IKARI II DOGŌSŌKEN
( Ikari Warriors II Victory Road )
Game Cover
Game
怒II 怒号層圏
©1988 K.Amusement Leasing Co.
©1988 SNK Electronics Corp.
Release: 1988-04-16 (¥5500)
Cartdridge KAC-DS
Action game

American Version
country
Released in America as
IKARI WARRIORS II VICTORY ROAD
( NES-VR-USA )
Ikari II Dogōsōken is an overhead military themed shooter developed by SNK and conversion of the arcade game originally released in 1986. Ralf and Clark are back, and shortly after completing their last mission, an emergency transmission reveals that a new threat is rising and is far worse than their prior job. Zang Zip, the War Dog, has enslaved the people of Earth and our two heroes must now travel to a strange alien world to save humanity. They come equipped with a standard machine gun and can pick up a range of new weapons along the way, such as the powerful bazooka (useful to also destroy obstacles), the boomerang (kill all enemies on its way) and the sword (close range). Weapons can be changed at anytime by accessing the status screen, and the warriors can also carry grenades and land mines which are primarily used to clear obstacles or defeat strong enemies. Each time the player collects a new weapon, the power gauge for that weapon increases and its attack level upgrades automatically. It is also interesting to notice that, unlike the first game, each weapon comes with unlimited ammo. Finally, a myriad of items are available throughout the game that can be stored and used at any time - they range from special temporary powers (Thunder, Wing and Arrow) to invincibility armors or extra health. Interestingly, each stage features a shop called a 'Bar' (or 'barshop' in the American version, which is apparently a strange mix between a shop and a bar). There, bounty hunters can be defeated in duel to acquire Hearts (the game's currency). As a side note, these hearts are also left behind by defeated enemies. Although Ikari II consists of five stages, special warp tiles are also scattered around each level and give access to small mini-games or mini-boss battles.
Related
Ikari (Fc) Ikari III (Fc)
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Ikari II Dogousouken - arcade game Ikari II Dogōsōken (aka Ikari Warriors II Victory Road in the west) was an arcade game by SNK originally released in 1986 (picture on the left). It was the sequel of Ikari, released the same year, and also featured a rotary joystick allowing players to shoot in one direction while moving in another. The Famicom port tested here shows several differences (or added features) with the arcade game. Stores are now scattered throughout the game and odd looking hearts left behind by defeated enemies can be used as currency. Ralf and Clark have a life meter unlike the arcade game which featured a one-hit death (and three lives), and they can store any weapon they have collected, and use the status screen to switch from one to another. Some of the special power-ups are different too (and can be stored as well), and an exclusive flying wing was added to the Famicom port. See Ikari (Fc) for more information about the series.

Teaser text from the American version:
When we last saw Paul and Vince, they had saved the Colonel and were about to head for home in a special plane given to them by the General. But then, while in flight over the ocean, the sky suddenly blackens - the ocean beings to churn - and the plane goes spinning! A booming voice fills the cockpit : "Hear me, Warriors! Zang Zip, the War Dog, has enslaved the people of Earth. Only you can save us from this grip of evil!" Caught in a time warp, hurled thousands of years into the future, Paul and Vince know they have no choice but to meet this impossible challenge head-on. After all, they are professionals... they are the Ikari Warriors!

Game Staff (Copied from the game's end credits) :

STAFF

Tama
Kita
Hamach
Tuka
Keiko

Presented by SNK and KAC


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Ikari II Dogodoken manual
Click on picture to enlarge

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Continues (Japanese version):
Press A,B,B,A,A,A,A,A,A and B right after you die to continue. It however only works three times for the final boss fight.

Continues (American version):
Press A,B,B and A right after you die to continue. It however only works three times for the final boss fight.
Display glitch:
Switching to the status screen during the game actually removes all the destructible obstacles from the screen, as well as the annoying warp tiles. However, it also removes all uncollected items and weapons.

LK
rating
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It is not really clear if the Dogōsōken arcade game was originally designed to be a sequel to Ikari, or just to cash in on the game engine. They were released the same year and they both have completely different settings (and except for the first Kanji in Dogōsōken, they also have a completely different name). Anyway, back to the Famicom conversion - this port is an oddball. The first stage and its army of green alien leprechauns really sets the tone of things to come. Granted, the alien setting gave the developers a chance to show off creative new enemies and locations, and all kind of creepy spiders, flesh eating bugs and flying critters await for the players at every corner. But the animation is still as choppy as the first game and controls, despite being a significant improvement, are still terrible and cumbersome. The characters are just impossible to steer and are agonizingly slow. Then levels are boring and unexciting, the graphics are monochromatically dull, and the music follows the same routine, repetitive and unmemorable. Maybe I should retract my first statement - Ikari II is in fact a dull ball. The original arcade game was really average, but this conversion is outright below average.




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