RGR Game #015: Ikari no Yousai 2

Sorry, no Sound Boy this time.

My bullets are bigger than my head!

Welcome back to the continued adventures of Masato and Mizuki in Ikari no Yousai 2, the Japan-only sequel to my previous game, Fortified Zone. It looks like the enemy has risen once again, so our heroes have answered the call and begun a new infiltration mission. Either that, or this is a brand new enemy with its own set of high-tech gadgets. It's kind of hard to tell.

As expected, the game looks and plays similarly to the first, though I noticed a few differences early on. First, there are no enemy weapons to commandeer this time around, and the three weapons available (machine gun, three-way gun, and grenade launcher) can be used equally well by Masato and Mizuki. Mizuki remains the only one who can jump, making Masato's only advantage his longer health bar (and there are no items to extend that bar this time). The sprites are a little smaller than in the first game, and both soldiers have gained the ability to walk and shoot diagonally, making them 100% more effective marksmen.

However, the one major change that I'm finding I don't like... medpacks aren't collectible. This time, they only heal your current injuries. So at any given time, you've got Masato's one life bar, and Mizuki's, and that's it. I beat the first game without ever losing either soldier, but that's not happening in this game.

Oh, and once again, I don't know the bosses' names, if they even have names.

They're back, and more alike this time!

What is this, a printing press?

Stairs? In stage 1? Oh boy.

The giant plasma ball beckons...

Stage one, the Laboratory stage, is full of robots from the get-go, with only a few humans to be found. The map layout, though restricted to a 4x5 grid, was more complex than the early parts of the previous game. Instead of open rooms connected by doorways in the cardinal directions, rooms were divided into smaller corridors, and these divisions made finding the right paths to the keys trickier. The whole thing felt much more like a maze, and the very first stage had two floors!

I hadn't even managed to take every path I found, though, before I happened upon a room that housed what looked like a giant plasma ball. It didn't do anything; it just sat there, begging me to destroy it. And destroy it I did; as soon as the smoke cleared from the explosion, an alarm sounded, and I found myself confronting the first boss.

First Boss: Artillery Mech

The first boss was a four-legged assault tank, though it never took a step. I guess it had to lock its legs and brace itself to fire its six large cannons simultaneously. After firing a couple of volleys from the cannons, the mech would open its obvious weak point, an energy-emitting orb that could launch several energy bolts in succession like a machine gun. But it was able to fire them DIRECTLY AT ME. They moved no faster than any other projectile in the game, so they weren't too difficult to dodge.

The pattern was simple enough: stay to one side, wait for the cannons to stop firing, then run in and get a couple of shots in on the orb before it began firing. Then run to the other side and up to dodge the shots, and wait for the next opening. It was nice to see a boss that had some challenge to it, but I had no problem bringing the mech down.

I think I'm in the danger zone.

You can't beat me if you don't move around.

Ooh, I've had grenades the whole time!

But this guy does too.

Next up was stage two, which I think was called the Factory stage. There were some subtle changes in the floor and wall patterns to make everything seem less high-tech, and more industrial. A couple of new enemies were added as well, like a heavily armored robot with a grenade launcher that could withstand several direct grenade hits. The layout was again mazelike and tricky, but I eventually found and destroyed the plasma ball, and was again taken to the boss.

Second Boss: Rail Tank

My first attempt to fight this thing ended disastrously, with Masato falling within seconds, and Mizuki not faring much better. The tank was surprisingly quick for something so large, and while darting back and forth at the top of the screen, it continuously fired missiles from two of its turrets. That was bad enough, but the center machine gun turret then began firing rapidly, and directly at me once again.

My second attempt was more successful, mainly due to luck, with a little help from my trusty grenade launcher. The tank doesn't have a single weak point, instead taking damage at just about any point. So I weaved between missiles, took a few machine gun rounds, and fed it grenades at every opportunity. It didn't seem to take all that much damage before it started to fill the screen with explosions.

AGHAGHAGHAGHAGH!!!

Phew... second time's a charm.

B1? Don't tell me there are 3 floors...

That's an awfully narrow hole.

Stage three, the Shelter stage, had me a little worried when I noticed I had started in the basement rather than the first floor. I expected at least three floors, but it turns out the whole thing is underground. So only two floors. Phew.

The walls were mostly solid rock and dirt, typical of an underground cavern. There were a significant number of holes in the ground on the upper level, many of which had to be explored in order to gain access to certain rooms on the floor below. I spent quite some time trying to figure out where to go next, as several rooms had trick walls, and I hadn't managed to find every one of them. The little pause screen map helped me find it, though, along with the plasma ball and boss.

Third Boss: Heavy Walker Mark II

I kind of wish that was its actual name. This walker was a bit quicker than the one from the previous game, and also much more dangerous. It would fire 8 missiles in succession from each of its shoulder-mounted missile launchers, and then reveal its energy-emitting sphere. At this point, it would begin firing energy bolts much like the boss in the Laboratory stage, but would walk forward while doing so. Once it reached the bottom of the screen, it would pause for a moment, and then back up while firing more energy bolts. Once it reached its original position, it would prepare to fire more missiles.

