Low G Man: The Low Gravity Man

"So innovative and, of course, underrated..."

So my friend recommends Low G Man to me, telling me how great it is. I’ve never heard of it, but he lets me borrow it. I take it home, play it, and become instantly hooked on the game. Then I buy shortly thereafter. Yes, Low G Man turned out to be a great, innovative platform shooter for being such an underground title that nobody really knows about.

Intro/Story-N/A: Low G Man is an action game, so who really cares. There is a purpose to this madness, don’t get me wrong. I played it without an instruction booklet or anything, but I actually think there’s a little movie at the beginning of the game if you wait. The name says it all, you have a crazy jumping ability and you kill these machines, probably to save the world, since in this game’s day saving the world was the thing to do.

Gameplay-10/10: It’s obvious that most folks are gonna be frustrated at first, and this is simply because the game is one of a kind. I can’t get over how original the whole idea for designing this game was. In this game, your character Kay has a gun and a spear to slaughter the robot machine things. The gun shoots a laser blast that freezes enemies, or “shuts down their system.” Then you either stand below them or jump above them, depending on their location, and hold down or up plus B to attack with your spear. So yeah this was definitely a little awkward at first, and I almost gave up, but after trying it for maybe 15 minutes, I just suddenly grasped it and started macking all over the game. This applies to anyone. This game is all about critical timing skills, and once you’ve got it, you’ve got it for good.

Graphics/Sound-10/10: This is the NES, so you get what you expect. The graphics get the job done with great detailed backgrounds and unique enemy designs. Definitely original designs for both levels and characters. The music is awesome, with plenty of memorable tunes that set a great mood. I swear, some NES composers were geniuses if you think about it, considering what they had to work with. Sound effects were average, yet satisfying. The “you’re doing damage to the enemy” noise was especially comforting for the bosses, seeing as how some took what seemed like a million hits. So there you go, enough said. I’m always gonna be generous in this category with these old systems. It satisfies, what more can you ask for?

Replayability and whatnot-8/10: Just getting through this game should take people a while. The difficulty is almost unbearable at times, but it won’t make you want to stop playing. Besides, that’s the fun of games in my opinion. You’re trying to see if you can beat them. After you beat it, wait a week, and you might find yourself itching to play through it again. I still do. It’s simply a fun game to play.

Overall-10/10: Sure, it might be weird at first, but give this game a chance and I can guarantee that if you appreciate games for the right reasons (gameplay, not graphics), this game will satisfy you totally. I bought it for $4.00, and it is definitely in my top 10 favorite NES games of all time.

Reviewer's Score: 10/10, Originally Posted: 12/05/03