Ikari Warriors & Athletic World retrospective: Anger mismanagement | NES Works

Future console first-party SNK makes its NES debut this week, and... well, let's just say there's room for improvement. Ikari Warriors was good and fun in the arcades, and on NES, it exists and doesn't cause your console to self-destruct. So that's something.
Also, a half-look at Bandai's first Power Pad title, Athletic World.

[@Amalga_Heart]

Crazy part about Ikari: For as impossible as the game seemed, it actually IS possible to go through the entire game without getting hit even once, and without cheating. No ABBA, no level select. It's really, REALLY difficult. I'm talking like the sort of utterly absurd difficulty usually associated with bullet-hell games. There are videos of people doing it on KZbin here. I messed around with it myself for awhile, after seeing some of those. I was indeed able to clear the first stage (all 40 freaking minutes of it) without getting hit. But you need to know *everything* about it in order to do it. All of the game's powerups come into play, which includes the rare hidden ones, where you had to know just where to bomb to get them to appear. One of them doubles your movement speed for instance, pretty much necessary in many parts. But yeah, it is at least possible. On a side note, too bad you couldnt show footage from the 4th stage. That's where the game really gets weird as you go into the funky neon robot fortress. If I recall correctly, the arcade version did not have this stage. Also the door to that stage is actually hidden under that dead guy's desk. I always wondered WHY they did that. On that note, why was the already-dead-guy there to start with? The arcade version had it too, though you just quickly blast past him in that one. These old games sure got weird sometimes.

[@briandecker3994]

I always thought there was an awesome unspoken story there. Everyone thinks that a big, evil dictator is running roughshod over some country, so you're sent in to clean things up. You discover that unbeknownst to everyone (including the scores of loyal soldiers defending him) that the dictator has been dead for a long time already and instead -- surprise! -- evil robot aliens are behind the entire thing.

[@alexandernichols413]

Ikari means Anger. This perfectly encapsulates my experience with this game.

[@dumpnchase]

My friends and I would spend hours playing Ikari warriors. It was a great game to play together.

[@jep7080]

I feel like during my funeral, while the casket is going into the ground, the Ikari Warriors song starts playing might cause a scene and unlock past trauma. Would be an excellent final act.

[@barlitone]

Finding the exit for Level 3 is almost impossible. In this game, whenever the music changes to the "gate" music, you only get so many continues, and at the end of Level 3, that's a huge issue. But, there is actually a stage select code. But, this being Ikari Warriors, it's absurdly hard: U, D, A, A, B, L, R, A, B, U, A, D, R, R, L, B, U, L, A, R, B, L, R, A, L, U, A, D, A, R, L, B, Start. Adding to the fun, the first time this showed up in Nintendo Power, it was misprinted. A few issues later, they finally printed the question, "How do I get that code to work?", and without admitting the error, they gave the code again, quietly changing one of the button presses, and it worked. Yes, the suck is strong with this one.

[@flyingerasehead]

They put that level select code in one of those Nintendo VHS tapes, Secret Video Game Tricks, Codes, & Strategies - Volume 1. It has to be seen to be believed. Even David Letterman made fun of it on one of his bad video collections.

[@stuffbenlikes]

I remember spending literally hours trying to make that code work.

[@LordChozo]

Looks like even in spite of the ABBA code, Ikari Warriors was Micronics'....Waterloo. Thank you, I'll be here all week.

[@chrisnizer1885]

The LS-30 rotary joystick was AWESOME! Best arcade controller ever made. Whoever comes up with something similar that could be used for MAME would make a fortune. Those games just don't play anywhere near as well with D-pads, joystick and buttons, etc. Thanks for the review, good stuff indeed!

[@ShakaCB]

My friends had a Goonies style battle cry referencing Ikari Warriors unlimited continues, "IKARI WARRIORS NEVER DIE!!" Used whenever we succeeded in some stupid and potentially dangerous childhood adventure!

[@NightSprinter]

To be fair, Jeremy, even when I livestreamed a completion of such a poor port of Ikari there didn't seem to be any indication if ABBA (also a band name, apparently) was enabled again for the final level. In fact, the final level got WORSE. Still had a chance to get stuck in an inescapable place when respawning, and gun soldiers now fire obstacle-piercing laser blasts.

