Sunset Riders
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| Sunset Riders | |
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| Developer(s) | Konami |
| Publisher(s) | Konami |
| Release date(s) | September 4, 1991 |
| Genre(s) | Run and gun |
| Mode(s) | Single player, 2-4 player Co-op |
| Platform(s) | Arcade, Mega Drive/Genesis, SNES |
| Input | 8-way Joystick, 2 Buttons |
| Arcade cabinet | Upright |
| Arcade CPU(s) | Motorola 68000 (@ 16 MHz) |
| Arcade sound system(s) | Z80 (@ 4 MHz), YM2151, K053260 |
| Arcade display | Raster, 288 x 224 pixels (Horizontal), 2048 colors |
Sunset Riders (サンセットライダーズ?) is a run and gun arcade game created by Konami in 1991. It is set in the wild west. The game was later ported to the Mega Drive/Genesis in 1992, and to the SNES video game console in 1993.
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[edit] Story
The game, which is set in a fanciful version of the American Old West, revolves around four bounty hunters who are out to claim rewards given for eliminating the most wanted outlaws in the West. At the beginning of each level the player is shown a wanted poster, showing the criminal, the reward for stopping them, and the cliché line "Wanted dead or alive".
[edit] Gameplay
Sunset Riders is similar to other run and guns, such as Contra, but with less emphasis on jumping and a greater focus on shooting. The game includes a total of four playable characters to choose from: Steve, Billy, Bob, and Cormano. The characters are slightly differentiated: Steve and Billy use revolvers while Bob and Cormano are armed with shotguns. The shotguns shoot somewhat slower than their revolver counterparts, but have a wider reach. On the full-size arcade cabinet up to four players can play simultanously, each as a different character.
The player can fire in 8 directions, as well as slide to avoid bullets. Unlike Contra (but similar to Metal Slug), colliding with enemies does not kill the player; only bullets, pits and other obstacles are fatal. Throughout the levels there are doors that can be opened, as in the games Rolling Thunder and Shinobi. Enemies may come out of some doors, while others yield power-ups. When the player emerges from one of doors containing a power-up a short animation plays, showing the protagonist being kissed on the cheek by a female bar fly or taking a swig from a bottle of liquor. Many enemies utilize stick-dynamite as a weapon; if quick enough, the dynamite can be picked up and thrown by the players. Once initially thrown the dynamite will start to blink at an accelerated pace, which represents the remaining length of the fuse. When it explodes it will eliminate both players and enemies, even if the enemies initially threw the dynamite. At the end of each level the cash bounty is distributed amongst the players in proportion to the amount of damage they dealt to the boss.
[edit] Power-ups
There are four types of powerup in Sunset Riders. All of the gun powerups are lost when the player gets killed.
- Rapid fire: Represented by a gold sheriff badge, this item allows players to hold the button to fire (instead of hitting it repetitively) and accelerates the bullets slightly. It also awards the player $2000.
- Dual fire: Represented by a silver sheriff badge emblazoned with two revolvers, this icon gives the player a second gun, increasing his attack range and awarding the player $2000.
- Monetary award: Represented by a gold sheriff badge not emblazoned with any icon, this gives the player $2000.
- 1-Up: Gives the player an extra life, represented by a gold circle with 1-up emblazoned on it.
[edit] Stages and bosses
There are a total of eight levels in the game. Each boss says a short phrase at the beginning and end of each battle. A few of the phrases contain minor translation errors. Most of the game consists of sidescrolling on foot, however Stage 2 and Stage 7 are done partially on horseback. In addition, there are two bonus rounds, one after level 2 and the other after level 5.
- Stage 1 –
- Simon Greedwell, a rich crime boss who wields a rifle.
- Battle phrase: "It's time to pay!"
- Upon death (crashing on the ground near players): "Bury me with my money!"
- Stage 2 –
- Hawkeye "Hank" Hatfield, a sharpshooter with high agility.
- Battle phrase: "Draw, pilgrim!"
- Upon death (same as "Simon Greedwell"): "Ugh...ya got me."
- Stage 3 –
- Dark Horse, a man atop a large bullet-proof plated horse with a shotgun.
- Battle phrase: "You in heap big trouble!"
- Upon death (slumps down on horse): "Me in heap big trouble!" (his horse carries him off)
- Stage 4 –
- The Smith Brothers, two brothers in a bar who hurl explosives at the player.
- Battle phrase: "We're gonna blow you away!" "Yeah! Yeah!"
- Upon death: "Holy smoke!" "That was a bang!"
- Stage 5 –
- El Greco, a Mexican man who uses a bullet-proof shield and a whip.
- Battle phrase: "Die, you Gringo!"
- Upon death: "Adios, amigo!" (Note: If playing as Cormano, El Greco will toss him his hat, which Cormano will wear for the remainder of the game.)
- Stage 6 –
- Chief Scalpem (changed to Wigwam for the Super Nintendo, most likely due to fear of racial insensitivity) is a Native American shaman who flings throwing knives at the player(s).
- Battle phrase: "Me ready for Pow-Wow!"
- Upon death: "Me Pow-Wowed OUT!" (A young woman then comes on the screen and pleads to the players not to shoot her brother; in fact, she says he was "only following orders".)
- Stage 7 –
- Paco Loco, a large man who sits in a wood fort and fires a gatling gun.
- Battle phrase: "Aye, chihuaua!"
- Upon death: "Hasta la BYE BYE!" (he then blows himself up by lying on the ground, repeatedly shooting up in the sky.)
- Stage 8 –
- Sir Richard Rose, a British man who fires at the player from a balcony behind a statue of two lions. His battle starts like the first boss battle, but suddenly switches gears and finishes like the second boss fight. He also has to be defeated twice (since he wears bullet proof armor in the first half of the battle, and the Genesis version has the final boss battle song transposed up one note to signify the second half).
- Battle phrase: "Cheerio, ol' chap!"
- Upon death (Arcade version has a picture of a rose instead of the final boss dying; SNES version depicts him falling on his knees): "I say...bit o' bad luck..." (collapses)
[edit] Ports
While the SNES version is fairly faithful, the Mega Drive/Genesis version reduces the number of characters to two, and similarly the number of levels is cut in half, in addition to the common occurrence of lower sound and graphic quality, but the stage designs are completely different.
One of the biggest changes to the Super NES version was the replacement of the Native American enemies in the sixth stage, with the regular cowboy enemies in their place instead. This changes some of the gameplay on that stage, since the regular Native enemies fired flaming arrows and dropped rocks on you, attempting to block your progress; however, this only affected the U.S. version; the Japanese Super Famicom version retained the stage as is. Other changes to the U.S. Super NES version include removal of female enemies (possibly to avoid backlash of violence against women), and giving all the female bar flies in the game longer dresses instead of their normal corsets and underwear. Also none of the characters drink anything when they come out of doors, instead simply posing when they get a powerup from a door.
