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Gunstar Super Heroes Super Thread

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Kai Dracon

Writing a dinosaur space opera symphony
Okay, who's got it?

Picked it up this morning and so far, wow: my biggest issue so far has been that my instinct is to play it just like OG Gunstar, and that doesn't quite work as it is different especially in the hand-to-hand combat. So far, I am missing the throw just a bit, but on the other hand there is a lot more to the hands-on fighting with the air kicks, knife, uppercut, and the slide.

But, the slowdown issues that plagued Astro Boy are nowhere to be found. Dang, does it ever throw a lot around on the humble GBA.

Another bit so far is that the slightly expanded story is pretty fun in a silly shooter way, and I'm really happy to see some of the classic characters return and now actually have a touch more background to them.

I'm not missing the possiblity of two-player however, so far. The action seems, if possible, even more intense in places, and keeping it to a single player appears to allow for some of the creative levels such as the rotating section in the forest stage.
 
Picked it up this morning along with Soul Calibur III :D My god is this game pretty and yes, there's just so much going on at once. It's pure bliss! On the other hand, the shoot'em up level (3rd stage I think?) is a bit retarded so far D:
 
I'm afraid I'll be disappointed with this game once my local EB will receive it tomorrow. But at the same time I'm looking at all the positive reviews and hoping it'll not be the case.

How are the overhead shooting stages? It looked to be really out of place in the trailer.
 
can't wait. Picked up a GBA Micro last week for it :) I'm at the last level of the Genesis one as we speak, but I am have a bitch of a time beating Colonel Red right now. After I beat it I will go pick up the GBA version, I want to savor the moment :)
 
I've had a copy thanks to Sega for a few days and I've played through the first couple levels and I'm enjoying it :) I never did play the original.
 
through its first two stages gunstar super heroes is an awesome side-scrolling run and gun in the classic treasure style. sure, some of the level design is more clever than fun, but this is an expected byproduct of treasure's compulsive creativity. then in its third stage gunstar superheroes inexplicably turns into the single worst quasi-free-roaming overhead helicopter shooter EVER. you know those parts of thunderforce II everyone hated? this is like that but a million times worse. i can't get past that mid-boss without getting completely pwned either. wtf, treasure. wtf. i don't know what sega anti-classic this is meant to pay anti-homage to, but i'm going to make a point of never playing it.

i'm also having tons of problems with my sp2 d-pad. problems i didn't have at all with aria of sorrow or mm zero. i'm depressed.
 
Heh, voice acting even.

Yeah, the SP+ d-pad is the pits, and the faster the action, the more its flaws come out.

That said, this game looks magnificent on the Micro.
 
Leaving in 10 minutes to get this game... will hopefully have impressions tomorrow afternoon - can't wait - been looking forward to this for a while!

drohne - I actually liked those sections of Thunderforce 2 :P
 
The game was fun the first time through, and that's it. they focused too much on gimmicky levels which lose their appeal after the 3rd time you play them.

Astroboy was way better :)
 
it handles much better on a ds. even that awful helicopter bit is manageable. but i'm sort of disappointed with the game: it's almost a remake of gunstar heroes, and the level design doesn't fare well in direct comparison. the gsh version of seven force is awesome, though. i should suspend judgement until i've seen the whole game.

tonight i'm calling nintendo about my fucked up sp2. THIS WILL NOT STAND.
 
drohne said:
it handles much better on a ds. even that awful helicopter bit is manageable. but i'm sort of disappointed with the game: it's almost a remake of gunstar heroes, and the level design doesn't fare well in direct comparison. the gsh version of seven force is awesome, though. i should suspend judgement until i've seen the whole game.

tonight i'm calling nintendo about my fucked up sp2. THIS WILL NOT STAND.
Click to expand...

Yeah, I swapped out my SP+ with another unit. Same problem.

I fiddled with the 8 or 10 display SP+ units at the Nintendo World store, and they ALL have the same problem.
 
GAHHHH!!


I CAN'T FIND THE GODDAMNED THING!


I've said it once and I'll say it again. Why can't video games ship to retailers before their street release date. That way they, you know, actually get released the day they're supposed to be released. How inconveinent.

