So many of the late release NES games were great, they just got no focus because everyone moved on to the SNES or Genesis. Another great video, thanks!
After their success with Ninja Turtles and The Simpsons, Konami snapped up any old license hoping for lightning to strike again. But they got some really weird stuff that never went anywhere, like this.
Love this game! This was one of my original NES games from when I was little, believe it or not. A good old former rental from Blockbuster. This has always been a favorite of mine and very high on my NES great hidden gems list. The graphics are amazing, the music is kickass and once you figure out what to do, becomes a very fun one to play. The toxic factory stage took me forever to figure out when I was a kid as far as the gameplay went (i.e. the jumps) but I eventually figured out what to do. I still have a couple of issues of the comic book as well.
I remember when my dad got me the NES with 4 games. After a few weeks of playing, he took me to the same antique shop where he got the NES and saw this game. Grab it without thinking and never regret it. Took me years to figure out how to beat the game but had a lot of fun with my cousins during the process.
I love this channel! It is SO nice to check out a game review and not hear every other sentence begin with "I remember". This is a really informative review and I don't get the hint that it's slathered in 3 coats of nostalgia. Thank you for this. I love it!
Saw this cart in a game store near me before. Never really thought anything of it, or knew anything about it. And now I do! Thanks again for all you do.
The comic this is based off of also introduced a female mercenary named Nira-X. She still gets comics occasionally, and one is at the tail end of a kickstarter at the time this video went up.
Excellent video! I actually owned this game once upon a time and you honestly have me wishing that I would have spent more time playing it! I might have to re-visit it one of these days. Another GREAT late release Konami game for the NES is Bucky O'Hare btw. Konami was SO good back during the NES era. :)
this game is really amazing and it's really challenging , it's enemies has healing abilities sometimes you feel really frustrated but it's really an amazing game
This game seems like a real gem! I watch a lot of retro gaming content on youtube and I don't think I've ever seen this game talked about. Good vid, Pam! 👍
Fond memories of the comic book this game was based off of; walking home from my martial arts classes I would stop at Osco @ read Zen. He was a cool martial art wielding guy, and made me feel more badass at the time. Which was sorely needed. A blast from the past here
Hi Pam, love your channel! I remember my mom buying me this game in 1998 from Kmart for graduating 5th grade. I beat it several times over that summer. I remember it being hard but when i recently downloaded the emulated version I was blown away by the difficulty. Why were we better as video games as children?!
I find it interesting there are so many high quality late NES releases. This was release a year and a half after the SNES and the evidence suggests that they didn't sell that well. If you compare with similar points in the lifespan of the Playstation, PS2, or Wii the games that were being released this far past the beginning of the next gen were mostly shovel ware. I can assume that's because it became so much easier to most a game in development to the next generation in the 3D era of gaming. It might also be that the NES was far more sticky than the modern consoles in enough markets. That certainly happened with some other systems, like the amazingly long lifespan of the Master System in Brazil.
I never paid any attention to the Game Boy version of this before, but just from the couple seconds that was shown it's pretty obviously running the same engine as the TMNT GB games, which I loved... I'm gonna have to check that one out
I loved this game as a kid! I'd read the archie comics series (which some of the game cutscenes take directly from the comic panels), so it was a pretty exciting moment when I found this at the rental shop. Unfortunately, I don't think the character was ever too popular here, since I was the only one in my class who had heard of him, and our local walmart and kaybee's never got the action figures in stock in our area. On a sidenote, I think the difficulty selection affects the speed of the falling spiked ceiling stage as I remember having quite the time with that section on a hard difficulty playthrough. It could be I was just having terrible luck that day as well, lol.
I knew about little Sampson I would have loved to have known about this game sooner. I learned about a new NES game today. That game really does look fun to play.
This brings back good memories... I had a nice stack of Zen comic books. Even got the first issued signed... great times. This game was so bloody good. Back when Konami really cared about it's games....
