I Ranked Every SAMMY game on NES

American Sammy had some fantastic games for NES. Here's a look at all they had to offer for the Nintendo Entertainment System and where I rank them.
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[@JohnRiggs]

Ranking every KONAMI NES Games kzbin.info/www/bejne/l5jQqqOparN8mrs Ranking every ROMSTAR NES Game kzbin.info/www/bejne/inm5n4GFbLtkiMU

[@tdog5993]

Who won that contest? I am a little sad that it wasn’t me

[@helcometowell9295]

Thank you. Great stuff

[@Alex_DC413]

Vice Project Doom is criminally underrated. I'm so glad people are going to discover this on Switch Online

[@MCastleberry1980]

My first time playing it was on my Switch and I immediately wished I grew up with it, its super fun

[@ostiariusalpha]

V:PD is right up there with Little Samson for games with top-notch graphics and refined gameplay that hardly anyone paid attention to when they came out.

[@MarceloMaldonado79]

Excellent game. Another excellent: Codename Viper.

[@matthewlane518]

I've never played it but damn does it look sweet I don't think I've ever heard anyone mention it before I gonna have to give it a try

[@KTJohnsonkidThunder]

They got bought by SEGA back in '04.

[@dutchweeks1]

Vice Project Doom is easily one of my favorite NES games of all time. A strong S for me :)

[@bucksatanII]

After watching all these reviews I never realized how many nes games I didn't play

[@willielogan4811]

Loved Vice: Project Doom. It was my introduction into cyberpunk. It's a S for me.

[@doomedmeatslab3100]

Agree. I'm surprised it was ranked as an A.

[@TrainmasterCurt]

@@doomedmeatslab3100 That’s just John’s personal ranking

[@danielpowers5891]

That water stage, man!

[@wrathchild8920]

I want my NES info coming from the guy who calls the other basketball players "the enemies" damn right.

[@frankbizzoco1954]

I thought i was the only one that caught that lol. I completely agree. They're totally enemies.

[@johnhancockretro]

I rented many of these and enjoyed some for a weekend. Silkworm was my favorite.

[@JohnRiggs]

Can never go wrong. I liked playing as the jeep

[@seanthegamer1337]

I love you John Hancock. I found this from metal Jesus Rocks

[@seanthegamer1337]

The hilarity. I can't stop laughing at myself

[@jacobbaranowski]

Hey John

[@duffman18]

These videos from both of you over the past few months have been really fantastic, with John doing these ranking videos on NES games, and John doing ranking videos of Genesis games. I love them. Thank you both John and John for making them, so I have something to look forward to every week during this awful time

[@Wyrdwad]

You forgot to mention the best part of Amagon: that if you DO happen to run out of bullets, you get to beat enemies over the head with your gun. Seriously. It looks SO GOOFY. ;)

[@JohnRiggs]

oh that's true.

[@robertanderson2898]

I'd love to see someone attempt a no bullets run :O

[@GtotheNextLevel]

I LOVE Vice Project Doom; it’s one of my favorite NES games. I got so excited when they announced it for Switch online so more people can play it. Love this series, John, keep it up!

[@penismightier9278]

I was disappointed when I saw a ton of people getting upset it got added. They had no idea what it was and just tried to tear it down because it wasn't a big title.

[@halstewart923]

I like how you refer to the opponents in Ultimate Basketball as “enemies”.

[@Turtlepower1982]

Vice project doom is one of my all time favorites.

[@fritzhartman2738]

Pretty soon, you'll get through the publishers, then we can have the ultimate ranking ... rank the publishers!!

[@oaf-77]

Rank by genre.

[@aaronossont39]

That's a great idea.

[@jyoder1]

The final Boss!

[@hotdoggington6962]

Totally agree but he should rank by genre first so he can say "_____ has x many S ranked _____ games" when comparing publishers, otherwise he couldn't since he rates games from any given publisher only against the other games from that publisher, and not as a whole

[@branwenshoop]

As someone who rented 3 NES games a weekend for years, I'm shocked by how many of these are unfamiliar! Also funny to think this company is half of Sega now.

[@wareforcoin5780]

These videos are perfect for when I'm feeling like a "new" old game, but don't know what to emulate.

[@raphaelhooks6894]

You forgot to mention that each weapon you pick up in Ninja Crusaders has an animal transformation when you hold down the attack button.

[@bananonymouslastname5693]

It makes the game way easier. He likely doesn't have the instruction manual on that one and played it to review it as opposed to really playing through at some point, because those transformations completely change the way you play, and you could mash buttons all day and not do them by accident.

[@raphaelhooks6894]

@@bananonymouslastname5693 I didn't have an instruction manual either and wasn't told about it. I just try stuff to see if anything will happen. And also the transformations don't make the game that much easier. You can still die in one hit (with exception of the dragon which is invincible but has a time period before you change back) and each animal has strengths and weaknesses, with exception of the dragon.

