Line #7 VideoGame/IkariWarriors


1	[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/ikarijp.png]]
2	[[caption-width-right:350:That's Clark on the left and Ralf on the right, so don't get them mixed up.]]
3
4	''Ikari Warriors'', known simply as ''Ikari'' in Japan, is a classic ShootEmUp by Creator/{{SNK}}. Playing similarly to Creator/{{Capcom}}'s ''VideoGame/CommandoCapcom'' released a year earlier, Ikari Warriors featured two ''Franchise/{{Rambo}}''-esque commandos, Ralf Jones and Clark Still[[note]]who for some reason, were renamed "Paul" and "Vince" in the U.S. versions until their presence in ''VideoGame/TheKingOfFighters'' series[[/note]], who fight their way through hordes of troops, tanks, mines and helicopters to reach the village of Ikari. The arcade game featured a rotary joystick, which could be turned to have the hero fire in eight directions, while moving in any direction the player likes.
5
6	The game was actually a follow-up to an earlier game called ''TNK III'', in which Ralf battled enemies inside a tank. A sequel to ''that'' game was released for the NES called ''Iron Tank''.
7
8	Two direct sequels, ''Victory Road'', where our heroes are TrappedInAnotherWorld, and ''Ikari III: The Rescue'', where they were sent on a mission to rescue the president's daughter, were developed, but neither caught on as the original game did.
9
10	Though the series itself died, its heroes live on: Ralf and Clark themselves eventually got a redesign and were included in the then-MassiveMultiplayerCrossover ''VideoGame/TheKingOfFighters '94''. They've stayed on that series as recurring characters, then in 2006, they returned to their RunAndGun roots when they appeared in ''VideoGame/MetalSlug 6''. They have since been mainstays in both series.
11
12	For tropes related to Ralf and Clark themselves, see the [[Characters/TheKingOfFighters King of Fighters character sheet]].
13
14	----
15	!!Ikari Warriors contains the following tropes:
16
17	* AWinnerIsYou:
18	** A mild case with the first arcade game, which just had a short text message congratulating you on saving whichever DistressedDude appeared in your region; not a great ending, but also not too out of the ordinary for the time. Though the ending does have one odd quirk in that when the victory fanfare has finished playing, the player character(s) will suddenly explode, leading to a GameOver screen -- presumably a quick and hackish way of preventing the game from hard-locking whenever anyone beats it.
19	** The NES port of the first game, on the other hand, has one of the more notorious 8-bit endings out there. You defeat the final boss (which, to the port's credit, is a much more worthy final battle than the arcade original), then the game rewards you with the following message:
20	-->YOU HAVE ACCOMPLISHED THE MISSION. YOU ARE THE VERY PREVAILER THAT PROTECT RIGHT AND JUSTICE. I WOULD EXPRESS MY SINCERE. THANKS TO YOU. TAKE GOOD REST! -GENERAL KAWASAKI
21	** The second NES game practically qualifies as having NoEnding; after you defeat the final boss, the game immediately cuts to a very abbreviated staff list, then after ten seconds or so kicks you back to the title screen.
22	* BlindIdiotTranslation: As seen under AWinnerIsYou, the ending to the NES version was mistranslated in truly spectacular fashion -- and an exaggerated version of the Japanese arcade original's ending, which was similarly mistranslated, but much shorter:
23	-->YOU DID IT! CONGRATURATIONS! GENERAL KAWASAKI NEVER FORGET YOUR GLORIOUS SURVIVAL. NOW YOU HAVE HONORABLE PRIZE. 1,000,000 POINTS!
24	* BodyArmorAsHitPoints: ''Victory Road '' does away with the tanks, so the only way for Ralf and Cllark to avoid becoming a OneHitPointWonder is to find armor pick-ups.
25	* BottomlessMagazines: Averted. Even normal bullets in the first game were limited.
26	* CanonImmigrant: A remake of the first ''Ikari Warriors'' for Japanese mobile phones features Leona from the ''KOF'' series alongside Ralf and Clark (in their [=KOF=] designs). The remake is appropiately titled ''Ikari: Leona Gekitohen''[[note]]In the Japan, the game is called simply "Ikari", without the "Warriors"[[/note]].
27	* CheatCode: In the NES version of Ikari Warriors, you could press A, B, B, A after dying to resurrect yourself. This could result in game breaking though as you spawned where you died which occasionally meant you might spawn inside a building sprite and be unable to escape or die.
28	** The NES version also contains a level select code which requires pressing 32 buttons.
29	* DubNameChange: For the U.S. versions, Ralf and Clark were renamed Paul and Vince. It wasn't until the ''KOF'' series that they were called by their original names internationally.
30	** Ralf and Clark's commander, General Kawasaki, was renamed Colonel Cook in the US arcade version. General Kawasaki was named after Eikichi Kawasaki, the founder and president of SNK, while Colonel Cook was named after Leland Cook, the co-founder of Tradewest, which distributed the game in the US.
31	* GainaxEnding[=/=]GiantSpaceFleaFromNowhere: [[http://www.flyingomelette.com/oddities/pics/odds/ikarc.gif This]] is the final boss of the first game [[note]]at least in the arcade version[[/note]]. Yes, that's right, it is [[spoiler:a nazi-demedaled corpse lying on a throne]]. ''Why?'' God only knows.
32	* GenderFlip: The President's son in the arcade version of ''Ikari III'' is replaced by a daughter in the NES version.