Oh well, it should come in tomorrow.
 
Played some of the game - damn, this is pretty challenging - got my ass kicked in the Black Casino and on the boss of the Thunderforce section... But I'm really liking the game - some of the effects they got out of GBA are fantastic - I can see how some may complain that the stages are a bit gimmicky (the Flicky and Afterburner tribute), though. The helicopter part is fairly annoying, not because of the controls or the size of the heli, but because it's almost impossible to hit ground targets! A Twinbee style target for ground targets would've been nice. Don't like how you can't duck or throw. More impressions to come as I play more...
 
distantmantra said:
Anyone tried this using the Gameboy Player?
Click to expand...

Yeah, that's what I played it on - GB Player with Hori control pad... will be playing on my DS tomorrow at work.
 
Picked this up today, and I'm really enjoying it. Evenly, too - the "gimmicky" levels as much as the more standard run n' gun stuff. The vertical shooter level is bizarre, and the helicopter is huge, but I like the Layer Section + Thunder Blade vibes I get from the level. I'm not finding it too difficult.

There's really no place for complaints about the melee combat being too different from the original. The throw was replaced with the sword attack, and that's really the only difference, aside from the added moves (what more do you want?!). The slide kick, the jump attack, the swing-up attack all work the same. You can even wall-jump with the jump attack like in the original.

Anybody else notice that you can 'counter' enemy shots with the sword and get bonus items? There's a little AGH in here, even. :D

Also, they re-dubbed the voices for the US version - bosses and main characters all. Surprisingly, they didn't do too bad a job of it.

Pink's machine is tougher this time. You can't jump between the legs and the body this time around, I found. Of course, once you get on top of the cab it's all over, but...

What brightness setting are you GB Player and SP+ users using? I've got it on the lowest setting, because anything higher than that tends to make blacks look too blue.
 
Looked and looked, to no avail. This and Dawn of Sorrow were my two most-anticipated games of the year, and to get them both in the same month is both a blessing and a curse.
 
OMG! Anyone uppercut the first boss' arms?
He'll drop the spaceship and go apeshit on you.

EDIT: you do have to be quick about it
 
I bought Gunstar Super Heroes today (along with Ratchet: Deadlocked for PS2). It's the first GBA game I've purchased in nearly two years.

I've only played the original Genesis Gunstar Heroes very briefly, and that was over a decade ago. I can't really make a direct comparison with the Genesis game, but so far, as this game stands, I'm enjoying it a lot. Some of the graphical effects are very impressive, such as the full screen rotation. Even though your characters have several attacks and weapons, the controls are very easy to learn.

Most of the levels seemed somewhat on the easy side so far, but that could be because I played on the "easy" difficulty level. Maybe next time I play I'll kick the difficulty up a notch and see what happens. :)

I'd say this is definitely a worthy purchase for action game fans!
 
:( my Micro died today. Dropped my bag at the gym and BAM! cracked LCD for my Micro. Lucky me I went to the store and they returned it, sad thing is they were sold out of GBA Micros and gave me credit. Playing this on my DS just doesn't feel like it's giving the game it's just deserves. One thing I have to say is I actually like the returning levels, It makes you remember a little of the old days but then the whole level changes and ensures you that yes it is a new game.
 
i'm conflicted here. in places it's the game that vindicates treasure's detractors: it seems more interested in design novelty and crazy sprite effects than coherence or fun. the afterburner and flicky tributes are cute, but they don't really work as components of a level. and it's a small thing, but i wish the transitions between level segments were smoother.

on the other hand, the game is really enjoyable when it sinks into a run-and-gun groove, and i think the mechanical changes are all positive. i know some people miss the weapon combinations, but i think the three-weapon set is a good distillation.

maybe the game's biggest problem is the similarity of its levels to classic gunstar levels...it goes beyond pleasing reference and into "i've seen this before, and it was better the first time." as ridiculously great as the new seven force is, the level it appears in is a poorly abridged version of the original gunstar level. and i really, really hate that helicopter part. a game like this is meant to be played straight through on one credit, but it takes an effort of will not to skip moon 2.