[@bananonymouslastname5693]

@@raphaelhooks6894 there are a couple of stages you can just fly right past if you time it right. It's one of those games that is easier to speedrun than play correctly. As a kid, though, I didn't do that, as I was mostly playing co-op.

[@chrisazor]

@5:20 That Zoom In! lol

[@Projectwolfie21]

IIRC the original Twin Cobra was Toaplan, but it was when they were doing arcade games with Taito. Toaplan was behind a lot of SHMUPS that got great genesis ports, Fire Shark for example.

[@KTJohnsonkidThunder]

Yes they were.

[@Oliviasshorts633]

John - recently came across your channel. You and I are a lot alike. Gaming was a HUGE part of my childhood... and I thoroughly enjoy your videos. You present well and you maintain the fun of the past. Keep up the good work!

[@JohnRiggs]

Thank you!

[@feedthesnake3394]

amagon and silkworm are both amazing. silkworm is one of the best co-op games ever made.

[@xodusattack]

Ninja crusaders is one of the most under rated Nes games. Tons of fun. Challenging, but in a reasonable way. And he didn’t even mention YOU CAN TURN INTO ANIMALS! it’s so good with two players. Must have 2 player game

[@mattplex]

Finally!! Was waiting for this one John. Mainly because my friends and I played the hell out of Ninja Crusaders and Silkworm. I’m still amazed I became so good with the Jeep and using up and down to control the angle of the rifle. Great vid!

[@brianjl7477]

Vice: Project Doom is great! Those dunk scenes in Ultimate Basketball are pretty tight for the NES too!

[@kevinstyles1991]

Love this series John... sadly burnt through all of them now. Can’t wait for more!

[@billcook4768]

Riggs: What sucks about this game is that if you hold down the jump button, you keep jumping. Also Riggs: What sucks about this game is you can’t just hold down left/right and have it keep turning. You have to push the button over and over again :) Love this series; I’ve learned about so many games I hadn’t of before. Thanks.

[@JohnRiggs]

When a game changes a bit I have to relearn haha

[@chowsarcade988]

Mate this channel is so good! Been watching it every night for the last week

[@Bman4hire]

I've recently discovered the joys of the everdrive n8 and rediscovered amagon and ninja crusaders from this list. Having save states is crucial in these two games and makes it possible to beat, for me at least. Good video, I think American Sammy is an unsung publisher/dev for the nes.

[@zachmcclintock7431]

Good job John....been telling people about your Channel keep up the good work!!

[@ghkillah1995]

Vice is a Supreme game for sure. It has to be an S for me. Akrista Ring is amazing as well. A+ Amagon is super fun as well, just was missing some elements that could have set it on the map well.

[@jimx117]

I thought your profile pic was a tiny hair on my phone screen

[@ghkillah1995]

@@jimx117fooled ya! I made it years ago to mess with people. I win.

[@rayvinson1414]

Hey thanks for the video. Love the ranking videos you do.

[@co81385]

For Amagon, the running animation for the "powered-up" character, and the death animation, are hilarious!!!

[@tflics]

Subscribed months ago, when you started making these ranking videos. Looking forward to the next one, too!

[@superduty2023]

Thanks for the content Mister Riggs.

[@Wheels8504]

Ultimate Basketball is probably my favorite game from the company. Still play and enjoy it today on my NES. It's a fantastic game.

[@GaryPhelpsII]

I realize I’m probably commenting too much, but i wanted to say thank you. There are a lot of good memories here-keep up the good work.

[@JuanGil221]

You da man, Riggs. Love your channel.

[@indysquirrels]

Oh my goodness. I played Amagon one time at my babysitter's when I was probably 8. I spent years trying to find it again because I liked it but never knew the name. Weirdly, I still recognized it right away as soon as I saw the title screen. Thank you so much for solving a 25 year mystery for me!

[@chuckzretro3033]

Great vid as always, thanks!

[@TertleBear]

Another great video, John. I don't think I've ever played any of these.

[@Southfloridelphia]

When you get done with the majority of publishers, I would love to see a video of all the games you put on the top tier.

[@DadRacer]

I love me some co-op Silk Worm! Nice reviews as always!

[@taipion64]

My aunt had a small selection of NES games. I have found memories of going to her place and playing Amagon, getting the muscleman power up and jamming out to that music.

[@chaseman94]

It's funny how Ultimate Basketball had the Houston Comets a few years before it became an actual Basketball team in 1997.

[@insaneasock3156]

Would you saying Andretti racing "grinds your gears". 😏

[@gillespie2482]

Oh wow! Silkworm seems like a really unique two player shooter. Thank you John for introducing me into this game!

[@LWAllen]

Me playing ultimate basketball- where’s the punch button?

