Developer: Takeru Publisher: Taito Released: 1992 Released: Platformer
Taito released many late NES classics in 1992 that went unnoticed. Kick Master is a particular favorite of mine but there is one title that is even greater and often ends up on many best of all time lists for the lucky few that played it. Little Samson is a brilliant platformer and near classic that is unfortunately near impossible to find. This is not a case of unfounded hype; Little Samson is the real deal.
But where did it come from? Little Samson was made by Takeru, a little known Famicom developer started by Akira Kitamura, director of Mega Man 1 and 2. Their years of experience with the system paid off as Little Samson is one of the most beautiful titles on the platform. It also has the gameplay to back it up. While Takeru was not long for this world they left their mark with Little Samson.
Ta-Keed, the Prince of Darkness has managed to break the seal of his prison and has returned to wreak havoc on the kingdom. Emperor Hans summons the 4 heroes of the kingdom to unite and rid the land of Ta-Keed once and for all.
Little Samson begins with introductory levels for each of its four heroes. Each character is working their way to castle, with their level serving as a tutorial for their abilities. Samson is your well rounder, with medium power and the ability to climb walls and ceilings. Gamm is the powerhouse but moves the slowest. He can eventually earn the longest life bar and can walk on spikes without dying. Kikira can fly for a few seconds and can charge her fire breath. She can’t climb walls but does not slide on ice due to her claws. K.O. is the smallest of the bunch, able to squeeze in to the tightest of spaces. Unfortunately he has the shortest life bar and has the toughest attack to time with his bombs.
Once the crew is assembled the game truly begins. Like TMNT you can switch characters at any time and it is in this regard that Little Samson truly shines. Technically you could manage to reach the end using Samson only. But you would be making the journey unnecessarily difficult. The game covers a lot of ground in its twenty or so levels. There aren’t many power-ups as each hero’s base abilities are enough. The most important are orbs that increase each character’s maximum health. Generally you can nearly max out each in the introductory stage but the game provides plenty up until its conclusion. Hearts restore life and extra lives are semi common, important as everyone shares the same pool.
The level design in Little Samson is simply fantastic. Sometimes there are multiple paths, other times a given situation requires multiple characters. Any section that has wind that needs to be used to cover large gaps can be trivialized using Kikira. Any time there is wall climbing Samson is the go to. K.O. can do the same but his puny life bar makes him a liability. The different environments offer a chance for every character to shine at some point. The later ice levels can be a nightmare if you don’t use Kikira. And although Gamm has the worst jumping prowess in the game any time there are spikes he is indispensable. The game does tend to feel a bit repetitive toward the end as it recycles certain elements a few too many times. But as a whole they knocked it out of the park.
The large assortment of bosses similarly presents many ways to use your skills to take them out. The bosses are a bit of a departure from the general aesthetic of Little Samson, looking more like Castlevania villains. Most bosses have simple patterns yet the execution depending on the character is where it gets tricky. Gamm is a boss destroyer as a single punch always depletes one health point. The problem is he is slow, but his resilience means you can turtle up and end a fight quickly. That doesn’t always work; a late game dragon recalls the same boss battle from Mega Man 2, down to the same three blocks. Most late game bosses have multiple forms which sounds cheap but since you can character switch it isn’t as bad.
Little Samson has a gradual difficulty that is tuned near perfect. The early half overloads you with extra lives to prepare for the ramp up that comes later. Health power-ups are not common so character switching is a critical skill. I do wish certain characters had more life; K.O. can barely take three hits before death making their use highly situational. I’ve mention the repetition toward the end and it is the only thing that hurts the game. Watching certain segments drag on longer than they should due to recycled stage elements is frustrating. I appreciate the game’s length but about four or five of its levels were unnecessary.
Few NES titles exhibit the level of detail present in Little Samson. Artistically the game looks absolutely stellar. Every environment is dripping with minute details, from flashy ice to overflowing lava. The artists make expert use of the system’s limited color palette to give it a hardware defying vivid look. The bosses as I previously mentioned look out of place; they are incredibly sinister compared to the at times bright surroundings. Most games would kill to have a set of bosses this cool though so it is a small complaint.
In Closing
Little Samson is the best NES game you have never heard of. Some of the NES’ highest production values and gameplay create a game that is almost a classic. A loose cartridge goes for $1000 or more. Buy a repro to experience his truly fantastic game.
