The game includes four versions western and Japanese releases of both the 2 and 4 player arcade machines are available and are apparently faithful reproductions apart from a few minor alterations. I fired the game up and was met with one of the blandest, most utilitarian mode select screens that I’d seen for a long time. right? Well, yes, but it could’ve been so much more. It’s not going to win prizes for complexity and give it a couple of hours and you will have seen all it has to offer, but there’s a charm and flair there that makes it an arcade classic… I mean… this is it… this is the main title screen… On to this bare framework, the games adds in some satisfyingly character movement (for some reason I find the flip they perform when jumping up a level just really pleasing) and a handful of quirky game elements such as shootable items, dynamite that can be thrown back at the enemy, and special stages. With only two powerups, dual wield & rapid fire, it focuses on that arcade action rather than complexity, but balances those basic elements with wall-to-wall action across seven varied stages, each with its own unique elements and visuals. The core gameplay is nothing ground-breaking enemy projectiles seemingly crawl across the screen compared to the steady streams of lead that the player is able to dish out to their seemingly endless numbers. Stepping in to the boots of one of four western cowboy cliches, the player must face bandits and outlaws of the wild west, bring down a colourful cast of boss characters, and even visit the occasional house of ill-repute. With all this in mind I was delighted to see it inconspicuously tucked away in the new releases section of the Nintendo Switch e-Shop under the Arcade Archives banner recently and barely paused before parting with the necessary funds to start it downloading. That wild west town of the opening stage with its saloons, bandits popping up from every location and … bulls running through the streets?… drew me in to the extent that, despite never owning it, I’d often fire it up at times when I’ve indulged in a bit of sneaky 16-bit emulation over the years. Being mostly a platform gamer I hadn’t ever really played many run-n-gun titles, let alone one that was as vibrant as Sunset Riders.
It’s a game that I’ve been interested in since I borrowed the Mega Drive version for about a week from a neighbour at some point during the early 90’s.
Bringing the coin-op pleasures of yesteryear up to date with faithful console ports is indeed a laudable goal, it’s just that Konami’s early 90’s western run-n-gun, Sunset Riders, really deserved more.
Hamster Corporation’s ‘Arcade Archives’ series is all about emulating some beloved and well known… along with some much less well known… arcade classics.