[@frausto1989]

I'm a Riggs fan always looking forward to your content...I like your style, and its cool that your a family man!

[@gregdavis569]

Double dribble I played so much as a kid loved it, never heard of ultimate basketball but it looks graphically way better than double dribble.

[@eriklarson7023]

Haha, I actually asked for Sammy in the comments on your last video. Vice Project Doom is one of my personal top 10 NES games. It’s so great but no one has heard of it. Twin Cobra is also really good. Thundercade is one of those games I wished for as a kid because I thought it looked so cool, but I never got it until I grew up. It’s ok but didn’t match the hype built up in my mind :)

[@BaronMorte]

Strong work Riggs.

[@dpgreene]

Poor Arkista’s Ring. If was one of my favorite games growing up and still no one has ever heard of it.

[@jugghead82]

Awesome Vid as always

[@Retro_Game_Craze23]

Some of these games on this list are becoming kind of pricey! That being said... Riggs, your videos over the last year have been nothing but ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ keep it up!

[@LNSLateNightSaturday]

Vice: Project Doom is known for some of the most technically challenging visuals in an NES game. Lots of parallax scrolling, for instance, which was a rarity on NES...

[@L0v3_Murd3r_0n3]

TWIN COBRA! I loved this game as a kid. I enjoyed it so much and loaned it to my cousin. He was older and never gave it back. When I decided to start collecting, that was one of the first games I went for CIB. It was cheap too.

[@Icemanbl]

Another fine video good sir.

[@stevem9895]

Love the videos John. I totally forgot about Ninja Crusaders. A neighbor kid had that one and we played it a bunch but you didn’t talk about the best part of that game. Turning into all the different animals! Still agree it’s probably a B. Keep doing your thing. Your vids get me through the week!

[@PJ_Playz]

I just wanted to say that my 8 year old has taken a keen interest in the NES and SNES. A proud moment for me. I do own a few of these on the NES so going to dust them off and we going to have a go at them.

[@Benjamillion]

Vice: Project Doom was one of those games that I got preowned without the box or manual, and the story was just all over the place for me lol.

[@biggsweaty]

I had Might and Magic when I was a kid and was extremely intimidated by it, having never seen a game like that before and being 8 years old. I am proud to say that I beat it a few years ago even though I used a guide. It is extremely immersive and you could probably put over 100 hours into it without discovering everything.

[@patrickfischer2932]

John, you hit the nail on the head with Amagon on its difficulty. I've beaten this one several times and figured out that if you (luckily) collect more of the crown icons along with the bullets and then the Hulk symbol shows up, you'll have full life meter with your Hulk self flying through the levels with flying colors while fighting an alien at the end. 😂 No joke!

[@TheCroutonman]

Motorcycle vs Tanks has been done before. Nod Attack Bikes vs GDI tanks in Command and Conquer. Peace through power!

[@Rich_PKM]

6:42 you know when a game is developed by Micronics...

[@adamfrazer5150]

John - l o v e your shirt man ! Really appreciating your Channel, your coverage of not only the best but also the ones that may have slipped past us. Many thanks for your great content 👍

[@kornsin]

Silk Worm was my JAM back in the day. Vice was amazing to me also back then due to the gameplay transitions. And it just plays well and has great presentation.

[@briannorthFW]

Ultimate Basketball almost looks like it was supposed to be. Double Dribble follow up then just got retitled

[@adamjames2254]

Vice project doom, I totally agree. I played it for the first time, and beat it on the switch virtual console, and was glad I played it. Very underrated NES action platformer in my opinion

[@frankbizzoco1954]

You deserve more subscribers, Mr Riggs. I always look forward to your rankings, especially on nes. Looks like Sammy had only one stinker. Vice Project Doom is certainly an A. And i love how you called the opposite team in the basketball game "the enemies" lol. Truely spoken like a guy that wants to win any way possible haha.

[@JohnRiggs]

I appreciate it. It's a climb but happy for the subscribers I do have.

[@travistaylor3186]

I absolutely love Arkistas Ring. I’m one of those weirdos that has beaten all 130 something stages. You have to basically beat the game 4 times to get the ending.

[@michaelmcclintick9541]

Loved loved loved Amagon. Completely forgot about it. I owed it and played it all the time!

[@michaeladams9807]

Keep them coming 👍👍

[@markula_4040]

I had Ultimate Basketball back in the day. I still remember a game against my friend where I hit a 3/4 length shot to beat the final buzzer... just to lose by 1. Such an odd memory to stick with me all these years.

[@NotABot55]

Vice also has shooting sections, much like Bayou Billy or the Golgo 13 games. Seems that changing gameplay styles in 2-D games was a somewhat popular design choice (aside from the aforementioned, there were many others like The Guardian Legend, The Lone Ranger, and (ech) Takeshi's Challenge.) It still is around, with Speed Limit being a more recent example.

