When it comes to a video game console’s last years on the market, those few years where developers would still release titles before the console was discontinued in favor of the much more desired item on the scene, there will be plenty of titles that will go completely unnoticed. There are many key factors that could play into this, such as a lack of interest, lack of advertising, lack of copies made or distributed, or most commonly, it is just simply outshined by what is available on next-gen hardware. This sucks too, because there are so many games that get released on a last-gen system that are actually pretty damn great, and yet nobody cares about them because they are not on the newest system that everyone wants, resulting in some games not selling well at all, and now going for an absurd amount of money on the internet just based on its rarity alone. One of the most infamous examples of this happening would be with the late NES title known as Little Samson.

If you have heard of Little Samson before, chances are that it is 99% because of how, since it is a late NES title, it goes for 2 to 5 THOUSAND dollars on online retailers, making it a rare item for collectors, which does create a lot of intrigue surrounding the game. I mean, yeah, a game may be worth all the money in the world, but is the game in question even all that good? I myself have known about this game for a very long time, and I have seen videos on it, and it looked fun, so now, I decided to finally check it out to see if it is good enough to warrant its insane price tag. Big shocker, it isn’t good enough to spend $5,000 on, but I will say, it is actually a fantastic game, and definitely one of the best titles in the NES’s last years on the market. It isn’t perfect by any means, and it definitely isn’t anything too unique, but it is still very fun to play, and it does a lot of things that many other titles for the system weren’t doing.

The story is incredibly generic, being about an evil force that is let loose, and it is up to four summoned heroes to take him down, but stories were never the most important part of NES games, so who cares, the graphics are very good, with the characters themselves looking very appealing and having great designs, but everything else does come off as what you would typically see from a game on this system, the music is pretty good, with there being plenty of good tracks throughout, but most of the time, you will be hearing the same tracks that are the themes of the characters, which does kind of suck, the control is incredibly solid for an NES game, giving you plenty to do for what kind of game it is, so I am all for it, and the gameplay is what you would expect from a game from this system, but there are plenty of aspects added in that make it unique.

The game is a 2D platformer, where you take control of either Little Samson himself, Kikira the Dragon, Gamm the Golem, and K.O. the……. mouse (I mean, it’s cute and funny, but why though?), take on quite a lot of stages for a game like this, run, jump, and platform all around while defeating many different enemies that will stand in your way, gather plenty of potions and health items to not only heal yourself, but also increase your health to many different levels for each character, and take on plenty of big, threatening bosses that will put your platforming and shooting skills to the test. This is all pretty much what you would expect from an NES game for the most part, but there are plenty of things here that make this title very appealing and enjoyable, aside from the solid platforming.

Obviously, the main draw of the game is the fact that, throughout the game, you get to swap between four different characters, each having their own individual attributes and traits, and most of them are AMAZING to play as. I played as Little Samson for most of the game, as he is overall my favorite. He may not be able to do as much as others, but he can run real fast, jump really high, has an insane firing rate, and he can climb on walls and ceilings! Needless to say, he is extremely useful to use, but some of the other characters are very useful as well. Kirkira also has an insane firing rate, but his shots also go up which can help out a lot, and he can also fly around, making some platforming challenges a breeze, and while I didn’t play as him a bunch, he was pretty useful in certain circumstances. Gamm may not be able to move fast or duck, but he is a tank, having the most health of everybody, having this extendo-fist attack that is very powerful, he can walk across spikes, and he can shoot in four different directions, making him extremely useful for bosses and tight situations.

The only character out of the bunch that I didn’t really like was K.O., because in reality, he completely sucks. Sure, he does have some attributes, such as being the fastest character, climbing on walls and ceilings, and is able to go into some tight corridors for extra goodies and easier paths, but he also has so little health compared to anyone else, and his attack is pretty terrible. It is basically a Bomberman attack, where you drop these white orbs that can explode and kill anyone around him, which may work out well for a maze game like Bomberman, but for a platformer like this? Not so much. Aside from that though, as well as the music, there aren’t really too many issues with this game, apart from the last couple of levels having some repeated bosses. Yeah, there aren’t that many repeated bosses, but it is enough to feel like the game is just trying to extend its length, even when it really doesn’t need to.

Overall, despite the repetitive music, repeating bosses, and K.O. being an absolute waste of a character, Little Samson is without a doubt one of the best platformers on the NES that isn’t a Mario or a Mega Man, and I am so glad that I finally decided to check it out after all this time. I definitely recommend it for those who are fans of old-school platformers, or for those who are fans of those other two franchises I just mentioned, because there is definitely something from this game that is going to make you smile and have fun when playing it. Just, you know, play this on an emulator, because there is NO WAY you are getting an actual physical copy of this game without spending thousands of dollars on it. And for those of you who actually do own a legitimate physical copy of this game, I am extremely jealous of you, and I am gonna go cry in a corner now.

Game #377