Gunstar Heroes
This game is $5, go buy it. Seriously.
Ok, guess you might want some more info than that. For a short while everything the developer Treasure produced was absolute gold (pun not intended). Gunstar Heroes, Radiant Silvergun, Guardian Heroes, Ikaruga, etc. If you can afford them, all these games should be in your collection.
Gunstar Heroes was one of their first must have games. It was exclusive to the Sega Genesis and was the most amazing mashup of Contra and a shumup. It was a great experience that players of any skill level could enjoy. It’s one of the fastest paced action games of the era, and 2 player co-op play just adds to that.
Like Contra, the game is a run and gun shooter. You run through the level killing everything in sight. Huge bosses make up the majority of the experience and are really the meat of this game. Also you get a lot of health. You can get hit quite a few times before dying, which keeps this from being a very frustrating game as you’ll get hit quite often.
When you start the game you’ll get to choose between two movement styles, free or fixed. Free means you can shoot while running. It makes it easier to get through the levels, but tougher to kill bosses where you have to aim diagonally. Fixed movement means you can only shoot while standing still. While holding the shoot button and moving the d-pad, your character will aim different but won’t move.
You’ll also be able to choose from 4 starting weapons. This is where the shumup aspect of the game comes in. The weapons are very much like what you’d see in a shoot em up game. There’s the typical gun that fires bullets, a laser like weapon, a weapon that curves and auto seeks enemies, and a flame thrower that has limited reach but really hurts.
Also you have slots to hold 2 weapons. In the levels you can find additional weapons and switch between two, or combine them. Combined weapons have all kinds of interesting effects. Two flamethrowers combined will allow you to shoot twice as far, while the flame thrower with the seeker will allow you to shoot a large ball that explodes when you release the shoot button. Lasers with the seekers will shoot out several beams that move in random patterns to hit more enemies. There’s all kinds of fun weapons you can make using this system.
Now, despite having such a wicked arsenal, and a good deal of health, the game is still very tough. The bosses are quite difficult and they can smoke you very quickly. You’re able to choose between 4 levels, so at least if you’re stuck on one you can play the others for a bit. You can also try again with a different set of weapons, which can make all the difference.
Finally local co-op is a blast. Playing two players makes this game SOOOOOOOO much fun. EXCEPT when you press the shoot button close to the other player you will throw them. As you can see in my video above, this became quite a hassle. Especially when my partner threw me off a cliff before the mid-level boss. But you’ll learn to work around that. The online co-op just doesn’t work. I couldn’t connect to anyone to play with, so that’s a big hit, but this is a game you’ll have the most fun playing with a buddy in the same room.
I highly recommend you check it out. For $5, this game has something everything can appreciate.
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