Little Samson (Nintendo)

Taito was one of the big dogs of the NES era, and they pumped out some really good games. Toki, Bubble Bobble, Arkanoid... Some really great classics. But there is one that really flew under the radar... Little Samson.

The story of Little Samson is kind of complex, and kind of convoluted. A dark prince named Ta Keed was freed from his seal during a thunderstorm one night, and like many late 80s/early 90s villains, he began trying to take over the world. The kingdom was under fire, and they sent out for four heroes... These heroes include Samson, the happy-go-lucky little guy that throws bells. Kikira the Dragon, who can fly short distances and power up her fireballs to deal a lot of damage. Gamm the rock lord, who is slow as all hell, but can attack in four directions, can walk on spikes, and takes damage like a freaking tank. And last, but CERTAINLY not least is K.O. the mouse, who can die if an enemy so much as breathes on him. But K.O. cannot be swept under the rug just because of this... He is actually one of the most valuable characters in the game. K.O. uses little white bombs, and can set 3 at a time... These bombs, put simply, are freaking POWERFUL. Bosses go down with just a few hits of these bombs.

But anyway, onto the game itself. It's a unique little platformer, letting you choose between the four characters on the fly. The game starts you off by letting you choose from four stages, all of which are like a warm up and introduction to how each character plays. This was a really good idea on Taito's part, where if they had just thrown all four characters at the player all at once, the trial and error of figuring out who does what could really stammer the gameplay. The game itself is very fluid. Once you get a feel for how each character plays, you can then begin to figure out which character works best for which situation, and 1-Ups and heart containers that give your character more life can sometimes only be acquired by K.O. (narrow corridors) or Gamm (on top of spikes).

The music in this game, while great, gets awfully repetitive. Only in the last few levels does the game have a stage theme. Instead, each individual character has their own theme, which plays whenever you use them, and loops over and over. If you're like me, you'll get tired of the upbeat theme that is attached to Samson pretty damned quick.

My only real complaint about Little Samson is the length. This game is pretty damned short. Since there are two difficulties, and the real ending can only be obtained by completing normal mode, I'd say you could beat this one in a dedicated afternoon. I really wish this game were longer, because I constantly find myself really enjoying this one every time I turn it on.

I think you'll enjoy it too. If you have the extra cash and want a real treasure (and I'm talking like, $150 extra money), pick this up. If you spot it at a thrift store, flea market, or yard sale, don't tell the owner just how much of a rarity this game is, and pay the $10 or so dollars that they want for it.

All in all, Little Samson is a really well balanced and seamlessly crafted platformer that really immerses you into the gameplay. As lame as the story may be... Well... Did we ever really play NES games based on the story? Look at the story of Super Mario Bros. for crying out loud.

I give this game a 4/5. It would have been a 5/5 had the game been longer, and had individual stage themes. This game comes highly recommended!

Because Little Samson was released on the end of the NES era, almost nobody knows about it. It's a shame ! You can compare the game with Super Mario Bros 3. The graphics are great and the gameplay is also great. The game is a side scrolling platform. You can control four characters: Little Samson, Kikira the Dragon, Gamn the Golem and K.O. the mouse. Each one has their own strengths and weaknesses. For example, the mouse has the least health of any character but he can get into small places and climb on walls and ceilings. The golem is big and slow but can walk over spikes and can take much more damage. The goal of the game is to defeat Ta-Keed, the Prince of Darkness. The games has 23 different stages and you have to defeat several bosses to get to the Prince of Darkness.

I gave the game a 5/5 because the game looks good and is fun to play. The game is scarcer then the most nes games so you have to pay a little more. But it is worth it !

Little Samson is a 2-dimensional action platform game for the Nintendo NES. The game features brilliant graphics for a NES game, that reminds me of one of the later Mega Man titles. You are Samson, you and your 3 friends Dragon, Golem, and Mouse must journey through 23 different stages in order to defeat Ta-Keed the Prince of Darkness. On your journey, you are required to defeat bosses after almost every level. You can use different characters to access different areas of the game. For example, use Mouse to get into small narrow areas, and use Dragon when you need to fly to a distant ledge. Overall this game is one of the few titles that is very rare to find but also extremely fun to play. If you can find a copy for a decent price, do not hesitate to pick it up.

Before I bought this game from ebay I had only played it once or twice. Since it came out near the end of the NES's life cycle it's become hard to come by at a good price. However, unlike a lot of rare NES games I've played this one is simply amazing.

The game is a simple platformer where you can control four characters that you can change whenever you want (after the first four stages), they all have separate health meters (but share the same number of lives), and have different attacks and abilities...kind of like a mix of Super Mario Bros. and Mega Man. There are two difficulty levels which determines the maximum health each character can have as well as how many levels there are to play. There's also a password system so you can continue later if you have to stop.

That's only a small tidbit of the game, and I highly recommend anyone who still has a working NES to pick this up if they can find it. At the time I was bidding on this Little Samson was the #1 game I was trying to find. The only bad part about winning this is that I now need a new #1 game to find. :D

A true gem of a platformer with fantastic gameplay, fluid controls, multiple playable characters, and sound and music that pushed the NES to its limit. It is a terrible shame that this game was released later in the NES's lifespan, (post-SNES), so was relatively unsuccessful, and now very rare. While the game is charming and a lot of fun, its inflated price tag due to its rarity make it a game that I would only recommend to collectors or trust fund babies. This game typically sells between 100-130 dollars, which may seem outrageous for an NES cart, but if you have the means, Little Samson is a classic platformer that will challenge and entertain you... for an afternoon. The game is relatively short and very easy. Play this one on an online emulator; you may be disappointed with your "investment" otherwise...