Iron Tank: The Invasion of Normandy (1988). Play online

Summary

Iron Tank: The Invasion of Normandy drops you into a scrolling top‑view battlefield where you pilot a heavily armed tank. The screen scrolls as you traverse enemy territory, and the turret can rotate independently in eight directions, staying aimed while the chassis moves.

A classic NES controller handles everything: the D‑pad steers, "A" fires the machine gun, "B" launches the main cannon, and holding "A" plus a direction spins the turret. Press "Select" to pull up an on‑screen menu where you can toggle four cannon modes – Rapid‑Fire, Armor‑Pierce, Bomb Shells and Long‑Range – each affecting rate, penetration, splash or distance.

Red square icons appear as power‑ups; "E" heals a slice of health, "R" fully restores it and adds points to a reserve fuel meter, while letters V, F, B, L refill their respective cannon meters. A rare "?" triggers a screen‑wide superweapon.

The game strings together boss encounters without pauses, and after each boss you can choose a branching path. Some routes are short but brutal, others longer but gentler, letting you mix and match routes toward the final showdown.

Storyline

Set during the World War II invasion of Normandy, Iron Tank: The Invasion of Normandy puts you behind the controls of a massive armored vehicle. You play as a commando named Paul, who goes by the codename SNAKE (known as Colonel Ralf in the Japanese version, a character that also appears in Ikari Warriors). The mission is simple yet daring: drive the titular Iron Tank straight into a heavily fortified Nazi stronghold. As you push through enemy lines, the game captures the tension of a real‑life assault on a German defensive position. The storyline focuses on the tank’s infiltration and the relentless fight to break the enemy’s grip on Normandy.