-Genre: Shoot'em'up (Run and Gun)

-Developer and Publisher: Konami

-Year: 1991 (arcade) - 1993 (SNES)

-Players: single/multiplayer co-op (arcade= 1-4 players, SNES 1-2 players)

-In a fistful of  dolla... Sorry, I mean, "in a fistful of words": brilliant. Have you ever dreamt of being a Far West hero, kicking bandits' hind ends, being a bounty hunter, gaining reward's money, kissing saloon ladies and all? You're welcome in Sunset Riders, where You can do all the good old Clint Eastwood stuff...In a cartoon style!


Introduction:
"Bang! Get your sombrero down, Cormano!" Ok, let's go. Four characters (and a fantastic and chaotic 4-players mode!), thousands of bandits, eight bosses, 380.000 Dollars from their rewards (plus other little monetary awards). A bunch of Saloon Chicks waiting for your kisses and floods of tequila or whiskey. What else. Oh, yeah: riding your horse in the sunset (or in a bandit train assault...). Enjoy!


Plot:
Four bounty hunters and one mission: eat every single dollar of the American most wanted rewards. And They'll do it pretty good! Yeah, not a great plot, but I know that if You try the game, this little thing wouldn't matter any more. I'm sure of it. "Gimme some dynamite, Billy!".


Aesthetics:
The cartoon style and the country music are the perfect mix for an epic Far West game. And, I don't know why, but sometime I feel like in a Kill Bill movie...Never mind of my strange feelings, let's see the potential of this game. 

Graphics:
You will live a West cartoon or comic. The Japanese designers (directed by Hideyuki Tsujimoto) fortunately didn't made it all in a manga style, but they decided to make it a little bit more "western". So, I think something like 70 or 80 % "western" and 30 - 20 % "manga" will fit the description of the final results. A well balanced choice, for both Japanese and "western" players. A little defect: the first three playable characters seems to be  too similar (that's why I love Cormano...or because he has a cool sombrero and a beard...like me?), Steve and Billy above all. And putting down Bob's hat wasn't an original move...But, this is not a noticeable problem. The backgrounds will become more complex going through the entire game and each level's got a personality, a style, an interpretation. Of course, the bosses characterization is one of the best things in the game. From the first to the last most wanted, from the first to the last level You will be surprised!

Sound:
Can You hear (electronically created) banjo, guitar and trumpet's sounds? Yes? Can You feel the Western country music flowing through your veins? Can You smash the buttons following the rythm? You're one of us, You dirty bounty killer! For real, I think that the music has a significant role in the success of a game. And in Sunset Riders, You can feel like a true bounty hunter listening to a very good soundtrack, while You're punishing bandits and villains. Finally, the game's musics follows you through the game like a good guide: You will hear them, but They won't distract You. And yes, of course, sounds are well programmed too, from the gun shots to the explosions; from the characters voices to the rampant oxen. "But... Hey, where are the buffaloes? Just behind my back! Let's run!!!".
 

Game play:
Take your gun and fight all the top wanted bandits. That's it. Ok, going deeply, You can select 4 players:

-Steve: A blond cowboy with yellow pants. He loves his revolvers...
-Billy: A blond professional gunman (you see the strings under the sleeves? Seems VERY professional).
-Bob: A...BLOND (something to do with Clint Eastwood?) man with long hair. And a long rifle too.
-Carmon: The Mexican with the sombrero, the rifle and the beard. The sombrero hides an enormous cannon. No, just kidding pal. He wears a sombrero because he's bald...No, I was kidding again. Never trust me. I'm a bounty killer.

The bullets will fly all around the screen, but pay attention to your enemies' bullets...Don't let'em touch You, otherwise, You'll lose your life. And if you haven't got enough coins, You can't play (uhm...We are not in my little old arcade. Never mind).
Eight stages and eight bosses. I never reached the end of the game (I only got to the fifth level until now. And I spent floods of cash for coins XD ) so I need to ride over my ignorance with the great and glorious help of Wikipedia. Here's the list of all the bosses (and their respective rewards):

-Level 1: Simon Greedwell (10.000$). A "greedy" and deceitful rancher;
-Level 2: Hawkeye Hank Hatfield (20.000$). An agile and fast gunman.
-Level 3: Dark Horse (30.000$). A terrible horse rider with a fashionable Yankee official hat.
-Level 4: The Smith Bros (40.000$). Two sick bombers.
-Level 5: El Greco (50.000$). A Mexican with a great shield. And, If you want to know, I always ended my coins trying to kill this guy. Soon I'll have my revenge!!! XD
-Level 6: Chief Scalpem (60.000$). A deadly native American shaman, He uses knives and magics.
-Level 7: Paco Loco (70.000$). He's a fat man. But he has got a machine gun. If You want, You can contradict him...
-Level 8: Sir Richard Rose (100.000$) An English big boss. He's a devil: fast, agile, he wears a bullet proof armor...And He's blond (phew, again...I have nothing versus blond persons...But this game is full of blonds XD)..

There are two bonus levels where You have to shoot (in first person view) to different targets (they will not shoot at You). Here You can earn a bit of money.
About the weapons:, there are two upgrades (when You die, You lose all the upgrades): the gold and the silver star medal. The former makes you a fast-fire guy, the latter gives you a second weapon (another pistol or another rifle). You can find these stars in many different ways: entering a Saloon, killing the bandit with a sack on his back...
The enemies are gunmen (the green are normal, the blue are fast, the violet fast and intelligent, so pay attention to the differences), women that throw dynamite, guys with knives...And wild herds of oxen chasing your back...
The controls are easy, but some boss battles are really though and You could hit the wrong button and...Game over.
You will even ride a horse, chasing a train...

AND IMPORTANT; REEEEAAALLY IMPORTANT: PAY ATTENTION TO THE FIRST RAKE ON THE GROUND... YOU WILL REALLY ENJOY IT XD ... What are You waiting for?

Conclusions:
Get your sombrero/hat, wear your western outfit, take your revolver/rifle and...Get ready to earn your dirty fistful of dollars, You cowboy/bounty hunter! Good luck. May the gunpowder force be with you!

Your newbie-newbie reviewer, Jamal999