so yeah...i don't know what to think. normally i know exactly what to think about treasure games. :/
 
drohne said:
i'm conflicted here. in places it's the game that vindicates treasure's detractors: it seems more interested in design novelty and crazy sprite effects than coherence or fun. the afterburner and flicky tributes are cute, but they don't really work as components of a level. and it's a small thing, but i wish the transitions between level segments were smoother.

on the other hand, the game is really enjoyable when it sinks into a run-and-gun groove, and i think the mechanical changes are all positive. i know some people miss the weapon combinations, but i think the three-weapon set is a good distillation.

maybe the game's biggest problem is the similarity of its levels to classic gunstar levels...it goes beyond pleasing reference and into "i've seen this before, and it was better the first time." as ridiculously great as the new seven force is, the level it appears in is a poorly abridged version of the original gunstar level. and i really, really hate that helicopter part. a game like this is meant to be played straight through on one credit, but it takes an effort of will not to skip moon 2.

so yeah...i don't know what to think. normally i know exactly what to think about treasure games. :/
Click to expand...

C'mon just say it. This game sucks. You know it, I know it. People here say you can't say a game sucks by comparing it to another game, but this is different. This game is a remake of the original, and the original kicks this game's ass in every way except graphics,control and sound. The GBA's small screen size means that there's no room to dodge bullets = enemies shoot very few bullets at you = bosses have fewer or modified attacks = no expert mode = this game is a big disappointment. And why'd they deliberately remove all the humor?

The graphics are impressive though!
 
1. This game does not suck. Far from it. I can see why one wouldn't like the game but to say it sucks pretty much means you're not using the word correctly.

2. It's not as good as Gunstar Heroes. Nah really? I laugh at the person who thought it would even come close. BTW this is the last time I'll even allude to the first game unless I'm talking about the story.

3. This is a fun game. I haven't played all of it, so I can't say if it's a classic, if it's a disappointment, etc. All I'll say is that this game is a whole lot of fun. Thrashing through enemies with your weapons is a large adrenaline rush not accomplished by many portable games today. The melee system takes some getting used to, but effectively comboing your slides and uppercuts along with using your weapons correctly will do you well in the stages. The difficulty has been spotty, and is one of the complaints I have of this game. Some portions of the game are pathetically easy, though still fun, while some parts (COUGHSEVENFORCECOUGH) will bring you to your knees if your action gaming skills aren't up to the challenge. This is all on normal btw, I haven't played Hard or Easy mode yet. Also, I would've hoped for more enemies on screen for a more chaotic mess, but so far this game is giving me more than I expected out of the GBA.

The graphics, as we've seen, are drop-dead gorgeous. Zero slowdown, smooth gameplay, and sprites, environments, and explosions that will make your jaw drop. Detail oozes from every little pixel. I can't wait to get home and try this on the GBPlayer. I forsee a great visual experience.

So far, I love it. It lacks polish in some areas, it can be easy, and the gameplay seems suited more to a newbie than the hardened action gamer, but it's been a whole lot of fun (yes, even the relatively lackluster moon 2 stage) an I can't wait to finish the game.

Oh, and one other thing that makes me go WTF. Red is a girl. Yeah, you heard right. As far as I know, this was a US change (Or perhaps clarification, since Treasure never actually told us what gender Red was in this game). And for the record, this is supposed to take place many many years after the first game, so Red and Blue here have no relation to the Red and Blue of the first game.

9/10 so far.
 
Soundtrack release! November 23.

It also seems to include Gunstar Heroes' soundtrack, as well as arranged versions of tracks from GH.

I love this game the more I play it. I especially like how it's all been compressed into shorter stages and made more difficult. Gunstar Heroes was a long, long game to play in a sitting, and it wouldn't have been very suitable for handheld play. In the process of adapting the game style, they've also made it feel more like an arcade game! Score!
 
The shorter stages are awesome. It's a portable game. And it's a shooter. Short is good.

