Developer: SNK Publisher: SNK Released:1989 Genre: Action
SNK had a strange fascination with war games in the 80s. From Ikari Warriors to P.O.W. and Iron Tank the theme was pretty consistent. More than likely they were simply leveraging their assets from one game to the next but still. But even considering that pedigree Guerilla War is still a bit of an outlier. Japanese games based around historical figures is nothing new; Columbus is actually a decent RPG that was left behind in Japan. But Guerilla War and its focus on Che Guevara is still strange. The other strange fact is that it is excellent!
Guerilla War is the fictitious account of the overthrow of Cuban dictator Fulgencio Batista. According to the game Guevara and his partner in crime Fidel Castro led a two-man mission against hundreds of troops to free the country. It doesn’t outright state all this but those who know, know. Ignore the story and enjoy one of the best action games on the system.
The NES version of Guerilla War is less of an arcade port and more of an expanded release. First and foremost grenades are unlimited. You no longer have to be conservative with their use and can blow up the environment readily for power-ups. There are a few new weapons such as the three-way bullet and explosive shot, which also splits in three. Where the arcade game only had five levels the NES version doubles that to ten. With the increased number of stages there is more visual variety, an area that the arcade game suffered. Overall the game is faster and more colorful than the arcade game and more pleasing. The only area it suffers is the missing rotary controls but what is here is perfectly functional.
There isn’t a huge list of weapons as in Contra but what is present is effective. Weapons are found by bombing encampments set up by the enemy. The laser is a more powerful machine gun and not an energy based weapon like its name suggests. The flame thrower is probably the best one as it clears a path in a straight line and is strong. The three-way bullet is the closest thing to a spread gun although not as effective. The explosive fares better as it is essentially a rocket launcher plus spread gun. Items drop every few seconds so you will rarely rely on the standard machine gun. And there is a reason for that.
Guerilla War is an overhead action game along the lines of Ikari Warriors. Erase any bad memories you have of that game’s NES port. The action in Guerilla War is fast and heavy and never lets up. Right from its opening moments the game throws a squad of five or six soldiers in your path as a way to let you know, this is a war zone. The game does a great job of selling you on the idea that the entire army of Cuba is against you. You will rarely ever see less than three enemies on screen; that number typically hovers around seven to ten. Outside of shooters like Recca you rarely see action like this on the NES and the game never slows down.
With that in mind it is pushing the NES pretty hard. Guerilla War has some of the worst flickering on the system, possibly worse than Super Dodge Ball. Forget enemies blinking rapidly, they straight up disappear at times. I have to admit it is distracting, no matter how much I like the game. It will lead to many a cheap death unfortunately but it can’t be helped. When you are facing twelve soldiers, with bullets flying, as well as helicopters blazing by with hostages in the mix something has to give.
Ah yes, the hostages. Tied up around every stage are hostages in the most inconvenient positions. Saving them awards 1000 points. But if you kill them “by accident” you lose 500. If there is one thing I’ve learned playing Guerilla War it’s that I’m the last person you should ever send on a rescue mission. If the game kept a running tally of every hostage I’ve mistakenly killed it would hit triple digits. I’m effectively a serial killer and probably worse than the enemy we are fighting. Considering the game is an hour or so long that is a god damn accomplishment.
I mentioned the game’s length for a reason. Even though Guerilla War throws everything possible in your path it is still pretty easy. Because you are frequently accosted by enemies you can rack up high scores and extra lives easily. The list of weapons is small but most are extremely powerful. Even if you die blowing up the environment will reveal further power-ups anyway. But the biggest reason the game is so easy are its unlimited continues, which let you brute force your way through the game. With around ten levels it will still take some time and is thoroughly enjoyable the whole way through.
In Closing
Guerilla War is one of the best hidden gems on the NES and one of its best action titles. As an arcade port and game in general Guerilla War is excellent.
