I remember going to the video club every weekend with my Dad to pick out a Genesis game and an action movie on VHS. We must have rented this game so many times, because my Dad eventually just asked the clerk to order us one to purchase. I actually still have this game in mint condition, box and manual too. So many great hours sitting on the carpet in front of the TV blasting away at hundreds of bad guys. Man, I miss my Dad.
@@darkchild130 I'm sorry to hear that. :( I do cherish all of the memories of my father. (And the rest of my family) It's always nice to think back to the days of being a kid, everything was always so magical.
@@darklordojeda Thanks, man. Yes, I think back to those wonderful years very often. Seeing videos like this always bring me back to those days, hanging out in the living room with my Dad. The games that always pop up in my head are Rambo 3, Last Battle (Hokuto no Ken), and streets of rage.
I just love the fact Rutger Hauer is the spy that needs rescuing in the second mission, despite never appearing in the movie! :D But I spent my birthday money as a kid buying a Japanese copy of the game!
It bears mentioning that killing enemies that are running around with the knife can cause them to drop power ups, they only drop them when you kill them this way, if they die any other way they won't drop anything.
Can't beat the old days. I still play mega drive game's to this very day. Today's games are good but so violent and dark. I remember playing walking dead the point and click adventure. I tell u I was emotionally and physically exhausted. How many old school games made us feel that way!?
The opening part with the parallax scrolling, and the searchlight from the helicopter, looked mindblowing in 1989/1990, when I first saw it, and the boss battles looked spectacular as well.
Nagai Kazuhiko - the Sega composer behind the music for this game - uploaded a rip of his original demos for these songs onto his RUclips channel, and they're amazing.
I didn't discover this game until emulation started popping up around 1998 or so, and I remember thinking "This game is great! How did I miss this one?" But honestly that was easy to do back in the day, while the early internet was starting to catch on and emulators were nowhere where they are today, you had to be in the right place and the right time to rent/buy/play a game; everything is at our fingertips now.
Yeah, unless you had every single issue of a mega drive magazine, you would miss tons and tons of great games simply because you didn't know they even existed. Even _WITH_ the magazines you'd still miss a lot of them. We all make fun of the "HIDDEN GEM!!!“ type videos on RUclips. But they are very necessary. And it's great that unknown great games are becoming popular finally, cos of these videos, even if they only got popular 30 years too late, but oh well. Most of my favourite mega drive games these days are ones I never even heard of back in the day in the early 90s. Like Dynamite Heddy, one of the best mega drive games, period. But I don't think I ever saw it anywhere, in any shop, or available to rent in any blockbusters. I probably did see it, and just didn't like the look of it or something. I wish I could go back in time and give my younger self a list of all these great games, so I could play them throughout my childhood, because having games as a kid is different from having them as an adult, and especially back then we'd get only 2 new games a year, one at Xmas and one for your birthday. So we never had many games, and that meant we had to play the games we _did_ have to death. You'd get really good at them, playing them and dying every time for month after month after month until you can get through it all without dying. I don't have that kind of dedication and focus anymore, I don't want to have to spend months of practice just to be able to see the whole game of something like contra hard corps. Not to mention you have much much less spare time as an adult. So these days I use save states. But back then, there were no save states, you had to beat the game fair and square, unless there were certain cheat codes, but with no widespread Internet available back then, you had to get lucky that you could find the cheat codes in a magazine or something, cos if not then you'd probably have no way of learning them except maybe from other kids at school who had the same game and had a magazine with the cheat codes in. You couldn't really just fire up your computer and Google for codes, because Google didn't exist, most search engines didn't exist, most websites were just forums at that time, there were few if any repositories of cheat codes for games like a sort of GameFAQs website. So you'd have to ask on these forums and hope someone knows the cheat codes. Kids of today have no idea what it's like to live in a world without the Internet, because they never had that chance to live that way. I'm so so glad the Internet does exist nowadays though, so we can easily find the best unknown games for consoles by just googling for it
One of my late friends who had one of the first megadrives in the UK via Japan import had this in his bundle... so it does have a place in my heart this one.
how long did it take your friend in the U.K. to buy, get, purchase a MD via Japan import? were the MD games better made (quality)? was the advantage the friend got the MD games 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12 months sooner? was the disadvantage the MD games were written in Japanese?
@@jasonlee7816 first question can't answer. It was over 30 year ago and I can't ask him as he died of a heroin overdose in 1999. Games were all in Japanese mainly. Carts were different shape but he sold me twin cobra women's wrestling and a aleste musha to feed his habit. All I had to do was remove the plastic shell of the cart so it was a circuit board and it played on my slow 50hz uk mega drive. His dad got it I believe, but of a strange family. Weren't amazingly well off and ran a little tuk-shop. Also after his initial run of games I don't think any new ones were bought. He never took care of things and I remember seeing the megadrive years later in a sorry state where you needed a spoon to push the power on... Its a tragic tale of addiction and loss in that family. The sister died a year earlier in the 90s and was due to be an up and comin pop star but had a random brain hemorrhage aged 25....
This was one of my first purchases, and for what it was, (an early Genesis release) I enjoyed the heck out of it. I mean, c’mon, Rambo was cool back then. 😊 When I decided to regain my collection almost 10 years ago, this was one of my first purchases again.
I never knew the cartridge memory was so small, the boss stages were impressive and were used in some of the advertising of the time. Shows what could be achieved with limited resources.
