Ikari Warriors

Ikari Warriors is a vertical-scrolling shoot 'em up that puts players in the boots of soldiers Ralf and Clark. Inspired by the action movies of the 1980s, the game tasks you with infiltrating enemy territory to rescue a high-ranking official. You must fight your way through dense jungles and enemy bases, utilizing a machine gun with infinite ammo and a limited supply of grenades. A defining feature is the ability to commandeer tanks found throughout the levels, providing heavy firepower and extra protection against the relentless waves of enemy infantry, helicopters, and defensive turrets.

Commodore 16

Released in 1987 by Elite Systems and later re-published under the Encore budget label, the Commodore 16 version is a remarkable effort to condense a complex arcade experience into a machine with very limited memory. Programmed by Chris Bannock, this port is compatible with both the C16 and the Plus/4, though it is specifically optimized to run within the 16K constraints of the base model. To achieve this, the game uses a flick-screen approach rather than smooth scrolling, which was a common compromise for the TED chip. Despite the technical hurdles, it retains the core gameplay loop, including the ability to drive tanks and face various enemy types. The graphics are colorful, utilizing the C16’s expanded color palette to create distinct jungle and water environments, though the sprites are understandably simpler than their C64 counterparts. While it lacks the simultaneous two-player mode due to memory limitations, it stands as one of the most ambitious action titles on the system, proving that even a budget-priced 16K machine could handle a major arcade license with the right programming.