I actually owned this as a kid. Well, the Game Boy port, anyway. The Game Boy version of this actually played like a Game Boy Megaman game--you could take on the stages and bosses in any order you choose (but they don't give you any special weapons or powers), Zen could "charge" his weapon and release a blast, and could even slide like Mega Man.
Konami used to be my favorite game company during the 80s and early 90s. Castlevania, Contra, Turtles... Never played this one but I would like to try it out.
Cool game chat and review. That's Konami at there finest there, way late in the NES life cycle and I'm gonna have to check out the soundtrack, I hear some Konami sound team goodies there. I've never played that one
I've always loved the color pallets and sound chip of Konami games over any other company, though I do love Capcom, Sunsoft etc. It's crazy how expensive this game is now.
Zen: Intergalactic Ninja was one of my favorite games when i was a kid. Hard mode makes game much hurder)) Enemies inflict more damage, you have less time in time-based missons etc. Final boss on hard mode really nasty.
Looks like the NES was pushed to its limits on this one compared to the other titles . Very underrated gem yet has so much life to it . Great video ! :-)
This is easily one of the best games on the platform. It has a lot of variety in its gameplay. Each main level is different with different objectives. How many other games did that on the platform? Probably none. The sound music and design are insane. Toxic rain forest theme is probably my favourite ost on the NES overall. It’s epic!
Never heard of this game but it definitely looks interesting. It came out 2 years after I was born. For it's time, it seems to be slightly innovative in a few ways. Minigames, different camera angles, interesting game mechanics like zen. There's most likely other nes games that played with the same mechanics but this one looks like a bundle of interesting game ideas. It sucks when someone puts a shit load of work into a game and it never gets properly noticed. Badass video, P!
Moin Pam^^ Greetings from Germany ( I´am watching you since the Episode of Isolated Warrior, one of the Games that abandon under my Desk in a pile of LJN games for 15 years^^ )
I thought the title was maybe a tad hyperbolic, but after watching, damn, it MIGHT just be true. At least it's a contender. The style of the backgrounds is very similar to that of Contra. Wouldn't be surprised if the same people worked on both. The variation in gameplay could also be an improvement on the Contra formula maybe? Nice review anyway. Didn't know this game, and it's a good find.
Omg yes love this game. And definitely one of the best looking games on the system. My daughter is a huge fan btw everytime a new video is up she is excited to try whatever game,games your talking about. At 9 she can run through mega man 2 3 and 4 and she's beaten contra 3 with me twice now lol.
I thought you said she did it at three and was collecting myself. But its great to show kids the classics first, that way modern graphics don't poison the well. My nephew really loves the classic NES library. Thiugh I started him with Dragonball Advanced.
The gameplay looks great for this game. The game engine looks like it would have possibly been an amazing TMNT game with some work. The late NES games sure look and handle well. Thanks for the video I had no idea this game existed.
I totally agree, I didn't play it on its release, I only got to know it much later and in my opinion ZEN, METAL STORM and LITTLLE NEMO DREAM MASTER have the most amazing NES graphics.
Damn, this looks really, REALLY good! I'm going to have to pick this one up sometime. Would have been amazing to see a SNES port with upgraded graphics and sound. Can you imagine? Probably would have been considered one of the greatest of all time for the console. It's unfortunate that this came out so near the end of the NES' lifespan. I'm sure that very few people even knew about it's existence at the time, but those few people who still hadn't moved on to next gen for whatever reason sure got quite the treat!
Back in the day before Konami's ashes were scattered somewhere between japan and realism. Amazing programming and art, considering famicom limitations. Looks like a modern 8bit style indie.
@@ulti-mantis and zombie's the word, Konami used to be top game developers I don't know what they are now, handing over a franchise like castlevania to mercury stream or whatever they called, it's just simulation with a pedo choir singing in the background.
I love how you talk about all the games other youtubers IGNORE. Keep it up!!
Thanks, will do!