Because of its size, I had to dodge the walker and its energy bolts as it walked forward, causing me to do several laps around the screen. I could usually get in one or two grenades before I had to get out of its path, and another once I got behind it (the energy sphere was its weak point, if you couldn't tell). I got a bit cocky a couple of times and tried to pull off fancy diagonal shots across its legs, and I paid for it by taking a couple of unnecessary hits from the energy bolts, but it wasn't enough to prevent me from destroying the walker.

Is someone a fan of Metal Gear?

Good thing I can walk in all directions.

Stage four. The Fortress stage. I'm assuming it's the final stage, but I haven't beaten it yet. Three floors, powerful enemies, and lots and lots of backtracking. This stage is much longer than the previous stages, and much tougher. Most of my time was spent tracking down one enemy, whose destruction triggers a door somewhere else to open, and then taking the winding path to that newly-opened door in order to do it again in another spot. After what seemed like forever, my path finally dead-ended in a little room with a little hole, and inside that little hole was the plasma ball, and then the boss.

Final(?) Boss: Hovercraft

Just what I need; a huge boss that can move in all four directions. Masato was already dead by the time I reached the boss, so it was up to Mizuki to take it out. Unfortunately, I wasn't prepared for the sudden and unforgiving onslaught. It began moving down toward me, firing its machine gun to keep me on the move. I was hoping it wouldn't be able to reach the bottom of the screen, but I was wrong. It pinned me down, and instantly killed Mizuki.

That thing's a regular enemy!

This might hurt a little.

Yeah, let's try again later.

It was pretty frustrating to die at the boss after spending so much time figuring out the incredibly complex stage, but I've got my password at the ready.

To be continued...

RGR014 - No More Dragons

Stage four, the Fortress stage, is much more technologically advanced than the previous stages. Human and mutant enemies have been all but completely replaced with various attack robots, and the floor and walls have that fresh, clean, metallic look to them. The floor layout is also more confusing, requiring several trips between the two floors in different places in order to find all the necessary keys. At one point, I reached a locked door that looked like it was going to lead to a premature boss battle, but since I had no key, I had to explore the last few rooms I hadn't yet visited. Surprisingly, I wound up finding a boss anyway.

Oh, before I forget: I don't know if the bosses have names; the names I'm using for them are just names I'm making up as I go along. I do that sometimes, you know.

Can your missiles beat my flamethrower?

Number 5 is alive!

Yeah, I walk through walls.
Got a problem with that?

What a waste of barrels.

Final Sub-Boss: Heavy Walker

The first of two final bosses, the Heavy Walker is capable of vertical movement, like the tank from stage two. However, this thing is much faster on its feet. Luckily, it can be stopped in its tracks if the legs take enough damage. It has a front-mounted gun that is only a threat if you stand directly in front of it, so I concentrated on the legs and worried about the gun once the walker was grounded.

The real trouble with the Heavy Walker is its shoulder-mounted plasma gun-type things, which launch a volley of bullets into the air, only to have them all suddenly come hurtling right at you. They have a maximum range, though, and since my gun was powered up to its full range, I was able to stand all the way to one side of the room and pick off one gun from just outside the spot where the gun's shots dissipated. After doing the same on the other side with the other gun, an eye-like object on top of the walker began to flash. I was afraid it might be a self-destruct mechanism, so I rushed back to the walker's side and opened fire until the whole thing went up in flames.

I should maybe get out of the way.

That was disappointing.

Immediately after defeating the Heavy Walker, I found myself in a room with the final key that I needed to access the locked door I found earlier. After picking up a couple of medpacks on the other side, I proceeded into the final boss room.

Final Boss: Supercomputer

The heavily-armed Supercomputer was initially more bark than bite, with its giant movable heat-seeking missile launchers. Since only one missile can appear at a time, and missiles can be shot down easily, I made short work of both launchers. This exposed a central gun that I destroyed in no time. Next up were two small domes on the upper section of the Supercomputer that looked a bit like flood lights, or maybe the doors in Metroid. Each of these fired a couple of shots as I approached, but those were easily dodged.

Once I destroyed the domes, the Supercomputer entered an emergency defense mode, where a central "eye" activated, and lasers began spewing forth from the central core. The lasers were fired in a tight interval, leaving very little room to get between them, though the eye in the center was the weak point. So the only way to finish the Supercomputer off was to get between the lasers, fire a single shot up into the central core, and back out. I probably used up a few medpacks here, but after several shots, I managed to destroy the Supercomputer.

I wonder what the rest of it looks like.

They forgot to give it wheels.

But at least they gave it lasers...

Not that they helped much.

Couldn't you have parked the chopper closer?

Teeny-tiny staff roll!

With the mission successfully completed, Masato and Mizuki returned to their rendezvous point with the exploding ruins of the enemy fortress behind them. Thus, the world was most likely saved.

