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Little Samson

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Little Samson
Western cover art by Greg Winters
Developer(s)Takeru
Publisher(s)Taito
Director(s)Shinichi Yoshimoto
Producer(s)Shinichi Yoshimoto
Artist(s)Kiyoshi Utata
Writer(s)Shinichi Yoshimoto
Platform(s)Nintendo Entertainment System
Release
  • JP: June 26, 1992
  • NA: November 1992
  • EU: March 13, 1993
Genre(s)Action, platform
Mode(s)Single-player

Little Samson[a] is a 1992 action–platform video game developed by Takeru and published by Taito for the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES). The game stars four heroes summoned to stop the demon king Ta-Keed from wreaking havoc on the kingdom of Forgy. Each hero has different abilities and the player can switch between the four at any time.

Little Samson was directed by Shinichi Yoshimoto, who had worked as a designer on Capcom titles such as Ghouls 'n Ghosts and Strider. Kiyoshi Utata, who also worked on Cocoron and Nostalgia 1907, made the game's artwork. The game received favorable reviews. Critics praised the audiovisual side and noted that swapping between characters added an element of strategy to the action. The game is considered one of the best NES games in retrospect, and the North American release has become an expensive collector's item.

Gameplay

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Little Samson in a palace attacking a knight boss who summons lightning against him.

Little Samson is a side-scrolling action–platform game reminiscent of the Mega Man franchise.[1][2][3] It takes place in a world once terrorized by the demon king Ta-Keed until he was sealed away by gods, whose power was dispersed in the form of four bells. When the kingdom of Forgy was threatened by Ta-Keed, emperor Hans VI and his aides sealed him deep within a mountain. One day, a lightning released Ta-Keed, and emperor Hans XIV led his army into battle, but they were powerless against the demon king's subordinates. Hans XIV summoned the four warriors who possess the bells with the task of defeating Ta-Keed.[4][5][6]

The player chooses between one of four characters—the climber Little Samson, the dragon Kikira, the golem Gamm, and the mouse K.O—each with advantages and disadvantages.[2][6][7] Samson attacks enemies by throwing bells and can climb walls and ceilings.[1][4][8] Kikira can fly for brief periods and breathe fire that can be charged up, while her claws allow her traction on icy surfaces.[4][8][9] Gamm is slow but strong, can walk on spikes and attack with short but powerful blows in any direction.[1][2][8] K.O. has the least health but is fast, can fit through narrow passages, can climb walls and ceilings, and attacks by dropping bombs.[3][4][9]

The first four stages act as a tutorial for each character and can be played in any order.[3][9][10] Upon completing their respective stages, the characters gather before Hans XIV, who appoints Samson as the leader of the team.[2][4][7] Kikira is opposed to this decision and instigates a fight against him for dominance, though concedes after her defeat.[2][4][7] The player can switch between characters at any time during the gameplay, and stage progression occurs in a linear sequence.[1][3][10] There are twenty stages in total, each divided into thirteen levels with branching paths and a boss encounter per stage.[3][9][7] There are two difficulty levels: Easy and Normal. Playing on Normal difficulty summons the true final boss.[7]

Throughout each stage, the player fights enemies and avoids obstacles while collecting items and power-ups including extra lives, hearts that replenish health, crystal orbs that increase the capacity of a character's life bar and potions that fully restore health, though each character can keep only one at a time.[3][7][11] Each character has a separate lifebar, but they all share a pool of lives. If Samson dies, the player is forced to start over, but if any other character dies, they will remain dead until the active stage is completed or if one of the deceased character has a potion to revive them.[3][7][10] The player can resume their progress via a password system provided after defeating the boss.[9][10]

Development and release

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Little Samson was created by Takeru, which had previously developed Cocoron for the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES).[3][7] It was directed, produced, and written by Shinichi Yoshimoto, who had been a designer for Capcom on titles such as Ghouls 'n Ghosts and Strider.[3][12] Artwork for the game was done by Kiyoshi Utata, who had worked on Cocoron and Nostalgia 1907.[13][14][15] The Japanese and Western covers were illustrated by Mitsuru Todoriki and Greg Winters, respectively.[16][17] Taito published it in Japan as Seirei Densetsu Lickle on June 26, 1992.[18][19] The game was shown at the 1992 Summer Consumer Electronics Show and released in North America in November of that year.[20][21] A European release followed on March 13, 1993.[12][22]