Agreed!!! Its so refreshing!!
@@Cannotbetamed1 Pathologic 2 review from you will be interesting, kinda fits ignore category
@@Cannotbetamed1 📼
Truly amazing what some developers were able to squeeze out of the NES at the end of its lifecycle.
So many of the late release NES games were great, they just got no focus because everyone moved on to the SNES or Genesis. Another great video, thanks!
Thank you! I agree, the late releases were really good, too bad they were overlooked.
I'd say the media had moved on. Not all 60 million Nes/famicom owners made the jump at once.
Cannot be Tamed agreed 😎🤩
Ben check out zyuranger on the famicom it's a fun game it's on line you can play it 😊
After their success with Ninja Turtles and The Simpsons, Konami snapped up any old license hoping for lightning to strike again. But they got some really weird stuff that never went anywhere, like this.
It's a shame, the art design looks great. I'd be happy with a spiritual reboot, maybe about labor regulations.
Larry, hello you! Love your channel.
I feel like they wanted more TMNT without paying.
Zen became famous because of this game. The comic was an abject failure.
This looks really good for a late NES title. I'd never heard of it. It is an interesting "environmental" theme, too.
Love this game! This was one of my original NES games from when I was little, believe it or not. A good old former rental from Blockbuster. This has always been a favorite of mine and very high on my NES great hidden gems list. The graphics are amazing, the music is kickass and once you figure out what to do, becomes a very fun one to play. The toxic factory stage took me forever to figure out when I was a kid as far as the gameplay went (i.e. the jumps) but I eventually figured out what to do. I still have a couple of issues of the comic book as well.
One of my favourites (Felix the Cat) was also a former rental from Blockbuster.
I remember when my dad got me the NES with 4 games. After a few weeks of playing, he took me to the same antique shop where he got the NES and saw this game. Grab it without thinking and never regret it. Took me years to figure out how to beat the game but had a lot of fun with my cousins during the process.
Kind of a shame that this game never was expanded on. Some of the concepts and gameplay were incredibly impressive for the time.
I love this channel! It is SO nice to check out a game review and not hear every other sentence begin with "I remember". This is a really informative review and I don't get the hint that it's slathered in 3 coats of nostalgia. Thank you for this. I love it!
Thank you, I’m glad you enjoyed it
One of those games you always wanted to check out but forgot about with time. Now I'm kicking myself. Need to add this to the play list again, thanks!
Great video. I’ve never heard of this game but it looks entertaining. I’m gonna have to check it out.
I remember discovering this game about 15 years ago and loving it! That mine cart level is my favorite!
I might be one of the very few who got to play this game. Sadly the Video rental store sold the game before I could get it.
Saw this cart in a game store near me before. Never really thought anything of it, or knew anything about it. And now I do!
Thanks again for all you do.
No problem :)
I love these retro channels just when I thought I saw every cool game BOOM! I get hit with another one thanks!✌
The comic this is based off of also introduced a female mercenary named Nira-X. She still gets comics occasionally, and one is at the tail end of a kickstarter at the time this video went up.
Excellent video! I actually owned this game once upon a time and you honestly have me wishing that I would have spent more time playing it! I might have to re-visit it one of these days. Another GREAT late release Konami game for the NES is Bucky O'Hare btw. Konami was SO good back during the NES era. :)
This is my childhood game. I just had a nostalgic flashback. Good stuff
Wow I've never even heard of this game before. Thanks for making a video about it!
Woah. I had no idea this game existed and it looks pretty impressive. Thanks for the review, Pam.
this game is really amazing and it's really challenging , it's enemies has healing abilities sometimes you feel really frustrated but it's really an amazing game
Your reviews have been phenomenal. Thanks for another great video!
Glad you like them!
This game seems like a real gem! I watch a lot of retro gaming content on youtube and I don't think I've ever seen this game talked about.
Good vid, Pam! 👍
Thank you!
Pam always comes through with great and rare finds. Exactly why I subscribe. Quality content.