[@xenxander]

For Christmas in 1990 my parents bought me the power set NES. came with controller, zapper, and powerpad. game was a multicart, featuring SMB, duck hunt, and world class track meet. after getting the gold trophy in all events, I never played track meet, or used the power pad again. still it was nice to own.

[@nonamer29]

I always felt like Guerrilla War by SNK was an improvement from this game. The fact that they had unlimited continues really helped & was slightly better in the graphics department.

[@barlitone]

I think the biggest single improvement Guerrilla War had over Ikari Warriors was the fact that you didn't crawl along at a snail's pace. GW moves *insanely* fast; you're just running and gunning, and it's awesome. I'd complain that they don't restrict your bullets or grenades, but that is almost never an issue in Ikari Warriors, so it's not much of a change. Of course the graphics are better, and the weapons are more fun, but playing GW, I never feel like I'm standing in quicksand while the enemies are headed my way, intent on killing me just by touching me or exploding in my face.

[@willmistretta]

@@barlitone Exactly. Speeding up the heroes in comparison to the arcade original was a brilliant way of compensating for the lack of independent aiming. You have time to pop off shots and then run away from the return fire.

[@flailthroughs]

Now, there's a nostalgic intro. In one sense I guess I could say that donating to your site's upkeep to read the EoE Thumbnail Theatre was the first Patreon I ever supported. One thing that makes Ikari Warriors a little more bearable is that holding B locks your firing angle. I remember a lot of backing up while doing that in that game.

[@makaveli4205]

This is my favorite angry video game nerd episode. He actually beat it somehow.

[@toysuniverseandeverything]

This was one game that was actually better on the Atari 7800. No ABBA, but no flicker also. The Robotron game you reference was for the Atari 7800. The poor 2600 would have had a stroke attempting Robotron. :)

[@KuraIthys]

Could be the 5200 port. (or the 8 bit home computer port, which is basically the same hardware but with way more RAM.)

[@RetroSho]

The best thing that this game brought to the world was the Ikari Warriors episode of AVGN. 😂😂😂

[@johnathin0061892]

The "F" gun upgrade lets you shoot your gun through obstacles. and also lets you blow up certain things that you normally need a grenade for (like the skull bunker things.) It also has a suicide mechanic if you stay in one place too long, just like the arcade (missiles come down from the "sky".)

[@Davethe3rd]

I would love for SNK to do an update of this game with Ralf and Clark being their KOF versions.

[@SarahLJP]

@9:12 In Japan the Bandai power pad series was called ファミリートレーナー (famirī torēnā) or Family Trainer. Although for some reason one of the games that was released in NA as Super team games used ファミトレ (famitore). I guess as an abbrivation. I played both World Class Track Meet and Super Teams Games when I was young.

[@RaposaCadela]

Athletic World actually looks really creative for the Power-Pad! From all the ones I've seen, it's the one that stands out the most. It's more than just a mashing buttons game or a sophisticated Simon Says!

[@Panzer_the_Merganser]

11:49 Still better than getting stuck with Lee Carvallo’s Putting Challenge

[@pianomanlee1763]

Ralf Jones and Clark Still appeared in KOF games also. Team Brazil with Heidern. Kof 94 ABBA

[@emmastarr5242]

Nice, I played Ikari Warriors not too long ago, and I didn't know there was an Athena Easter Egg there! :o

[@JeremyParish]

I did a double-take when I found her myself.

[@muffinboymcgee7411]

FYI; The arcade version of Ikari Warriors already had a home release before the 40th Anniversary Collection. It's been on the PSN for PS3 and PSP along with another two dozenish early SNK arcade games for five or six years now, and it's also included in SNK Arcade Classics Volume 0 on the PSP.

[@deedeepilgrim6658]

Where did the hair go?

[@xenxander]

i need rambo commando.

[@attackofthetheeyecreatures3472]

We might be past the scrotum guns, but I haven't forgotten them.

[@Goto10Gaming]

The coop action definitely made up for.. most.. of its shortcomings. It was a truer arcade port than say, Ninja Gaiden (for better or worse), and for my brother and I at the time, feeling like we’re playing the essence of the arcade Ikari Warriors coop at home was the coolest. Great video as always, thank you!

