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Gunstar Super Heroes

 
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Gunstar Super Heroes
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Game Description

Inspired by the fondly remembered Genesis game, Gunstar Super Heroes features the brave Blue and Red in a new adventure of fast-paced, 2D shooter combat. As in Treasure's original Gunstar Heroes, players jump, shoot, kick, and punch their way though a series of six side-scrolling platform levels, on a quest to keep a magical artifact from the hands of an evil empire. Each character takes a slightly different path through the levels, adding some variety and replay value, but the powerful, screen-filling bosses that wait at the end of each run should pose a serious challenge, no matter which character faces them.
~ T.J. Deci, All Game Guide

Review: Overall

One of the best shooters to date on the Game Boy Advance, Gunstar Super Heroes brings a follow-up to the much-beloved Gunstar Heroes from the Sega Genesis to the small screen, adding new and creative levels to go with its new story. GSH, from much-lauded developer Treasure, puts you in command of one of two "Gunstar Heroes," Red or Blue as you blast, slide, and punch your way through six levels of mayhem. But just like its previous iteration on the Sega Genesis, Gunstar Heroes feels short, making it more suitable for a quick play rather than an extended gaming session.

The game takes full advantage of the GBA tiny screen, filling it with masses of characters, some enemies, some not, but all busily moving about in tandem with you. In an era of "next-gen" graphics and increased realism, there's something comforting in the sprite-based majesty of GSH. Treasure has also created some unusual levels. Some of the special effects on these levels include watching your character fight on an infrared screen while desperate enemies look on, or fighting on the back of an incoming fighter, Gyruss-style. These graphical additions are a nice touch, and offer plenty to look at as you struggle through a number of difficult fights.

This becomes quickly apparent in boss fights. Although many enemies are simply filler, rushing at you to be quickly dispatched, these boss fights are a different story. It can take a number of deaths before you determine the best way to dispatch one of these screen-filling baddies. Unfortunately, the game doesn't make continuing very easy, as you'll begin the boss fight with the same amount of health you had remaining when you initiated it. You may even have to play through the level again just to have a fighting chance.

Playing GSH also reveals some of the limitations of the GBA as a platform for a shooter. For example, even though controlling Red or Blue is a joy, the limitations of the GBA's four-directional gamepad make your wrists scream after an hour of play. Yet for all GSH's graphical splendor, it's still being displayed on a tiny screen. Worst of all, multiplayer is conspicuously absent, even through a link cable, so you can't dash through these well-crafted levels with a friend in tow. The lack of a multiplayer mode is particularly glaring as it was one of the best features of the Sega original.

These quibbles aside, Gunstar Super Heroes is a rarity on the GBA -- an innovative shooter that, although short, manages to entertain hugely.

Review: Enjoyment

Lots of fun. You'll be wondering where your time went, and why your wrists ache so badly.

Review: Graphics

Treasure lovingly crafted these graphics, and it shows. Some of the best 2D graphics on the GBA to date.

Review: Sound

The score, while enjoyable, is also forgettable.

Review: Replay Value

Features different difficulty setting for beginners, average players, and, once you've mastered the game, experts.

Review: Documentation

Very well written manual. Even includes info about the various characters' backstory -- surprising for characters named Red, Blue, and Yellow, for example.

Production Credits

Company 1: Sega Of America Inc.; CEO: Naoya Tsurumi; President and COO: Simon Jeffery; Senior VP of Product Development: Bill Petro; Director of Localization and QA: Osamu Shibamiya; Localization Producer: Jason Kuo; QA Project Lead: Shawn Dobbins; Tester: Cliff Anderson, Chester Lee, Josh Pfeiffer, Davidson Talag; Vice President, Entertainment Marketing: Scott A. Steinberg; Associate Product Manager: Teri A. Higgins; Creative Services: Chris Mowry; Web Development: Chris Olson, Bridget Oates, Rodwin Pabello; Public Relations: Jennie Sue; Company 2: Sega Corporation; CS Marketing Dept. International Team: Shinobu Shindo, Yukiko Kato
~ Keith Adams, All Game Guide
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Wikipedia: Gunstar Super Heroes
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Home > Library > Miscellaneous > Wikipedia
 This article may contain original research or unverified claims. Please improve the article by adding references. See the talk page for details. (December 2007)
Gunstar Super Heroes
American box art for Gunstar Super Heroes
Developer(s) Treasure Co. Ltd
Publisher(s) Sega
Designer(s) Hideyuki Suganami
Platform(s) Game Boy Advance
Release date(s) JP October 6, 2005
NA October 25, 2005
EU November 4, 2005
Genre(s) Run and gun
Mode(s) Single player
Rating(s) ESRB: E10+
CERO: All ages
Media 64-megabit cartridge

Gunstar Super Heroes (Japanese: ガンスタースーパーヒーローズ; Gunstar Future Heroes in Europe) is a Game Boy Advance title created by Treasure Co. Ltd. It is the sequel to the Sega Genesis/Game Gear action title Gunstar Heroes. Gameplay is similar to that of the original title, but with a fixed set of weapons and the addition of close combat techniques.

Contents

Story

Taking place after the destruction of the "God of Ruin" (also known as Golden Silver, the final boss) at the end of Gunstar Heroes, the explosion created four moons orbiting the Earth. However, many years later, the creation of a fifth moon reveals a plan to resurrect the malevolent Empire and Golden Silver once again.

Most of the new characters bear both the names and likenesses of their equivalents in the original game (such as Blue, Yellow, Green, Pink, Kain, Kotaro, Orange, Black, Gray, and Smash Daisaku). The main characters combat the Empire under the organization called The Third Eye, (abbreviated "3YE") under the names Red (female in the North American version, ambiguous in the Japanese) and Blue in recognition and tribute to the characters from the original game, and along with Yellow on the team, they are known as Gunstar Super Heroes. The Gunstars must travel to the moons, stop the resurrected Empire, and recapture the Treasure Gems, four mystical stones with an unknown power that had driven the story in the last game. The game has different storylines based on what difficulty is chosen and which character the player is playing as.

Gameplay

The gameplay makes a number of changes from the original Gunstar Heroes. The controls for Red and Blue no longer distinguish by the Free and Fixed Shot and both have more advanced, equal and versatile controls. The Throw from the original is taken out, and various melee attacks are now performed by using the A and B buttons in combination with the D-pad. The ability to combine different weapons is absent - instead, the player has the option to select from three weapon types at any time in the game. The game also uses a supercharge meter that fills as the player defeats enemies; using this energy allows the player to fire a powerful attack.

Reception

The game was almost universally praised by critics as a compelling action game and received high scores, even receiving several "Best GBA Game Of E3 2005" awards. However, the game still did not sell very well, and Nintendo Power has urged gamers on numerous times to get the game, disappointed that it did not appear in the top selling GBA games list.

See also

External links

v • d • e
Treasure video games
Fourth gen
Fifth gen
Sixth gen
Seventh gen
Canceled

This entry is from Wikipedia, the leading user-contributed encyclopedia. It may not have been reviewed by professional editors (see full disclaimer)

 
 

 

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