Super Nintendo: Rampart
February 19, 2008 - 10:56 pm - Posted by Sean R.
Rampart is without a doubt one of the most innovative and unique games ever made for the Super Nintendo (SNES).
If you enjoy puzzle games, especially Tetris, you’ll love Rampart because the building blocks are practically the same. If your a fan of blowing stuff up, you’ll also want to try this one out.
Game play:
Puzzle aspects, strategy, firing cannons, and amphibious assaults are all a part of this SNES classic.
Basically, you select a castle to defend, load it with cannons, attack the enemy while they attack you, then you rebuild and try to enclose other castles as you repair your first one.
Then you load in more cannons and repeat. If you can’t re-enclose your castle or find another to enclose, consider yourself conquered.
The controls are fairly good. Shooting at enemy ships in one-player mode is sort of tricky though until you get the hang of it. The enemies do get more difficult as the game goes on and they also develop more advanced weaponry.
This game was definitely designed to be a two-player game. I remember when I first played Rampart back in the early 90s. My little brother and I never tired of completely destroying each other in two-player combat.
Graphics/Visual Effects:
This is the only place where the game falters. The graphics are rather bland and unimaginative. The enemy ships are especially bad. The background colors are decent and the cannonballs look cool as they fly around the map.
Audio:
There really isn’t that much music, but the music that is played has a distinct, battleground air to it that is perfect for this game. The man who gives the commands during the game also complements the game.
Replay Value:
The one-player offers some replay value as you can choose different castles to defend each time. The enemy also never attacks you in the same way so rebuilding is also a unique experience each time. Replaying this game with a friend is the ideal way to play.
To Be or Not to Be?
I would definitely pick this one up if you don’t already own it. Whether its puzzles you like or you simply enjoy blowing stuff up; definitely look into Rampart.
Even if puzzles aren’t your thing, Rampart is a really solid 2-player game that can provide mindless enjoyment for hours on end.
As an added bonus, Rampart was also released for both the NES and Sega Genesis. I’ve never played it on a Genesis.
I do prefer the SNES version over the NES since it’s a lot closer to the original coin-op version but both are a classic gaming good time.
Overall this classic fortress building, cannon shooting, ship sinking, reinforcing, puzzle game of extraordinary proportions, is a definite must play.
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