[@pianomanlee1763]

Don't forget to run over the gas icons while in the tank. The tank will blow up once it runs out of gas

[@rabiroden]

I feel like Ikari Warriors was a popular game, in spite of its quality. I recall it being brought up somewhat often in online NES discussions over the years... especially that boss no one apparently knew what to do with lol. Maybe this is America's "kusoge" that a lot of kids ended up with somehow.

[@Tony_Cardoza]

Ngl, I loved Ikari warriors as a 5/6 year old.

[@adamking6645]

I see you're doing Solomon's Key next time. Tecmo did do some quality stuff other than Tecmo Bowl and Ninja Gaiden, the three games they released in 1987 were pretty solid, especially Rygar.

[@TheJadeFist]

I totalally did that thing using my hands on the track pad.

[@JeremyParish]

Anyone who says they didn't is a cop.

[@JohnSmith-zw8vp]

The ABBA code: Gimmie gimmie gimmie more lives after dying...won't this code help me chase the game overs away? :D I can't believe the AVGN completely missed that there was a group/band called ABBA!

[@gplechuckiii]

I owned Ikari warriors as a kid. I remember it being a thing that I would try and beat on some random Sunday afternoon in winter when there was nothing else to do. About the best thing I can say for it is that it was the first game I could verbalize why it sucked. It is never good when every enemy is more powerful than you.

[@nickparsons337]

I remember renting this as a kid; getting all the way to the last level, and then the power went out at my house. I've never been able to bring myself to ever play it again. That was over 20 fucking years ago.

[@shane1489]

My neighbor friend from childhood and I played this over and over.... couldn’t have lasted a minute without the code

[@videogameobsession]

Both this and Commando borrowed heavily from Taito's Front Line. It made nice use of the mandatory Super Action Controllers. Where as you use the spinner wheel to rotate your direction. Being released only a couple of years after Front Line on the Colecovision, I actually felt the NES port was pretty impressive for a very early '86 3rd party title. I thought it was clever how the tank turret works here. Holding in both buttons to rotate. I didn't see any better way they could have handled this function.

[@METR0lD]

Get in the robot Shinji!!!!!

[@Artfanster]

My brother and I had a blast playing this together

[@MaxW-er1hm]

What a great game this would be, if only you could utilize a rotary controller similar to what was included with arkanoid or the arcade version of Ikari

[@Jay_G94]

0:31 😂 He dance when he got shot then died.

[@SarahLJP]

@5:34 Well ikari does mean anger or fury in Japanese, so I guess it's appropriate.

[@PallasPat]

Jeremy I'm surprised that you missed the chance to make a pun here by talking about the legacy of the series. You know Ralf and Clark Still appear in every King Of Fighters game that SNK puts out.

[@dozerfan1979]

This was a good game in my friend circles

[@AdamSmithNES]

Ikari Warriors was definitely one of those rentals you begrudgingly tried to slog through. I feel like I saw the respawn code in a magazine, but I can't remember which one. EGM or Nintendo Power?

[@gornway]

This game looks Micronics as hell.

[@samuraian5905]

To me they'll always be Paul and Vince. I tend to think Ikari Warriors is a shining example of going against the conventional wisdom of game development in that the eponymous soldiers of fortune are so inferior to their enemies they can't possibly succeed in their mission. The real fun of the game is in grabbing a partner and trying to puzzle out just what exactly is happening as you shepherd the slowest, most poorly armed duo in gaming through these unreal levels to that unremarkable but oh-so-rewarding conclusion at the end. And to think, this video missed the robots...

[@MrDraschese]

"GET IN THE ROBOT" :D

[@alunaticbastard]

The game mechanics would have easily been worked out by making the home port an auto shooter. You never stop shooting in this game anyway so you could have used both A/B buttons for ccw/cw rotation. Then assigned select as the grenade button. That would have made rotation independent of directional movement and brought the game as close to arcade controls as possible. They were just lazy and unimaginative. It's too bad because I loved playing this game in the arcade, and it sucks on the NES.

[@darktetsuya]

yeah I remember Ikari Warriors not being that great.... and now I know why! damn you micronics, lol... I'm pretty excited for SNK 40th, though.... According to Frank Cifaldi that joystick's called a 'Loop lever' and what he's done is turn those games into essentially a twin-stick shooter much *like* robotron! It's obviously not an exact clone of the mechanic, but it beats a pair of 'rotate' buttons to turn you one click at a time. On athletic world and the whole power pad thing I DO still have the three-in-one cart that came with that set, though my power pad is likely long gone!