I got my Sega Genesis on Christmas of 1989 just like you and man, was it amazing. I had three games to start with- Altered Beast, Space Harrier II, and Ghouls n' Ghosts. They also promised to get me Phantasy Star II when we could actually find a copy. Aside from that I had two friends that had a Genesis as well and we swapped games like crazy. That and the rental stores near my home had just about every game available for rent. What was really cool was given how new the Genesis was you could always find something to play as not many people had one yet. What a time to be a gamer! Addendum- I think the water in Rambo 3 looked incredible.
While I have no nostalgia for most of the pre Revenge of Shinobi era on the Mega Drive, and have never played Rambo, these early titles have a unique charm to them, much like the early NES black box games, while they're simple, they're charm is unique and every successful console have two aspects in this regard, most first and the later titles feel so different. I do have nostalgia for the SMS Rambo III, a Light Phaser game I played a lot with a friend back then. As time goes on and games become even more impressive, I find simple games and hardware, such as the original Game Boy so charming, the games are so simple and so fun to play. The eras I mostly play is from the 8, 16 up to the 32-bit, but I do love the 128-bit era as well.
I didn't get a Genesis until Sonic was the pack in, but my uncle had one, and he was an early adopter of video game culture so he had basement shelves full of games. I liked this one a lot, but I never compared it to other Genesis games, I compared it to other Rambo games. When your options were this or the NES Rambo, this looked pretty sweet. I like the simplicity of it and the realism (relative to those more off-script movie games you mention.) It reminded me of Contra with the enemies coming in a constant stream from all sides, even without the weapon power ups. It's not really fair to compare it to any Genesis games but those early ones, stack it up against Altered Beast and it's not so short or paltry an experience. Still a fun play even today because it keeps you on your toes.
I've always loved the Rambo franchise. My only complaint with this game is that it's missing other scenes from the movie, such as the fight in the cave and especially the final battle with Colonel Zaysen.
Sorry for the loss of your father brother. John's speech at the end of First Blood is what I show people when they incorrectly say Stallone "can't act".
@@MrSez1979 Even a broken clock strikes right twice a day. That being said, Rambo is pretty much the perfect role for him. And even if he can't act that well in general... I do enjoy quite a few Stallone movies. Same for many other classic action stars. The newer ones we have these days simply don't leave quite as much impact.
@@thenonexistinghero I agree completely. The stars today pale in comparison to the action heros of yesterday. Like you said, "less of an impact"... Quite LITERALLY! 👊👊
This was one of the first game on the Genesis I seen and played when I was a kid. I remember being blown away when a near photo-realistic picture of Rambo popped up in the opening screen. The game is fun too. I thought it was better than the NES Rambo game. Not bad for a pre-Sonic Genesis game.
I still come back to this game often, apart from the massive feeling of nostalgia I get when playing it, it is a good game to have a quick blast on and from a time before micro transactions, downloadable updates and the like. In the UK the game was priced cheaper than most other Megadrive games and so the small amount of levels and playtime was not an issue at all.
I love this game then, I love it now. It's one of my top ten genesis games. I love everything about it. Listening to the music via the headphones on the mark 1 genesis sold me on 16-bit games. I play it as often as I can on emulators.
My parents once said I could have a new Genesis game as a gift. I narrowed my choices down to this and Air Diver. I went with Air Diver, which I enjoyed for a while, but always wondered what it would have been like if I'd chosen Rambo III instead. A couple years later, I finally found out. I definitely would have had more fun with Rambo III, but I was still a bit underwhelmed by it. Either way, I'd rather have fond memories of an average game than bad memories of a lousy game. I guess, in the end, I have no regrets.
Great timing for the review. I've been revisiting the Rambo movies (since the first one takes place at Christmastime). After seeing this one brought up occasionally in videos on the early days of the Genesis, it's great to get a full-on Rambo III review. I've never played it, but it looks fun for an early title on new hardware.
The games based on Rambo III were pretty badass for their day... I happen to have ROMs of this Genesis port as well as the Master System lightgun shooter, the MS-DOS version and the legendary arcade game from Taito that is the best of these tie-in games for this particular movie. BTW, did you notice that Colonel Zaysen here looks like Rutger Hauer?
The simplicity of this game really works in its favor for me. I really like the sway shot when stationary and straight shot when moving. Never saw the movies, but liked this game at the time, and because it is short and simple is usually one I’ll bust out for retro game nights. I really enjoyed your review.
I think it was a game ahead of this time. Some stages are open , you can choose your way and how to use your wepons. The concept is similar to modern games.
It's crazy how much my child brain made this game look better than it does. The helicopter bosses have NO animation. There were like 4 total enemy sprites. I thought hiding behind cover while a tank was trying to take you out was so dope. And I'm watching it now like... dude. Nostalgia really does make everything a nice, rosy color.
One of the very first games I purchased for my Genesis console. I had so mush enjoyment using the many weapons at your disposal to get you thru different obstacles like the machine gun to plow thru enemies, or blow up vehicles with the explosive tip arrows and use time bombs that you actually see counting down to break thru barriers. Just so different from your typical and gun game. And those large one on one battles with super large helicopters and tanks just put it over the top. Such an unforgettable experience.
My friend picked this up at launch and I remember being really impressed with the behind the shoulder boss segments. Not surprising since I had an NES at the time.