33	* GenreShift: The first two games were shoot-'em-ups, but ''Ikari III'' was an overhead beat-'em-up.
34	* GoodOldFisticuffs: In ''Ikari III'', Ralf and Clark are initially limited to punching and kicking, and have to find guns (with limited ammunition) as power-ups.
35	** Amusingly enough, the opposing enemy army also relies on nothing but their fighting skills, with a few exceptions.
36	* TheGreatestStoryNeverTold: The arcade version of Ikari III's ending is this where even though Ralf and Clark saved the President's child and fought their way through a terrorist organization, nobody will ever know about it. Subverted in the NES version where it's national news and they're public heroes.
37	* GrievousHarmWithABody: The enemy soldiers in ''Ikari III'' occasionally throw ''their own compatriots'' at you.
38	* GuideDangIt: Nothing left to do at the end of stage 3 of the first NES game? [[spoiler:Try a grenade on the lower-right corner of the desk's shadow...]]
39	* InstakillMook: ''Ikari III'' has ''many'', especially enemies with guns and elites with super fists that kill you with one hit, despite you having a life bar. Makes it ''much'' harder considering that it's a beat-'em-up.
40	* MarathonLevel: The game consists of one very long seamless stage, although you can informally divide it by the areas with different background music. While the NES version has four stages, each of them are practically as long as the Arcade's only stage.
41	* MusclesAreMeaningless: The first two games, where the two musclemen die in a poke and use guns and projectiles to fight back.
42	* NintendoHard: The original arcade game is teeth-gnashingly difficult, but the NES version is even ''worse'' because it lacked a rotating joystick, so you can’t strafe or move backwards while firing. But the game is still tuned to make firing while moving forwards all but suicidal.
43	* OneHitPointWonder: In the first game, one poke instantly kills the bare-chested heroes. The second game depends on port (e.g. in the arcade port, one poke kills you; in the NES version, you have a life bar but just one life).
44	* OneBulletAtATime: The original game sometimes has two enemies throw a red grenade, but they only explode one after another rather than at the same time.
45	* PinPullingTeeth: Depicted on the cover of the 1986 Amstrad version.
46	* PointOfNoContinues: The arcade version places it after you defeat the BigBad, but somehow get killed because of a stray enemy. If it's your first time seeing that place, it looks like you're approaching a bigger bad, but that's really a person you need to rescue.
47	** As a variation, the NES version disables revive cheat code mid-way through level 3.
48	* RecycledINSPACE: ''Ikari Warriors'' is ''TNK III'' [-WITH A COMMANDO INSTEAD OF A TANK!-].
49	** The second ''Ikari'' game, ''Victory Road'', is ''Ikari Warriors'' [-IN SPACE!-].
50	** Another SNK game, ''S.A.R Search and Rescue'', is ''Ikari Warriors'' [-IN A SPACESHIP!-].
51	** And ''VideoGame/GuerrillaWar'' is ''Ikari Warriors'' [-DURING THE CUBAN REVOLUTION!-]
52	** ''VideoGame/HeavyBarrel'' is ''Ikari Warriors'' [-WITH A BFG-]!
53	* RedAlert: The [[https://youtube.com/shorts/bSJhXGzV8r8?si=xjJW1OePC1ms-Aab title screen]] has this blaring alarm playing as though a nuke is about to be launched or an enemy attack is imminent.
54	* ShoutOut: The game's Japanese title, "Ikari" (without the "Warriors") was taken from the name of the Japanese dub of Film/RamboFirstBloodPartII ("Rambo: Ikari no Dasshutsu", or "The Furious Escape[[note]]"Ikari" means "anger" or "fury" in Japanese.[[/note]]).
55	* SomeDexterityRequired: In the NES version, the level select code is this: Up, Down, A, A, B, Left, Right, A, B, Up, A, Down, Right, Right, Left, B, Up, Left, A, Right, B, Left, Right, A, Left, Up, A, Down, A, Right, Left, B, Start at the title screen, before the demo starts. It was erroneously stated in the book, "How to Win at Nintendo (Games)", that the code has to be done while Ralf and Clark are firing.
56	* StupidJetpackHitler: The Japanese version implies the South American insurgents are actually [[spoiler:[[ArgentinaIsNaziland neo-Nazis]], and their leader is Adolf Hitler's cadaver]], wired into various computers and gun turrets.
57	* TankGoodness: The tanks are ImmuneToBullets, and can easily blast away enemy infantry. However, a single explosion from a grenade or shrapnel will [[EveryCarIsAPinto cause them to blow up]].
58	* TotalPartyKill: When you die, your character is invulnerable and automatically walks forward until the middle of the screen. Normally, you can deal with threats, but in one position, he walks over a trigger that fires an enemy artillery shell that kills the character as soon as control is regained and invulnerability has worn off. Repeat for each remaining life.
59	* {{Transplant}}: Believe it or not, ''Ikari Warriors'' wasn't even Ralf Jones' first game. That distinction goes to the even more obscure arcade game ''TNK III'' (aka ''TANK''). However, it was the first game he appeared with his constant partner Clark Still.
60	* YouDontLookLikeYou: By virtue of EarlyInstallmentCharacterDesignDifference. Before ''King of Fighters'' came around, the two mainstrays, Ralf and Clark look like ''Rambo'' expies before they are given a more recognizable redesign.

Context VideoGame / IkariWarriors