Gunstar Heroes

This cart doesn't blast open new territory, but it soups up a standard shoot-out game with murderous action, excellent controls and imaginative gamer design. Gunstar Heroes is a certified Genesis gun star.

The game is over ten years old now, and I still prefer it to the majority of game offerings that exist today, especially when I am playing it on the extreme difficulty level, which is pure madness. I have never actually beat the game on Extreme-- I just love the chaos, which makes normal games seem boring by comparison. So if you can find a copy of Gunstar Heroes, I highly recommend it. I would also suggest keeping an eye out for the Game Gear version of this game that also did not get much attention and was released a couple years later. It was almost enough to get me to buy a Game Gear. Almost.

Gunstar Heroes is simply one of the best games ever made, period. Too many games use beautiful graphics and stellar effects to cover up a lack of game play instead of complimenting it. Gunstar proves that both can exist in tandem and produce awesome results. Play it. Buy it. Savor it. This is as good as it gets.

This is one of the greatest action games of all time. It is one of the greatest 16-bit games of all time. It needs to be in your game library. It almost sounds like I'm trying to brainwash you. Sorry about that. Seriously though. Gunstar Heroes is an excellent game. Unless you absolutely despise action games and shooting games, you'll enjoy it. It's Treasure at its best, and that's saying something. If it weren't for the minor issue of slowdown in the two-player mode, you'd be looking at a flawless game.

The tight controls and great weapon combinations, the fantastic action-packed graphics and sound make Gunstar Heroes my choice for best run & gunner of all time. Its also the best game to ever be released for the Sega Genesis and if your at all a fan of the genre, I can’t recommend you to play this game enough. Treasure has gone on to make more incredible games but GH was their first and still one of their best.

Hay veces que un juego es capaz de hacer vender consolas. Hay otras veces que un juego marca estilo y crea pautas que otros muchos siguen después. Son pocas las veces que una compañía se estrena con un juego que consigue ambas cosas, y Treasure lo hizo con "Gunstar Heroes". Un grandísimo juego, emocionante, sobresaliente a nivel gráfico y frenético en la jugabilidad. Con todas las señas de identidad que su compañía impregnaría después en cada producción y, sobre todo, sobrado de carisma. Algo que hace que sus seguidores se cuenten por legiones años después de la desaparición de los 16 bits. Pronto podremos volver a disfrutar del juego en una versión para Playstation 2 llamada "Gunstar Heroes Treasure Box", donde también se incluirán los clásicos "Alien Soldier" y "Dynamite Headdy".

Gunstar Heroes ist einer der absoluten Pflichttitel für das Mega Drive. Mehr gibt es nicht zu sagen.

Gunstar Heroes is a classic in every sense of the word. I'm not joking when I say that Gunstar Heroes is perhaps the best side scrolling shoot 'em up ever to grace a 16 bit console. Fans of this game should seriously consider checking out Treasure's Alien Soldier for more explosive action.

Simply put, Gunstar Heroes is a frenetic, fast-paced treasure (no pun intended) that any Genesis, or Wii owner for that matter, should not overlook. This could easily be classified as one of the best games ever created. It just goes to show how fun video games used to be and can still be today. This is the type of game that instead of building dust on a collector's shelf should be building a new generation of gamers. Forget Halo and Grand Theft Auto, this is the real deal. This is what video games are meant to be like.

Gunstar Heroes is loaded with laugh-out-loud humor, and I'll never forget the flea-sized "boss" who tossed me clear across the screen! Its cool how the life meters of bosses take the form of numeric counters - it's always satisfying to watch them count down. Despite its overall greatness, there are a few minor flaws. First, in two-player mode the players look very similar, so it's easy to confuse them in the heat of the battle. When in close proximity, you often throw your partner inadvertently. Also, your score is never displayed after the game ends, so your only real goal is to finish the game. That's okay, because there are three skill levels and it's not very long to begin with. Collectors and shooter fans should try to track down Gunstar Heroes at all costs. This game pushes your Genesis to the limit!

Gunstar Heroes is still a common game mentioned when bringing up the topic of best side-scrolling shooters ever made, and both Gunstar Heroes and Radiant Silvergun are the games Treasure is most well-known by. Some believe Treasure suffers from the Orson Welles complex, having given their best stuff right at the start. But as long as Treasure continues to make quality titles, the opportunity will always be available...