This could easily have been the basis for a megadrive version of metal gear. I always remember it as one of the bargain basement games like golden axe, last battle etc when compared to sonic 2, and sor2. Still solid fun and the 2 player kept it some what playable with friends.
Fantastic assessment as per usual SLX. I fondly recall receiving the game for my birthday when it first came out. Even though the graphics weren't on par with my favorite game at that time, Revenge of Shinobi, it still felt like a next gen title. Even when I take off the rose-tinted glasses of nostalgia, I still feel this is a very enjoyable game. It was like "comfort food", as you said. Ahh I miss those simpler times. I think that's a huge reason why many of us are drawn to these games of our childhood. Please please keep up the amazing content SLX, for it is loved by us! God bless brother!
I've passed this one over alot because it's a movie tie in but it definitely looks worth a shot. Being someone who grew up with the Genesis but not old enough to buy my own games during its life it's been interesting "finding" nostalgia in games I never played back then.
I used to challenge myself to get through the secret agent stage using only my knife. I played it like a stealth title. Haha. I’ve got a lot of memories playing this game
Yes the selection of games at launch was very low. I remember purchasing the first soccer game just because there was nothing new but that game. I’m not a soccer fan but it would have to do back then. Rambo 3 was something me, my brother and our friend enjoyed back then. Good video.
Your review is spot on to me. I had this game when it came out and you are right. It was fun back then and is still fun today but if you never played it then there are much better games that came out after it. I dug the boss fights and they were pretty amazing demonstrations of Genesis power back then.
Seeing this type of game always made me wonder why no developer tried to make a ww2 game , this top down shooter style would have been jaw dropping with a Normandy beach landing stage in this style
My brother own this. I remember doing the special timing on second stage where no one will shoot at you for the rest of the gam😢, except boss stages. You could go through the game only have to use the knife.
This was my deluxe version of Ikari Warriors. The lack of co~op was sad to me considering that was the in piece option for games of this type for the Genesis.
I use to play the game when I use to rent it. Despite it being a bit short, I enjoy playing Rambo III. It makes feel like Rambo, especially in some levels, I use the knife to take down enemies, just to get extra lives. Other than that, nothing wrong going all gung-ho on your enemies. When your name is Rambo, running and gunning is the only option, that and playing Contra every once in a while. Nicely done. 😉
SLX, if you factor in how small the cartridge size was this was actually a fun game. My brother and I played it and finished it rather quickly - we'd often return to it as it was a quicker game that you could replay and put away just as easily.
This was my first game for the mega drive after the pack in Altered Beast. My parents had got me Alex Kidd which I took back to Dixons and swapped for Rambo. I loved it.
Played and finished this one for the first time when i got it in my collection in 2018 and really liked it. The end credits music is outstanding and for me the visuals are good, the gameplay is good, rambo moves fast making it easy to dodge the enemy bullets and it has a melee atack something that was and still is rare in a run and gun game.
Luckily for me, it was among my very first Sega games, so I loved it. Looking back, yeah, it is kinda poor on the content, but it gives it that unique feel of the early 16-bit stuff, which is kinda cool in a way.
I remember renting this in 1997 with my buddy. We were 14. Played it once and had a blast! We also rented Predator 2 that day and loved it as well. Funny how well we remember playing a game only once.
This was one of my early Genesis games. I got the console week 1. I played this game a lot and really loved it. It was a cut above most of its contemporaries. I saw it as NES Metal Gear meets Contra. And those boss battles were simply gorgeous. I have much affection for this game, but never play it anymore. I guess you just had to be there.
This game passed me buy during the Megadrive lifespan, although I read several reviews of it. I've played it a few times now as a retro game and I think your review is fair.
@@jasonlee7816 Because of the simple but engaging gameplay that is frowned upon by Sega fans. It's essentially an arcade style top down gun shooter. The game isn't perfect by any stretch. Two player coop would have been ideal. The music is great, better than a lot of mainstream Genesis/MD games. Not for everyone but great in it's own right.
It looks decent for a quick run. The thing is if you're starved for games at launch for any new game console, you'll probably be happy to play _anything_ ! I might try this one and just keep expectations in check. Though, after the playing the likes of Gunstar Heroes and Contra Hard Corps, it might be a challenge! 😅
Unbelievable amount of comments in such a short time! All echoing my same sentiments. Amazing!! This was the 1st launch title I got after playing Altered Beast, I believe. Also got Space Harrier II, Last Battle. For me it was about what the Genesis could do, and many of these early games were simply to show off the power of the system. You have to put it in perspective, like you guys said. There was nothing else to compare the early titles to, and therefore they were more impressive back then. There are several things about Rambo III that still impress me. I love this type of game for starters. It was better than a lot of movie games before it. The graphics were impressive at the time, with many little details like the opening doors, shadows, water 💦 effects, just to name a few. But the biggest thing for me was the music! The second stage music and sound effects really showed off the sound hardware of the system and blew me away. Lots of Nostalgia for this game. Also the digitized pics of the actors. Great stuff at the time. But you can’t compare it to later games like Revenge of Shinobi. So it all boils down to when you played the games I think. Excellent comments on this one guys. And thank you for the review SLX. 😃👍🏻
It was Christmas...some year We just moved from West Germany back to the states. Bro opened up his and had a Genesis along with the Immortal. Sometime after, he left for college. Being with a Genesis we picked one up but I remember this fondly because i also picked up an Aliens gorilla and an Aliens bull type... No idea why but of all my memories I've forgotten over my many years, this one still sticks out.