[@TobyDeshane]

The section where you mention it having some fans due to the co-op play -- did you record it while some folks were asleep? Unexpected hushed discussion! ;D

[@ajpiskel]

It definitely stood out as sounding like something he came back to later. Maybe he listened to the initial video he put together and realized he had missed the game's main redeeming feature.

[@pentelegomenon1175]

I wonder what kind of play mechanic could have stood in place of the proto-twin-sticks of the arcade. Maybe A and B are for shooting and launching grenades if pressed quickly, but if held then they rotate the character left and right, with 8 possible directional positions?

[@JeremyParish]

I think they should have just abandoned the independent aim concept for this conversion, personally.

[@duffman18]

They should do a modern remake/sequel like sonic mania and streets of rage 4 etc. But with modern twin stick shooter controls, which would make it play much better. Imagine something as smooth and beautiful and easy to control as Enter the Gungeon but with this kinda Vietnam looking Rambo setting. There probably is, now I say that, like surely someone has made a modern indie homage to it, like how Broforce is an amazing looking and playing homage to Contra and similar games. Awesome video as always Mr Parish. Glad I became a patron, you deserve way more subs, no other channel goes into such detail, you alway teach me new things even when you cover a game that's been reviewed to death like the castlevania ones.

[@todesziege]

Twin stick shooters go back to the early 80's and there's really nothing modern about them, they just went out of style for a long time since they were an arcade thing and not easily doable at home.

[@jamesmoss3424]

I will play the arcade version of ikari warriors. 😀👍🎮

[@briandecker3994]

Looking forward to the Athletic World redux when it happens. I think it has a way more interesting set of challenges and activities than Stadium Events/World Class Track Meet -- you really need to work to get up those steep slopes in the Dark Tunnel and a fair amount of coordination is needed for Hop a Log and Rafting. Plus, the way it scores you seems pretty novel for a game of its vintage. I can't think of anything that attempted to analyze your physical performance in a video game before the EyeToy in 2005 or Wii Fit in 2007.

[@ashfordp676]

This game ruled!

[@jasongarrett768]

It was one of those dead-end spawns that finally made me and my brother quit to go play outside. Which technically makes it successful as a fitness game in some ways, I suppose.

[@PandaXs1]

speaking of games your parents bought because they were good for you, when were the fisher price and sesame street games released? those were my jam, and by my jam I mean I couldn't play the grover math game because the aliens scared the shit out of me when I was 4.

[@TankZappa]

The Ikari Warriors were named Ralph and Clark?!?!? Man the 80's were wack.

[@Davethe3rd]

Ralf and Clark would later go on to be mainstays in SNK's King of Fighters series. Been in every one since the first KOF, KOF 94.

[@SMAXZO]

Yeah, Ralph Jones and Clark Still/Steel. They later hit it big in KOF and Metal Slug.

[@dmon007]

I'd kill to know what's the name of the music Jeremy uses for the "on the next episode..." segment :(

[@jasenweitekamp2036]

Same here!!

[@neofujivideo]

it's the "next episode" music from Evangelion kzbin.info/www/bejne/oHmcaapmZax3aq8

[@KuraIthys]

@@neofujivideo lol. I knew it sounded familiar, but I couldn't place it.

[@KuraIthys]

hahaha. You're right too. Just checked with my copy of Evangelion... Go figure.

[@sofubisamurai]

Rush n Attack for NES was co-op before this one.

[@elvistwatty]

Sorry....why was stadium events recalled?

[@THEmuteKi]

You know, when you put it in almost so many words it's fucked up that the Micronics Ghosts n Goblins is on Switch but Castlevania isn't.

[@lilwyvern4]

Only one question regarding Ikari Warriors: Where did the hair go?

[@dbpooper7512]

Were I the developer, I'd have set the player characters to automatically autofire, with A and B rotating the guns right and left, respectively. Start would toss 'nades, select would be pause.

[@JeremyParish]

I'd have just done a Commando-style scheme. It's not authentic to the arcade setup, but it would have actually worked.

[@RyumaXtheXKing]

They could've done it like Trax on the GB, were one buttons rotates the cannons, but only ever in one direction.

[@JeremyParish]

Yikes, that sounds... rough.

