s. ... ‹ The template below has been proposed for deletion. ... The Atari 520ST Atari 1040STF with SC1224 color monitor The Atari ST is a home/personal computer that was commercially popular from 1985 to the early 1990s. ... The Atari 7800 is a video game console released by Atari in 1986 (a test market occurred in June 1984). ... The original Amiga 1000 (1985) with Commodore 1080 monitor The Amiga is a family of home/personal computers originally developed by Amiga Corporation as an advanced home entertainment and productivity machine. ... The Commodore 64 personal computer, released in August 1982, became the best selling single computer model of all time, according to the Guinness Book of World Records. ... The Amstrad CPC was a series of 8-bit home computers produced by Amstrad during the 1980s and early 1990s. ... The ZX Spectrum was a home computer released in the United Kingdom in 1982 by Sinclair Research Ltd. ... Joystick elements: 1. ... This arcade cabinet, containing Centipede, is an upright. ... CPU redirects here. ... A computer display A computer display or computer monitor is an output device that is part of a computers display system. ... Suppose the smiley face in the top left corner is an RGB bitmap image. ... 1986 (MCMLXXXVI) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Centipede by Atari is a typical example of a 1980s era arcade game. ... SNK Playmore (formerly SNK) is a Japanese video game hardware and software company. ... Tradewest is a now-defunct video game company based in Corsicana, Texas that produced numerous games in the 1980s and early 1990s. ... Commando is a vertically-scrolling shoot em up released in 1985. ... In the computer and video game industry, a clone is a game which is very similar to a previous popular game. ...


Ikari Warriors involves Ralf Jones and Clark Steel of the later King of Fighters series (known outside Japan as Paul and Vince in the Ikari series) battling through hordes of enemies. According to designer Keiko Iju, the game was inspired by the then-popular Rambo films. Ralf and Clark also make an appearance as playable characters in the sixth Metal Slug game. Ralf Jones is a character from both the Ikari Warriors and King of Fighters video game series. ... Clark Steel is a character from both the Ikari Warriors and King of Fighters video game series. ... The King of Fighters ), or KOF for short, is a fighting game series by SNK that debuted in 1994. ... Rambo is a saga of popular action films starring Sylvester Stallone, based on the characters created by David Morrell in his novel First Blood. ... Metal Slug is a series of shoot em up video games first released on the Neo-Geo game console created by SNK. It was also ported to other consoles, such as the PlayStation, the Sega Saturn, the Neo-Geo Pocket Color and more recently, the Game Boy Advance and Xbox. ...

Contents

Overview

The player (or players: see below) takes the role of a commando-like warrior, who must try to reach the village of Ikari. Enemy units attempting to kill the player include tanks, enemy soldiers and helicopters. A number of power-ups along the way help the player to achieve victory. In military science, the term commando can refer to an individual, a military unit or a raiding style of military operation. ... The Bell 206 of Canadian Helicopters Robinson Helicopter Company (USA) R44, a four seat development of the R22 A helicopter is an aircraft which is lifted and propelled by one or more horizontal rotors. ... Power Up, the Professional Organization of Women in Entertainment Reaching Up is an organization with the stated mission to promote the visibility and integration of gay women in entertainment, the arts, and all forms of media. Power Up provided funding and assistance to the 2003 short film . ...


Ikari Warriors was the first to use rotary joysticks: those which could be rotated in addition to being pushed in eight directions. The game also featured two buttons, one for the standard gun and another for lobbing grenades. It allowed two players to play cooperatively, side by side - one of the few games to do so at the time. The game cabinet was a standard upright. Joystick elements: 1. ... A US designed WWII-era MkIIA1 pineapple fragmentation hand grenade. ...


Description

The player begins as one of two commando-type warriors, garbed in red (Ralf) or blue (Clark) (depending on whether they are player one or two). They must proceed from the bottom of the screen upwards, towards the village of Ikari. Trying to prevent them from reaching the village are enemy soldiers and other units with a frightening arsenal of firepower. Along the way, players may commandeer enemy tanks to help fight their way through the enemy personnel. The tanks are immune to enemy bullets, but have a limited supply of fuel and will sustain damage when it runs out or the tank is caught in an explosion, taking the player with it unless he can exit the tank and get clear before it blows up.


Ikari Warriors was the first 'Commando' style game to give the player a limited amount of ammunition (99 bullets and 99 grenades, not actually a great handicap) as well as power-up and bonus icons to improve your firepower, dropped by red soldiers. These are listed as follows:

  • Gun: restores machine gun ammo to maximum.
  • Grenade: restores grenade ammo to maximum.
  • Gas: restores all ammo to maximum and refuels the tank if the player is driving one.
  • K: Kills all enemy troops on-screen, except ones hiding underwater.
  • S: Gun and tank shots are sped up.
  • L: Long-range shot. Bullets travel the entire length of the screen.
  • F: Bullets turn red and can destroy trucks, gun emplacements and bases. Pierce shot. Bullets pass through rocks and other barriers without being blocked. Tank shots become rockets.
  • B: Blast grenades. Grenades turn red and produce giant-sized explosions. All tank shots become blast grenades as well.