Due to poor marketing leading to low sales in North America, Little Samson became one of the rarest and most expensive NES titles, commanding high prices on the secondary collecting market.[23][24][25][26] In 2022, Limited Run Games's CEO, Josh Fairhurst, stated that Little Samson was high on his list of titles he sought to bring back. After contacting Tatio, which suggested that game's rights "might be with the owner", Limited Run Games tracked down the owner, who did not know who held the rights.[27]

Reception

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The Japanese publication Micom BASIC Magazine [ja] ranked the game ninth in popularity in its September 1992 issue, and it received a score of 21.2/30 score in a readers' poll conducted by Family Computer Magazine.[30][31] Famitsu's four reviewers found the game's audiovisual side to be good for the NES and that each character was unique but believed the action lacked intensity.[32] George Sinfield and Rob Noel of Nintendo Power noted that swapping between four characters with their special skills added a strategy element to the game's action.[8] Club Nintendo deemed Little Samson an entertaining game, highlighting the audiovisual presentation, character and enemy animation, and level of challenge.[9]

Manfred Neumayer of Video Games [de] commended the game's graphics for their variety and attention to detail, likable characters, and the difficulty level of the stages.[28] Tony Jones of Play Time [de] regarded the games fun and complex, while HobbyConsolas' Manuel del Campo liked the character switching ability and visuals while criticizing the dull sound.[11][29] Merche Garcia of Superjuegos [es] underscored the animation of the characters, particularly that of the mouse.[2] Ação Games regarded Little Samson as one of the best games for the NES, while AllGame's Skyler Miller wrote that "Little Samson is a tour de force of excellent game design, attractive graphics and pure entertainment value."[1][33]

Retrospective coverage

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In retrospectives, Little Samson has been listed among the best NES games by IGN, USgamer, and Paste.[23][34][35] Club Nintendo described it as "a work worthy of admiration" and highlighted the large bosses, particularly the dragon enemy.[36] Greatkev of Jeuxvideo.com praised the game's colorful graphics, gameplay, and soundtrack, but found the simple plot and lack of dialogue to be its weak points.[22] Retro Gamer called it one of the most technically impressive NES games, citing its intricate sprites, enemy designs, and impressive levels.[10] Hardcore Gaming 101's Michael Plasket lauded the game's visual appeal, music, gameplay mechanics, difficulty curve, and overall duration.[7] GamesRadar+ listed it as one of the thirty games they wish had been included on the NES Classic Edition.[37] Den of Geek regarded Little Samson as one of the most underrated NES titles, while Destructoid's Zoey Handley gave positive remarks on the game's visuals and character animation fluidity but questioned some of its design choices.[3][38]

Notes

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  1. ^ Known in Japan as Seirei Densetsu Lickle (Japanese: 聖鈴伝説リックル, Hepburn: Seirei Densetsu Rikkuru, lit. 'Holy Bell Legend Lickle').

