Summary
Unfortunately, pre-Contra = sub-Contra.
The Good
The graphics in Rush’N Attack (RNA) are clean, and I haven't encountered any flicker or slowdown. The music and sound effects are also pretty darn good by NES standards.
As for gameplay, RNA is fun to play for short periods of time. A nice touch is that some rudimentary strategy comes into play when you pick up special weapons (pistols, grenades, shoulder-mounted launchers, and the like). If you use your limited ammo at the opportune moment, you can often take out multiple enemies with one shot. Deadly efficiency is always gratifying. :)
The Bad
First, the superficial criticisms. The soldier sprites (including the player-controlled Green Beret) are all just palette swaps, so there is almost no variety in the appearance of your numerous enemies. The backgrounds are similarly well-drawn but monotonous. The sameness of enemies and backgrounds adds to the gameplay difficulties described below.
Gameplay suffers from two major problems. First, it's very repetitive. There is little in the way of platform jumping, a la RNA's cousin, the undeniably classic Contra. But this is just as well, really, since the control scheme is so counter-intuitive (you jump by pressing UP on the directional pad, and not with the usual button-press) that you'll try to avoid it as much as possible.
As for the second problem, this game is very difficult. It's not because the enemies are so smart or devious. Rather, it's because 1) your only weapon throughout most of the game is a simple knife for short-range stabbing, 2) one hit kills, and 3) you lose ground EVERY TIME YOU DIE! You can't just keep dying over and over and immediately replaying one brief segment (even if you are cheating with a Game Genie and have infinite lives to burn), because the game will restart at earlier and earlier restore points on that level until you are eventually set back to the very beginning.
I suppose this design decision was intended to increase the overall challenge and add a sense of urgency to the game. It certainly does that – all too well. You have to replay way too many stretches of game you've already been through before. But guess what? The visual sameness of the game, along with the sheer madness of the restore system, means you'll keep forgetting exactly where you are in the game, which means you'll fail to execute the precise combat movements you need to fend off the hordes of bad guys, which means you die, which means you get sent back to an even earlier restore point…
ARRRRRRRRRRRGGGGGGH!
Not fun stuff, not one bit. As far as I'm concerned, all the saved states and Game Genies in the world couldn't rescue this maddening game from the reject pile.
The Bottom Line
You can have some fun with this game, but not much, and not for long. The design is just too darn frustrating. Walk, don't rush, to play it—but only to see what paved the way for Contra and other, much better Konami games.
