Gun.Smoke
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| Gun.Smoke | |
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| Developer(s) | Capcom |
| Publisher(s) | Capcom |
| Release date(s) | 1985 |
| Genre(s) | Overhead scrolling shooter |
| Mode(s) | Up to two players, simultaneously |
| Platform(s) | NES, Amstrad CPC, MSX, Famicom Disk System, PlayStation 2, PlayStation, Sinclair Spectrum, Xbox, Sega Saturn, IBM PC |
| Input | 8-way joystick, 3 buttons |
| Arcade cabinet | Upright |
| Arcade CPU(s) | Z80 (@ 4 MHz) |
| Arcade sound system(s) | Z80 (@ 3 MHz) (2x) YM2203 (@ 1.5 MHz) |
| Arcade display | Raster, vertical orientation, 256 x 224 |
Gun.Smoke is a vertical scrolling shooter arcade game created by Capcom in 1985 (its author is Yoshiki Okamoto). The game, which has a Western theme, centers around a character named Billy Bob, a bounty hunter who is after vicious criminals of the Wild West. This game is considered to be one of the hardest Capcom games ever made.[citation needed]
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[edit] Gameplay
Gun.Smoke is very similar to Commando, another Capcom game. However, there are differences in Gun. Smoke. Whereas Commando is a run and gun game, this game is a scrolling shooter in which the screen scrolls upward automatically and players only have three ways to shoot which is done with three buttons for left, right, and center shooting. However, a player can also change the way Billy shoots through button combinations. You can still die by getting shot or struck by enemies like in Commando but you can better protect yourself by getting special items like: a horse, for protection up to three hits; boots, for speed of movement; bullets, for faster shots; and rifles, for shot length. You find these items by shooting barrels and you can stock up rifles, boots, and bullets up to five.
Also, there are other items that are used for points like: stars, bottles, bags, dragonflies, and cows but, there are two other items to watch out for; the yamachi, which is a 1up and the cattle skull, which reduces Billy's power. There are obstacles in the game like streams, buildings, and hills but do not worry if you got caught between the screen and an obstacle you would automatically move instead of being killed instantly. The Bosses in the boss battles would have a big life gauge with sometimes four to six blocks of life so this proved to be a real challenge to players because they had to hold out long enough to take out the boss and common enemies that came play around as well.
[edit] Characters
| Name | Description |
|---|---|
| Billy Bob | The hero of the game. He is the bounty hunter that is after 10 of the most dangerous men in the west. He is armed with two revolvers, wears a 10 gallon hat, and a blue shirt and jeans with a white vest. |
| Master Winchester | Round 1 boss. He is said to be fast with a rifle He wears a hat with a blue scarf, a blue shirt, and brown overalls. Master shoots while standing up but, if he is hit he crawls on the ground to avoid Billy's shots. |
| Roy Knife | Round 2 boss. Roy is a dead eye when it comes to using knives. It is said Roy can throw knives as fast as bullets fly. He wears a flat brim hat with knives holsters and red clothing. |
| Ninja Darts | Round 3 boss. He is a ninja who can disappear and reappear to keep his enemies confused to where he would pop up next. Ninja is armed with shurikens which he throws while jumping through the air. He wears a red ninja outfit. |
| Cutter Boomerang | Round 4 boss. He is a bald-headed cretin who carries two razor-sharp boomerangs to cut his victims to pieces with. He wears a U.S. Calvary-like uniform with gloves. |
| Pig Joe Dynimite | Round 5 boss. Pig Joe is a big fat slob who is armed with dozens of dynamite sticks. He must be a fire-eater too because he also spits fireballs. Pig Joe is shirtless and has dynamite sticks strapped to his waist and two sticks strapped to his head. |
| Wolf Chief | Round 6 boss. He is the chief of a corrupt Indian tribe who does his dirty work. Wolf Chief is armed with a shotgun. He wears a feathered headress with red clothing. |
| Goldsmith | Round 7 boss. He is claimed to be the ultimate frontierman. Goldsmith is armed with two rifles, he rolls on the ground to avoid enemy attacks, and mostly shoots when there is some distance between you and him. He wears a blue outfit with a brown jacket.. |
| Los Pubro | Round 8 boss. He is actually the same as Billy because he carries two pistols like Billy does. Los Pubro is a bandit from Mexico and he wears a sombrero with a light blue vest and blue clothing. |
| Fat Man | Round 9 boss. He is a big guy who carries a gatling gun with ease and uses it to mow down enemies like weeds. He is shirtless just like Pig Joe. |
| Wingate Family | Round 10 boss(es). They are a family of criminals consisting of a father and two sons. They are said to be the most dangerous of the 10 villains because the sons are ace shots with their rifles and their father carries a big machine gun that spreads bullets wider that a shotgun. The Wingate sons are dressed in black and Pa Wingate is dressed in red with a belt of bullets strapped across his chest. |
| Common enemies | These are just the guys Billy fights before and during a boss battle. They consist of gunslingers, demolitionists, snipers, riflemen, knifemen, and Indians. |
Note: Two versions of Gun.Smoke were released under license in America by Romstar. One follows the same sequence of bosses as above; in the other, the third and sixth levels are swapped, so that Roy Knife is followed by Wolf Chief, and Pig Joe is followed by Ninja Darts.