In 1989 this game would have been graphically spectacular. I've never played it but I bet back in the day taking on those war helicopters head-on with those huge sprites was amazing. Some of us were still playing Atari back then.
My lord, what experiences, if any, did you have with Sword of Vermilion and Thunder Force II growing up? The Genesis was the first console I bought myself as a kid (got a paper route to do it because I wanted the Genesis to compliment the SNES my parents bought me). Mine was a newly released Model 2 and two of the games I bought with it were Sword of Vermilion and Thunder Force II. I had no idea what they were about but they were discounted at the time and I was not disappointed.
I would have played Thunder Force II not long after I got my Genesis but I was never any good at it. The overhead stages crushed my will to play it. Swords of Vermillion came through my buddy Chris but I never owned it myself back then. I borrowed it a bunch trying to beat it but it's a hard game and I don't think I ever did.
A perfect example of a rental game in my opinion! A good fun game worth playing, short and sweet. Owning it wasn't worth it because of the length but renting it and going through everyone a few times sure was !
They kept it simple and I remember having a lot of fun with it when it came out even though it was pretty easy to get through There was an operation wolf style version of rambo 3 on the master system which I thought was insanely difficult because I could never aim well w the light gun lol
The first time I played Rambo 3 was when I'd rented the cartridge. It may not be a complete experience in every way, but it certainly gets the job done...it's quite reminiscent of arcade games. The soundtracks may be very few, but I find them very impressive and atmospheric. In all, I loved this title.
Thank goodness for my single mom knowing next to nothing about video games when I was growing up. She bought me Secret of Mana for SNES, and as a kid I did not enjoy it. Now at 36 it's a def top 5 favorite of mine. I listen to the OST often. I recently asked her what was your motivation back then when you'd pick me up a game for Christmas or a b-day? She said she grabbed them randomly or based on the cover art. Mario and Sonic were always a must grab so I'm thankful she knew those 2 characters. Except Mario's Time Machine 🤐😰. That was the most disappointing game I ever got growing up😅. I had 0 clue how to play it because I am not a trivia buff at all. I would literally just walk around and jump and that was about it.
Had a bootleg SEGA with integrated games, one was this, among omega race (?), NBA live 98 (loved it) & more. Needless to say I spent so much time with it. Total banger.
I remember playing this game and enjoyed it. I was also glad it stayed true to the movies, by giving Rambo unlimited bullets in his machine guns
🤣 🤣 🤣 🤣
Too bad waving it around didn't actually hit everyone perfectly and no bullet can ever hit you lol
Ha, good one👍
The only time Rambo stops shooting is to briefly drink some raw eggs. Actually, he can do that with his spare hand :P
Hahahaha! Like hot shots part deux
I remember going to the video club every weekend with my Dad to pick out a Genesis game and an action movie on VHS. We must have rented this game
so many times, because my Dad eventually just asked the clerk to order us one to purchase. I actually still have this game in mint condition, box
and manual too. So many great hours sitting on the carpet in front of the TV blasting away at hundreds of bad guys. Man, I miss my Dad.
I never knew my dad, I hope you cherish those memories
@@darkchild130 I'm sorry to hear that. :( I do cherish all of the memories of my father. (And the rest of my family) It's always nice to think back to the days of being a kid, everything was always so magical.
Sorry that your dad is gone. These memories that you have will last forever.
@@darklordojeda Thanks, man. Yes, I think back to those wonderful years very often. Seeing videos like this always bring me back to those days, hanging out in the living room with my Dad. The games that always pop up in my head are Rambo 3, Last Battle (Hokuto no Ken), and streets of rage.
Sorry to hear about your Dad. My favorite game on the Sega Genesis is Rambo III.
The boss stages were insane for a 1989 launch window game
I just love the fact Rutger Hauer is the spy that needs rescuing in the second mission, despite never appearing in the movie! :D
But I spent my birthday money as a kid buying a Japanese copy of the game!
The comment sections in SLX videos are so blessed. Reading the old stories being shared and all the love and support make me feel genuinely happy.
It bears mentioning that killing enemies that are running around with the knife can cause them to drop power ups, they only drop them when you kill them this way, if they die any other way they won't drop anything.
Nobody knows how awesome this looked in the day. Like it really felt photorealistic. I rented this so much back then
Can't beat the old days.
I still play mega drive game's to this very day.
Today's games are good but so violent and dark.
I remember playing walking dead the point and click adventure.
I tell u I was emotionally and physically exhausted.
How many old school games made us feel that way!?
Same here dude
The opening part with the parallax scrolling, and the searchlight from the helicopter, looked mindblowing in 1989/1990, when I first saw it, and the boss battles looked spectacular as well.
@@mickmook1317 there are loads of great indie retro games these days
@@necrosadotor yeah I know.
Nagai Kazuhiko - the Sega composer behind the music for this game - uploaded a rip of his original demos for these songs onto his RUclips channel, and they're amazing.
I didn't discover this game until emulation started popping up around 1998 or so, and I remember thinking "This game is great! How did I miss this one?" But honestly that was easy to do back in the day, while the early internet was starting to catch on and emulators were nowhere where they are today, you had to be in the right place and the right time to rent/buy/play a game; everything is at our fingertips now.