Yay! Thank you!
This game looks as crazy as its soundtrack. It is also definitvely proof of what the NES was capable about.
Fond memories of the comic book this game was based off of; walking home from my martial arts classes I would stop at Osco @ read Zen. He was a cool martial art wielding guy, and made me feel more badass at the time. Which was sorely needed. A blast from the past here
This game truly seems like a gem! I like the fact that you reviewed a lesser known game too! Looking forward to seeing more like this
I try to highlight less well known games when I can.
I slept on this game. I never thought anything of it. Now I want it. Thank you for reviewing this!
No problem
Okay this has been on my list to get for a long time and Now I think you've just pushed me over the edge to pull the trigger and pick this up sooner.
Hi Pam, love your channel! I remember my mom buying me this game in 1998 from Kmart for graduating 5th grade. I beat it several times over that summer. I remember it being hard but when i recently downloaded the emulated version I was blown away by the difficulty. Why were we better as video games as children?!
I think we were both better as kids and willing to put in more time to get better. At least I was.
Thanks for showing me something I've never heard of. Hard to believe that there are still new things to discover on this system all these years later.
Glad to help
I find it interesting there are so many high quality late NES releases. This was release a year and a half after the SNES and the evidence suggests that they didn't sell that well. If you compare with similar points in the lifespan of the Playstation, PS2, or Wii the games that were being released this far past the beginning of the next gen were mostly shovel ware. I can assume that's because it became so much easier to most a game in development to the next generation in the 3D era of gaming. It might also be that the NES was far more sticky than the modern consoles in enough markets. That certainly happened with some other systems, like the amazingly long lifespan of the Master System in Brazil.
Good comment! I know I personally was still playing on my NES for much of the early to mid 90s as I never got the SNES.
I never paid any attention to the Game Boy version of this before, but just from the couple seconds that was shown it's pretty obviously running the same engine as the TMNT GB games, which I loved... I'm gonna have to check that one out
Never heard of this game before, it looks pretty cool! Thanks for covering it!
I loved this game as a kid! I'd read the archie comics series (which some of the game cutscenes take directly from the comic panels), so it was a pretty exciting moment when I found this at the rental shop. Unfortunately, I don't think the character was ever too popular here, since I was the only one in my class who had heard of him, and our local walmart and kaybee's never got the action figures in stock in our area.
On a sidenote, I think the difficulty selection affects the speed of the falling spiked ceiling stage as I remember having quite the time with that section on a hard difficulty playthrough. It could be I was just having terrible luck that day as well, lol.
Love this game. Your voice sounds very professional. You could do commercials.
It's good to see this game get some much deserved attention. I absolutely love it. The Acid Rain Forest music is the jam.
Wow this channel looks awesome thanks for this entertaining, informative and fun video! 👍🏼👍🏼
Thank for talking about my favourite NES game (alongside Konami’s Buckey “O” Hare)
No problem
Glad I found this channel. You're very informative, not loud like other TH-camrs and pretty cute too, lol.
Welcome aboard!
The video got me hooked all the way to the end. Then when searching for the game on ebay my dreams were crushed.
I knew about little Sampson I would have loved to have known about this game sooner. I learned about a new NES game today. That game really does look fun to play.
Great review. Never heard of this one but will certainly check it out!
Thanks :)
Subscribed, good channel, very pleasing voice and nice edit. Game looks intense and has retro achievements for retroarch.
Thanks, welcome to the channel
An Obscure Gem from Konami alongside Bucky o Hare. Good choice of review Pam
Wow! Whoever did the art design really pushed the NES color palet, it looks so much more vibrant than most NES games.
This brings back good memories...
I had a nice stack of Zen comic books. Even got the first issued signed... great times.
This game was so bloody good. Back when Konami really cared about it's games....
I owned this on Game Boy as a kid. It played like a Mega Man game.
Nothing wrong with discussing each level, people can skip ahead. Nice job Pam. B-)
Thanks!
