 Here we are again with yet another NES Action Platformer, this time it's Shatterhand, developed by Natsume, who are later responsible for outstanding Super Nintendo games like Pocky and Rocky, Ninja Warriors, Harvest Moon, Gundam Wing Endless Duel, and Wild Guns just to name a few. But before all those we got Shatterhand, which absolutely fits right alongside all those other great titles. No BS here, just straight side scrolling and punching stuff with your metal fist. Starting from huge barriers in your way to bullets, now you gotta love that. There's an introductory level that's really easy before you move on to a stage select screen where you can choose from five different stages and the difficulty amps up significantly from there. Beat those five and unlock a final stage. The story is your typical video game sci-fi nonsense, but does that really matter when you can just punch your way to justice and freedom and greatness and sandwiches? You also collect Greek letters for some reason, and once you get three of them, a robot tag along buddy tails behind you, with its weapon depending on the order in which the three letters appear. What's nice is that you can change the letter by punching it before you grab it, so that allows you to pick the weapon you want. If you get the same combination twice in a row, your weapon temporarily levels up. That's a pretty cool idea that lends the game some replay value since there's eight total weapons. Your companion does take damage though, so you gotta be a bit careful with it. You also collect coins that look straight from the Mario universe, which is pretty funny to see. You can spend these coins on platforms that you'll find scattered in each level, with a price tag helpfully slapped on the bottom. These are usually pretty simple things, like restoring your health for 300 coins or upping your attack power for 100 coins. That only lasts as long as you don't get hit though. But yeah, I thought this was another interesting idea. Usually you'd see just a standard menu screen or whatever, like in a game like UN Squadron. I guess that sums up this game well enough. It's your standard action platformer with a few neat ideas thrown in. It's certainly a lot better than stuff like Logeman, and I take it over games like Power Blade and Metal Storm because it's a bit more aesthetically pleasing and more satisfying to play. I mean, who doesn't love just punching stuff until it explodes? However, I don't think it's on the level of action platformers like Mega Man Contra or Castlevania because the overall presentation just doesn't have enough polish. And yeah, I'll admit it, this game seems too one dimensional compared to those games. Like I said, I love punching stuff, but when that's your only attack, your range is going to be ridiculously short, and that makes this game that much harder and that much more frustrating. So yeah, Shatterhand is definitely worth playing today, and I was surprised at how much I liked it. There's some neat ideas here. To go along with the usual NES action platforming you can find in like two dozen other games. But do any of those games have this much punching? I think not. So as you'd expect, this cartridge goes for around $40 on eBay, so let's just hope it appears online in some form sometime soon.