[@dbpooper7512]

@@JeremyParish It is rough, but Trax is a good game nonetheless.

[@videogameobsession]

I would have preferred to hold the select button while moving the Dpad to change turret direction.

[@gargenfluckgosphenspiels4849]

When are Ralph and Clark going to appear in smash bros game?

[@Davethe3rd]

Well, Terry Bogard is, so maybe eventually...

[@Davethe3rd]

BATH TIME!!

[@Davethe3rd]

Where did their hair go?

[@SEGAClownboss]

7:04 SOON

[@mr7clay]

Too bad it wasn't built by the team behind Jackal.

[@todesziege]

The Jackal NES port is just so good.

[@geraldbarfe3341]

Mamma mia! If ABBA can't save us, no one can!

[@jacobyne]

Rambo Commando!!!!

[@Davethe3rd]

That'd be a fucking AWESOME movie!!

[@hemangchauhan2864]

I can see kinda this origins of twin stick shooting design, movement and shooting set to different sticks. Ikari Warrior is mess to emulate. One of the few games that can glitch out at random.

[@videogameobsession]

Taito's Front Line had a spinner controller + joystick way back in 1982. :) and probably other companies before that.

[@hemangchauhan2864]

@@videogameobsession Oh okay, I didn't knew

[@todesziege]

Robotron had twin stick controls back in 1982.

[@philipneedstowrite1799]

4:27 Did you mean Atari 7800 or 5200?

[@JeremyParish]

Yeah, brain-farted there.

[@gokaury]

Guerrilla War was a MUCH better game than Ikari Warriors could ever hope to be.

[@adamking6645]

Athletic World shouldn't have been lumped in with this game. It at least tries something different with the exercise mat and thus deserves it's own episode. Athena would have made much more sense to pair up with Ikari Warriors, since both were developed by Micronics for SNK.

[@JeremyParish]

That's not how this series works, nor how it has worked at any point in nearly five years.

[@MrJWTH]

Adam King That wouldn’t work since the game selection was based on the chronological order of the NES games released on a certain year.

[@jddeluxe2242]

Hey Jeremy, love your work man..been listening to you for years, and hands down your one of the best in the business. I have a free minute this morning while I listen to Retronauts, so I thought I'd drop you a line. Actually, this is less about you, and more about your guest speakers on the show. Please do not have Benj Edwards on the show anymore. He rarely has anything of substance to add to the conversation, and when he does jump in, he speaks with absolutely no enthusiasm. Sorry but it's true. If you need another guest speaker, I'll gladly lend a voice. Thanks for all your time and effort you put into the retro gaming community. Keep up the great work my friend. -JD

[@negativefloof5033]

well at least it's better then the Atari 2600 port

[@7thangelad586]

Ralph and Clark sound like they’d be better off attacking their enemies with dadjokes.

[@Davethe3rd]

Both Ralf and Clark are badass in King of Fighters!!

[@ArcaneAzmadi]

Because it wasn't already obvious enough what a big fan of Neon Genesis Evangelion you are based on just your use of the next episode trailer music (both original and dub) at the ends of your episodes.

[@MaxW-er1hm]

Do you know what the game is that was ROM hacked as Chip and Dale 3? Cuz that's a hell of a good game. As is Guerrilla War. EDIT: Its called 'Heavy Barrel' and its TITS🧚‍♀️

[@chewiebacca5841]

I enjoy your work. You provide fairly depthy analysis, historical context, and most importantly, good writing. I can't stand John Riggs. No amount of nostalgia can make up for the fact that he's just not very bright. He's got poor taste, and in almost every one of his videos I've bothered to watch, he says some version of the phrase, "I just can't describe it." If you can't describe it, why are you wasting our time making a video? Mostly I'm just sour grapes about the idea that such slipshod hackery can generate revenue on KZbin, but also I'm 100% sure he rates games poorly just because he sucks at them. Your work is far more informative and entertaining, and I'm glad I can watch your stuff instead of his.

[@djnekroman]

As someone who owned a Power Pad and Athletic World, lemme tell you... That game was trash. The input response was so terrible that it really made the game an unplayable mess. Many, MANY times my sisters and I tried to figure out how to achieve anything in that game, and we failed every time (and believe me, we read the instruction book). I will say, however, that World Class Track Meet (we had that Zapper/Power Pad NES bundle) was played quite a bit in my home growing up. Sure, we knew how to cheat, but we (usually) played fairly. It kind of became a bragging rights thing among ourselves and our cousins. Seeing who could beat each other, and then seeing who could get the furthest against the tougher computer opponents and such. I really have a lot of fond memories of the Power Pad.

