Rampart is a game that I’m pretty sure I’ve played before, but I don’t remember. It is a combination of a strategy game and Tetris. Originally released as an arcade game in 1990, Rampart was eventually ported to just about everything.
It had some influence over the Tower Defense genre, which would become popular in the 2000s. Rampart isn’t all that close to what the games would become, but some of the bones for the genre can be seen in the game. It is an interesting game to look back at, especially when you know what this type of game would turn into.
I’ll be playing the Genesis version of the game, but there are plenty of versions of it. Tengen published this game, which isn’t all that surprising since they had a working relationship with Atari Games’ arcade division. In the 1990s, the rights to Atari were a bit of a mess with a bunch of companies owning pieces of the former company. Tengen and Namco are the two big names for this version of Rampart.
While looking up information on the arcade game, I got a little worried. The arcade used a trackball, which rarely translates well to a D-pad. This means the controls might be a little off at times. I’m going to keep an open mind because not every game that plays better with a trackball is “unplayable” on the home console. I’ll just have to give this a shot and see how it goes.
TLDR: The gameplay is okay, but there isn’t much of it. It has nice graphics, but limited gameplay is a problem.
Narrative
In what seems to be a pattern for the Tengen games, there isn’t a story to all this. Rampart is an arcade game, but it is also a strategy game. How hard could it possibly be to come up with a simple story to explain what is happening? This wasn’t an arcade game from the early 1980s; it was released in 1990.
If you were expecting something in the manual, then you’ll be disappointed. Tengen just describes how to play the game in the manual. While this is appreciated, they could’ve done both. Many games did this, especially when the game doesn’t have a story or explain things to the player.
This is a little disappointing, but not all that surprising. When I went to the manual (Link), I was a little annoyed. I guess this is one of those games where the developers are expecting you to use your imagination. Stuff like this was fine back in the Atari 2600, Intellivision, and Colecovision days, but not in 1990.
Gameplay
The gameplay is okay, but this really isn’t the game for me. Things are straightforward, and everything works quite well. After playing for a while, I think the controls are pretty good.
Much like Paperboy, there isn’t too much to this game. In some ways, it feels like there is less to this than most of the other arcade ports released around this time. You’re really just trying to get a high score, and the game keeps going until you decide to quit or you lose all your castles.
I was a little worried about the controls in this game, especially when I saw that it used a trackball in the arcades. The only reason it uses one is to move the cursor around the screen. The trackball works better than an arcade stick or buttons when it comes to an arcade.
The controls are okay. It isn’t amazing, but the D-pad does a good job of moving the cursor around when you’re building walls or trying to shoot. Combat is a little awkward, but it works for a game like this. I really don’t like all the stop and start, or how it limits your shots as much as it does.
In this game, you build walls and position cannons. This takes place in the first phase of the game. In the second phase, you have to fight off attacks from several ships and foot soldiers. This is where things get a little dicey, but it is still fun. In the last phase, you rebuild your walls. These phases repeat until you lose.
The gameplay is hit and miss for me. There are things that I like about it, but I’m not a fan of how close it sticks to the arcade version. This is something that I’ve had to say about many of these arcade games. These are fine for an arcade game, but on the home console, they don’t work too well for me.
Visuals
Rampart looks pretty good on the Sega Genesis. The castles, boats, and soldiers look okay. There wasn’t anything terrible here, unless you really hate trying to line up your shots.
Each battle takes place on a single screen. The layouts change a little, but not too much, and there aren’t enough screens for my liking. If there was a campaign mode, then there would’ve been more to the gameplay and a greater variety of battle screens.
The enemies look pretty good when they’re boats. The soldiers look okay once I realized what they were supposed to be. When everything started moving, that was when things fell apart for me. Enemy movements are a little jerky, which is also the case for your cannonballs. It isn’t the worst thing in the world, but it is noticeable.
Overall, the graphics get the job done. There are a few spots where things don’t look as good as they could. Battle screens look good, but the animations aren’t great.
6.5/10. A lack of gameplay is really holding this back. At this time, some arcade games had extra content or game modes added to them. This wasn’t the case with Rampart. The developers could’ve done something with this port, but it was just a straightforward arcade port.
Pros
- Nice Graphics
- Easy to Learn
Cons
- Limited Gameplay
- Awkward Controls
- No Story
Conclusion
Tengen’s developers didn’t do much to improve Rampart’s gameplay when it was brought to the home console. Arcade gameplay is fine, but for a game like this, I’m expecting there to be something different. There weren’t too many strategy games like this, but the few that there are were better than this.
This version of Rampart wouldn’t have pulled me away from games like Ogre Battle or Metal Marines. While all three games are different, Ogre Battle and Metal Marines did a better job of being strategy games. They have better gameplay and more going on.
As an arcade game, Rampart would’ve done a good job of getting a few quarters from me. The console game is good enough to hold my attention for a bit, but then I realize that I’ve already experienced most of what the game has to offer. I would put this game in the weekend rental category, and not recommend people buy it, especially if you already have a copy on another system.
If you like this post, check out my other posts about Tengen games. Such as Paperboy 2 or Gauntlet IV.