Victory Road (history and reception)

SNK's arcade game came out in Japan as 怒号層圏 (Dogō Sōken) in October 1986, according to Akagi Masumi's arcade game list, which gives Victory Road as its English title. Famicom Tsushin's issue of 12 December 1986 offered a jumbo poster of the game, supplied by SNK, to 20 readers who sent in their impressions of playing it by 5 December; its furigana give the title's reading as どごうそうけん. victory-road-history/arcade-japan-release

The list is a 2005 reference book, edited by Akagi Masumi, that gives month and year only; no flyer or dated trade listing for the Japanese release has been read. The Famicom Tsushin item doesn't date the release; its count, deadline, and furigana were read on the page image, as the OCR garbles them.

Cited by: Victory Road

In North America the game was sold as Victory Road by Tradewest. Akagi Masumi's list dates it to February 1987 under the name "Victory Roads", in SNK's overseas section "via Trade West" and in Trade West's section as an SNK game. Play Meter's April 1987 issue listed Victory Road under Tradewest among dedicated video games in its spring buyer's guide, and reported that Tradewest had had "a tremendous hit" with Ikari Warriors and similar success with its latest game, Victory Road. victory-road-history/arcade-us-release

The list's "Victory Roads" is unexplained; Play Meter calls the game Victory Road. Neither source names the date the cabinets shipped.

Cited by: Victory Road

Zzap!64's April 1987 arcade pages described Victory Road as SNK's follow-up to Ikari Warriors, played with the same "joystick-cum-paddle" controller, and as Ikari Warriors in space, in which thunder and earthquakes can be harnessed against the enemy. The writer called it great for those who liked Ikari Warriors and boring for those who didn't: "little more than a change of graphics" and of scenery. victory-road-history/arcade-zzap-report

The item is unsigned in the OCR.

Cited by: Victory Road

The Famicom version came out in Japan on 16 April 1988 from K Amusement Leasing (ケイ・アミューズメントリース), according to a retrospective Famicom catalog, which lists it as number 336, 『怒 II DOGOSOKEN』 (Ikari II: Dogōsōken). victory-road-history/famicom-release

The catalog is an unsigned retrospective mook that names no source for its dates. The scan is low-resolution: 怒 and the numeral are clear on the render, but whether the numeral is printed as Ⅱ or as two bars is a reading.

Cited by: Victory Road

SNK released the NES version in North America as Ikari Warriors II: Victory Road in April 1988, according to Nintendo of America's list of licensed NES games. Computer Entertainer's June 1988 report on the summer Consumer Electronics Show called it "recently released". victory-road-history/nes-release

Cited by: Victory Road

Chris Scullion's NES Encyclopedia (2019) gives the NES version's year as 1988, its publisher as SNK, and its developer as Micronics. victory-road-history/nes-developer

A 2019 secondary source that cites nothing for its credits; no period source naming the NES developer has been read. The same book credits Micronics with the NES Ikari Warriors.

Cited by: Victory Road

In the NES version's story as Nintendo's 1987 player's guide, Computer Entertainer's preview, and Nintendo Power's first issue give it, Paul and Vince, the two commandos of Ikari Warriors, are flying home in a plane the general gave them when a time warp over the ocean throws them far into the future (thousands of years, says Computer Entertainer; a thousand, says Nintendo Power), where Zang Zip, "the WarDog", has enslaved the people of Earth. The settings and enemies are alien, far from the first game's jungles. victory-road-history/nes-premise

The NES manual has not been read. The guide prints the name as "WarDog", Nintendo Power as "the War Dog", and Scullion's encyclopedia as "the War Dog". The Nintendo Power item, in its July/August 1988 issue, has no text layer in the pinned scan and was read on the page image.

Cited by: Victory Road

Electronic Game Player's review of the NES version describes the same overhead shooting as Ikari Warriors, with weapons and bonus items hidden under objects and some enemies. A subscreen called up with Select lets the player choose among the weapons found; the power-ups include wings, armor, and thunder, which destroys all the enemies on the screen. Each stage has a Barshop, not in the arcade game, where the player can buy equipment from a soldier of fortune or fight one of three bounty hunters for more Heart Marks. Scullion's encyclopedia adds that body armour replaces the first game's tanks and that money buys weapon upgrades. victory-road-history/nes-play

The review's account only; no manual or code has been read. Both sources describe the NES version, not the arcade game.

Cited by: Victory Road

The NES version gives one life, but pressing A, B, B, A before the Game Over screen continues the game, as many times as the player likes. Electronic Game Player gave the code in its review, Nintendo Power's November 1988 issue reported that the first game's continue code works in the sequel, and Scullion's encyclopedia notes the single life. victory-road-history/nes-continue

Scullion's sentence on the code is garbled in the OCR after "but"; it resumes "pressing A, B, B, A before the Game Over screen appears to continue where you left off". No manual or code has been read.

