Rambo (NES)

Rambo is a platform video game released by Acclaim on the NES on December 4, 1987 in Japan, and May 1988 in North America. It is based on the plot of the movie Rambo: First Blood Part II. The style and presentation of the gameplay is most frequently compared to Zelda II: The Adventure of Link.

Story
John Rambo is a Special Forces solder who is serving time in military prison, until Colonel Trautman selects Rambo to be sent on a special mission. Rambo’s mission is to go to Vietnam and photograph the Prisoner Of War (POW) camp there. However, he is ordered not to engage the enemy or rescue any POWs. In Vietnam, Rambo meets his contact Co, who sets up the passage to the POW camp. During the mission Rambo cannot bear just photographing the POW camp when he has an ample opportunity to rescue a POW in the camp. Disobeying his orders, Rambo tries to rescue a POW, and the mission begins to go wrong.

Gameplay
Rambo is a side scrolling platform game where the player controls Rambo with his mission to Vietnam. Early in the game, Rambo has to fight a variety of animals in the jungles, swamps, and caves. However, after he infiltrates the POW camp, guards and mercenaries will attempt to stop Rambo by shooting or fighting with him. The game requires players to navigate a complex arrangement of screens containing North and South points on the ground that allow Rambo to proceed to new areas.

While the game's cover art predominantly displays Rambo firing heavy ammo, unlike the movies the game has Rambo fighting mostly snakes, spiders, and animals at the beginning and then slowly moves on to fighting with actual people with better ammunition. Also, Rambo's primary weapon for the majority of the game is a knife. However towards the end a huge variety of weapons are collected, including a throwing knife, bow and arrow, bow and exploring arrow, gun, and hand grenade. All the weapons but the knife has limited ammo which is collected from killed enemies. There is also health vial that restores health as well as specific items that Rambo must find to complete some missions. The game uses password save that can be retrieved when talking to any person.