Lack of a proper continue screen sucks, though. Having to hit A 10 times so I can get back into the game after I die irritates me greatly. Didn't AGH have the same problem? Which is odd since I think Astro Boy let you continue immediately. That and the stupid Thunderforce level are the only things I dislike. I thought the Flicky bit was cute, and the Afterburner level wasn't as great as I had hoped, but it wasn't a drag or anything.

It also plays much better on the Mirco than I expected. Love the buttons on that thing, and I haven't had any problems making out bullets on the tiny screen.
 
Rummy Bunnz said:
Didn't AGH have the same problem? Which is odd since I think Astro Boy let you continue immediately.
Click to expand...

That's true... AGH has that annoying "wanna be reborn by the devil?" thing in it. I honestly don't understand why that's there. The nice thing about AGH is that you can hit start to pause, then go to the exit option at anytime, even during dialog to quick exit/continue. But yeah, it's not as convenient as a real continue screen. I wonder why the oversight.
 
So I never played the original, and I'm a weaksauce gamer...would I enjoy this game?

For comparison's sake, I played Astro Boy on the GBA and loved it a lot, although I haven't yet finished the game on normal difficulty. (I'm stuck on that @#%$%$#ing level with the train the second time through -- you have to beat up all the guys on the train before going to the boss...but if the boss kills you, you go back to the beginning of the train sequence. WTF?)
 
I've noticed that the character dialogue in the cinematic sequences changes not only for the character you pick, but also based on the difficulty level. So, if you try this game on Easy at first (as I did), then play a Normal game later using the same character, you'll see some different conversations unfold between the characters.
 
-jinx- said:
So I never played the original, and I'm a weaksauce gamer...would I enjoy this game?
Click to expand...
The central mechanic is the shooting, but there are loads of melee moves (about the opposite of Astro Boy). Otherwise, I don't think it's much harder than Astro Boy (if at all). I do find it much more satisfying.

So, yes.
 
AniHawk said:
Is there some sort of magic trick I need to perform so I don't have suck/10 HP while fighting Golden Silver?
Click to expand...

1. Make sure you go into the final stage with all three weapon meters full.

2. Grab the five life-ups at the start, avoid green fire, it is painful.

3. Versus Pink/Kain/Kotaro: It's possible to try and farm the bombs the fat one (Kain? Kotaro?) drops for life-ups, but it's made difficult by Pink's screen filling attacks. I suggest you go ahead and use the "explosion" charged attack to try and hit all three at once, making sure to grab the life-ups they drop. There isn't that much HP between the three of 'em.

4. Make your way carefully to Orange, once again avoiding the green fire which has not grown any more friendly

5. Versus Orange: Lure him tot he upper level, then drop down so that you're hanging under him. Keep firing up at him and scooting away (NOT under) when he prepares to shoot those little green battles (you can also use the knife to block them and generate those little stars that refile your power bar, but it's kind of risky to actually go after them).

6. Versus Black: This one gets a bit hectic, not quite sure what to suggest. I usually use the "homing laser" and it's charged attack, although I suggest you hold off on the latter until you get him down to 200 HP (or whenever he steps up his attacks). Remember to destroy the laser turrets on the sides whenever they come up, and watch the tell-tale green plasma appearing when a laser is about to fire from the bottom.

7. Versus Green: Hoo boy, I don't know what to tell you here. The best advice I can give you is to only go after him when he's in the crustacean form (scuttling along the top of the screen), where he's an easy target. Any other time, just get the fuck out of his way - with the exception of when he's in eagle form - use either a charged attack or a knife to block the little blue lasers, then try to give yourself a lot of room (at least half a screen) to escape his electric beam attack. Good luck!

8. Versus Golden Silver: The trick to Golden Silver, it seems, is to just get in one corner and blast the fuck away at the gems. If you can go into this battle with a full energy meter for the blaster weapon (the one that turns into a flamethrower in the charged attack), then wait for the red gem to come down to the bottom of the screen, start your super attack, and just blast the shit out of those little things. With any luck, you'll be doing much more damage than you're taking.

