Natsume is better known as the publisher of Harvest Moon and Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Wrath of the Darkhul King, but damn do they have some bangers in their catalog. Wild Guns, a behind-the-back gallery shooter, is easily my favorite (to be fair, I haven't played Wild Guns: Reloaded), and it absolutely holds up today.
Much like Shadow the Hedgehog, players are given an arsenal and set loose to cause as much devastation as they can. It's fine, though, as you're completely justified in blowing away the bandits, outlaws, and gigantic cowboy robots that get in your way. The action really never lets up, you're constantly dumping ammo and rolling around like a mad man, chucking grenades and generally causing as much pandemonium as humanly possible on a 16-bit console. The "wild" in Wild Arms isn't just a reference to its wild west setting, but its frenzied action as well.
Vibrantly colored and expressive sprite work really ties it all together. This game absolutely nails the visual style its going for. Cartoony, but rich in detail, with animations that are absolutely perfect. The soundtrack deserves from props too for similarly hitting all the right notes. Wild Guns is a game that looks and sounds every bit as good as it plays. It's damn near the perfect package.
I have no major gripes with Wild Arms, but Reloaded certainly seems like the better version. Again, I haven't played it, but from what I understand it really does seem like the definitive version of this game. I mean, it adds a little wiener dog that you can play as. That alone is already a marked improvement over the original.
You could be a true bandito and find a rom of this game to play, but thankfully Wild Guns is easily accessible today either through the Switch's SNES app or the aforementioned Reloaded version. No matter how you get your hands on it, Wild Guns is a fantastic game and more than deserving of your time.
Much like Shadow the Hedgehog, players are given an arsenal and set loose to cause as much devastation as they can. It's fine, though, as you're completely justified in blowing away the bandits, outlaws, and gigantic cowboy robots that get in your way. The action really never lets up, you're constantly dumping ammo and rolling around like a mad man, chucking grenades and generally causing as much pandemonium as humanly possible on a 16-bit console. The "wild" in Wild Arms isn't just a reference to its wild west setting, but its frenzied action as well.
Vibrantly colored and expressive sprite work really ties it all together. This game absolutely nails the visual style its going for. Cartoony, but rich in detail, with animations that are absolutely perfect. The soundtrack deserves from props too for similarly hitting all the right notes. Wild Guns is a game that looks and sounds every bit as good as it plays. It's damn near the perfect package.
I have no major gripes with Wild Arms, but Reloaded certainly seems like the better version. Again, I haven't played it, but from what I understand it really does seem like the definitive version of this game. I mean, it adds a little wiener dog that you can play as. That alone is already a marked improvement over the original.
You could be a true bandito and find a rom of this game to play, but thankfully Wild Guns is easily accessible today either through the Switch's SNES app or the aforementioned Reloaded version. No matter how you get your hands on it, Wild Guns is a fantastic game and more than deserving of your time.