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e f Miller, Skyler (1998). "Little Samson – Review". AllGame. All Media Network. Archived from the original on November 16, 2014. Retrieved June 8, 2024.
  2. ^ a b c d e f Garcia, Merche (May 1993). "Consolas: Little Samson" [Consoles: Little Samson]. Superjuegos [es] (in Spanish). No. 13. Grupo Zeta. pp. 50–51.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Handley, Zoey (February 23, 2024). "Little Samson on NES asks how much you'll pay for a gem". Destructoid. Gamurs Group. Archived from the original on February 23, 2024. Retrieved June 8, 2024.
  4. ^ a b c d e f "Coming Soon: Seirei Densetsu Rikkuru" Coming Soon: 聖鈴伝説リックル [Coming Soon: Seirei Densetsu Lickle]. Famitsu (in Japanese). No. 179. ASCII Corporation. May 22, 1992. pp. 44–45.
  5. ^ Seirei Densetsu Rikkuru 聖鈴伝説リックル [Seirei Densetsu Lickle] (取扱説明書 [Instruction Manual]) (in Japanese) (Japanese ed.). Taito. June 1992.
  6. ^ a b Little Samson (PDF) (Instruction Manual) (North American ed.). Taito. 1992. Archived (PDF) from the original on May 7, 2013. Retrieved June 18, 2024.
  7. ^ a b c d e f g h i Plasket, Michael (September 24, 2011). "Little Samson". Hardcore Gaming 101. Archived from the original on October 9, 2017. Retrieved June 8, 2024.
  8. ^ a b c d Sinfield, George; Noel, Rob (September 1992). "NES: Little Samson; Now Playing: Little Samson". Nintendo Power. No. 40. Nintendo of America. pp. 20–25, 100, 103.
  9. ^ a b c d e f "Analizando a: Little Samson" [Analyzing: Little Samson]. Club Nintendo (in Spanish). Vol. 1, no. 11. Productos y Equipos Internacionales S.A. de C.V., Editorial Samra. October 1992. p. 32.
  10. ^ a b c d e "Minority Report: Little Samson". Retro Gamer. No. 107. Imagine Publishing. September 13, 2012. pp. 48–49.
  11. ^ a b c del Campo, Manuel (April 1993). "Lo Más Nuevo: Little Samson" [The Newest: Little Samson]. HobbyConsolas (in Spanish). No. 19. Hobby Press. pp. 32–34.
  12. ^ a b Lane, Gavin (January 29, 2020). "Feature: The Most Expensive Retro Games For Nintendo Systems". Nintendo Life. Nlife Media. Archived from the original on January 30, 2020. Retrieved June 8, 2024.
  13. ^ Zeku (May 29, 2011). "Dai 6-shō — Seirei Densetsu Rikkuru" 第6章 — 聖鈴伝説リックル [Chapter 6 – Seirei Densetsu Lickle]. Utata Kiyoshi Artdot.Works (in Japanese). Game Area 51. pp. 1–258.
  14. ^ Cowan, Danny (June 21, 2011). "Osman, Little Samson Feature in Utata Kiyoshi Artdot Works". GameSetWatch. UBM plc. Archived from the original on November 21, 2017. Retrieved March 8, 2020.
  15. ^ Zeku (November 6, 2011). "Dai 2-shō — Takeru: Kokoron/Nosutarujia 1907/Seirei Densetsu Rikkuru/Āmu (dōjin gēmu)" 第2章 — タケル: ココロン/ノスタルジア1907/聖鈴伝説リックル/アーム (同人ゲーム) [Chapter 2 — Takeru: Cocoron/Nostalgia 1907/Seirei Densetsu Lickle/Arm (doujin game)]. Utata Kiyoshi Artdot.Works: Interview Side (in Japanese). Game Area 51. pp. 1–254.
  16. ^ Todoriki, Mitsuru (2000). "Gallery — Young Lad". ToDo's Land (in Japanese). pp. 1–3. Archived from the original on June 12, 2024. Retrieved June 8, 2024.
  17. ^ Auffret, Dominique (January 10, 2022). "Greg WINTERS". VGDensetsu. Archived from the original on June 8, 2024. Retrieved July 23, 2024.
  18. ^ Tezuka, Ichirō (July 1992). "Famikon mo, madamada suteta monode wanai!" ファミコンも，まだまだ捨てたものではない！ [The Famicom isn't a lost cause just yet!]. Micom BASIC Magazine [ja] (in Japanese). No. 121. The Dempa Shimbunsha Corporation [ja]. p. 226.
  19. ^ "12 年の歳月で発売された全 1052 本のゲームタイトル!ファミコンソフ卜完全目録" [A total of 1,052 game titles released over 12 years! Complete Catalog of Famicom Software]. Natsukashi Famikon pāfekuto gaido 懐かしファミコンパーフェクトガイド [The Perfect Guide to the Nostalgic Famicom]. Perfect Guide (in Japanese). Vol. 1. Magazine Box. April 21, 2016. pp. 122–127. ISBN 978-4-906735-89-1.