PS: Extra info in the FAQ of this one douchebag: http://www.gamefaqs.com/portable/gbadvance/game/927525.html
 
i swear i'd like this game twice as much if it didn't have that helicopter section. hard mode seems for the most part identical to normal mode. you start with 100hp rather than 150, but that still leaves lots of room for error. except of course in the helicopter section. where you can now be killed in a couple seconds flat when the boss ACTUALLY JUGGLES YOU BETWEEN BULLETS. AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

i think i'm giving up on 1ccs and just slogging through hard mode the ignominious way.
 
Dark Age Iron Savior said:
1. Make sure you go into the final stage with all three weapon meters full.

2. Grab the five life-ups at the start, avoid green fire, it is painful.

3. Versus Pink/Kain/Kotaro: It's possible to try and farm the bombs the fat one (Kain? Kotaro?) drops for life-ups, but it's made difficult by Pink's screen filling attacks. I suggest you go ahead and use the "explosion" charged attack to try and hit all three at once, making sure to grab the life-ups they drop. There isn't that much HP between the three of 'em.

4. Make your way carefully to Orange, once again avoiding the green fire which has not grown any more friendly

5. Versus Orange: Lure him tot he upper level, then drop down so that you're hanging under him. Keep firing up at him and scooting away (NOT under) when he prepares to shoot those little green battles (you can also use the knife to block them and generate those little stars that refile your power bar, but it's kind of risky to actually go after them).

6. Versus Black: This one gets a bit hectic, not quite sure what to suggest. I usually use the "homing laser" and it's charged attack, although I suggest you hold off on the latter until you get him down to 200 HP (or whenever he steps up his attacks). Remember to destroy the laser turrets on the sides whenever they come up, and watch the tell-tale green plasma appearing when a laser is about to fire from the bottom.

7. Versus Green: Hoo boy, I don't know what to tell you here. The best advice I can give you is to only go after him when he's in the crustacean form (scuttling along the top of the screen), where he's an easy target. Any other time, just get the fuck out of his way - with the exception of when he's in eagle form - use either a charged attack or a knife to block the little blue lasers, then try to give yourself a lot of room (at least half a screen) to escape his electric beam attack. Good luck!

8. Versus Golden Silver: The trick to Golden Silver, it seems, is to just get in one corner and blast the fuck away at the gems. If you can go into this battle with a full energy meter for the blaster weapon (the one that turns into a flamethrower in the charged attack), then wait for the red gem to come down to the bottom of the screen, start your super attack, and just blast the shit out of those little things. With any luck, you'll be doing much more damage than you're taking.

PS: Extra info in the FAQ of this one douchebag: http://www.gamefaqs.com/portable/gbadvance/game/927525.html
Click to expand...

I pretty much did all that on my own. Even with 14 HP, I'm able to just about halve Golden Silver's health before I bite the dust. If I didn't lose 75 HP fighting Black, it'd be cake.
 
i'm not sure what trouble you're having with black, but all you really have to do is stay away from those big green lasers. don't be afraid to stay on one of the rising platforms...you'll always have time to jump off before it explodes.

edit: and i would definitely recommend milking the bombs pink's fat friend drops for health. first take out the guy with the machine gun, then stand right under pink...it's not hard to dodge the lasers while knifing any bombs that land near you, and if you fire straight up you'll hit pink and the fat guy. on normal, you should end up with nearly 300hp without really going out of your way.
 
Weaksauces stand in the corner.

Expanding on DAIS' distillation of GAMEFAQS strategy, you need to memorize the patterns.

Jump over the red jewel a second after it lands.

Jump over the blue jewel as its flame sweeps the floor.

Fake out the green comet. You are invulnerable to its tail.

Stay a half-screen lengths away from the orange jewel.

Don't use melee!
 
drohne said:
i'm not sure what trouble you're having with black, but all you really have to do is stay away from those big green lasers. don't be afraid to stay on one of the rising platforms...you'll always have time to jump off before it explodes.
Click to expand...

Yeah, it was the lasers that did me in. Ran into only a couple to lose that much health.
 
Wow. I made short of those guys once I got the pattern down and avoided those stupid green blasts while fighting Black.

Apparently, if you're too close to Green, he'll keep dashing left to right, and if you run with him, that's all he'll do the entire fight. Took him down without taking a single bit of damage.
 
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