Cited by: Victory Road

Computer Entertainer's sneak preview of the NES version in January 1988 expected it to be "every bit as big a hit" as Ikari Warriors, with equally good graphics and gameplay, and rated it four stars of four for graphics and four for game play. It described machine pistols and grenades seen from overhead, called the action "fast and very challenging" for one player or two cooperating, and marked it Recommended at a suggested retail price of $42.95. victory-road-history/nes-ce-preview

{
 "review": "Computer Entertainer",
 "of": 4,
 "scores": {
  "graphics": 4,
  "game play": 4
 }
}

The preview carries no byline. Its stars were read on the page image; the issue's own rating key (p. 2) gives the first set to graphics and the second to game play and entertainment value.

Cited by: Victory Road

Electronic Game Player's May/June 1988 review of the NES version found it "every bit as good as Ikari Warriors; maybe even better" and gave it a thumbs up. Its complaints were the difficulty; the continue feature, which lets average players get further but can be used without limit, where a limited number would have been "a perfect compromise"; and the voice. The review is unsigned on the page; the issue's contents page credits Ed Semrad with it, while the reviews around it are signed "- SR". victory-road-history/nes-egp-review

Read on the page images (pp. 46-47): the Victory Road review carries no byline or initials, and neither does the Zaxxon 3-D review on p. 47. The contents page's credit to Ed Semrad is the only attribution; who signs "SR" hasn't been read.

Cited by: Victory Road

Computer Entertainer's Top 15 Videogames in June 1988 listed Ikari Warriors II (SNK/NES) seventh. victory-road-history/nes-ce-chart

Cited by: Victory Road

Nintendo Power's November/December 1988 issue ranked Ikari Warriors II/Victory Road 28th, with 427 points, in the first of the three Top 30 columns in its Player's Forum, whose header is unreadable on the scan. Ikari Warriors was 29th in the same column, with 417. victory-road-history/nes-np-top-30

The first column's header is washed out in the scan; the other two columns are headed Pros' Picks and Dealers' Picks and don't list the game. The page doesn't say here how the points are counted.

Cited by: Victory Road

Home computer versions were announced in 1987. At the September 1987 PCW Show, the Imagine section of Ocean's stand was promoting conversions of Gryzor, Rastan, and Victory Road, Zzap!64 reported, and in November 1987 Sinclair User wrote that Catalyst, the firm that converted Super Sprint for Electric Dreams, was "currently working on" Victory Road for Ocean. victory-road-history/computer-announced

The same box names Tony Mack as the programmer of Catalyst's Spectrum Super Sprint; it doesn't say who worked on Victory Road, or for which machines.

Cited by: Victory Road

The ZX Spectrum version had not appeared by January 1989. Your Sinclair's December 1988 subscription offer listed Victory Road, "A classic coin-op hit from SNK", worth £7.95 or £14.95 on disk, among "brand new games" whose despatch it couldn't yet date, and in January 1989 Crash called it "still unconverted" and due from Imagine. victory-road-history/spectrum-release

The offer's price line recurs for several games on the page. No Spectrum review has been found.

Cited by: Victory Road

Computer and Video Games's February 1989 review gave Imagine as the supplier for Spectrum, Commodore 64, and Amstrad CPC versions: £7.95 on Spectrum cassette, £8.95 on Commodore 64 and Amstrad cassette, £12.95 on Commodore 64 disk, and £14.95 on Amstrad disk. It said no 16-bit versions were planned. victory-road-history/computer-prices

The One had reviewed Imagine's Atari ST and Amiga versions the month before, so the remark about 16-bit versions was out of date when printed.

Cited by: Victory Road

Paul Glancey reviewed the Amstrad CPC version for Computer and Video Games in February 1989 and gave it 71% overall (graphics 77%, sound 23%, playability 75%, value 68%). A toggle key that keeps the gun pointed one way and support for the Cheetah 125+ stick's rotating control "lift Victory Road above the standard Ikari Warriors clone", he wrote, but it still doesn't beat the original, and sound is its "real downfall". victory-road-history/cpc-cvg-review

{
 "review": "Computer and Video Games",
 "of": 100,
 "scores": {
  "graphics": 77,
  "sound": 23,
  "playability": 75,
  "value": 68,
  "overall": 71
 }
}

The header, ratings box, and quotes were read on the page image, folio 37, and match the OCR.

Cited by: Victory Road

Amstrad Action reviewed Imagine's Amstrad CPC version (£9.95 on cassette, £14.95 on disk) in January 1989 and gave it 74% (graphics 72%, sonics 41%, grab factor 78%, staying power 69%). The reviewer, signed GBH, found smooth scrolling and colorful graphics, no tunes, and six lives, and thought Ikari Warriors still had the edge. The second opinion, signed SC, said: "Now if you've got to have Ikari Warriors clones, make 'em like this. Terrific!" victory-road-history/cpc-amstrad-action

{
 "review": "Amstrad Action",
 "of": 100,
 "scores": {
  "graphics": 72,
  "sonics": 41,
  "grab factor": 78,
  "staying power": 69,
  "overall": 74
 }
}

Read on the page image: the Victory Road verdict box (72/41/78/69/74) sits lower left, apart from the box for Guerilla War (54%, "A poor person's Ikari Warriors"), the page's other Imagine game, whose review says Victory Road is the better of the two. The main review is signed GBH, the second opinion SC.

