As featured in Retrogaming Times Monthly issue #62, July 2009.

Over the past two dozen or so entries in the NES'cade column I've attempted to stick to the same basic format.  That is to take an arcade game that was later ported to the Nintendo Entertainment System, compare the NES version against the arcade original, and give my opinion on whether nor not the conversion lives up to the game of origin.  The key being to look at the NES release as the second release, the version that was crafted to emulate the original.  Up until this point that has been no problem as all the games I've covered had arcade cabinets that I played a few times, either before or during the release time of the NES conversion.  Even if I didn't spend excessive time with the arcade version of a game, at the very least I knew of its existence and how it played.  Gun.Smoke is different.  Back when Gun.Smoke was released on the NES I had no concept of an arcade version, I simply never came across it in any arcade.  As far as I knew it was simply an NES game created specifically for the hardware and based off nothing other than a western motif.  It wouldn't be until many years later, long after the death of arcades in the United States, that I would finally come across the arcade version of Gun.Smoke.  Due to that factor, this NES'cade entry will be a little different.  Both versions will be covered as usual but since there was no early familiarity with the arcade original, I'll be focusing primarily on the NES version and how the arcade original compares to it - instead of the other way around.  While the core idea is the same both are very different games, the NES version being one of my favorite games on the platform.

An old print advertisement for Gun.Smoke got my attention long before the actual game arrived in my NES.  It read: "It's high noon. You're alone. You're quick or you're dead."  While the old west was never a massive point of interest to me, around this time a particular cartoon was drifting around the airwaves.  Saber Rider and the Star Sheriffs (the localization of the anime series Star Musketeer Bismarck) was essentially a space western, complete with a giant cowboy robot, laser firing six-shooters and space exploration being regarded as the New Frontier.  I suppose if it wasn't for the exploits of the Star Sheriffs, Gun.Smoke would have been just another NES title lost to me in the shuffle.  Never mind that the magazine advertisement notes that the NES version is "just like the original arcade game."

The game takes place in the American west of 1849, in the town of Hicksville.  Hicksville is being terrorized by a group of outlaws known as the Wingates.  The Wingates have killed the sheriff and now raid the town every day, leaving the pioneers to live in fear.  That's until a bounty hunter by the name of Billy Bob arrives in town one day.  As Billy Bob, it is your role to hunt down and kill the Wingates and restore peace to Hicksville and the surrounding areas.  The game begins in the town of Hicksville and progresses across the frontier, all the while in pursuit of various outlaws.  A good way to describe how the game mechanic works is to think of 1943 except walking on the ground rather than flying in a plane.  Each stage is viewed from an overhead perspective and automatically scrolls upward.  Billy can be moved all around the screen but caution must be made not to get pinned in between objects and the bottom of the screen.  Movement is controlled with the directional pad on the NES and a standard joystick in the arcade.

Billy's primary weapons are his pair of trusty revolvers which have unlimited ammunition.  The arcade set up consisted of three buttons for firing: one for left, one for forward and one for right.  Buttons could be pressed in combination for additional firing coverage over wider areas.  The two button control setup on the NES is actually far more intuitive to me.  The B button fires left, the A button fires right and pressing both buttons together fires forward.  This may seem like a poor choice for control setup but it works incredibly well and I greatly prefer it over the arcade method.  In fact I've always felt that the three button firing setup of the arcade original is one of the reasons it is so difficult to play.  Each stage has a number of destructible barrels which once shot apart may reveal a powerup.  The powerups and their effects are the same between both versions of the game with the exception of bullets.  A pair of boots increases Billy's movement speed.  A rifle increases the distance your normal shots will travel.  In the arcade version picking up bullets will increase the speed of your shots while on the NES they will replenish your special weapons ammunition.  The only barrel contents you have to watch out for is a cattle skull, picking it up will reduce Billy's power.

The NES version also adds some dynamics in how firepower works.  Each stage has a weapons dealer that will sell you additional firepower in exchange for cash, which translates into points.  Different guns can be purchased which can be selected from an inventory menu accessed by pressing the Select button.  Any weapon other than your revolvers will require different ammunition which is either dropped by defeated enemies or purchased from a dealer.  Each stage also has a pioneer that will sell goods - anything from ammunition to a horse.  However the most important thing the goods dealers have are wanted posters.  Unless a wanted poster is purchased the stage will loop endlessly.  After purchasing a wanted poster the stage will eventually conclude with a boss fight against the outlaw in the area.  This is a total departure from the arcade version which simply progressed to the outlaw, no shops, no wanted posters, no strategy.  Since the stage loops until you purchase a wanted poster, a skilled player can build up their cash and firepower before attempting to take down the outlaw of the stage.  As in the old west, one of the most useful powerups you can get is a horse.  While most of the time a horse can be found as a regular powerup in special barrels, they can also be purchased from pioneers selling them.  The horse more or less acts as a shield power up.  Once mounted atop your horse any damage you may take from a shot is instead absorbed by the horse.  After three shots the horse is dead and you're back to walking but getting and then protecting your horse becomes a critical tactic during some hectic parts of the game.  A lot more confidence can be had riding up to an outlaw confrontation atop a perfectly intact horse rather than being on foot and a single shot away from death.

Although the screen orientation between the two versions is different, it doesn't change the basic gameplay one bit.  Graphics are faithfully recreated on the NES version and each stage uses a different environment over the previous.  I enjoy the NES graphics more than the arcade original, if only that they are more varied and colorful.  If resolution was being compared the victory would expectedly go to the arcade version with its super detailed environments.  Enemies, and more importantly their bullets, are colored properly so that nothing frustratingly blends in with the background.  Yet nothing stands out or looks out of place.  Audio is different between the two versions as well although the NES version attempts to recreate the majority of the arcade's sound effects.  Music is a totally different package and in my opinion the developers of the NES version took ideas of the original and ran with them.  Gun.Smoke on the NES has a soundtrack every bit as good as Capcom's other NES games from the peak era of the platform.  The music from the first stage will instantly come to mind if you've ever spent any time with this title.  All the music really is well done, from the title screen to the item dealers to the victory music at the end of each stage.

The last really big difference between the two versions is that that NES release only contains six of the arcade's original ten stages.  Regardless the game never seems short or that it's missing something.  If you never played the arcade version or tried to compare the two you'd never realize the difference.  Besides, the looping stages of the NES version more than make up for this as much more gameplay can be had.  For the collectors, there are two different artwork variations for both the box and cartridge label for this game.  One shows Billy Bob with his guns drawn (usually known as the blue cowboy variation) and the other shows a collection of western scenes with a silhouette of a red cowboy in the background (usually known as the red cowboy variation).  It's up for debate on which is harder to come by but personally the red cowboy version was always far more common in my travels.  Either way, this is an awesome game on the NES that shouldn't be missed!

Earlier I mentioned that this was one of my favorite NES games.  In case anyone is wondering what my other favorite NES games are, here are my top five...

5. Gun.Smoke
4. Ninja Gaiden II: The Dark Sword of Chaos
3. Palamedes
2. Barker Bill's Trick Shooting
1. StarTropics

...of course, the other four aren't arcade games.  Keep an eye out for the next issue however, as I'm planning something different for them.
 

"InsaneDavid" also covers all types of video gaming at http://www.classicplastic.net/dvgi

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