There were a good number of run and gun action games for the Genesis. Many of them are in the running for greatest action game of all time. A lot of these efforts were home console exclusives but early in the system’s life arcade ports were its bread and butter. Konami’s Sunset Riders should have been an easy slam dunk but instead is a slightly above average mess. There are some good elements under all of the game’s problems but you needn’t bother digging for them when there are better alternatives.
The Sega version of Sunset Riders is a weird half port/half original game. Why this was done is a mystery as the system was perfectly capable of handling a port of the arcade game. In a way it reminds me of the Hyperstone Heist, another title that was weirdly put together. I’m sure those who simply wanted the coin op at home could have forgiven this if it were a good game. But the whole production seems halfhearted, with the parts carried over from the arcade missing lots of details while the original content pales in comparison. With the far superior SNES game out there really is no reason to bother with this version.
Only Billy and Cormano have made the cut although it isn’t as big a deal since Steve and Bob might as well have been their palette swaps. The game has a weird structure that is so different this might as well be a new game. Only four of the bosses have made the cut: Simon Greedwell, Paco Loco, Chief Scalp Em, and Sir Richard Rose. Each of the four levels begins with a short introduction where you rescue a captured saloon girl. Then you are given the wanted poster for that level’s boss. Technically there are eight levels and the game is the same length as the other versions but in practice is much shorter overall.
The structure wouldn’t be so bad if it wasn’t all over the place. The train of the second level nicely replicates the flow of the coin op but is then ruined by placing Paco Loco as its boss rather than El Greco. The location and mechanics of that boss simply do not fit making it frustrating. This version is uncensored and so Chief Scalp Em’s stage has its Indian enemies. This is significant as they had different attack patterns than the standard bandits that made for a different experience. For every good segment there is an equally bad one. The final level is all new as you storm Richard Rose’ mansion during a rain storm. Cool in theory but aggravating as the number of enemies borders on insanity.
What made Sunset Riders great was its pacing, setting, and variety; two out of three of those have been ruined. The “new” levels come across as a bad remix of the originals negating their reason for existing. The entire game moves a lot faster and enemies spawn faster than you can react in far too many places. There was a nice flow to the game as it moved from one set piece to the next and that is now gone. By virtue of their being so many bosses Konami were able to vary things up with the levels. The cool horseback riding stages and the saloon fight against the Smith Brothers added a different element to the game that could have been used here. In fact the bonus round is a damn item collection on horseback. What the hell?
The arcade game had its moments but the difficulty in this version is simply vicious. Bullets fly faster and with the increased enemy count it becomes ridiculous. They really went overboard and it nearly ruins the entire game. To an extent you can mitigate this by slowly moving forward however that ruins the pacing. It’s not really a run and gun action game if you are creeping forward. The limited continues are drained pretty quickly, especially during boss battles and it will probably take you some time to beat the game. But that’s only if you even bother sticking with it that long.
When examining the graphics and music you can see that this is very uneven. The color palette has been reduced significantly resulting in a much darker game. There has been a massive reduction in detail across the board and the game looks quite ugly at times. However the few levels that had work put in are exceptional and include details missing from the SNES port. The train level features multiple background layers and the missing foreground objects of its Nintendo counterpart, offering a glimpse of what could have been if the same level of attention were lavished on the entire game.
The music made out okay but the sound effects and voice samples have taken a sizable hit. The sound effects are simply terrible with even your gun sounding like a pop cannon. There was a considerable amount of sampled speech in the arcade and almost all of it has been cut. The lone voice clip is a thank you once you’ve rescued a damsel in distress.
In Closing
Disappointing best sums up this version of Sunset Riders. Whether it was developmental trouble or indecision as to make a straight port, the game deserved better. No, the lame versus mode does not make up for the game’s flaws. It had the potential to be one of the better action games for the system but it can’t measure up.
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