[@djsquarewave]

I actually had the opposite experience as a kid. World Class Track Meet felt like a weird novelty that we tired of quickly, but we loved Athletic World. I'm not really sure why though, in retrospect.

[@djnekroman]

Different strokes for different folks, I suppose. Glad to hear someone got enjoyment out of that game, though. Really can't wait for Jeremy to tackle some of the other weird Power Pad-only releases. (I'm looking at you, Short Order/Eggsplode! and Dance Aerobics.)

[@SeekerLancer]

God dammit, Micronics.

[@Dwedit]

"Even a dual controller setup, like the one supported by Robotron 2084 on Atari 2600..." Shows footage which is clearly not Atari 2600 footage.

[@JeremyParish]

Congratulations on possessing human eyeballs.

[@theantithesis1]

And Robotron 2984 never came out for the Atari 2600. Even in this day and age when homebrew programmers have put together some impressive games for the Atari 2600, Robotron eludes us. It did, however, appear on the Atari 5200.

[@Elshiki]

Please don't have PragerU ads, I want you to have ad money but At What Cost?

[@JeremyParish]

I don't select the ads that run here, unfortunately.

[@FranzFerdinand76]

Don't be scared liberal nancy.

[@KuraIthys]

That is, unfortunately, not how youtube ads work. Video creators have some control over how many ads, and possibly where they occur. But they don't dictate what kind of ads you get shown. That's actually down to KZbin's algorithms trying to figure out what kind of person you are. So it says more about YOU than it does about the channel. Though... Sometimes their algorithms can be extremely simple-minded. I get political advertising for Clive Palmer, who I think is a total idiot, simply because of the country I live in. Also I've more than once got a bunch of pregnancy related ads (stuff like multivitamins and other weird stuff) just because of my age and gender, even though targeting me with that is both weird, and quite insensitive, given that I... Well, that's not anyone's business really. Point is, don't blame the video creators for the kinds of ads you get, because they have no control over them. The advertisers can go around telling youtube that various videos are 'too controversial'. But as a video creator you cannot object to the ads they run. Or even identify what kind of ads your audience sees, since it's largely individually targeted. As a video creator you generally know IF there will be ads, but not WHAT. (sometimes you don't even know if there will be ads, since you may have a third party copyright claim monetising your video that you didn't even know about. Because... KZbin, in it's infinite wisdom, cannot even be bothered to tell you that there is a copyright claim on your video. Thanks guys. Thanks so, so much. =__=)

[@spiderjerusalem100]

The amount of action on screen is admirable for the time but this is an ugly ass game even compared to other early NES games.

[@MrCalverino]

BRAZIL TEAM🙌🏿 #ralph #clark #kof94

[@pianomanlee1763]

Shock Troopers is way better

[@batmandalorian5504]

yeah, everyone is right - this game sucked royal balls ... but i still finished it like 3 times haha

[@DanielSong39]

Ikari Warriors was an awful port of an excellent arcade game. No excuses since Commando was released at a similar time and was a good port. Micronics was infamous for their poor ports, Ghosts 'N Goblins was probably their best work

[@dallase1]

The colors of Ikari Warriors also sucked. The Music was actually pretty good compared to the rest of the game.

[@mootbooxle]

Boooooo Micronics

[@TheSmart-CasualGamer]

The NES players chant at the returns department in the 80s.

[@chrisplissken4626]

I tried beating it multiple times with a game genie ...and the levels are so long and boring that I can't ever play it for more than 35mins before I pull the plug lol

[@JeremyParish]

Yeah, it just drags oonnnnnnn

[@chrisplissken4626]

@@JeremyParish so yeah I can say it's the only game in my collection of NES, that I never bother beating lol

[@MattC78]

Ikari Warriors is awful. I much prefer Guerrilla War instead. It fixes all the problems with Ikari Warriors.

[@scottmcphee2076]

Nintendo Power's feature on Ikari Warriors wrote positive things about the game's long levels. At least this review is more honest. A tedious game with lots of unfair deaths. Poorly designed. My thoughts exactly.