Run ‘n Gun-a-thon — Part 4

The story of how developer Treasure came to be is inspiring. A group of Konami employees were dissatisfied with the company turning down their original game ideas in favor of pumping out sequels for successful IPs. To be free of this creative interference, the designers left Konami and formed their own studio, vowing to make the games they want to make, not necessarily what makes the most cash.

I desperately wish more developers thought like that. No offense to those working on AAA games, but indie studios have been shaming their big-budget cousins for the better part of a decade. A small team and budget seems like a disadvantage, but that’s actually how Treasure has always operated. They generally hire between 20 to 30 people at any given time to preserve, as president Masoto Maegawa put it, an “independent-minded” mentality. Smaller teams allow the passion of every participant on the project to shine through.

Treasure’s first project, Gunstar Heroes, exudes passion. With its over-the-top action and twists on the established Contra formula, it’s no wonder it stood out upon release. Thankfully, it still plays well. Being able to combine two weapons to create a unique shot type is neat. This pairs well with the addition of a healthbar. If this played like Contra where you died and lost your weapon after one hit, it would be much harder to appreciate the weapon combos. But don’t think having a lifebar makes the journey a breeze! Even on Normal difficulty, Gunstar Heroes can be just as difficult as the classic Contra games. The challenge is mostly fair though and a couple levels break away from well-worn run ‘n gun tropes. The board game level, for example, has you conquering a gauntlet of minibosses to reach the end boss instead of moving and shooting right. I see why Cuphead brought it back for King Dice. The minecart level has you switching between the floor and ceiling. This is put to excellent use in the showdown against Seven Force, who is easily the best boss in the game.

It’s easy to get absorbed by the action, so much so any perceived blemishes are unlikely to affect the average player. I’m not average, however, and the truth is I don’t actually hold Gunstar Heroes in high regard. I have a couple minor qualms like the horizontal shmup level not being fun and wishing for a toggle between the free and fixed shooting modes. The former is mainly a personal preference. I’ve always gravitated toward vertical shmups like Xevious and Galaga instead of horizontal ones like Gradius. Something about aiming and dodging in the former feels more comfortable. The two shooting modes being separate does make sense given the limitations of the Genesis’ three-button controller, but an option to switch modes in the pause menu or even before a level would have been nice. I might have been willing to accept that limitation if it wasn’t for the biggest mishap of Gunstar Heroes: flat level design.

Most of the levels consist of long hallways full of enemies appearing in front of and behind you. Like the later Contra games, these feel like uninspired shooting galleries and were exhausting to get through. Level 5 especially feels like it goes on forever. At least in Hard Corps, these sections were very brief, allowing for the best part of the game, the bosses, to shine. Gunstar Heroes also has good bosses, but no amount of explosions can hide the fact you’re doing the exact same thing in most levels.

Overall, Gunstar Heroes was a solid, albeit imperfect debut for Treasure. Thankfully, this wouldn’t be their last attempt at a run ‘n gun. Two years later, they would release Alien Soldier, which will be the final game of the marathon. Until then, have a wonderful day!

I've been playing a lot of Platinum Games lately, and I couldn't stop thinking about how Platinum Games are kinda like the modern version of Treasure Games, where action, style, mechanics and replayability take front row over any other factors in their games.

I'm a big fan of retro games, but having this thought I just realised I have not played any Treasure titles, besides the original Sin and Punishment. So going through their catalog, as I am now playing through a lot of Platinum titles, I will also be playing through Treasure titles alongside them, and there is no better place to start than their first title Gunstar Heroes.

I really liked Gunstar Heroes. It's like any other run and gun like Metal Slug or Contra, but the chaos is dialed up to 10. There's is just so much happening on the screen with shit exploding and effects everywhere that you can't help but feel so much dopamine rush through your brain.

The game has more of a focus on shooting and dodging bullets however, rather than platforming. There is next to no platforming in this game, so it is safer to say this is closer to something like a shmup than it is to Metal Slug/Contra. There are even some cool shmup sections. The bossfights themselves feel like something that was designed in cuphead. So much fun, but definetly more forgiving than Cuphead.

Speaking of difficulty, like every other retro shmup, I was expecting something hard. But surprisingly I never got a game over and just beat the whole game on my first playthrough on Normal difficulty. So I can see myself giving this another try on hard mode.

There's nothing too deep about Gunstar Heroes, it's just pure mindless run and gun action with a lot of effects happening on screen. Where you'll have the most fun is with the bossfights as it requires some level of thinking as you'll need to understand boss patterns in order to dodge their attacks. What a great little arcadey title that I can see myself replaying. I look forward to playing more of Treasure Games.