Wondering why you bothered to get a GBA Micro? Best get "Gunstr Future Heroes" then.
(If already, you’re turned off then this isn’t your game. If you like a challenge, you like beating high scores and thrashing seemingly unbeatable bosses, then read on.) … Six levels of unparalleled variety – You can find yourself jumping from the back of a space ship to blasting up a village full of turrets, then tumbling into a weird 360° game of “find the chickens” – Six levels of relentless action, countless flashing sprites and more memorable bosses than standard enemies. It may only be Six levels, but you are going to have to squeeze so much replay from them if you have a hope of finishing the game on hard, that it’ll feel like a real epic gripped tightly between your whitened knuckles. Anyone who’s played a game like metal slug- or (on the GBA) “Astro Boy”, will know what to expect, as will Gunstar veterans. At it’s heart, it’s a traditional run and gun affair. You jump, slide, kick and blast you way from A to B, taking out as much as you can, as quickly as you can whilst avoiding incoming attacks, and occasionally letting loose the odd screen filling blast of all enveloping power to the sound of fitting 32 bit beats. But Future Heroes takes the classic shooting adventure formula and runs with it. Most of the action is on foot, but only just. Some of the levels have vehicular moments, where you blast through the air (or space), whilst one particularly gripping mission sees your character riding a constantly transforming chunk of anthropomorphic gear as you hurtle through an enemy filled mine. Visually, the game is some how breathtaking. Yes, it is just a GBA game, but the curling spirals of explosions emitted by dieing foes and the countless bullets spewing from your guns swirl into an ever-expanding pool of retro gold. You’ll be at once impressed that Treasure have squeezed so much from the GBA, and bitterly, bitterly disappointed. Nothing like Gunstar has made it onto the DS, despite the greater hardware and potential for dual screen boss battles. Oh those bosses!! Every level has it’s own unique enemies, and every level has at least a couple of bosses. But, for the most part these encounters aren’t the traditional affair. The aforementioned mine level has just one boss. But “Green” (as he proudly proclaims at the start of you bout) is so much more. Green transforms using the power of “seven force” into – you guest it – seven different unique forms. Each requires you to react under pressure to their varying attack strategies, and each look incredible, with unique and intricate details across their mechanised forms. It really is, an exceptional game. Painfully, infuriatingly short despite the previously mentioned replay value. Even the characters lack variety, with only one weapon to call their own apiece. But Gunstar stills stands with the likes of Advance Wars as one of the Game Boys greatest ever games. If you thought Ikaruga was only a bit on the tough side, then this won’t challenge you. But for the rest of us with mortal brains, Heroes will probably be sitting in your GBA port on and off for the whole year.