Sunset Riders
Super Nintendo
Nostalgia Factor:
I always knew that Sunset Riders existed when I was a kid, but for whatever reason I never got around to playing it. To be honest with you, I didn’t even give the game so much as a second thought. I was not a big fan of Westerns so I am sure that was the main reason right there. It just didn’t interest me.
Recently, nearly 30 years after Sunset Riders’ 16-bit debut, I suddenly started hearing a lot about this game. First it was just chatter on a retro gaming Facebook group. Then I watched the snesdrunk YouTube video. Then I listened to an episode of Worth it or Worthless about this game. All three of these sources gave the game positive reviews, raving about how great it is.
I decided enough was enough and I needed to check out Sunset Riders. Holy cow! I didn’t know what I was missing when I was a kid. This game exceeded every expectation I had for it. Keep reading for my full breakdown.
Story:
This game doesn’t have much, if any, substance to its story. You play as one of four different bounty hunters. The first few stages begin by showing you a wanted poster. You have to fight through these stages, killing every enemy in sight and defeating your bounty (the boss character) at the end of the level.
When you get to the halfway point of the game, you save some dancers from a saloon that’s being shot up by a bunch of bandits. As a reward, these ladies dance for you and give you a wanted poster for Richard Rose, the deadliest outlaw in the area. The rest of the game has you tracking and hunting down Mr. Rose, fighting his deadly henchman along the way. Beat Richard, you beat the game.
Gameplay:
This is probably a poor comparison, but if I had to compare Sunset Riders to anything I’ve played in the past I’d probably say Contra. You pick your character, each one holding a different weapon. Two of the characters carry pistols that fire in a straight line and the other two carry shotguns or rifles that fire in a “spread” attack. Why on earth you wouldn’t pick the characters with the default spread attack, I have no idea. But I digress.
Controlling your characters, you move from the left side of the screen to the right. Enemies are constantly popping out and shooting at you as you go. They come from behind windows, inside doors, behind obstacles, around corners, everywhere. Your best bet is to constantly fire ahead of you and take it slow. I may be mistaken but I don’t believe enemies respawn in this game, so if you slowly and methodically make your way through each stage you should be able to minimize the amount of hits you take. And you definitely want to do that, because one hit will kill you.
At the end of each stage you face a boss. Unlike the regular enemies you face throughout each stage, these bosses are bullet sponges that take multiple hits to kill. The good thing in this game is that enemy bullets move across the screen at a snail’s pace, which makes them fairly easy to dodge. Defeat the boss and you move on to the next stage.
You’ll collect some power-ups along the way - items that give you points, extra lives, rapid fire ability for your weapons, and the ability to carry two guns at once. These weapon power-ups definitely make the game a lot easier, but be warned that if you get hit and die you lose all the upgrades you’ve collect to that point.
Sunset Riders is a very challenging game. It’s not anything that can’t be mastered through repetition or pattern memorization, so don’t come into this worrying that it might be too hard for you. The game is tough, sure, but it is so fun that you don’t even notice how often you’re dying or having to restart each level over again. Sunset Riders definitely has that “it” factor, whatever “it” may be. It’s just so incredibly fun. You’ll be laughing, hooting, and hollering your way through this game, especially if you’re playing two player co-op with a friend.
It’s SO entertaining.
Graphics:
Despite this game’s age it looks phenomenal. The bright colors, the love given to the characters and the scenery. Most Western-based games are gritty and seen through a lens of dirt and sand. Not Sunset Riders. This game looks like it stepped right out of a 90s cartoon about the Wild West.
The animation is great. You have some funny interactions with the boss characters. And I can’t stress enough how “alive” this game feels, how everything just pops off the screen. Super, super cool looking game.
Sound:
The game sounds phenomenal too. Right off the bat you’re going to notice this game’s music, and not in a bad way either. It’s so fun and energetic, and it really gets you in the mood for mowing down waves of bad guys at a time. It may not fit the Wild West theme of the game very well but it is still some really great music.
I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention the ever popular boss character voice clips you’ll hear as you play this game. These little audio clips are so cheesy and silly, but add so much to the game at the same time.
“Bury me with my money!”
“You in heap big trouble!”
“Me in heap big trouble.”
Classic.
Overall:
In case you can’t tell by what I’ve already written about this game, I really loved it. Sunset Riders is a short game, but the difficulty level and the fact that you have to restart stages when you run out of lives or restart the game if you run out of continues makes it seem longer than it is. If you played this game without dying at all you’d probably be done with it in 20 to 25 minutes. If you are starting from scratch and are really dedicated to mastering this game, you will be playing it for hours on end.
Regardless of the game’s length, there is just so much to love about it. The setting, the colors, the graphics, the different playable characters, the different weapon styles, the co-op, the bosses, the dialogue, the fun challenge of the game. It just all adds up to a near perfect video game playing experience. I’m super disappointed in myself as a kid for not checking this out, as this would have made an awesome addition to my game library growing up. That said, I had a Sega Genesis and I hear that the Genesis version of the game isn’t very good – so maybe it’s actually a positive thing I never got it! One of these days I’ll have to review that version of the game to see what the negative fuss is about.
But hey this review is about the Super Nintendo version of the game. And as I said, this game is a blast. I could drop what I’m doing and play Sunset Riders right now and have a great time with it. This statement would hold true tomorrow, a week from now, a month from now, a year from now, and beyond. Sunset Riders has a timeless appeal that I don’t think will ever get old. I can just see myself sitting bored around the house with nothing to do. Oh hey, let’s put on Sunset Riders! It doesn’t matter how many times you beat this game, it is fun each and every time.
And co-op? I haven’t played the co-op yet but I can just imagine it’s even more fun than single player. I can NOT WAIT until my son Channing is old enough to play this with me. We are going to have an absolute riot with Sunset Riders. He’s one now. Just, uhhhh, a couple more years to go?
Final Score:
A
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