Rambo III was a step in the right direction for Sega. Sega was doing a lot of things right with their Genesis system. Things that Nintendo was not able to compete with. Movie and sports licenses were something Nintendo depended on third parties to provide. Sure, there were the occasional Ken Griffey Jr license, they are few and far between. For one, they were big on bringing in licensed properties that weren’t on Nintendo platforms. Sega also secured entertainment icons such as Michael Jackson. Another thing they did right was bringing arcade games home. When they combined the two though, it was hard to pass up. Which is exactly what they did with Rambo III in 1989.

Rambo III the game, not the movie

Loosely based on the movie of the same name, Rambo III on Genesis was an action game throughout. Rambo is armed with a machine gun, a knife, various other weapons and the wits of the player. Make use of that as you must infiltrate the enemy base. Once inside, he must save Colonel Troutman who was captured during a covert op event in Afghanistan.

Salvaging weapons and ammunition from dead enemy soldiers is the rule of the day. Boss battles are handled from a behind Rambo point of view which was revolutionary in gaming for the time. Today, Rambo III is a little rough looking. Back in the day though, this was a popular release for the new Sega Genesis.

Cartridge only, unfortunately

There are currently no digital options to, legally, play Rambo III. If you want to play the game, Check eBay deals all year or your local used game store.

This brings up a good point about digital only gaming. When companies lose the license for a popular title, it is simply gone. With physical games, you can purchase a copy from another person that no longer wants their copy, or has extras. That is simply not possible with digital only releases.

Perils of a digital future

While digital may be quicker to get it is not always the better option. Not everyone has high speed Internet access for instance. Digital only would mean saying goodbye to titles like Rambo III forever once the license runs out.

Carl Williams

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