Honestly, if you played the first Ikari Warriors on the NES, you probably remember two things: the endless jungle and that "ABBA" continue code you had to mash every thirty seconds. It was a gritty, Rambo-inspired slog. But then Ikari Warriors II: Victory Road happened, and it’s like the developers at SNK and Micronics decided that reality was optional. One minute Ralf and Clark are finishing a mission in a helicopter, and the next, they’re being sucked through a space-time rift to fight stone heads and alien leprechauns.
It is weird. Deeply, aggressively weird.
Most people who stumble onto this game in 2026 via emulation or dusty cartridges are usually looking for a military shooter. What they find instead is a fever dream. If you’re trying to figure out if this game is a misunderstood masterpiece or just a glitchy mess, you’re in the right place. We’re breaking down why this specific NES port is such a legendary oddity.
What Exactly is Ikari Warriors II: Victory Road?
Technically, it’s the 1988 home port of the 1986 arcade game Victory Road. In the arcades, you had those cool rotary joysticks that let you walk one way and aim another. On the NES? You’ve got a D-pad and two buttons. That transition was... rough.
The plot is basically this: Ralf and Clark (the guys who eventually became icons in The King of Fighters) are heading home when a voice from the sky—belonging to a villain named Zang Zip—pulls them into another dimension. Suddenly, your machine gun is replaced with boomerangs and swords, and you’re fighting hopping spiders instead of soldiers.
The RPG Elements Nobody Remembers
Unlike the first game, which was just "shoot everything that moves," Ikari Warriors II NES tried to be an action-RPG. Sorta.
- Heart Currency: When you kill enemies, they drop these pulsating red hearts.
- The "Bar" or "Shop": In the Japanese Famicom version, these were bars. In the US, they became "Shops." You walk into a hole in the ground, and a guy sells you armor, wings, or weapon upgrades.
- Weapon Management: You have a sub-menu now. You can switch between a bazooka, a sword, and a boomerang.
It was incredibly ambitious for 1988. Most NES shooters didn't have an inventory system or a shop. But because it was developed by Micronics—a studio notorious for shaky framerates—the execution feels like walking through waist-deep peanut butter.
The Gameplay Mechanics That Will Drive You Crazy
If you’re going to play this today, you have to accept that the controls are stiff. In the arcade, the rotary stick was the star. On the NES, you have to hold the B button to "lock" your firing direction while moving, or tap it to turn. It’s clunky. You'll die. A lot.
The difficulty is legendary. SNK games from this era weren't designed to be "fun" in the modern sense; they were designed to eat quarters. Since there are no quarters in your NES, they just made the enemies move faster than your character can turn.
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The Voice Acting (Yes, Really)
This is the best part. Ikari Warriors II NES features digitized speech. It sounds like a gargoyle speaking through a drive-thru intercom, but it’s there. When you start the game, a voice booms out something that is supposed to be "Victory Road!" but sounds more like "Bictory Toad!"
And the bosses? When you encounter a boss, there’s a voice clip that many fans swear sounds like the character shouting "Jesus Christ!" It’s actually likely a distorted "Get Ready!" or something similar, but the urban legend persists because it fits the frantic, "holy crap what is that" energy of the boss designs.
Bosses and the Infamous Zang Zip
The bosses in this game are massive. You’ve got Rinda (a weird insectoid thing), Bronz, and eventually the big head himself, Zang Zip.
The strategy for almost every boss is the same: lob grenades and pray. The game doesn't give you much feedback when you hit something. In most NES games, a boss will flash red. Here, the flash is so fast you might blink and miss it. It makes you feel like you aren't doing any damage until the thing suddenly explodes.
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The ABBA Code: Still Your Best Friend
Just like the first game, the "ABBA" code is your lifeline. When you see "Game Over," you hit A, B, B, A on the D-pad to continue. Without this, the game is borderline unbeatable for a human being with a normal nervous system. The levels are long, the enemies spawn behind you, and the hitboxes are... let's call them "generous" toward the aliens.
Why Does This Game Still Matter?
You might wonder why anyone talks about a "janky" 35-year-old game. The reason is the legacy of Ralf Jones and Clark Still. Before they were fighting Terry Bogard in The King of Fighters, they were here, in the trenches of a dimension-hopping war.
Victory Road is also a perfect example of the "anything goes" era of game development. Nowadays, sequels are very safe. If you liked the first military shooter, the second one will be a military shooter. But in the 80s, SNK said, "Let's put them in space with boomerangs." That kind of creative risk is why the game has a cult following. It’s a "so bad it’s good" experience that actually has some deep systems hidden under the flickering sprites.
Practical Tips for Surviving Victory Road
If you're actually going to sit down and beat this thing, keep these insights in mind:
- Don't Sleep on the Sword: It feels like a downgrade from the gun, but the sword can actually deflect certain projectiles. In a game where the screen is constantly full of bullets, this is a literal life-saver.
- Farm Hearts Early: The first level is the easiest place to gather currency. Don't rush. Kill the little green guys, grab the hearts, and buy the armor as soon as you find a shop.
- Use the Wings Wisely: The Wing power-up lets you fly over obstacles and move faster. Save these for the water sections in Stage 2 where your walking speed is cut in half.
- Destroy Everything: Almost every rock or pillar can be blown up with a grenade. Often, they hide power-ups like "Thunder Power" which clears the whole screen.
The Verdict on the NES Port
Is Ikari Warriors II: Victory Road a "good" game? By modern standards, probably not. The flickering is intense, and the slowdown happens whenever more than three things are on screen.
However, as a piece of gaming history, it’s fascinating. It’s a bridge between the simple arcade shooters of the early 80s and the more complex action-RPGs that would follow. It’s weird, it’s loud, and it’s unapologetically difficult.
If you want to experience the "Bictory Toad" for yourself, your best bet is finding an original cartridge or checking out the SNK 40th Anniversary Collection, which features both the arcade and NES versions. The collection actually lets you use a "rewind" feature, which is honestly the only way most people will ever see the final boss without losing their mind.
To truly master the game, focus on memorizing the shop locations in the first two stages. Buying the Armor and the Bazooka early changes the game from a desperate struggle into a manageable, albeit chaotic, power trip. Stick to the left side of the screen during the vertical scrolling sections to avoid the most common "trap" spawns.
Key Takeaway: Start your run by focusing on heart collection in the first five minutes; without upgrades from the shop, the mid-game bosses are essentially a brick wall for new players. Once you have the Armor, the stiff controls become much more forgiving.