Cited by: Victory Road

The One reviewed Imagine's Atari ST version (£19.95) and Amiga version (£24.95) in January 1989, both "Out Now". Brian Nesbitt called it "a pretty lame conversion of what is, to be fair, a pretty lame coin-op", with abysmal graphics, poor sprites, jerky scrolling, and no music during play, and named the programmer as Microwish, maker of Hewson's Zynaps. The Amiga version, he found, plays slightly faster and is more colorful, but fails the same way. victory-road-history/st-amiga-the-one

Cited by: Victory Road

Imagine's instruction leaflet for the Atari ST and Amiga versions gives loading instructions for the Atari ST, Amiga 500, and Amiga 1000, and states that the program code, graphics, and artwork are Imagine Software's copyright. It prints no date, price, or programmer's name. victory-road-history/st-amiga-manual

Read in the OCR. The Amiga 500 heading comes out as "AMIGA S00". The leaflet covers the disk versions for these two machines only; the year 1989 is the Internet Archive item's.

Cited by: Victory Road

In the Atari ST and Amiga versions, by Imagine's leaflet, the fire button fires the current weapon and holding it throws a grenade; F1 quits and F2 pauses. Each player's gun follows the direction of movement, and a toggle key (the space bar for player 1, Enter on the numeric keypad for player 2) locks it to the current direction until pressed again. victory-road-history/st-amiga-controls

Read in the OCR, whose table comes out as separate columns of keys and actions; the pairing follows their order. Computer and Video Games describes the same toggle key on the Amstrad CPC.

Cited by: Victory Road

Imagine's leaflet for the Atari ST and Amiga versions scores 50 points for a small alien, 100 for a large alien, 1000 for a large monster, and 200 for a bonus. Green trapdoors take the player underground to fight a large alien for extra points, and large monsters can only be destroyed with grenades. victory-road-history/st-amiga-scoring

Read in the OCR; no code has been read and nothing has been measured.

Cited by: Victory Road

The One gave the Atari ST version 40% overall (graphics 36%, sound 45%, playability 41%, value 33%). victory-road-history/st-the-one-score

{
 "review": "The One",
 "of": 100,
 "scores": {
  "graphics": 36,
  "sound": 45,
  "playability": 41,
  "value": 33,
  "overall": 40
 }
}

The scores were read on the page image when the issue was indexed (data/contents/the-one-004-1989-01.yaml); the OCR lists the ST box's figures 36%, 45%, 41%, 33% and OVERALL 40%.

Cited by: Victory Road

The One gave the Amiga version 40% overall (graphics 36%, sound 45%, playability 41%, value 33%), the same marks as the Atari ST version. victory-road-history/amiga-the-one-score

{
 "review": "The One",
 "of": 100,
 "scores": {
  "graphics": 36,
  "sound": 45,
  "playability": 41,
  "value": 33,
  "overall": 40
 }
}

The scores were read on the page image when the issue was indexed (data/contents/the-one-004-1989-01.yaml).

Cited by: Victory Road

ST Action reviewed the Atari ST version (Imagine, £19.95) in February 1989 and gave it an STA Rating of 44% (graphics 41%, sound 38%, lasting appeal 38%, addictiveness 46%; difficulty average). It describes an opening stage called the Stairway to Heaven, then a desert road with collectable body armour and flamethrowers, and mirrors that lead to sub-levels with a monster that only grenades hurt. One reviewer, signed SM, wrote that judging by the conversion "it's no wonder the sequel wasn't" a success in the arcades; the other, signed JS, called the game "dated with a capital 'D'". victory-road-history/st-action-review

{
 "review": "ST Action",
 "of": 100,
 "scores": {
  "graphics": 41,
  "sound": 38,
  "lasting appeal": 38,
  "addictiveness": 46,
  "overall": 44
 }
}

The ratings, the overall mark, and both comments' initials were read on the page image. Image 48 shows printed page 46 ("STA 46 STA").

Cited by: Victory Road

In North America, Data East converted the game for home computers. Computer Gaming World's report on the summer 1988 Consumer Electronics Show said Data East's IBM PC version of Victory Road scrolled at 15 frames per second, behind the arcade game's 16. COMPUTE!'s Gazette reviewed Data East's Commodore 64 versions of Ikari Warriors and Victory Road together in May 1989, at $29.95 each. victory-road-history/us-computer-versions

The frame rates are Computer Gaming World's figures from the show, not a measurement. Computer Entertainer's 1988 release lists also carry "Victory Road (DE)" among computer titles.

Cited by: Victory Road

Robert Bixby's COMPUTE!'s Gazette review found that Victory Road has little in common with Ikari Warriors beyond the fast pace, slow-firing weapons, and simple graphics, and called it "the more interesting of the two", pitting the player against super-demons and winged man-beasts, and more challenging, though limited horizontally to a single screen width. Success, he wrote, rides on finding and keeping the flamethrower, which is lost with a life. victory-road-history/c64-gazette-review

The review carries no score.

Cited by: Victory Road