  20. ^ "CES -Verano 92-" [CES -Summer 92-]. Club Nintendo (in Spanish). Vol. 1, no. 9. Productos y Equipos Internacionales S.A. de C.V., Editorial Samra. August 1992. pp. 34–42.
  21. ^ "NES Games" (PDF). Nintendo. Archived from the original (PDF) on July 31, 2004. Retrieved June 8, 2024.
  22. ^ a b Greatkev (June 16, 2011). "Test de Little Samson sur Nes par jeuxvideo.com" [Little Samson review on the NES by jeuxvideo.com]. Jeuxvideo.com (in French). Webedia. Archived from the original on June 28, 2011. Retrieved June 8, 2024.
  23. ^ a b Claiborn, Sam (2009). "Top 100 NES Games – 93. Little Samson". IGN. IGN Entertainment. Archived from the original on October 16, 2009. Retrieved June 8, 2024.
  24. ^ Van Allen, Fox (September 13, 2016). "These 21 Rare Nintendo Games Are Worth A Fortune". GameSpot. CBS Interactive. Archived from the original on September 24, 2016. Retrieved June 8, 2024.
  25. ^ Byrd, Matthew (July 13, 2021). "15 Rarest and Most Valuable NES Games". Den of Geek. DoG Tech LLC. Archived from the original on July 12, 2021. Retrieved June 8, 2024.
  26. ^ McFerran, Damien (April 11, 2024). "One Of The Rarest NES Games Is Currently Up For Auction At Goodwill". Time Extension. Hookshot Media. Archived from the original on April 11, 2024. Retrieved June 8, 2024.
  27. ^ Grassl, Zion (April 17, 2022). "Feature: How Limited Run's New Engine Respects The Legacy Of Classic Games". Nintendo Life. Nlife Media. Archived from the original on April 17, 2022. Retrieved June 8, 2024.
  28. ^ a b Neumayer, Manfred (December 1992). "Test: Little Samson". Video Games [de] (in German). No. 13. Markt & Technik. p. 104.
  29. ^ a b Jones, Tony (February 1993). "Marios Magic: Little Samson". Play Time [de] (in German). No. 20. Computec. p. 104. Archived from the original on July 8, 2021. Retrieved June 8, 2024.
  30. ^ Tezuka, Ichirō (September 1992). "Kongetsu no ninki sofuto rankingu" 今月の人気ソフト・ランキング [This Month's Popular Software Rankings]. Micom BASIC Magazine [ja] (in Japanese). No. 123. The Dempa Shimbunsha Corporation [ja]. p. 247.
  31. ^ "Chōzetsu ōwaza-rin' 98-nen haru-ban" 超絶 大技林 '98年春版 [Super Technique Book '98 Spring Edition]. PlayStation Magazine [ja] (Special) (in Japanese). Vol. 42. Tokuma Shoten Intermedia. April 15, 1998. p. 69.
  32. ^ "Shinsaku gēmu kurosu rebiyū: Seirei Densetsu Rikkuru" 新作ゲームクロス レビ ュー: 聖鈴伝説リックル [New Games Cross Review: Seirei Densetsu Lickle]. Famitsu (in Japanese). No. 185. ASCII Corporation. July 3, 1992. p. 38.
  33. ^ "Nintendo: Little Samson". Ação Games (in Portuguese). No. 42. Editora Azul. September 1993. pp. 32–33.
  34. ^ Parish, Jeremy (April 3, 2015). "Nintendo's All-Time Greats: Our Comprehensive Guide to the Best NES Games". USgamer. Gamer Network. Archived from the original on April 6, 2015. Retrieved June 8, 2024.
  35. ^ Martin, Garrett (July 13, 2017). "The 100 Best NES Games". Paste. Paste Media Group. Archived from the original on August 15, 2020. Retrieved June 8, 2024.
  36. ^ "Los Años Maravillosos: NES" [The Wonder Years: NES]. Club Nintendo (in Spanish). Vol. 17, no. 7. Editorial Televisa [es]. July 2008. pp. 39–47.
  37. ^ Agnello, Anthony John (July 14, 2016). "30 games we wish were on the NES Mini". GamesRadar+. Future plc. Archived from the original on July 15, 2016. Retrieved June 23, 2024.
  38. ^ Freiberg, Chris (January 21, 2019). "25 Underrated NES Games". Den of Geek. DoG Tech LLC. Archived from the original on August 27, 2020. Retrieved June 8, 2024.
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