Wild Guns
| Wild Guns | |
|---|---|
 North American cover art | |
| Developer(s) | Natsume |
| Publisher(s) | Natsume Titus Software |
| Designer(s) | Shunichi Taniguchi |
| Composer(s) | Hiroyuki Iwatsuki Haruo Ohashi |
| Platform(s) | Super NES Virtual Console |
| Release date(s) | SNES Virtual Console |
| Genre(s) | Cabal shooter |
| Mode(s) | Single-player Co-operative multiplayer |
Wild Guns (ワイルドガンズ) is a fixed-view shooting gallery game developed by Natsume for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System in 1994 in Japan and in 1995 in North America. The PAL version was released in 1996 and published by Titus Software. It is also available on the Wii Virtual Console in North America on May 31, 2010 and in the PAL region on August 13, 2010.
Story
The game's setting is that of the Wild West but various science fiction elements are present; most notably robots, who serve as most of the bosses in the game. This mixture is a prime example of the Steampunk genre.
The objective is to seek revenge against a murderous gang that killed the family member of one of the playable characters (vaguely mirroring the plot of True Grit). The female character, Annie, has searched down a bounty hunter by the name of Clint to help her get revenge and to rescue the few family members she has left. The player or players navigate through several different levels (including Carson City) fighting everything from towering machines to armored trains.
Gameplay
The game employs a third-person, fixed viewpoint and is primarily about shooting, similar to Cabal.[1] The controls also share a similar element to the 1990 video arcade game Blood Bros.[2]
The player controls the movement of both the on-screen character and the targeting reticule with the directional pad. While shooting, the character stands still. Various maneuvers, such as jumping, double jumping and dodge-rolls are possible. Beyond the standard gun several other weapons are obtainable, such as a Gatling gun, shotgun, or a grenade launcher though these hold only limited ammunition. As is common in shooter games, the player has access to a number of screen-clearing bombs. A message declaring "Look out!" appears when gunfire is about to hit the player. Failing to dodge out of the way in time results in losing a life.
One of the game's more notable points is that most bullets shot at the player can be shot, getting rid of a threat and building up a gauge that, once filled, gives the player a powerful cannon weapon for a short time with unlimited ammo for the duration.
When a game is resumed because of using up a credit, the score reverts itself back to zero. Three difficulty levels are used for this game, easy, normal, and hard.
Reception
The game was well received at the time of its release, with the scores of 70% in Video Games & Computer Entertainment, and 80% in Electronic Gaming Monthly and GamePro.[3] As of October 2010, Wild Guns hold the GameFAQs scores of 8.6 (Reader Review Average) and 8.2 (Rating Average) out of 10.[4]
References
- ↑ Test Wild Guns Emu Nova (French).
- ↑ 'Might have been' - Wild Guns Gamesetwatch.com.
- ↑ Wild Guns - MobyGames
- ↑ Wild Guns for SNES - GameFAQs