|
Sunset Riders SNES Konami - 199x All I can remember of Sunset Riders was that you shoot things. Lots of things. Like Indians, the tomahawk chop kind, not the sickenly spicy food kind, and vigilante cowboys. Also barrels, rails, trains, and dirty mexicans. But only the dirty mexicans, no clean mexicans were shot. Then, to remind children that the life of a Sunset Rider (Trademark) Cowboy was no barrel of laughs, the final boss was yourself. You had to commit suicide at the end. Of course I never did actually play this game past the first level, so that suicide stuff may be a tall tale, but wasn't that what the life of a cowboy was all about? Haven't we all seen Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid? They rob trains, sleep with each other's woman, and face impossible odds, SURVIVING in the end. Or so says Sundu's great father. And father knows best. Or something like that. One thing true about Sunset Riders is that you ride horses. Probably. It's just a guess on my part, but there are two cowboys on the cover of the game riding horses, so I'd go with a "Correcto-Mundo" on the riding horses part. I could call up my friend Alec, whose game this is, and ask him, but I don't think he realizes I still have his games, and I would like to keep it that way. And since I am too lazy to plug in my SNES and clean this cartridge, the world may never know. But one thing I do know is that this game rocks your socks off. Or so I hear. So take it from me, who is taking it from someone else, this game is quite the stellar item to have. Hey, it does make a good prop for your table leg. What liked: Cowboys. Sexy yet dirty. I was always told by the ladies that this was oxymoronic and quite possibly impossible. But apparently Cowboys can be both sexy and dirty. At least Robert Redford can, in my book anyways. What disliked: Mexicans. They are dirty. Especially the ones that throw barrels at you. I also dislike spicy food. What to expect: Probably some riding. On horses. Some dust and a nice purty western town, but no chinamen. I don't think this game has any chinamen. What not to expect: The chinamen. And cleanliness. What's so different from this and other games of it's genre: Well have you ever seen a dirty Belmont get the girl? (Ok, bad example, we have a bet going that every Belmont "didn't like the ladies,") Ratings on: Control: I bet if you push buttons it does stuff. Graphics: Probably like any SNES side-shooter Sound: I hope it has some western style songs Style: Hey, if I can score to Butch Cassidy, then Cowboys must have some sort of innate style. 1st hour: Umm... Hey, it's a game. Let's play something else instead. 5th hour: N/A #1 reason why I hate this game: Those dirty Mexicans, throwing their barrels. Ow, my head. Mario never had this much trouble. by Hawke Sunset Riders SNES Konami - 1993 Shooting lots of people, pervading stereotypes, aiding prostitutes - it’s all in a day’s work for a cowboy. The poster says “Dead or Alive” but we both know which they prefer - Whores. Sunset Riders is the story of a group of Cowboys who follow the (apparrently quite lucrative) bounty hunting trade. They ride across the desert in search of those with money on their heads, guns loose in their holsters. Very loose. What’re YOU lookin’ at?! I think my favorite part of the game is when you beat one of the final boss’s main henchmen, Chief Wampum. He, being injun ‘n all, says “I’m all pow-wowed out!” and then falls to his knees. You’re about to blast him or have him explode or something when his sister runs out. She’s a hot babe and says “don’t shoot him! I’m hot!” So the main character goes “ok, we won’t shoot him.” Yeah, that’s right - let the steroetypical bloodthirsty villain go. it’s ok - A hot babe said so. If Pikmin is about slavery, well, Sunset Riders is about blatantly throwing racist stereotypes at your face, but tying them to a six-shooter, which is also thrown at your face, but when they hit your face, you laugh and say “ME IN HEAP BIG TROUBLE” and fall to the ground giggling. You’ve got every old-west stereotype you can dig up in this game - an “injun” named “Chief Wampum”, a bare handful of mexicans (one says “asta la bye bye,” which is not even spelled correctly) a very pompous and effeminite british man, 3 white, blonde main characters, and a collection of various macho idiots with guns. There’s no plot. You have various firearms, there are people shooting at you. I think money figures in there somewhere. Eventually you fight a totally obnoxious final boss, but the reason obviously involves whores. Yet, somehow, Some way, this game is fun. It’s terribly un-PC, it’s not very original, it’s downright racist at times, but whew, It’s kinda fun. It’s still a stupid konami side-scrolling action platformer, but the colors, the characters, the hokey atmosphere . . . it’s fun. I cannot tell a lie. The controls work just fine, the Sound contains voice clips, a rarity for the period it was released in. The graphics are less then stellar, but they certainly get the point across. I’m not saying the actual GAME is bad. It’s kinda fun in a goofy way, actually quite solid. The Idea of the whole thing, however, sickens me. “asta la bye bye.” it makes me die a little. And not in the French way. What liked: A good gaming experience, a stiff challenge. Simple yet Engaging gameplay. What disliked: Stereotype parade, Negative portrayal of just about every minority involved in the Old West. What to expect: A good old fashioned Konami romp. In many ways, this game reminds me a lot of Turtles in Time. There’ll be lots of action, vivid colors, and smooth gaming. It’s all about the gameplay - it’s supposed to be fun to play. What not to expect: Sunset Riders is definitely a fun game, but it’s made to buy into stereotypes quickly to avoid having to make up a plot. It makes no pretense at having anything remotely resembling an original story. Depth doesn’t figure into the picture. Forget deeper meaning in all its forms. It uses cliché enough that you simply make up a story - it’s assumed. Don’t expect them to do it for you. Also, don’t believe for a second that this game is easy - there are plenty of little tricks to keep you busy. What's so different from this and other games of it's genre: A lot of the tricks of the genre are simplified. (Only 2 weapon powerups exist, there are very few enemies and the stages are short) Ratings on: Control: 5 (Gets the job done, but presents problems at times. At times it can be hard to aim at a specific place.) Graphics: 6 (coloring is bright, and the people at Konami came up with some fun and interesting stuff to throw at you. Sometimes people look kinda of blob like or even silly, but it’s all part of the schtick.) Sound: 7 (Voice clips. Cool. The music was nice too - it always manages to help the mood a bit.) Style: 4 (There’s not much originality, but a lot of it feels fresh and interesting. That’s what’s really important, bit fishy bob.) Difficulty: 7 (After you pass the first two Stages, Sunset Riders really has it in for you. It’s challenging, but not impossible.) 1st 10 minutes: 7 (lalala. Die, everything.) 1st ½ hour: 7 (lalala. Nothing new here.) 1st hour: 8 (HOLY GOD!! I JUST GOT 10,000 DOLLARS FOR KILLING THAT GUY!! TO THE BROTHEL!!!!) 2nd hour: 5 (Suddenly, those red and orange bullets are impossible to dodge.) 1 week: 6 (That was intensely difficult. Well, back to the brothel.) #1 reason why I hate this game: The Last screen of the game - a sunset, and under it the words “Good Job Podner.” |
