Guerrilla War (video game)

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Guerrilla War​ (originally titled Guevara in Japan) is an overhead run and gun game produced by SNK. It was released for arcades in 1987 as a coin-operated Arcade Game. It was ported to the ZX Spectrum and the NES in 1988.

Guerrilla War followed the adventures of two unnamed rebel commandos (Che Guevara and Fidel Castro in the Japanese version) as they raid an unnamed Caribbean Island (Cuba in the original^[1]) in order to free it from the rule of an unnamed tyrannical dictator (Fulgencio Batista). Along the way, the players vanquish hordes of unnamed enemy soldiers (originally part of the Batista regime) while attempting to rescue hostages, collecting weapons from troopers and operating tanks.

Tropes used in Guerrilla War (video game) include:

• Absurdly Spacious Sewer: One of the levels in the NES version, in which your characters are tossed inside by the Plow Brothers.
• Badass Normal: The final boss (Batista in the Japanese original). He spams missiles and bombs, and can take A LOT of damage before he goes down.
• Banana Republic
• Bottomless Magazines: Only in the NES version, for both your gun and bombs.
• Collision Damage: Touch a Mook, and you will die. Unless you're in a tank, in which case they'll die (unless they're in a tank, in which case your tank will die).
• The Dragon: The Plow Brothers in the NES version.
• Fire-Breathing Weapon: The flamethrower, which can kill many enemies in a row.
• Flunky Boss: The first boss in the arcade version is a commander who summons mooks to aid him. Most of the vehicle bosses also do this.
• Hostage Spirit Link: Averted, although you do lose a lot of points if you accidentally gun one down.
• Jungle Japes: Stage 1.
• Karma Houdini: The Big Bad in the arcade version manages to run away from the fight. In the NES version, you give him a well-deserved killing.
• Macross Missile Massacre: The Final Boss.
• Made of Iron: The Big Bad in the NES version can take more damage than a few tanks (see here). WHAT.
• Multi-Mook Melee: The boss of the NES version's sewer stage is a lot of soldiers. You also fight one on the NES battleship level.
• No Politicians Were Harmed: In the original Japanese release, the characters you use are Che Guevara and Fidel Castro. We kid you not.
• One-Hit-Point Wonder: Your character dies in one hit. If you're in a tank, it can take one explosive attack before you have to get out (or it explodes on you).
• Recurring Boss: The Plow Brothers and their plow. The tank-driving Mini Boss in the second stage may also count, as you fight a similar but stronger one as the boss.
• Smart Bomb: A Power-Up in the NES version made your next grenade nuke all enemies on the screen.
• Spread Shot: The NES version's "S" weapon gives you a traditional spread shot, and the "T" weapon gives you a shrapnel rocket, which explodes into three shots after it hits an enemy or if it travels a specific distance.
  • Some enemies will also use these on you.
• Stalked by the Bell: Stay too long in an area in the arcade version and the entire screen starts getting bombed until you lose a life.
• Tank Goodness: As with Ikari Warriors, you can ride in a tank, which is immune to regular bullets. However, a single explosive will put it out of commission. The same goes for enemies in tanks: you have to hit them with grenades or special weapons.
• Those Two Bad Guys: The NES version has the Plow Brothers, two big burly men who ride a plow. The first time you destroy their plow, they toss your characters into a mine. Later, you encounter them in a city, and they toss you into a sewer. You get your revenge when you fight their plow the second time, as they fail to get out before it explodes.
• Underground Monkey: Mostly averted with the regular soldiers, played straight with the enemy tanks.
• Vehicular Assault: Most of the bosses.

1. ↑ The game was originally loosely based on the real life Cuban Revolution of the late 50's-early 60's.