Lest we forget what others did

[Johnnydillinger]

I've been planning to start a thread like this for a long time, but I just couldn't find the perfect game for it. Every good game has at least a cult following (like the D series), so it's hard to select one that's very, really good and deserves the attention. But now I remembered the one that is perfect here. Played it as a kid for a long time, and I'm shocked there's barely anything about it on the internet, let alone a fanbase/cult.

 

This one game is none else than S.O.S. for the SNES (Super Nintendo Entertainment System for HURRs).

 

http://www.chronicgames.net/images/games/snes/snes-sos-box-front.jpg

 

This game is soooooooooo addictive. It's intriguing even knowing about what it features.

 

The plot and setting is very similar to that of The Poseidon Adventure (ship gets turned upside down by a huge wave and you have to survive). You can play as 4 different characters, each with a different storyline, and it's pretty much a 2D umm... survival (horror?) game, with controls like Another World, Prince of Persia (classic ones) and Flashback. With each character your goal is to get out of the ship within the timelimit of ONE friggin hour, and possibly bringing any survivors you might find on your way with you. 

 

http://www.chronicgames.net/images/games/snes/sos-screenshot-001.png

 

Each plot is very intriguing, and it managed to make me care enough about it to search for survivors (including my character's family/wife/ill sister) to save them, instead of going on alone and survive all the hazards without the help of theirs (it is possible). The problem is, this is extremely difficult due to them requiring some actions before wanting to join you, being slow as fuck and, well, not being the nephews of the Prince from the sands trilogy (not able to do some acrobatics). But even with this frustration, I felt like I was a leader of my team, and their lives depend on me, so I have to take care of them (the feel of power devours all my sanity MUHAHAHAHAHAHAAAA!). So yeah, this is one of the few games where I really got involved with the plot.

 

Your hazards will include such things as fire bursting out at places, water emerging and making you drown, and what else, the freaking ship turning angles, shaking, and making your life even more miserable than it is made in this hell (not like it's not difficult enough already). 

 

http://lh5.ggpht.com/_9D4SOjStw_I/SyW8TC97TzI/AAAAAAAABGc/gzOZNZnDWWQ/s1600/1117694988-00%5B3%5D.png

 

This can turn  your 110% sure plan of escaping into a suicide mission Jackass style in a few seconds, and lets not forget that it seemingly happens at random (not sure about it). You can jump between platforms, grab on to ledges, and even climb on some surfaces like gratings and such. Getting hurt is not something you want to do, since here maybe you cant die by it, but you can sure lose 5 minutes each time of your 1 hour overall timelimit. Ouch. This timelimit is only visible when you get hit, to make the game even harder. In addition to that, you don't want to get hurt while carrying survivors, because when you get hurt (becoming unconcious in the game), your buddies can easily die or leave you rot there depending on how hazardous that area is. And the fact that you just got hurt by something, implies there's not a huge possibility of them staying with you...

 

Depending on who did you bring with you to the end of the game and of course, with which character, the endings will vary in every way. Given that each character can meet 7 individual survivors, the number of endings is amazingly high. This not only gives the game a huge variety, but the greatest replay value i have met in such a simple game as well.

 

Another fact i love about this is the graphics. It has generally good graphics for an SNES game, but I just love the pictures in the cutscenes, they are so refined.

 

http://lh5.ggpht.com/_9D4SOjStw_I/SyW8R8m4E_I/AAAAAAAABGU/gl726Xq824Y/s1600/1117694710-00%5B3%5D.png

 

In any ways, if you still own the console, and buy cartridges for it eventually, make sure you look for this next time, because it's something you won't forget for a long time. I'd say it's one of the most underrated games of all time, but it's not. It's just simply unknown, which is sad. It's one in a million, and should be more known and respected for it. I love it.

 

Know a similarly unknown game that deserves the audience? Post about it. Maybe I'll mention some others later.