Those of us who grew up in the eight and sixteen bit generations of consoles remember having to put up with mediocre arcade ports. Gamers back then went through a standard process with every new coin-op that came out. After playing a game at the arcade and enjoying it immensely, prayers were said in the hope that it would be released for the NES or even Master System (hey, people actually did have those, you know). You'd hope that as much of the original game as possible made it home. More often than not we were disappointed, as many ports were pretty lackluster or down right horrible.
Every once in a while, however, a game made it through the conversion process without being hacked to pieces. Gun.Smoke was one such title. It stands as one of Capcom's better early efforts, alongside other gems like Commando, Ghosts 'N Goblins, and Trojan. In fact, this particular game is as much fun to play as its arcade sibling even though it’s not an exact port; which is something the NES excelled at.
Gun.Smoke tells the tale of Billy Bob, a lone gunman whose out to save the town of Hicksville from a gang of outlaws lead by the Wingate Brothers. Yes, the plot is as generic as they come. Yes, the names aren’t very inspiring (they might as well have just called it Redneck Roundup or something equally lame). But as with most games of the shooting variety, it's not about the story or the characters. All that's important here is dealing death on a massive scale with as much firepower as you can carry. In this regard, GS does not disappoint.
In an attempt to mimic those old spaghetti westerns of the '60s, gameplay is handled via a vertically scrolling screen. Through six stages, Billy Bob will have his hands full with some of the west's meanest hombres. While some of the names have been changed (Master Winchester is now called Bandit Bill. Why?), the setup's the same. You walk up the street (or across the plains, desert, what have you) and take out baddies as they appear. Most will simply run around ahead of you, taking pot shots, but there are also snipers in tee pees and second floor windows, dynamite throwers, riflemen, Indians and other nasty foes to deal with. The screen scrolls automatically, so you have to keep on your toes about eliminating enemies, lest they end up behind you.
I liked how each boss has a different weapon as his theme. Riflemen, Tomahawk throwing; even a set of boomerangs! I do have to take issue with the fourth stage boss. A ninja? In the old west? He may be cool to fight, what with his teleporting and shurikens, but he is very much out of place. Why not a sword-wielding army soldier or a pack of banditos? Anything would have made more sense than a ninja. One other problem with the levels is that the game is missing quite a few. Roy Knife and a few others have been cut from this rendition and though the game is technically shorter, it doesn’t feel that way at all.
Never to be caught unprepared, Billy Bob is equipped with two six shooters that never run out of ammunition or overheat. While they're not very strong, their range can be upgraded by collecting rifle icons found in barrels scattered around the screen. Other goodies can be had, such as cash, boots that increase walking speed, a POW that kills everything on-screen, and the coveted Yashichi (basically a 1up). Just be sure to stay away from the cow skull, as it will drop your speed and gun range by one level.
Capcom took several liberties with the home port of Gun.Smoke, the best easily being the ability to upgrade your gun. Some helpful citizens, who stand lazily in the street, oblivious to the firefight waging around them, will sell you this premium weaponry. Unlike your standard armament, the upgrades have a finite amount of bullets which are replenished by icons dropped when certain enemies die. You can buy handheld machine guns (they had those in 1849?), shotguns, magnums, as well as napalm and smart bombs. You can also buy a horse, which comes galloping up to you and basically acts like a shield, taking around three or four shots before it dies. They will also sell you a wanted poster of the stage's boss, which allows you to face him. Without it, you're doomed to keep walking until you finally have enough money to buy it or are lucky enough to find one hidden somewhere in the stage.
Though the level of detail in the NES version cannot compare with the original, the graphics do an excellent job of maintaining the feel of the old west that made Gun.Smoke such a hit in the arcade. Levels are varied, ranging from the initial town to varied locales like the desert, Indian village, mountain pass, plains, and even an army fort. Although there is a limited amount of color in the game, nothing clashes or gets lost in the on-screen action. Not an easy feat, considering when the game was released and just how frantic the arcade version was.
Sprites are clear and easy to distinguish against the mostly orange background. I was impressed at just how many types of enemies this game throws at you. While your basic cronies will persist from stage to stage, each area has enemies found nowhere else. Capcom crammed as much as it could into the game and the quality shows. Given the limited video output of the NES, GS looks pretty spiffy with a composite connection and is very easy on the eyes. My only gripe is that they changed Billy Bob's cool death animation from the arcade. He now seems to just drop and curl up in a ball.
I like the music in Gun.Smoke. It isn't the best quality but it fits the action. There are several tunes, specific to each level (Devil Hawk's being my favorite) and the go on for a bit before they loop. I played the original in MAME prior to writing this review and came away impressed at just how good the tunes for this sixteen year-old NES port were.
Most people's most vivid memory of GS's sounds will obviously be the sounds of Billy Bob's guns, and rightly so. There really aren't too many other effects here, except for when enemies get hit and the gallop of your loyal steed. Everything else is unimpressive and forgettable. The sound is unfortunately the one weak spot in an otherwise solid title.
Although the graphics and sound are dated, the game play is not. GS is still just as much fun to go through as it was when it first came out. I did find it much easier than the arcade version, but having the ability to upgrade my weapons makes it a decent trade off. This is some of the finest twitch gameplay on the NES and it holds up magnificently in this day and age. I got my copy for about $5 (with manual!) and it was well worth it. I still have yet to beat the game (I got to the Wingates and you have to fight all three of them one by one!) but I'm having a blast trying.
Take my advice, grab yourself a copy and have some fun. One of the best western games ever is still quick on the draw.