But you know what? I don't think the story is quite over for these two. Check back later for the further adventures of Masato and Mizuki!

RGR Game #014: Fortified Zone

Aww, they broke the logo!

They're slow to react, I guess.

All right, folks, next up on our list is Fortified Zone for the Game Boy. I remember being so excited about this game when I saw a preview of it in Nintendo Power or some other magazine. But I guess I wasn't excited enough, because I never did get around to playing it. The game is called Ikari no Yousai (Fortress of Fury) in Japan, where I recently learned there was a sequel that never made it to the US; there was another sequel for the Super NES that was released here, titled Operation Logic Bomb. I'll probably be adding those two to my list pretty soon.

The story follows two mercenaries named Masato and Mizuki as they infiltrate a mysterious enemy stronghold, fighting soldiers, mutants and robots along the way. One interesting feature I should note is that the game allows you to switch between the two characters at any time on the pause screen, and they have their own special abilities: Masato can handle the enemies' special weapons while Mizuki has the ability to jump over spikes (an ability that I admittedly didn't find out about until after I had finished the game). This allows for a little bit of strategy amongst all the carnage and mayhem.

There's also a ridiculously detailed sound test mode called Sound Boy, but I only spent enough time with the mode to put together the one animation below.

Masato & Mizuki: Mega Mercenaries!

Dance, Sound Boy, dance!

How'd they fit that through the door?

You know, spike traps are awfully silly.

At least they're not heat-seeking.

I wonder where the boss is.

Each stage (or each floor of each stage) is laid out on a 5x5-screen grid, and the goal is generally to hunt down one or more larger enemies to obtain keys needed to get through one or more locked doors that eventually lead to the boss. Some rooms are divided by walls and can have multiple entrances from one direction, so navigation isn't quite so straightforward. Basically, each stage is a simple maze, and you make a map as you go along. There are also some tricks, like fake walls (identified by their missing shadows), pitfalls and dark rooms.

Stage one, the Field stage, introduces some of the soldier-type enemies, such as "guy with gun", "guy with three-way gun", and "guy with knife". The larger enemies include jeeps with rear-mounted guns and complex multi-barrel gun turrets that strangely only fire one shot at a time.

First Boss: Gun Battery

Inside the large black-floored boss room, three large gun turrets sit on raised platforms, ready to shoot if you wander into their line of fire. This would be a fairly scary thought if you didn't realize that they're only capable of aiming at 45-degree angles. Of course, people of the era were only able to aim at 90-degree angles, but people are smaller targets than great big gun turrets. Because of this, I was easily able to move from gun to gun, putting myself in a position that kept me out of the gun's line of fire, but keeping the gun in mine. I picked the guns off one at a time, and it was on to stage two, the Jungle stage.

This is what we call a "safe spot".

So was this.

I remember these things from Zelda!

Another Jeep? Do they build these in the rooms?

Stage two was laid out in a similar fashion to stage 1, though the textures were a bit different. There was no apparent jungle foliage, but everything was a little dirtier. The traps had expanded to include the sliding dagger blocks you see above, and as I recall, some of the enemies had improved body armor that could withstand multiple shots. Beyond that, though, not much had changed.

Second Boss: Tank

The tank's main cannon, much like the gun turrets, was only able to fire at 45-degree angles. However, the tank was much more dangerous because it could actually move. It would erratically roll back and forth, aiming and firing when possible. To make it trickier to line up shots from the side, two smaller guns were mounted on either side of the tank's rear. My strategy was to get in front of it, but not directly in front of the cannon, and open fire until it started to approach. I accidentally destroyed the right side-mount gun in the process, though I'm not complaining. Once the main cannon was gone, I just trotted up and annihilated the left gun to finish the tank off.

This seems like an unbalanced fight.

Unbalanced in my favor, that is!

Who keeps attack bats?

Does this thing have a moustache?

Stairs... so this place has two floors?

Wow, those medpacks are adding up.

So... confused...

Mutant crab people! Run!!!

Stage three, the Cave stage, was where things started getting strange. Not only was it the first stage with two floors, but it introduced all sorts of strange creatures as enemies. I ran into bats with 8-way shot capability, giant one-eyed armored insect things, and the weird man-dog-crab hybrid above. Some rooms began with inverted controls, thanks to some kind of brain-scrambling device the enemy has developed. Luckily, overcoming the controls is easy, and destroying the device reverses the effects.

Third Boss: Dragon

You heard me right. It's a dragon. It breathes fire and everything. Its pattern consists of moving left or right to a certain spot, shooting three fireballs in a wide pattern, then moving left or right again, and then charging with its head flailing back and forth. After a brief pause, it slowly walks back to the top of the screen and starts again. The fireballs aren't that fast, but they're bigger than any other weapon so far, so it pays to be careful when running from or dodging them. The dragon's weak spot is its head, and it can take a lot of damage before it finally dies. With some patience, though, it's not a difficult boss.

Whoa, I was not expecting this.

Sorry, Mr. Dragon, but business is business!

Next stop: stage four, the Fortress!