The game's joysticks could be rotated in clockwise and counter-clockwise directions. Turning the joystick changed the direction the character faced independent of the direction the character might be moving. This gave the player freedom to attack or walk in eight different directions. This made it generally easier—but sometimes harder—to take out enemy units. Aiming must also be taken into account by the warrior using the machine gun in his right hand, while throwing grenades with his left; no shot is fired from directly in front of the player.


Because of its innovative controls, this game was initially very popular. However, the joysticks proved somewhat fragile, especially when played heavily as this game was. They need to be repaired often since being unable to turn makes the game almost unplayable.


Hardware

Ikari Warriors printed circuit boards (PCBs) were manufactured in two different versions: SNK pinout and JAMMA pinout. Most SNK-pinout units were put into Ikari Warriors cabinets, while most JAMMA-pinout units were supplied as conversion kits. The SNK-pinout boards have a 22/44-pin edge connectors. The JAMMA-pinout PCBs have a 28/56-pin edge connectors. Both types consist of a stack of three boards, with interconnects. Close-up photo of one side of a motherboard PCB, showing conductive traces, vias and solder points for through-hole components on the opposite side. ... JAMMA is an acronym, standing for Japanese Amusement Machine Manufacturers Association. ...


Ikari used SNK's model LS-30 joysticks, which contain a 12-way rotary switch box. The joysticks are connected to the PCB via auxiliary wiring harnesses.


Legacy

This game spawned several similar games as well as several direct sequels. The game's sequels are:

  • Ikari Warriors II: Victory Road (1986)
  • Ikari Warriors III: The Rescue (1989)

Similar games include: 1986 (MCMLXXXVI) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... 1989 (MCMLXXXIX) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

All of the latter games featured the innovative 8-way rotary joysticks that made Ikari Warriors so popular. Heavy Barrel is a 1987 run and gun arcade game by Data East. ... 1987 (MCMLXXXVII) was a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... 1987 (MCMLXXXVII) was a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Are you looking for the political definition of guerrilla warfare? Guerrilla War (Guevara in Japan) is an arcade game by SNK. It is an overhead shooter. ... 1987 (MCMLXXXVII) was a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ...


Ports

In 1986, Ikari Warriors was ported to several home systems of the era including Nintendo Entertainment System, Apple II, DOS, Atari ST, Atari 2600, Atari 7800, Amiga, Commodore 64, ZX Spectrum and Amstrad CPC. The MSX port (the only game SNK released for that platform) was released in 1987. Because all these systems lacked rotary joysticks, however, some felt they were not as compelling as the arcade version. Jeff Rovin's classic book, How to Win at Nintendo Games, opined that precision shooting was difficult in the NES port. 1986 (MCMLXXXVI) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... NES redirects here. ... The Apple II was one of the most popular personal computers of the 1980s. ... ‹ The template below has been proposed for deletion. ... The Atari 520ST Atari 1040STF with SC1224 color monitor The Atari ST is a home/personal computer that was commercially popular from 1985 to the early 1990s. ... The Atari 2600, released in 1977, is the first successful video game console to use plug-in cartridges instead of having one or more games built in. ... The Atari 7800 is a video game console released by Atari in 1986 (a test market occurred in June 1984). ... The original Amiga 1000 (1985) with Commodore 1080 monitor The Amiga is a family of home/personal computers originally developed by Amiga Corporation as an advanced home entertainment and productivity machine. ... The Commodore 64 personal computer, released in August 1982, became the best selling single computer model of all time, according to the Guinness Book of World Records. ... The ZX Spectrum was a home computer released in the United Kingdom in 1982 by Sinclair Research Ltd. ... The Amstrad CPC was a series of 8-bit home computers produced by Amstrad during the 1980s and early 1990s. ... Sony MSX 1, Model HitBit-10-P MSX was the name of a standardized home computer architecture in the 1980s. ... How to Win at Nintendo Games is a series of books by Jeff Rovin which was popular in the 1980s and 1990s. ...


The NES Version was developed by Micronics, a company known for producing shoddy NES ports of video games. Micronics is the company which developed the NES versions of 1942, Athena, Ghosts n Goblins, Ikari Warriors, Ikari Warriors 2, and Tiger Heli. ...

ZX Spectrum port
ZX Spectrum port

Image File history File links Ikari_Warriors. ... Image File history File links Ikari_Warriors. ...

External links


  Results from FactBites:
 
Ikari Warriors - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia (829 words)
Ikari Warriors was the first to use rotary joysticks: those which could be rotated in addition to being pushed in eight directions.
Ikari Warriors was the first 'Commando' style game to give the player a limited amount of ammunition (99 bullets and 99 grenades, not actually a great handicap) as well as power-up and bonus icons to improve your firepower, dropped by red soldiers.
Ikari Warriors printed circuit boards (PCBs) were manufactured in two different versions: SNK pinout and JAMMA pinout.
  More results at FactBites »


 

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