Good lord, how did I never get the chance to play Gunstar Heroes back in the day? Well I guess now I’m glad I didn’t as it’s truly one of the best side-scrolling action games ever made. Take intuitive unique controls, add a wide variety of morphing weaponry, throw in a dash of truly unique and engaging level design and enemy design, and you’ve got Gunstar Heroes in a nutshell.


As you blast your way through the levels of Gunstar Heroes you’ll be able to carry two weapons. When selected, the weapons do what you’d expect them to do but when you select the third gun option it combines the abilities of the two weapons you’re wielding to make a crazy cross between them. Equip the seeking gun with the fireball gun and you’ll get a seeking stream of fireballs. Equip two seeking guns and you’ll get a crazy seeking green star gun that does all kinds of wacky things. In essence it’s great fun to mix and match and see what you’ll get in the weaponry department.

Then there’s the actual levels themselves which will surprise you ever single time you start one. You could start up in a basic side-scrolling adventure level only to appear next in a weird board-game inspired world. Then you could even show up in the next level riding some kind of vehicle that defies gravity. The amount of unique gameplay and level design along with enemy design really sets Gunstar apart from anything back then and most of the things created in the gaming world today.

When you get part way through a level you’ll likely encounter a very unique boss. He or she will execute very unique tactics to try to take you out. A lot of the time you let loose a sigh of relief after beating a boss only to find out you actually just started the level! Some levels will take you on a wild ride through upwards of eight bosses at times. And just when you think you’re getting close to the end of the game you’ll be thrown into another level and yet another boss fight for what seems like an eternity.