So, is it worth owning a 14-year-old Mega Drive game on your shiny new Wii? Well, in the case of Gunstar Heroes, yes. Despite the fact it's a little short, it retains that addictive gameplay and clean presentation it had on its original release. It provides a challenge, yet never infuriates, has a two player mode, great music and will cost you only 800 points. Gunstar Heroes isn't just one of the best Mega Drive games - it's not just one of the finest 16-bit titles - it is one of the most superb pieces of code ever written. And how many debuts from a developer can you say that about?

Gunstar Heroes has been re-released since its initial debut, first in a port to the portable Sega Game Gear system and then to the PS2 in a collection called Treasure Box – but that only came out in Japan. This Virtual Console release, then, is the first chance American gamers have had to grab the game since its original Genesis days. Action fans, especially those with a friend to play co-op with, shouldn't wait. Download now.

Gunstar Heroes is a solid, if somewhat short, action game that was innovative in its time, and it is a game that still holds up reasonably well today. As with all VC games, there are some faults in the game that are more apparent in light of modern standards, but fans of Contra-style co-op action will eat this sort of thing up.

In some ways, I feel almost bad taking cracks at Gunstar Heroes. For a company's first game, it's extremely well-made, and the control scheme alone makes it worth going through the game, particularly in its seamless two-player mode. However, the game's shortness combined with its blatant missteps means that this is a classic that only more dedicated gamers will really appreciate. Like any first work, it's a bit raw at times – but because it saves its best for the moments that matter most, Gunstar Heroes is the kind of initial offering anyone would be proud of.

By 1993, the Sega Genesis had long since grown into maturity, and many fans of Sega's 16-bit console started to think they'd seen it all. Then came Gunstar Heroes, from a previously unheard-of Japanese developer called Treasure, and it became one of the best run-and-gun action games available for a system that had already seen dozens of such games. Gunstar Heroes draws its influence from great arcade hits like Contra, Strider, and Street Fighter II but features its own distinct style, manic action for one or two players, and various innovative touches that make this still one of the best games of its kind. A cult classic if ever there was one, Gunstar Heroes isn't one of the most recognizable names from the Genesis era despite being one of the better games for the system, so it's fortunate you can now experience it in a pixel-perfect emulation as part of the Wii Virtual Console service.

If you've never played Gunstar Heroes then this is a required download. It's one of the best side-scrolling action games ever created and remains a lot of fun today. Even if you have already played it, the easy achievements and online co-op may be good reason to take it for another spin.

A glaring omission from the disc-based Megadrive Collection, Gunstar Heroes is a great choice for the SEGA Vintage series. The hardcore will lap it up, but anyone who still remembers what it's like to grin like an idiot while blasting hundreds of enemies will more than get their money's worth as well.

Despite being a little on the short side, Gunstar Heroes is a great port of a fantastic game. At the price, it's hard not to give it another go.

Trotzdem ist Gunstar Heroes jede investierte Minute wert. Das intelligente Waffensystem, der offene Spielablauf und feines Balancing machen Treasures Erstling zum besseren Metal Slug. Sorry, SNK!

E se non avete ancora visto un action che diventa anche gioco dell’oca, è il momento di provare GH. Fatelo come atto di fede, ma non aspettatevi un capolavoro nel senso classico del termine.

We would be remiss to not recommend this game just as any serious gamer would be to not heed the call. Gunstar Heroes is a masterpiece of a shooter, accessible yet deep, with a gameplay style that has yet to be trumped by any other similar action title. For those that missed it the first time around, now is the time to right that wrong.

Because the game is so forgiving, and because its visuals are so bright and cheery, I can't help but think that when Treasure set out to develop Gunstar Heroes, they wanted to make a Contra for kids. In that regard, the game succeeds admirably. It's just the kind of game I can imagine two elementary children playing together after school while their older brothers play Contra in the next room. And if that's something that Konami didn't want to release, maybe the formation of Treasure wasn't so ironic after all. Sadly, my search for irony in video games is stalled. I'm left holding ten thousand spoons.

It looks good, sounds good and plays well, but after completing the game, you get no great urge to return to it, even with two players. There are no hidden levels to find, no secret screens - you get what you see. Gunstar Heroes is great while it lasts, but it does not last long.