''Guerrilla War'', released in Japan as , is an overhead run and gun game produced by SNK. Originally released for arcades in 1987 as a coin-operated arcade game, ''Guerrilla War'' was later ported to

Amstrad CPC The Amstrad CPC (short for ''Colour Personal Computer'') is a series of 8-bit home computers produced by Amstrad between 1984 and 1990. It was designed to compete in the mid-1980s home computer market dominated by the Commodore 64 and the Si ...

, Apple II, Commodore 64,

NES The Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) is an 8-bit third-generation home video game console produced by Nintendo. It was first released in Japan in 1983 as the commonly known as the The NES, a redesigned version, was released in American ...

, PlayStation Network, and

ZX Spectrum The ZX Spectrum () is an 8-bit home computer that was developed by Sinclair Research. It was released in the United Kingdom on 23 April 1982, and became Britain's best-selling microcomputer. Referred to during development as the ''ZX81 Colou ...

Plot

Guerrilla War followed the adventures of two unnamed rebel commandos (

Che Guevara Ernesto Che Guevara (; 14 June 1928The date of birth recorded on /upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/78/Ernesto_Guevara_Acta_de_Nacimiento.jpg his birth certificatewas 14 June 1928, although one tertiary source, (Julia Constenla, quot ...

and Fidel Castro in the Japanese version) as they raid an unnamed Caribbean

Island An island (or isle) is an isolated piece of habitat that is surrounded by a dramatically different habitat, such as water. Very small islands such as emergent land features on atolls can be called islets, skerries, cays or keys. An island ...

in order to free it from the rule of an unnamed tyrannical dictator. Along the way the players vanquish hordes of enemy soldiers while attempting to rescue hostages (with large score reductions for any hostages killed in the crossfire), collecting weapons from troopers and operating tanks.

Releases

The arcade version, released by SNK in 1987, followed the format of ''

Ikari Warriors ''Ikari Warriors'', known as in Japan, is a vertically-scrolling, run-and-gun shooter arcade video game released by SNK in 1986. It was published in North America by Tradewest. The game was released at the time when there were many ''Commando' ...

'' (1986). Using eight-way rotary joysticks, the game allowed players to move their character in one direction while rotating the joystick in order to shoot in another. The game was moderately successful, and spawned

ports A port is a maritime facility comprising one or more wharves or loading areas, where ships load and discharge cargo and passengers. Although usually situated on a sea coast or estuary, ports can also be found far inland, such as H ...

onto home video game systems.

Data East , also abbreviated as DECO, was a Japanese video game, pinball and electronic engineering company. The company was in operation from 1976 to 2003, and released 150 video game titles. Its main headquarters were located in Suginami, Tokyo. The A ...

released home editions on the PC, Commodore 64 and Apple II, while

Imagine Software Imagine Software was a British video games developer based in Liverpool which existed briefly in the early 1980s, initially producing software for the ZX Spectrum and VIC-20. The company rose quickly to prominence and was noted for its polished, ...

published the

and

ports in Europe. SNK published itself a version for the NES/Famicom 8-bit console. Because of the limits of the home platforms, the home versions did not have the rotating joysticks. Both the arcade and home console versions were included on the '' SNK 40th Anniversary Collection'' for Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One. The NES version's two-player simultaneous play, unlimited continues, and frantic action gave it an edge over its arcade predecessor. It received a perfect 5-star rating in the book ''Ultimate Nintendo: Guide to the NES Library 1985–1995'' and is also available on PlayStation Network. This version featured Box cover art by Marc Ericksen, who was also responsible for the cover illustration for SNK's own '' Ikari Warriors III: The Rescue'' and '' P.O.W''.

Che Guevara connection

As the original title indicates, the game is based on the exploits of revolutionary

, and the defeat of the Batista regime in

Cuba Cuba ( , ), officially the Republic of Cuba ( es, República de Cuba, links=no ), is an island country comprising the island of Cuba, as well as Isla de la Juventud and several minor archipelagos. Cuba is located where the northern Caribbea ...

in the late 1950s. In addition, player 2's character was Fidel Castro. Castro as he appears in this game is ranked fifth in ''

Electronic Gaming Monthly ''Electronic Gaming Monthly'' (often abbreviated to ''EGM'') is a monthly American video game magazine. It offers video game news, coverage of industry events, interviews with gaming figures, editorial content and product reviews. History The m ...

''’s list of the top ten video game politicians. Nevertheless, fearing anti-Communist sentiments in the West, SNK did a localisation of the game's dialogue and instruction manual for its North American and European releases. The version of ''Guevara'' released for the Japanese Famicom is a sought-after item for many video game collectors.

Reception

In Japan, ''Game Machine'' listed ''Guerrilla War'' on their January 15, 1988 issue as being the ninth most-successful table arcade unit of the month.

References

External links

* * *Guerrilla War a
Neo-Geo.com
(review
C64 Guerrilla War
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Guerrilla War (Video Game) 1987 video games Amstrad CPC games Apple II games Arcade video games Cold War video games Commodore 64 games Cooperative video games Cultural depictions of Che Guevara Cultural depictions of Fidel Castro Data East video games Hamster Corporation games Head-to-head arcade video games Multiplayer and single-player video games Nintendo Entertainment System games Nintendo Switch games PlayStation 4 games PlayStation Network games Quicksilver Software games Run and gun games SNK games SNK Playmore games Video games based on real people Video games developed in Japan Video games set in Cuba Works about Che Guevara ZX Spectrum games