Yeah, unless you had every single issue of a mega drive magazine, you would miss tons and tons of great games simply because you didn't know they even existed. Even _WITH_ the magazines you'd still miss a lot of them. We all make fun of the "HIDDEN GEM!!!“ type videos on RUclips. But they are very necessary. And it's great that unknown great games are becoming popular finally, cos of these videos, even if they only got popular 30 years too late, but oh well.
Most of my favourite mega drive games these days are ones I never even heard of back in the day in the early 90s. Like Dynamite Heddy, one of the best mega drive games, period. But I don't think I ever saw it anywhere, in any shop, or available to rent in any blockbusters. I probably did see it, and just didn't like the look of it or something.
I wish I could go back in time and give my younger self a list of all these great games, so I could play them throughout my childhood, because having games as a kid is different from having them as an adult, and especially back then we'd get only 2 new games a year, one at Xmas and one for your birthday. So we never had many games, and that meant we had to play the games we _did_ have to death. You'd get really good at them, playing them and dying every time for month after month after month until you can get through it all without dying. I don't have that kind of dedication and focus anymore, I don't want to have to spend months of practice just to be able to see the whole game of something like contra hard corps. Not to mention you have much much less spare time as an adult. So these days I use save states. But back then, there were no save states, you had to beat the game fair and square, unless there were certain cheat codes, but with no widespread Internet available back then, you had to get lucky that you could find the cheat codes in a magazine or something, cos if not then you'd probably have no way of learning them except maybe from other kids at school who had the same game and had a magazine with the cheat codes in. You couldn't really just fire up your computer and Google for codes, because Google didn't exist, most search engines didn't exist, most websites were just forums at that time, there were few if any repositories of cheat codes for games like a sort of GameFAQs website. So you'd have to ask on these forums and hope someone knows the cheat codes.
Kids of today have no idea what it's like to live in a world without the Internet, because they never had that chance to live that way. I'm so so glad the Internet does exist nowadays though, so we can easily find the best unknown games for consoles by just googling for it
One of my late friends who had one of the first megadrives in the UK via Japan import had this in his bundle... so it does have a place in my heart this one.
how long did it take your friend in the U.K. to buy, get, purchase a MD via Japan import?
were the MD games better made (quality)?
was the advantage the friend got the MD games 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12 months sooner?
was the disadvantage the MD games were written in Japanese?
@@jasonlee7816 first question can't answer. It was over 30 year ago and I can't ask him as he died of a heroin overdose in 1999.
Games were all in Japanese mainly. Carts were different shape but he sold me twin cobra women's wrestling and a aleste musha to feed his habit. All I had to do was remove the plastic shell of the cart so it was a circuit board and it played on my slow 50hz uk mega drive.
His dad got it I believe, but of a strange family. Weren't amazingly well off and ran a little tuk-shop.
Also after his initial run of games I don't think any new ones were bought.
He never took care of things and I remember seeing the megadrive years later in a sorry state where you needed a spoon to push the power on...
Its a tragic tale of addiction and loss in that family.
The sister died a year earlier in the 90s and was due to be an up and comin pop star but had a random brain hemorrhage aged 25....
This was one of my first purchases, and for what it was, (an early Genesis release) I enjoyed the heck out of it. I mean, c’mon, Rambo was cool back then. 😊 When I decided to regain my collection almost 10 years ago, this was one of my first purchases again.
I never knew the cartridge memory was so small, the boss stages were impressive and were used in some of the advertising of the time. Shows what could be achieved with limited resources.
Memory costed a lot back then The limitations on snes and genesis was due to cost of memory.
@@gjergjaurelius9798gradually over time the cost was less then more megabits (memory) was used in the MD / SNES cartridge games
I got my Sega Genesis on Christmas of 1989 just like you and man, was it amazing. I had three games to start with- Altered Beast, Space Harrier II, and Ghouls n' Ghosts. They also promised to get me Phantasy Star II when we could actually find a copy. Aside from that I had two friends that had a Genesis as well and we swapped games like crazy. That and the rental stores near my home had just about every game available for rent. What was really cool was given how new the Genesis was you could always find something to play as not many people had one yet. What a time to be a gamer!
Addendum- I think the water in Rambo 3 looked incredible.
My first exposure to this game was it's cameo in the movie "Four Rooms", where Ted the Bellhop calls his stoner boss who's playing it with her friend.
These are the best comments. Ones we can learn something from. Thanks for the pop culture reference reference (is that correct grammar? :P)
@@phattjohnson Naturally the game footage shown was one of the impressive looking boss fights.
And what’s interesting - when it cuts back to show the gameplay in the film, it’s the 8-bit Rambo for NES.
While I have no nostalgia for most of the pre Revenge of Shinobi era on the Mega Drive, and have never played Rambo, these early titles have a unique charm to them, much like the early NES black box games, while they're simple, they're charm is unique and every successful console have two aspects in this regard, most first and the later titles feel so different.
I do have nostalgia for the SMS Rambo III, a Light Phaser game I played a lot with a friend back then.
As time goes on and games become even more impressive, I find simple games and hardware, such as the original Game Boy so charming, the games are so simple and so fun to play. The eras I mostly play is from the 8, 16 up to the 32-bit, but I do love the 128-bit era as well.