Agreed, I don’t think spoilers apply to most NES games anyway.
I actually owned this as a kid. Well, the Game Boy port, anyway. The Game Boy version of this actually played like a Game Boy Megaman game--you could take on the stages and bosses in any order you choose (but they don't give you any special weapons or powers), Zen could "charge" his weapon and release a blast, and could even slide like Mega Man.
Konami used to be my favorite game company during the 80s and early 90s. Castlevania, Contra, Turtles... Never played this one but I would like to try it out.
I remember the gameboy game being pretty enjoyable...had no idea it was on NES.....Awesome (and rare) choice for a review! You earned a sub!
Welcome to the channel
Wow I like that ink blot painting in the back, subscribed!
Welcome to the channel!
Thanks for another great vid on a game I wasn't aware of. Reason #148 to always watch Pam's videos!
Thanks for watching!
Discovered your channel looking for Mega CD game reviews, watched a few of your videos now and enjoyed them so have a new sub :)
Welcome to the channel
I collect games based on comic book characters. Had no idea this existed. Thanks. Great video.
Thanks! Hope you can find a copy that's not too expensive.
My favorite NES game. Thanks for this episode. Great surprise
Glad you enjoyed it!
Cool game chat and review. That's Konami at there finest there, way late in the NES life cycle and I'm gonna have to check out the soundtrack, I hear some Konami sound team goodies there. I've never played that one
I love learning about games I never knew existed! Thanks👍
No problem!
This looks really fun, very impressive. And please excuse if the comment shows up twice, I can't figure out how to fix it
This game always looked cool to me. Very good review Pamela.
Thanks!
Wow, such a cool title, I'll have to give it a shot, love the name!!
Hell yeah!! A game i didn't knew it existed! It looks great and hard, thank you Pam!
No problem
cool video, thanks, subscribed! love this game. music is awesome
Welcome!
Ive never heard of this game before it looks really cool ill have to check it out some time
I'm playing this after I'm done with Ghost of Tsushima. Thank you for bringing back old school games to our minds.
Great video. 👍👍
Thanks!
I've always loved the color pallets and sound chip of Konami games over any other company, though I do love Capcom, Sunsoft etc. It's crazy how expensive this game is now.
this game is cheap compaired to litttle samson and panic retruant :P
@@retrogaminginsanity7585 yo, so much facts!
it remember me to battletoads in some parts, and bonus stage is like Contra. Thanks for share this, sweetie ❤
Hey Pam! I enjoyed your review, great review. Keep up the awesome reviews!
Thank you!
Zen: Intergalactic Ninja was one of my favorite games when i was a kid.
Hard mode makes game much hurder)) Enemies inflict more damage, you have less time in time-based missons etc. Final boss on hard mode really nasty.
This is one of my fav game❤️❤️❤️.Thx for review 🙂👍
Looks like the NES was pushed to its limits on this one compared to the other titles . Very underrated gem yet has so much life to it . Great video ! :-)
Thank you
This is easily one of the best games on the platform. It has a lot of variety in its gameplay. Each main level is different with different objectives. How many other games did that on the platform? Probably none. The sound music and design are insane. Toxic rain forest theme is probably my favourite ost on the NES overall. It’s epic!
This game looks gorgeous. This is a great review and I will tell you why, you make me want to play the game.
I'm glad you liked it
@@Cannotbetamed1 I will try it out later on my psp.
I definitely remember seeing this in Nintendo Power well into the SNES era and thinking it looked cool, and wondered why there wasn't a SNES version.
Never heard of this game but it definitely looks interesting. It came out 2 years after I was born. For it's time, it seems to be slightly innovative in a few ways. Minigames, different camera angles, interesting game mechanics like zen. There's most likely other nes games that played with the same mechanics but this one looks like a bundle of interesting game ideas. It sucks when someone puts a shit load of work into a game and it never gets properly noticed. Badass video, P!