[edit] Ports
Gun. Smoke was ported to many systems:
- The MSX
- The PlayStation 2 and the Xbox as a part of Capcom Classics Collection
- The PlayStation and the Sega Saturn as a part of Capcom Generation 4
- The IBM PC as a part of Capcom Arcade Hits 3
- The Amstrad CPC as Desperado - Gun. Smoke; this platform actually received a sequel called Desperado 2
- The Sinclair Spectrum
[edit] NES Version
The game was later ported to the Nintendo Entertainment System and Famicom Disk System in 1988. The objective is to free the town of Hicksville from the band of criminals known as the Wingates. But in order to capture their most dangerous henchmen, in each stage the player must retrieve a Wanted sign of said henchman, otherwise it is impossible to clear the stage. The NES version also has different music.
[edit] Differences from the arcade version
Even though the NES version stayed true to the gameplay of the arcade version there were major changes done:
- Only six of the ten bosses were in this version (Master Winchester, Ninja Darts, Cutter Boomerang, Wolf Chief, Los Pubro, and Fat Man).
- Billy was given extra weapons like: a shotgun, a machinegun, a smart bomb, and a magnum.
- Bullets are used for ammo for the extra weapons.
- A storyline is built around the game.
- The Wingates in the game are a gang instead of a family of 2 sons and a father.
- You can purchase weapons and items from people
- Four of the bosses had their names changed. Master Winchester name was changed to Bandit Bill, Wolf Chief was changed to Devil Hawk, Fat Man was changed to Fat Man Joe(a knockoff of Pig Joe) and Los Pubro was changed to Wingate.
- Los Pubro was made the final boss in the NES version as Wingate with a slash over one of his eyes, a cape, and armed with a gatling gun.
- The other bosses had their appearances changed too. Bandit Bill (Master Winchester) now wears a red shirt and blue jeans. Cutter Boomerang wears a baggy blue sleeveless shirt and red pants. Ninja Darts wears a purple ninja outfit with no mask and sports a ponytail and he shoots shurikens that split into fours. Devil Hawk (Wolf Chief) is now shirtless and uses fireballs as his weapon. Fat Man Joe wears an armored plated shirt and uses a bomb gun.
- There is another type of yashichi that will give you temporary invincibility.
[edit] Levels
Each level in the game is given a name. These are the names of each level and the bosses of them.
- Round 1 - The town of Hicksville - Boss: Bandit Bill
- Round 2 - The Boulders - Boss: Cutter Boomerang
- Round 3 - Camanchi Village - Boss: Devil Hawk
- Round 4 - Death Valley - Boss: Ninja Darts
- Round 5 - Cheyenne River - Boss: Fat Man Joe
- Round 6 - Fort Wingate - Boss: Wingate
[edit] Relationship between the show and the game
The dot in Gun.Smoke is written because of trademark issues, as the name Gunsmoke refers to a famous and long running American Western Radio and TV show which ran in various forms from 1951 until 1975, and was the longest running entertainment series with continuous characters in the history of American television. This series and the game are unrelated to each other.
[edit] Trivia
- Jaime Guzman holds the official record for this game with 1,465,250 points.