I didn't get a Genesis until Sonic was the pack in, but my uncle had one, and he was an early adopter of video game culture so he had basement shelves full of games. I liked this one a lot, but I never compared it to other Genesis games, I compared it to other Rambo games. When your options were this or the NES Rambo, this looked pretty sweet. I like the simplicity of it and the realism (relative to those more off-script movie games you mention.) It reminded me of Contra with the enemies coming in a constant stream from all sides, even without the weapon power ups. It's not really fair to compare it to any Genesis games but those early ones, stack it up against Altered Beast and it's not so short or paltry an experience. Still a fun play even today because it keeps you on your toes.
Cool uncle. Kind of a visionary at the time, video games were largely considered children's toys back then.
A game that has been overlooked I feel. Each stage while difficult felt important and liked how it followed the movie.
I've always loved the Rambo franchise. My only complaint with this game is that it's missing other scenes from the movie, such as the fight in the cave and especially the final battle with Colonel Zaysen.
A game that will remain forever in my memory since I played it in my childhood. The music is legendary. Yes, the stages are as short as AlexKidd.
First Blood was the first R rated movie I ever watched with my dad. I miss him, but I'm gonna watch it with my son when he hits the same age
Sorry for the loss of your father brother. John's speech at the end of First Blood is what I show people when they incorrectly say Stallone "can't act".
@@MrSez1979 Even a broken clock strikes right twice a day. That being said, Rambo is pretty much the perfect role for him. And even if he can't act that well in general... I do enjoy quite a few Stallone movies. Same for many other classic action stars. The newer ones we have these days simply don't leave quite as much impact.
@@thenonexistinghero I agree completely. The stars today pale in comparison to the action heros of yesterday. Like you said, "less of an impact"... Quite LITERALLY! 👊👊
You know I never noticed but they animated the shadows when the doors open which is pretty neat
This game takes me back, I remember playing this game for hours on in when I had it. So many fond memories....
This was one of the first game on the Genesis I seen and played when I was a kid. I remember being blown away when a near photo-realistic picture of Rambo popped up in the opening screen.
The game is fun too. I thought it was better than the NES Rambo game. Not bad for a pre-Sonic Genesis game.
Fighting a hind with a bow... And otacon was impressed when snake took one out with a stinger.
I still come back to this game often, apart from the massive feeling of nostalgia I get when playing it, it is a good game to have a quick blast on and from a time before micro transactions, downloadable updates and the like. In the UK the game was priced cheaper than most other Megadrive games and so the small amount of levels and playtime was not an issue at all.
I love this game then, I love it now. It's one of my top ten genesis games. I love everything about it. Listening to the music via the headphones on the mark 1 genesis sold me on 16-bit games. I play it as often as I can on emulators.
Personally I love this game. Played it back as a kid, still love it now.
My parents once said I could have a new Genesis game as a gift. I narrowed my choices down to this and Air Diver. I went with Air Diver, which I enjoyed for a while, but always wondered what it would have been like if I'd chosen Rambo III instead. A couple years later, I finally found out. I definitely would have had more fun with Rambo III, but I was still a bit underwhelmed by it. Either way, I'd rather have fond memories of an average game than bad memories of a lousy game.
I guess, in the end, I have no regrets.
Great timing for the review. I've been revisiting the Rambo movies (since the first one takes place at Christmastime). After seeing this one brought up occasionally in videos on the early days of the Genesis, it's great to get a full-on Rambo III review. I've never played it, but it looks fun for an early title on new hardware.
8 years old in 82 and saw it on video… Damn I’m blessed .. I was 12 years old in 82 and saw it in the cinema on opening night…
The games based on Rambo III were pretty badass for their day...
I happen to have ROMs of this Genesis port as well as the Master System lightgun shooter, the MS-DOS version and the legendary arcade game from Taito that is the best of these tie-in games for this particular movie.
BTW, did you notice that Colonel Zaysen here looks like Rutger Hauer?
The simplicity of this game really works in its favor for me. I really like the sway shot when stationary and straight shot when moving. Never saw the movies, but liked this game at the time, and because it is short and simple is usually one I’ll bust out for retro game nights. I really enjoyed your review.
For '89 to '90 this game looks like a hell of a time for me... we're talking be4 the Snes here! Man Sega was always ahead of their time!
I think it was a game ahead of this time. Some stages are open , you can choose your way and how to use your wepons. The concept is similar to modern games.
Have to agree with you. This was my first Genesis game and after replaying it recently via emulation, I felt the same way as you did.
It's crazy how much my child brain made this game look better than it does. The helicopter bosses have NO animation. There were like 4 total enemy sprites. I thought hiding behind cover while a tank was trying to take you out was so dope. And I'm watching it now like... dude. Nostalgia really does make everything a nice, rosy color.
One of the very first games I purchased for my Genesis console. I had so mush enjoyment using the many weapons at your disposal to get you thru different obstacles like the machine gun to plow thru enemies, or blow up vehicles with the explosive tip arrows and use time bombs that you actually see counting down to break thru barriers. Just so different from your typical and gun game. And those large one on one battles with super large helicopters and tanks just put it over the top. Such an unforgettable experience.
I remember Rambo III being one of those games I'd put in from time to time to feel like I was better at games than I was, lol.
My friend picked this up at launch and I remember being really impressed with the behind the shoulder boss segments. Not surprising since I had an NES at the time.
This could easily have been the basis for a megadrive version of metal gear. I always remember it as one of the bargain basement games like golden axe, last battle etc when compared to sonic 2, and sor2. Still solid fun and the 2 player kept it some what playable with friends.
