A technical feat, a visual spectacle, and an incredibly rewarding experience. The classic returns.
That name tends to elicit one of two responses. The first is "Gunwhat? Huh?" The second one can best be summarized as "I LOVE THAT GAME." As someone who went from response one to response two, I can only offer glowing words to you. This game is a technical feat, a visual spectacle, and rewarding to play, solo or co-op, over and over again.
Gunstar Heroes is a run-and-gun shooter similar to Contra. However, it is not a Contra clone. Unlike Contra, Gunstar Heroes has a health stat which decreases as you get hit, depending on what hits you. Also you don't have to use weapons to attack. One of the unique characteristics of Gunstar Heroes is the abilty to throw enemies, not only hurting the enemy thrown, but also any enemies in his path. Also you can press jump while jumping to lunge forward for a melee attack, or press jump while crouching to perform a sliding melee attack. As for weapons, Gunstar Heroes uses a unique weapon combination method. Weapons come in four varieties, lightning, rapid fire, flame, and chaser, and any combination of two creates a unique weapon, resulting in 20 different weapons total. Some are more effective than others (Chaser-Lightning is a cold-handed dealer of death), but it's a system that creates plenty of room for experimentation and personalization. This grows even more deep when you play co-op. You can throw your partner as a projectile (don't worry, you won't hurt them) and can share health to bring a dead partner back to life. All-in-all, it's an excellent system that works perfectly. Given the limited Genesis setup, I can't think of any way to improve the gameplay.
Graphically, this is one of the best looking Genesis games. The colors are bright and crisp. The characters are heavily stylized and look great. Also, it included some of the best pseudo-3D you'll see in a Genesis game. As for slowdown, it does occur at times, but very rarely and it never causes cheap deaths like in some games.
The soundtrack isn't one of the strong points of the game, but is by no means bad. The BGM always suits the situation and the sound effects are fitting and clean sounding. Plus, the little sirens right before you fight a boss only serve to boost the anticipation of the upcoming battle. However, no tracks really stand out as exemplary and after a while they all blend together.
Gunstar Heroes is a short game. You can beat the game in less than an hour. However, the game is an absolute blast to play, and thanks to its relentlessly quick pace, it offers great replay value. And if you can get a friend to join you, then you're set for one of the most rewarding co-op experiences there is. Plus, there are three difficulty settings, ranging from the mildly challenging Easy to the impossibly difficult Hard. Fortunately the Virtual Console offers a save state mechanism, so you can stop after dying for the tenth time on a level and just come back later, a very worthwhile addition because the game has no built-in save function.
In the end, I cannot give Gunstar Heroes anything but the highest of recommendations. It's a relentlessly fast-paced shooter which requires great skill and is very rewarding to beat. The gameplay is deep yet accessible, the graphics excellent, and the entire experience is top-notch. For a mere $8, and given that you don't even need a GameCube or VC Controller to play the game, this is one of the best game the Virtual Console has to offer.
If you're like me and you missed this one years ago, or you're just looking for a great game, buy this game. It was an instant-classic when it was released back in 1993, and the only thing that's changed over the last 14 years is the console it's on.
This game is amazing.