[@troysuza2065]

Vice Project Doom was always in my collection as a kid and I would always keep coming back to it....its a "S" in my book.

[@QunMang]

"Ultimate Basketball may be one of my favorite basketball games on the NES" "I'm going to give it a C" That made me laugh- thanks, I needed it. Also, bonus point for referring to the opponents as enemies. :D

[@TrainmasterCurt]

I never played Vice: Project Doom, but now I want to! Love the parallax scrolling.

[@baronhausenpheffer]

I have to ask, what happened at 5:21? LOL. At any rate, great video on Sammy! And "Silkworm" is in my personal Top 10 NES games. So many good memories of it playing it with my brother, and it's so intense. I do have to say that the later bosses verge on being impossible, though. I can't imagine the kind of twitch reflexes a person would need to beat it without a Game Genie.

[@chrisromero763]

I really wish Arcade Archives would bring back Taito’s twin cobra back. I have the mobile version on my smart phone, not to sure who the publisher is though. Great video as always👍

[@frankez1975]

My brother and I played the hell out of Mario Andretti GP!!!!! Loved it

[@_NoDrinkTheBleach]

Amagon was an early rental title for me. I never loved it, but I do have some wicked nostalgia anytime I hear the music or see the box art.

[@Jay-de4rk]

Vice project doom is great game which bought back then and love ninja crusaders another game I got back then and also played all 3 American Sammy shooters either in store demo or rental

[@Des_Zee]

Ohh snap! I forgot about silkworm.

[@Bryan-lu4du]

Silk Worm and Ninja Crusaders my friend Nathan and I rented multiple times as kids and beat. Loved both of them.

[@Ripplin]

John, are you telling me that F1 drivers DON'T feed the wheel when they drive? That pretty much sounds like what you're describing. Wow, you learn something every day! Haha. :p

[@johnleto7240]

He got me on that one too haha!

[@robertanderson2898]

Amagon! Had it. I still have the box though. Something i did do once (after about a million tries), beat the game without dying. Sucked when I got to Area 5 or 6 then had to reset....... Neat game, interesting enemies, nice detail/colors, good music, cool bosses, I agree with the rating.

[@Jaroartx]

Ninja Crusaders challenge Accepted, thanks Riggs excellent videos I learn a lot of the videogame culture around this year's ohh vice project doom should have a remake is awesome sadly is to short

[@SeekerLancer]

Amagon is one of the games I bought from a rental store getting rid of its NES stock back in the day. I'd like it more if the music wasn't so grating. It's an absurdly hard game to beat.

[@khaz661letsplaysmore5]

I loved Twin Cobra on the arcade for the 2 player co-op and on the Sega Genesis for the music :-D and I think it was Toaplan that made the Twin Cobra games along with other shooters

[@stuntmanjbc]

Arkista's Ring is a personal favorite of mine and definitely deserving of the "hidden gem" moniker. Very addicting and fun once you get good at it. Plus, it's one of those games like Ghosts & Goblins where you have to beat it twice to get the true ending. Definitely a high A for me.

[@deltonviera2051]

Thanks john😄😄

[@akusureix1090]

I am pretty sure that Vice Project Doom also had a shooting gallery style segment in the game. 3 great games in 1!

[@MegatronECS]

Music in Might & Magic is worth mentioning.. especially the cave/dungeon :) for this game is a 9/10. Played through it once... and I felt abit down when my kid had deleted my save after 45 hours played into it.. but I started over and got through it in the end :)

[@michaelblum410]

"He'd have bought the game twice, eh?" How publishers embraced DLC and online games where everyone needs a copy to play

[@kyleellingsworth6496]

Vice Project Doom's cover art is forever burned into mind due to how much advertising their was for the game in Nintendo Power Magazine, and I've never played it.

[@supadee33]

My brother and LOVED silk worm. I was always the jeep

[@jfgme]

Vice project doom is an amazing game! One of my favs for the NES

[@judgie_b_goode]

I’m one of the rare ones that actually bugged my parents for Arkista’s Ring at a Woolworth back in the day. Shortly after, we had a snow day at school, and I started the journey. That was when I discovered that after a certain point the levels loop… I turned it off (More like a 6 year old’s rage quit) and didn’t revisit it again for over 20 years!

[@SmokeBreakWithHuck]

I need a copy of Vice: Project Doom again. Such an amazing game!

[@1981CrueHead]

I had Vice Project Doom when I was a kid. It was awesome, one of the best games my mom ever got me.

[@qwerty52676]

The amagon final boss was actually based on a "real" alien encounter (which was later determined to be an owl in a tree with a light behind it)

[@joshuarobinson1689]

You didn't mention the animal transformations in Ninja Crusaders! My brother and I used to play itvall the time, and that was our favorite part. Also, VICE Project Doom was one of my favorite games on the system, was glad to see it get a good score.