Do you remember the time when you first started playing video games? Do you remember the games that you played? The systems these games were on? These were some pretty good times weren’t they? Well, I am going to take you back to one of the games that did just that for me back in the 90s with this review of the SNES game, Sunset Riders.

Sunset Riders was a game that was released on the Super Nintendo in 1993, which was originally an arcade game back in 1991. It was a game that was set in the old west where four cowboys set out to try and to stop Sir Richard Rose and his men. Their names were Steve, Billy, Bob, and Cormano. Steve and Billy start off the game with a single hand pistol while Bob and Cormano start off with a shotgun. Throughout the game you will be able to upgrade your weapons with various items set throughout the levels.

To start of this review, I will be talking about the game play. In Sunset Riders, the basic idea of the game is that it is basically an arcade shoot m’ up, just think along the lines of Contra. You will have to start off on one side of the map and make your way through various enemies to get to the end, where there is a boss you must fight. Throughout the level you must shoot down the enemies while dodging bullets, bombs, among other things. But not all levels will involve you on your feet; there are some on horseback as well. When it comes to the game play, I think it is pretty well down. It is just a basic game style with some interesting levels and characters, and when it comes down to it, it is just simply fun.

Gameplay: 9.5/10

The graphics of this game is basically just a cartoonish style of realism set in a 2D game. The backgrounds in the stages resemble places that would have probably made sense in an old west setting and are well done for a game done back then, compared to other games released on the SNES. The characters are pretty well done and, overall, this game is quite colorful and showcases the technology of the SNES.

Graphics / Presentation: 9/10

The sound inside the game, in my opinion, really fits the atmosphere and fits most of the levels. Looking back on it, the music is quite a bit nostalgic to me and I am sure many others would agree. For the type of music that was done on the SNES, I think it was one of the best I heard. Besides the background music, the characters did have a few line of dialog as well. It was not much but for what it was, it was decent.

Sound: 9/10

When it comes to the story, there is not much to say about it since there hardly is any. It is just a basic story of the hero trying to stop the villain where you must make it through eight levels facing off against the bosses until you make your way to Richard Rose. Outside of a few lines of dialog, the game is just basically you going through the levels. Some people may hate this but I think it is just fine, especially considering that this was a Super Nintendo game. Sometimes too much story can really hurt the game.

Story: 8.5/10

Sunset Riders also includes a multi-player mode where you and a partner can play through the game alongside each other. I don’t have too much to say about this part because I haven’t played the multi-player section in years. But from what I played in the past, I would have to say it was quite fun and could probably make the game easier for you as long as you had a good partner playing the game with you.

Multi-Player: 9/10

Overall, Sunset Riders was and still is a fun and awesome game. Looking back on it, the game was not perfect by any means but it was still a great game and was one of my childhood favorites. The game play is fun and addicting, the music was well done, the graphics were good for what they were, and the multi-player was a good inclusion. I would totally recommend this game to anyone that would actually like to give it a try, if they are even lucky enough to find a cartridge of it. This is why I wish a version would be coming out for the Wii Virtual Console someday, just so people would have an easier of getting it. So, in the end, I will give this game a 9/10 and say that it is a fun version of the game even if it doesn’t have the 4 player multi-player from the arcade version.


Final Score: 9/10