1991 · Namco · Action · Arcade

Tank Force

Nintendo console exclusive

Tank Force is a multi-directional shooter arcade game that was released by Namco in 1991; it was the last game to run on their System 1 hardware (which had been in use for four years), is the sequel to Battle City, which was released six years earlier and is a sequel to Tank Battalion, which had been released five years before it (and eleven years before this title). The US version of the game was also the first of seven games from the company to display the Federal Bureau of Investigation's "Winners Don't Use Drugs" screen during its attract mode - the others are Steel Gunner 2, F/A, Cosmo Gang the Puzzle, Knuckle Heads, Lucky & Wild, and Numan Athletics. Exvania and Super World Court, which were Japan-exclusive, may also feature the screen in their attract mode if the "Display FBI Screen" setting in the games' options menus has been set to "Yes".

Released: 1 December 1991
Platforms: Arcade Nintendo Switch Wii
Genres: Action Arcade
Developers: Namco
Publishers: Namco
Perspective: Bird view / Isometric
Country: Japan

About

Tank Force is a 1991 multidirectional shooter video game developed and published by Namco for arcades. It was released only in Japan in December 1991. It was designed by Yutaka Kounoe, whose works include Dig Dug, Lucky & Wild, and Point Blank. The game is a sequel to Namco's Battle City (1985), itself a successor to Tank Battalion (1980).

The game was re-released on the Wii's Virtual Console service in 2009. In 2017, the two-player version was re-released for the Nintendo Switch as part of the Namco Museum compilation. Hamster Corporation also released the game as part of their Arcade Archives series for the Nintendo Switch and PlayStation 4 in January 2023.

Keywords

wii virtual console
namco system 1

Media

The articlegameplay, story, development, reception

Gameplay

The gameplay is much like that of Tank Battalion, except that this time up to two (on an upright model) or four (on a cocktail) players can play simultaneously. There are seven new types of enemy tanks (Normal Tanks, Speed Tanks, Hard Tanks, Big Tanks, Rapid Tanks, Tomahawk Tanks and Jeeps) and fifteen types of powerups (Bonus 500, 1000, 2000 and 3000, Shot Powerup, 4-Way Shot, Hyper Shot, Ripple Laser, Twin Shot, Small, Shield, Bomb Attack, Timer Stop, Force Field and Extend) which appear for players to collect in order to increase their tanks' firepower and boost their score. The enemies also roll into view from the top of the screen instead of just appearing and can also enter from the left and right sides. Every fourth round is a "boss" round where the players must fight Train Cannons, AK Tanks and Boss Cannons at the top of the screen as well as the round's regular enemies.

The players cannot destroy their own headquarters walls, when one player shoots another they will be pushed back. The game has an ending which will be seen after clearing all thirty-six rounds.

Reception

Game Machine reported that Tank Force was the fourth most-popular arcade game of February 1992.

In his review for Namco Museum on the Nintendo Switch, Damien McFerran of Nintendo Life said that Tank Force made for an odd inclusion due to its obscurity, describing it as "Pac-Man with tanks and destructible environments".