Game Discussion of the Week: Wild Guns

I'm very surprised with how late of an entry into a console this game is.

I suggested this one with stratogustav in mind, since I know he has a huge digital collection and this game is available on the Wii Virtual Console as well as having a pretty awesome looking sequel on the PS4. If anyone has the sequel, let me know how it is. Judging by the trailer on YouTube, it looks great.

I just played through this game about a week ago on the SNES and it's a lot of fun. The gameplay is arcade-style and it puts up a decent challenge. Wild Guns plays a lot like Nam-1975 on the Neo Geo, with the player running back and forth across the foreground and aiming at enemies in the background as they pop up. When shooting, you control the aiming reticle, but when you stop shooting you control your character. Add to that some evasive rolls, power-ups, and a double jump and that's all there is to it.

Being a late release on the SNES, the graphics look fantastic with large, colorful sprites and some cool effects like heat haze that ripples the screen. The game is a western as you'd guess, but it's got a kind of steam punk vibe, with machine guns and robots. It's definitely unique. The soundtrack is fun, too.

Wild Guns isn't a game you'll beat the first time, though it does give you infinite continues. I don't consider it beaten if it isn't done on one credit, though, and that took me about a week of playing it almost every night to complete. Just like a beat-em-up, it's more fun when played co-op, but that does make the game much easier. Overall I think it'd make a nice addition to stratogustav 's collection! 😉

The PS4 game isn't a sequel but it does add quite a bit to the original. Widescreen/HD, 4 player co-op(so also two new characters), and I believe more difficulty options and a new level or two.