You'll finish Easy in an hour, spend 2 hours on normal, while Hard will take about three. And that's just one character.
Gunstar Future Heroes (stupidly renamed 'Super' Heroes in the US) is a sequel to Gunstar Heroes (GEN), and although the visual style has been slightly altered since then, the gameplay (and strangely, the plot) have remained the same. There is a recap of the previous game and the events that followed in the game's startup sequence (before the title screen).
So, let's go to the gameplay then. If you have ever played a Metal Slug title before, then you'll find that this game plays in a similar way. What makes GFH different is its deep plot and dialogue scenes, which occur before, after and sometimes in the middle of each stage. The plot and the story events change depending on the difficulty level and the character you choose, so you must play through the game a total of six times (2 characters, 3 difficulty levels) to learn important information on the characters and their motives. Trust me, if you only finish the game on the Easy difficulty, then you will have only seen a quarter of the story.
The graphics in this game are mindblowing for a GBA title. The programmers have pulled off a number of complicated visual effects in both the foreground and background, and destroying any enemy will fill the screen with explosions. During cutscenes the characters are drawn in screen-height manga portraits, something which allows the players to see the facial expressions of the characters as they talk. Some 3D effects are also used, including a billowing Empire flag on the Game Over screen (EU version only).
Some of the tunes from this game are more than just memorable; I'm considering tracking down recordings or remixes of the game's music to listen to in my spare time. At the very least you'll be humming or doing some mild headbanging to the tune heard immediately after defeating the final boss.
If you're lucky, you might still be able to find the game in a high-street shop. Expect to pay £20 for a first-hand copy. It's worth every penny.
Some might argue that the game is too short, since it can take less than an hour to finish one run on Easy, but that is exactly how games like this have been designed. After finishing a difficulty, you'll want to return later to break your own score records, find a good strategy to use on the higher difficulties, or just review the cutscenes so that you understand the plot. I may have finished the whole thing, but months from now I'll play it again just to remind myself of the Hard mode endings.
This game won't suit everyone, since some people might not even be able to finish the game on the Normal difficulty. For those of you who are skilled enough to finish the game on Hard......enjoy the challenge!