When you say Gunstar Heroes, most players picture the frantic run & gun ride from the Treasure studio on the SEGA Mega Drive. But there's also a pocket version for the Game Gear, and today it's a little curiosity for anyone who wants to keep a legend in their pocket. It's an attempt to bring one of the most jam-packed action titles of its time onto hardware an order of magnitude weaker than its home sibling.
The core of the gameplay stays true to the run & gun genre: you run, jump and shoot in all directions, facing hordes of enemies and giant bosses. The game is built on brisk action, a combination of weapons and battles that demand reflexes and timing. On the small Game Gear screen it's of course a more intimate experience than on a big TV, but the principle of fast, adrenaline-fueled shooting in tight levels remains legible and fun.
The original Gunstar Heroes from 1993 was the debut of the Treasure studio, founded by former developers from Konami, and it instantly became a cult title and one of the technical showcases of the Mega Drive. The studio built a reputation as creators who wring the maximum out of hardware and aren't afraid of an over-the-top amount of effects and enemies on screen. That reputation is tied to the Gunstar brand to this day.
The pocket version for the Game Gear is interesting mainly as context: it shows how the popular titles of the time were ported across platforms to appeal to owners of weaker hardware too. For fans of the series it's a chance to experience the familiar world and characters in an unusual format and to compare what all fit onto Sega's handheld and what had to give way to technical limits.
Gunstar Heroes as a brand is one of the pillars of the nineties action genre, and its influence can be felt in countless later shooters. Even the pocket edition thus bears the mark of one of the most respected names of its era and is a pleasant reminder of a time when people played wherever a battery and a small backlit screen would fit.
Why play it: Adrenaline-fueled run & gun action in pocket format, bearing the name of one of the most acclaimed action brands of the nineties.
Game 29 of 39 for SEGA Game Gear
The same title elsewhere (1)
The SEGA Mega Drive/Genesis original is celebrated as a technical showcase by Treasure - the screen handles dozens of moving objects, huge bosses and fluid action without slowdown, which is why it ranks among the best run-and-gun games of its generation. The version for the handheld SEGA Game Gear had to cut back heavily due to the smaller screen, limited memory and weaker hardware - levels are shorter and simpler, the color palette is more limited, the action is slower, and fewer enemies appear on screen at once. It plays more like a curious handheld side note for fans than a real substitute for the original. To experience Gunstar Heroes at its best, with the pace and chaos Treasure intended, the Mega Drive/Genesis version is the clear choice.