Thanks!
This is one of those games I've heard of but never really checked into. This definitely looks like peak NES graphics
I find it funny that despite fighting the end boss while hovering in space, there is a floor.
Moin Pam^^ Greetings from Germany ( I´am watching you since the Episode of Isolated Warrior, one of the Games that abandon under my Desk
in a pile of LJN games for 15 years^^ )
A perfect review! I would certainly like to play this game.
Thanks!
It does indeed look awesome graphically, but so many ISO's I suck at and I rage pretty quick with the jumping mechanics. Great vid though, top notch
I wasn't aware of this game back in the day. It's incredibly advanced for a NES title.
because snes was already out, be like releasing a new ps3 game exclusive now. i would hope and assume it was advanced since it was 1993
I thought the title was maybe a tad hyperbolic, but after watching, damn, it MIGHT just be true. At least it's a contender.
The style of the backgrounds is very similar to that of Contra. Wouldn't be surprised if the same people worked on both.
The variation in gameplay could also be an improvement on the Contra formula maybe?
Nice review anyway. Didn't know this game, and it's a good find.
Wow! I didn't know NES games could look this good .
Omg yes love this game. And definitely one of the best looking games on the system. My daughter is a huge fan btw everytime a new video is up she is excited to try whatever game,games your talking about. At 9 she can run through mega man 2 3 and 4 and she's beaten contra 3 with me twice now lol.
Wow, that's impressive!
I thought you said she did it at three and was collecting myself. But its great to show kids the classics first, that way modern graphics don't poison the well.
My nephew really loves the classic NES library. Thiugh I started him with Dragonball Advanced.
I miss the days when Konami knew what they were doing.
The gameplay looks great for this game. The game engine looks like it would have possibly been an amazing TMNT game with some work. The late NES games sure look and handle well. Thanks for the video I had no idea this game existed.
No problem, glad you found something new
You are making me want to give this game another shot. I liked it but never beat it.
i still gotta play this one someday, good review
Thanks!
I totally agree, I didn't play it on its release, I only got to know it much later and in my opinion ZEN, METAL STORM and LITTLLE NEMO DREAM MASTER have the most amazing NES graphics.
METAL STORM just had a special rerelease with a little statue and a real NES cart. I am so happy I own it, I played Metal Storm all the time as a kid
I need to try Little Nemo, I haven't played that one
Damn, this looks really, REALLY good! I'm going to have to pick this one up sometime. Would have been amazing to see a SNES port with upgraded graphics and sound. Can you imagine? Probably would have been considered one of the greatest of all time for the console. It's unfortunate that this came out so near the end of the NES' lifespan. I'm sure that very few people even knew about it's existence at the time, but those few people who still hadn't moved on to next gen for whatever reason sure got quite the treat!
I got some serious "Shatterhand" vibes from the enviroments in this game. Looks like a good game and thanks for a good video!
Back in the day before Konami's ashes were scattered somewhere between japan and realism. Amazing programming and art, considering famicom limitations.
Looks like a modern 8bit style indie.
I don't know about Konami's ashes, but their zombified corpse is only interested in pachinkos
@@ulti-mantis and zombie's the word, Konami used to be top game developers I don't know what they are now, handing over a franchise like castlevania to mercury stream or whatever they called, it's just simulation with a pedo choir singing in the background.
Holy crap, you've unlocked a forgotten memory for me
I dig the art style, and liked the level by level breakdown
Thanks!
This level at 1:42 reminds me of the arcade version of Indiana Jones & the Temple of Doom.
Nice review. Makes me want to go check out! Thanks.
No problem
Nice never knew this game existed going to have to check it out
That's kind of cool I remember reading the comics but I never knew they made a game of it
Hey that game looks pretty wild, thanks for sharing! 🙆♀️
No problem :)
Just came across your video. it's awesome! just subscribed
Thanks! Welcome!
I never knew this game existed, Thank you!!!
No problem :)