Rush'n Attack

Ignoring the tasteless exploitation of cold war politics, this Metroidvania style side scroller is an amusing and well designed NES port of an arcade quarter-muncher. Sharpen your knife and ready yourself for Rush’n Attack by Konami.

The Design

The look of the game is as common as you’d expect from a title of the same time. If you’re after a nostalgia kick that perfectly represents that era of gaming then look no further. I’ve always found it quite impressive how gaming companies managed to convey so much with so few colours and pixels on screen but this title gives you a clear understanding of who you are, where you are and what you’re doing without a mess of colours blurring your vision or poorly designed levels confusing your sense of direction.

The Gameplay

Focusing on the standard side scroller action, this games focus is to push towards the right of the screen and fight any enemies that come your way. You primary weapon is your knife, one thing I appreciated about it was that it was an instant kill for all enemies you could use it on and that it had a very fast use rate. You can slash through hordes of enemies in moments and it helped you mitigate the swarm of bad guys that can form at a moment’s notice.

Although I earlier likened this game to the standard Metroidvania style, I found the game to be quite reminiscent of Contra Force, although not quite as good, it still provided a lot of the same feel of being outnumbered and running through the world wrecking enemies as a one man army.

You objectives are to enter enemy controlled areas, fight your way through countless footsoldiers, win a unique boss encounter and find Prisoners of War. I liked that once the game was over, it let you play it again on a higher difficult with tougher enemies and even a hidden time limit in the form of a stealth bomber that kills you if you take too long. Way to keep it fresh.

The Enemies

The average enemies are what you’d expect, droves of goons who pile into frame in an orderly enough fashion, lining up politely for their stabbing. When they start coming in from different angles and you’re avoiding them and landmines and turrets, it gets a bit trickier.

An interesting thing I quite enjoyed from Rush’n Attack was its introduction of boss enemies. Throughout the game you will face 4 types:

• Jump kick soldiers
• Attack dogs
• Autogyros
• Parachuting enemies with multishot abilities.

The interesting bit is that they are barely teased or used before their introductions as higher levelled bosses, so during your first play through, they seem quite unique. They just drop you in with them and you need to figure out the strategy to defeat them.

Pros

• Great controls
• Fast gameplay

Cons

• A bit on the short side
• Average enemies lacked enough diversity

Today I am talking about a real classic, Rush'n Attack. This was an arcade game made by Konami, but it is the NES version that I am talking about here today. This was one of the early games that I had for my NES. I remember getting it for Christmas from one of my uncles during Christmas of 1989. It is one of those classic games that I have beaten over and over again. It is also one of those rare games where I feel like the NES version is better than the arcade. This game was ported to other systems and computers, but the NES is king!

Destroying The Weapon

At the end of the day, Rush'n Attack (or Green Beret as it is known in some other countries) is an 80s arcade/NES game so you do not expect much in the way of story. What is interesting though is that the arcade and the NES stories differ. The story in the arcade version has you trying to save POWs. The NES on the other hand is more about finding and destroying a secret weapon, you get told of your mission in all its once sentence glory as you start the first stage.

Like An 80s Action Movie

Rush'n Attack is a side scrolling action game. You have several levels that you need to run your way through, killing anything that gets close to you! The game is quite fast paced and I always have a fun time running through it. Like most of the stuff Konami made for the NES, it controls great! You always feel like your guy is moving as he should, even when you are playing with a friend in co-op. When I would play this with a friend, I always had to be the blue guy! You can pick up a rocket launcher and a set of grenades that have limited ammo. However, most of your attacks are going to be with your trust knife!

Taking The Arcade Home!

Konami were quite good at adding extra content to their home ports and Rush'n Attack is no different. You get an extra couple of stages to play through giving the game a bit more length and the two player mode I just talked about was not present in the arcade, well it was, but it was not simultaneous co-op like on the NES. They did take away the flame thrower weapon that the arcade had. However, you got two extra power ups in the form of a pistol with unlimited ammo and an invincibility shield, both of which were limited in how long they lasted. The stuff the NES version added greatly makes up for the few things that it is lacking in my opinion.

I Can Hear It Now

Many arcade ports on the NES saw a rather substantial downgrade in terms of the visuals, but that is not exactly the case with Rush'n Attack. Yes, the arcade version clearly looks better, especially with the backgrounds, but the NES version I feel holds its own and captures the feel of the arcade version very well, all be it in a more basic style. Like the majority of Komani games, the soundtrack here rocks! From the warning sound to that first level song, it all makes me smile and takes me right back to my childhood each time I hear it. It is actually one of the most memorable soundtracks on the NES for me.

Pros:

• The 80s Cold War setting is cool
• I like how fast-paced the game is
• It has an awesome soundtrack with some memorable sound effects
• The NES version added some fun stuff that the arcade did not have

Cons:

• You can beat the game in no time at all
• The fact it has two names depending on your region is confusing and annoying