Fantastic assessment as per usual SLX. I fondly recall receiving the game for my birthday when it first came out. Even though the graphics weren't on par with my favorite game at that time, Revenge of Shinobi, it still felt like a next gen title. Even when I take off the rose-tinted glasses of nostalgia, I still feel this is a very enjoyable game. It was like "comfort food", as you said.
Ahh I miss those simpler times. I think that's a huge reason why many of us are drawn to these games of our childhood.
Please please keep up the amazing content SLX, for it is loved by us! God bless brother!
I remember getting the SNES first when I went in the NAVY back in 90. Then bought the Genesis in 91 or 92. Loved both Systems.
I've passed this one over alot because it's a movie tie in but it definitely looks worth a shot. Being someone who grew up with the Genesis but not old enough to buy my own games during its life it's been interesting "finding" nostalgia in games I never played back then.
I have fond memories of playing both this and Predator 2 when I was sick as a child, as rentals. Those arrows were satisfying 😊👍
I used to challenge myself to get through the secret agent stage using only my knife. I played it like a stealth title. Haha. I’ve got a lot of memories playing this game
Yes the selection of games at launch was very low. I remember purchasing the first soccer game just because there was nothing new but that game. I’m not a soccer fan but it would have to do back then. Rambo 3 was something me, my brother and our friend enjoyed back then. Good video.
profound memories with the early Genesis and this game, among others.
A Christmas miracle of software that year!
One of my favourite early games when I first bought the console. Great memories.
Your review is spot on to me. I had this game when it came out and you are right. It was fun back then and is still fun today but if you never played it then there are much better games that came out after it. I dug the boss fights and they were pretty amazing demonstrations of Genesis power back then.
Seeing this type of game always made me wonder why no developer tried to make a ww2 game , this top down shooter style would have been jaw dropping with a Normandy beach landing stage in this style
My brother own this. I remember doing the special timing on second stage where no one will shoot at you for the rest of the gam😢, except boss stages. You could go through the game only have to use the knife.
This was my deluxe version of Ikari Warriors. The lack of co~op was sad to me considering that was the in piece option for games of this type for the Genesis.
I use to play the game when I use to rent it. Despite it being a bit short, I enjoy playing Rambo III. It makes feel like Rambo, especially in some levels, I use the knife to take down enemies, just to get extra lives. Other than that, nothing wrong going all gung-ho on your enemies. When your name is Rambo, running and gunning is the only option, that and playing Contra every once in a while. Nicely done. 😉
I'm always thankful for how you chronicle the early days of the Genesis : D
SLX, if you factor in how small the cartridge size was this was actually a fun game. My brother and I played it and finished it rather quickly - we'd often return to it as it was a quicker game that you could replay and put away just as easily.
This was my first game for the mega drive after the pack in Altered Beast. My parents had got me Alex Kidd which I took back to Dixons and swapped for Rambo. I loved it.
Played and finished this one for the first time when i got it in my collection in 2018 and really liked it. The end credits music is outstanding and for me the visuals are good, the gameplay is good, rambo moves fast making it easy to dodge the enemy bullets and it has a melee atack something that was and still is rare in a run and gun game.
Luckily for me, it was among my very first Sega games, so I loved it. Looking back, yeah, it is kinda poor on the content, but it gives it that unique feel of the early 16-bit stuff, which is kinda cool in a way.
I couldn't agree more with your take. It was a solid early game but was totally eclipsed by more impressive titles down the line.
I remember finally beating this game. the graphics for the boss fights were amazing back in the day
I remember renting this in 1997 with my buddy. We were 14. Played it once and had a blast! We also rented Predator 2 that day and loved it as well. Funny how well we remember playing a game only once.
Yes it was the perfect rental game since it's so sweet and short!
This was one of my early Genesis games. I got the console week 1. I played this game a lot and really loved it. It was a cut above most of its contemporaries. I saw it as NES Metal Gear meets Contra. And those boss battles were simply gorgeous. I have much affection for this game, but never play it anymore. I guess you just had to be there.
This game passed me buy during the Megadrive lifespan, although I read several reviews of it. I've played it a few times now as a retro game and I think your review is fair.
Rambo 3 was one of the funnest games on the genesis...👍
HolyShytMan I grew up with this game. Now that I’m 41, I think I’m gonna go beat this.😺
This is my favorite game on the Sega Genesis.
I bought it in 1990 and enjoyed it so much! A very nice game, very playable and very nostalgic.
Great video Mr Lord X!
Thanks for dedicating an entire video on Rambo III. I love this game. Completely underrated and unnecessarily discarded.
underrated because?
@@jasonlee7816 Because of the simple but engaging gameplay that is frowned upon by Sega fans. It's essentially an arcade style top down gun shooter. The game isn't perfect by any stretch. Two player coop would have been ideal. The music is great, better than a lot of mainstream Genesis/MD games. Not for everyone but great in it's own right.
Rambo will always be a memorable action movies ever.
As a kid playing this, I could never have imagined that I’d actually one day fight in Afghanistan, as Rambo was in this game.
Except the Mujahideen turned on the US big time...
Yeah same lol. Not as much fun in real life
The music, the graphics...such nostalgia.
