Gunstar Heroes is a run n gun shoot'em up style game. It can be played solo or in co-op mode so try out the NetPlay feature to play with your friends. For it's style, it is by far my favorite shooter on the Genesis. The characters are the perfect balance of cheesy and serious, and the combat is fast and exhilarating. The environments and bosses are goofy at first, and get more serious as you go, but there's still plenty of humor to be found. Now, on to the review!

Graphics - I think the graphics look great. They may not be top of the line, but they certainly show the world perfectly. I really have to hand it to the designers who made this game, They managed to create character's and environments that look so beautiful and stand out. I'm not usually a fan of the style done here, but it just looks so darn good. The color schemes are dazzling, and the overall animation style is perfectly on the fence of seriousness and that goofy cartoon-like feel. Player and enemy animations are smooth, and even the different types of ammunition all look gorgeous. Having a screen full of enemies and them all exploding at once is a beautiful sight. Even something as simple as your character sliding has an animation for your boots scraping the ground. The bosses are designed to be extremely unique, and the detail for them is amazing. The giant contraptions they use are arguably the best looking things in the game. The enemy projectiles look great as well. The Graphics get 9 / 10.

Sound - The games sound is phenomenal. The background music is amazing, and fit each level perfectly. I really love the direction they went with the music here. It's all extremely upbeat and catchy tunes, but with enough diversity to differentiate each track. The boss music also sets the tone amazingly well, letting you know how important the fights are. The sound effects are just as well done. Every action in the game has it's own sound effect. Each ammunition type, each jump, down to each and every person and object having their own sound. I personally love the "Hi-yah" you're characters use when throwing an enemy. When finding gems, the "tink" sound effect used is perfectly fitting and always stood out to me. The Sound gets a 9 / 10.

Addictiveness - The game is so much fun, I don't feel I can do it justice with words. There are TONS of ammo combinations (you can equip 2 of 4 varying types at any given time), and the enemies are designed to be fun to destroy. And boy are there plenty of enemies. Each level will send almost endless wave after wave of enemies in your direction, but not enough to really be overwhelming. The first 4 levels of the game can be played in any order you choose, which is a nice change to this genre. There are 2 different modes to choose for your character. One mode is you can run while shooting (but can only shoot up, down, left, and right), and the other fixes your location when shooting but can shoot in 8 directions instead of 4. I personally prefer the fixed, but it's really a matter of preference. The bosses are (mostly) humorous, but still somewhat challenging. The game is easy to pick and up play, which also adds to the appeal. This game I feel is most fun when playing with a friend, but that's not meaning the solo experience isn't a joy as well. The Addictiveness gets an 8 / 10.

Story - For this genre, story is never a big focus. That being said, the story for this game is really good in my opinion. It follows the basic formula of "Heroes fighting to save their world," but doesn't do a whole lot to actually present it. The ending is really well done though, so they get points for that. It's more so the characters in the story that I feel bring something to the table. The professor is wacky and humorous. The female character (I don't remember her name. I think it was "Blue"?) is the kind and caring one. Green is the professor's brother who's being controlled to work for evil. And the main characters are the strong silent types. The main enemy bosses also have varying personalities which is nice to see for it's time. All said and done, the Story gets a 5 / 10.

Depth - Meh, this is where the game's biggest weakness comes out. It's extremely short, and doesn't offer a whole lot of content. If I'm not mistaken, a rushed play through can be completed in under an hour. My biggest gripe about the game is length. It's so much fun, it leaves you wanting more when it's over. I don't know if production was rushed, or the excellent quality of every other aspect shortened what could fit on a single cartridge. But all that aside, it's simply too short. If not for this aspect, the game would receive almost a perfect 10 in my book. The Depth gets a 4 / 10.

Difficulty - The game isn't really all that difficult. If you can find your right set up between firing style (moving / fixed), and different ammo combinations, the game won't pose much of a challenge. It may take a run or two through to learn how the enemy AI behaves, but after that it's gravy. I do wish the game was a tad more challenging, but playing co-op adds a level of difficulty to the mix, making the funner option even more so, which is something of a big plus here. The mechanics are easy to master, and the enemies, even bosses, are the exact same way. There's nothing else to say here, so the Difficulty gets a 6 / 10.

I hope you enjoy this classic as much as I did.
And I hope you enjoyed the review