Videogame Review: Gunstar Super Heroes [GBA]

The North American boxart for Gunstar Super Heroes

Title Information

Japanese & North American Title: Gunstar Super Heroes

U.K. Title: Gunstar Future Heroes

Format: Game Boy Advance

Japanese & North American Publisher: SEGA

U.K. Publisher: THQ & SEGA

Developer: Treasure Video Games

Origin: Japan

Players: 1

Storage: 8-Megabyte Cartridge

Save: EPROM

e-Reader: No

Wireless Adaptor: No

Ask most videogames enthusiasts to compile a list of their favourite Genesis (Mega Drive) titles and you will soon find out that among the most prominent of those mentioned is a title from 1993 that was at the time unheralded outside of the industry press called Gunstar Heroes. Developed by a then-upstart code shop comprised of former Konami programmers called Treasure, Gunstar Heroes was one of the few Genesis-exclusive titles that made Super NES owners turn green with envy due to its visual special effects, which were thought to be impossible on the Genesis and its wonderfully intense game play. The title quickly developed a cult following among those who played it and those players regularly lobbied for a sequel, but apart from a Japanese-exclusive conversion coded by M2 for the Game Gear two years later, these calls went unheeded until the announcement of Gunstar Super Heroes for the GBA.

Although this title is the official sequel to Gunstar Heroes, Gunstar Super Heroes is also an unofficial remake of the original Genesis classic, giving it a reassuringly familiar feel to veterans of the previous instalment in the saga. The plot for this title picks up from the conclusion of the original, when the destruction of the devastating Golden Silver causes the creation of four new moons that were eventually colonised. The appearance of another moon, a military machine satellite developed and controlled the sinister Empire organisation. As either as a female tomboy called Red or a male known as Blue, players must stop the Empire and its plans to resurrect Golden Silver.

As should be expected of any remake and sequel, this title’s visuals surpass those of the original Genesis edition. The graphics in Gunstar Super Heroes are big, bold and certainly more colourful than those of the prequel because the Genesis can only display 65 colours simultaneously, which had an obvious impact on Gunstar Heroes. Treasure are experts at pushing the technical capabilities of the systems it develops for to the limit. Gunstar Super Heroes is no exception, especially since Treasure is already very familiar with the abilities of the GBA’s internal architecture from developing Advance Guardian Heroes and Astro Boy Omega Factor. One of the many reasons why Gunstar Heroes on the Genesis is so memorable to those who have played it or seen in action was because Treasure were able to produce visual features that were thought to be impossible on the format. Treasure was able to create massive and complex objects from the use of multiple, separate sprites in a manner that would foreshadow the way computer-generated three-dimensional objects are comprised of multiple polygons. These effects return in this sequel, improved upon to advantage of the GBA’s superior hardware.

The Memory Will Never Die

Despite being a showcase of the Genesis’ technical abilities, Gunstar Heroes would not have enjoyed a cult following unless these abilities were used to help create a quality game playing experience and this too has been largely recreated and enhanced by the sequel. Veterans of the original will feel familiar with the way Gunstar Super Heroes plays as all of the stages from the prequel have been remixed for this title. That is not to say that there are no new game play features contained in Gunstar Super Heroes. Among these additions are action areas that are tributes to old SEGA classics, pulled off with a style of panache that is the typical hallmark of Treasure. The finest of these action area tributes is Cobit Village, a homage to Flicky where the player has to rescue chicks scattered throughout the vicinity and lead them all to the EXIT.

The control system in Gunstar Super Heroes has been altered from Gunstar Heroes to make both Red and Blue more versatile and less distinctive characters to use during game play. The biggest and most contentious change made in this title from the Genesis original is that to the weaponry available for use. Unlike Gunstar Heroes, where players could combine different weapons to cause maximum carnage, each character in this title has only three types of firepower at their disposal. While some hardcore Gunstar Heroes veterans resent this change because it reduces their satisfaction from wiping out opponents with ridiculously overpowered and customised weapons of mass destruction in the most spectacular fashion possible, others will appreciate how this significant alteration improves the balance of difficulty in this title.

Treasure Hunt

The scope of Gunstar Super Heroes’ presentation has also been expanded upon from its predecessor. Instead of aiming to complete the title, as was the case with Gunstar Heroes, this instalment in the saga has a greater role for its narrative that gives the cast of characters more personality. This improved feature is further built upon by the title revealing more rewarding story revelations when progress is made by the player with each higher difficulty level. Gunstar Super Heroes also records the player’s quickest elapsed times for each stage that has been cleared and top scores, providing further incentives to replay this title repeatedly.

However, Gunstar Super Heroes is not perfect. Unlike Gunstar Heroes, this title does not have a multiplayer feature. Apparently, Treasure attempted to incorporate a four-player option only to discover that it would compromise the rest of the game play on offer due to the technical demands required of the GBA. Unlike both the Genesis and the rival Super NES formats, the GBA’s technical resources are needed to operate both the portable’s wide colour screen and speaker in addition to generating visual and audio effects. If Treasure claims that if some feature cannot be accomplished satisfactorily, then such is the good reputation of the developer that it can be taken at its word. Gunstar Super Heroes is also a rather short game playing experience, while some Gunstar Heroes veterans might find this title to similar to the original Genesis version to be considered as a true sequel. These trivial gripes though do nothing to detract from the quality of Gunstar Super Heroes. You do not have to have played the Genesis original to appreciate fully the virtues of this title.

Verdict

While some hardcore veteran players of the original Genesis incarnation of Gunstar Heroes might grumble about certain aspects of this sequel/remake, Gunstar Super Heroes is still the definitive run-and-gun action title on not just the GBA, but also on any portable videogame system to date. Truly, this is one classic title to Treasure!

93% GAMER GOLD!

Did You Know?: Some characters from both Gunstar Heroes and Gunstar Super Heroes also appear in Treasure’s popular Guardian Heroes series.