Wild Guns
A cult-classic shooting gallery with Wild West and sci-fi fusion.
Wild Guns is a 1994 shooting gallery game for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System, developed and published by Natsume Co., Ltd. It blends Wild West, steampunk, and sci-fi elements, following Annie and bounty hunter Clint as they seek revenge for the death of her family. The game combines third-person shooter and light gun mechanics, with players sidestepping and jumping in the foreground while shooting enemies in the background.
Quick Facts
- Developer
- Natsume Co., Ltd.
- Publisher
- Natsume Co., Ltd. (JP)
- Natsume Inc. (NA)
- Titus France (EU)
- Designer
- Shunichi Taniguchi
- Programmer
- Toshiyasu Miyabe; Hiromichi Komuro
- Composer
- Hiroyuki Iwatsuki; Haruo Ohashi
- Platforms
- Super Nintendo Entertainment System
- Released
- August 12, 1994 (JP)
- July 1995 (NA)
- October 30, 1996 (EU)
- Genre
- Shooting gallery
Facts from the source article.
Gameplay
Wild Guns blends the American Wild West with sci-fi and steampunk elements in a shooting gallery format. Its gameplay borrows from third-person shooters and light gun games, much like Blood Bros. and Cabal. The game has six levels, each broken into two stages, a mini-boss, and a third stage with a final boss. You can play alone or with a partner, and there is also a target practice mode where two players compete for the highest score. The story centers on Annie, who wants revenge on the Kid family for kidnapping and killing her family. She asks space bounty hunter Clint for help. Clint says he does not need her, but Annie insists she has a personal grudge and is a good shot. You control either Annie or Clint in the foreground using the D-pad, shooting enemies in the background and dodging their fire. When you hold the fire button, the D-pad moves the gun reticle instead, so you cannot shoot and move at the same time. With the gun holstered, you can jump, dive, or roll to avoid bullets. A "Look Out!" text bubble appears when you can dodge. Some enemies throw dynamite, which you can toss back, and a lasso can stun enemies briefly. Both enemies and their bullets can be shot down. Defeated enemies sometimes drop item boxes with gold or silver for extra points, or bombs. You can hold up to five bombs, which clear the screen of enemies. Weapon upgrades like shotguns and machine guns appear after certain enemies, boosting firing speed or damage. When your bullets hit enemy bullets, a gauge fills. Once full, you get a Vulcan gun, the most powerful weapon, which grants invincibility until the gauge empties.
Development
Wild Guns came together when a small group at Natsume needed to make a game on a tight budget and schedule while waiting for their next big project. The main team had three people: Shunichi Taniguchi handled game design and graphics, Toshiyasu Miyabe did the programming, and Hiroyuki Iwatsuki composed the sound. Two others helped out as support. They picked the Super NES because all three had worked on The Ninja Warriors for that system before. Taniguchi led the development, which took about five months. The game took heavy cues from Dynamite Duke and Blood Bros., while its space Western look came largely from the manga Cobra. The screen shake and mirage effects after explosions were inspired by the movie RoboCop 3. For the music, Iwatsuki used a Western soundtrack "Best Of" CD that Natsume gave him, which he enjoyed listening to during and after work. He made the soundtrack using PC-98 computers, a Roland W-30 keyboard, and a MIDI sequencer, with some sounds from the Roland Sound Canvas series. At first, the aiming reticle could only move up and down, and you moved side to side by shifting the player character, but that felt clumsy, so they changed it. The "Look Out!" text bubble was added because the fake 3D depth made it hard to judge how far away bullets were. Clint and Annie wore clothes that fit the time period; Annie got a dress instead of jeans so her design wouldn't clash with Clint's and to make animation easier. The American Natsume offices suggested the character names. Since the budget was low, there were no voice actors—Taniguchi recorded Clint's lines in the office bathroom.
Release
Wild Guns first hit shelves in Japan on August 12, 1994. Its North American launch was originally planned for late 1994, but got pushed back to the same period in 1995. A version for the 32X was rumored for 1996 but never came out. Over time, the original cartridge became a sought-after collectible. The game found new life on the Wii Virtual Console in 2010, followed by a Wii U release in 2014, and joined the Nintendo Classics lineup in 2020. An upgraded version called Wild Guns Reloaded arrived on PlayStation 4 in December 2016, crafted by the same team under the name Tengo Project. It added new characters, stages, enemies, and four-player local play. A Windows port followed in July 2017, and the Nintendo Switch got it on April 17, 2018.
Reception
Contemporary reviews of Wild Guns were positive. Famitsu gave it a score of 26 out of 40. Electronic Gaming Monthly praised the cooperative multiplayer mode and challenging levels, calling it one of the best shooters on the SNES and comparing it to NAM-1975. GamePro highlighted the intense action, fun cooperative mode, colorful graphics, and the ability to shoot almost any on-screen object, noting the game's difficulty even on easy but rewarding perseverance. Nintendo Power complimented the graphics, control, and inclusion of both male and female playable characters, though they found it less challenging than other shooters. In retrospective reviews, IGN's Lucas M. Thomas commended the gameplay depth and detailed visuals, acknowledging the difficulty but praising it as a top example of the niche shooting gallery genre. Mat Allen of Nintendo Life called it an excellent example of the Virtual Console's purpose, offering a cheap way to play a game that had become an expensive collector's item. Todd Ciolek of GameSetWatch cited it as one of the best games in a genre considered a lost art. Critics and Natsume have acknowledged Wild Guns as a cult classic. Wild Guns Reloaded was also well received, with Famitsu giving the PS4 version a score of 29 out of 40.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who published Wild Guns?
Wild Guns was published by Natsume Co., Ltd. (JP), Natsume Inc. (NA) and Titus France (EU).
Who composed the music for Wild Guns?
The music for Wild Guns was composed by Hiroyuki Iwatsuki and Haruo Ohashi.
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