I played this with my uncle. This game was really cool at the time
It looks decent for a quick run. The thing is if you're starved for games at launch for any new game console, you'll probably be happy to play _anything_ ! I might try this one and just keep expectations in check. Though, after the playing the likes of Gunstar Heroes and Contra Hard Corps, it might be a challenge! 😅
I loved the chopper scene. It was cool as hell.
To me, the best Rambo game and the music atmosphere fits well. This was my earlier Genesis game my parents got me as a kid.
Great video! I think Master System's Rambo III is a good game too, playing with the Light Phaser.
3:44 "I'm not a secret agent" only a secret agent would say that. Take him, Rambo!
Love the movie
I've watches it half a dozen times at least over the past month.(more sadly)
Unbelievable amount of comments in such a short time! All echoing my same sentiments. Amazing!! This was the 1st launch title I got after playing Altered Beast, I believe. Also got Space Harrier II, Last Battle. For me it was about what the Genesis could do, and many of these early games were simply to show off the power of the system. You have to put it in perspective, like you guys said. There was nothing else to compare the early titles to, and therefore they were more impressive back then. There are several things about Rambo III that still impress me. I love this type of game for starters. It was better than a lot of movie games before it. The graphics were impressive at the time, with many little details like the opening doors, shadows, water 💦 effects, just to name a few. But the biggest thing for me was the music! The second stage music and sound effects really showed off the sound hardware of the system and blew me away. Lots of Nostalgia for this game. Also the digitized pics of the actors. Great stuff at the time. But you can’t compare it to later games like Revenge of Shinobi. So it all boils down to when you played the games I think. Excellent comments on this one guys. And thank you for the review SLX. 😃👍🏻
It was Christmas...some year
We just moved from West Germany back to the states.
Bro opened up his and had a Genesis along with the Immortal.
Sometime after, he left for college. Being with a Genesis we picked one up but I remember this fondly because i also picked up an Aliens gorilla and an Aliens bull type...
No idea why but of all my memories I've forgotten over my many years, this one still sticks out.
In 1989 this game would have been graphically spectacular. I've never played it but I bet back in the day taking on those war helicopters head-on with those huge sprites was amazing. Some of us were still playing Atari back then.
My lord, what experiences, if any, did you have with Sword of Vermilion and Thunder Force II growing up? The Genesis was the first console I bought myself as a kid (got a paper route to do it because I wanted the Genesis to compliment the SNES my parents bought me). Mine was a newly released Model 2 and two of the games I bought with it were Sword of Vermilion and Thunder Force II. I had no idea what they were about but they were discounted at the time and I was not disappointed.
I would have played Thunder Force II not long after I got my Genesis but I was never any good at it. The overhead stages crushed my will to play it.
Swords of Vermillion came through my buddy Chris but I never owned it myself back then. I borrowed it a bunch trying to beat it but it's a hard game and I don't think I ever did.
@@SegaLordX I still haven't beaten Thunder Force II but I still love popping it in and playing for 20 mins. Thanks for sharing, my lord.
Yo jugué Ramón 3 en la sega genesis y es un buen juego , además también lo hice jugando el Arcade de Taito . Buen vídeo y saludos desde colombia 🇨🇴
I got it the day it come out and absolutely loved it
I absolutely loved this game! I remember getting in trouble playing this game before school one morning! 😂
The SMS version also a very good game.
The pictures of the boss fights that I saw in magazines were enough to make me want a Sega Genesis.
I got a genesis for Christmas too. Great memories
I really like Rambo III. It would've been amazing if it had 2 player coop.
A perfect example of a rental game in my opinion! A good fun game worth playing, short and sweet. Owning it wasn't worth it because of the length but renting it and going through everyone a few times sure was !
I always enjoyed this game. For me it was a odd cross between Commando and Metal Gear. Wish we would've got more games like this back then.
They kept it simple and I remember having a lot of fun with it when it came out even though it was pretty easy to get through
There was an operation wolf style version of rambo 3 on the master system which I thought was insanely difficult because I could never aim well w the light gun lol
If you enjoy fortress infiltration games then Metal Gear 2: Solid Snake is King and a must play.
This was the first Sega Genesis game I've ever saw, and I saw it to the end.
The first time I played Rambo 3 was when I'd rented the cartridge. It may not be a complete experience in every way, but it certainly gets the job done...it's quite reminiscent of arcade games. The soundtracks may be very few, but I find them very impressive and atmospheric. In all, I loved this title.
Thank goodness for my single mom knowing next to nothing about video games when I was growing up. She bought me Secret of Mana for SNES, and as a kid I did not enjoy it. Now at 36 it's a def top 5 favorite of mine. I listen to the OST often. I recently asked her what was your motivation back then when you'd pick me up a game for Christmas or a b-day? She said she grabbed them randomly or based on the cover art. Mario and Sonic were always a must grab so I'm thankful she knew those 2 characters. Except Mario's Time Machine 🤐😰. That was the most disappointing game I ever got growing up😅. I had 0 clue how to play it because I am not a trivia buff at all. I would literally just walk around and jump and that was about it.
I always thought, and still do think this today, that the prisoners in level 2 look like a younger Rutger Hauer.
4:39 I like how they used Roy Batty's photo as the captive in the game lol
this game had me creaming my pants while my eyes bugged out 15x their size
Had a bootleg SEGA with integrated games, one was this, among omega race (?), NBA live 98 (loved it) & more. Needless to say I spent so much time with it. Total banger.