Twenty years ago Wild guns for Snes it was considered a real one cult of the shooter genre. Now Natsume Inc. offers on Nintendo Switch Wild Guns Reloaded, a fully remastered version of the original, but will it have stood the test of time?
A sci-fi western
As per the tradition of arcade games of the past, the storyline of Wild Guns Reloaded is extremely simple. We will have to stop a dangerous wanted man and his gang, made up of outlaw and unlikely war robot.
After a first introductory stage, we will have the opportunity to face the next ones in any order, up to the final one once the previous ones have been completed.
An old-time shooter action
The gameplay of Wild Guns Reloaded has remained unchanged from the past, re-proposing the same experience of many years before on a modern platform.
Some four playable characters, Clint and Annie present an identical style of play, armed with a semi-automatic shotgun with which to kill enemies e powerful bombs with which to eliminate all targets on the screen.
Bullet and Doris, novelty of this remastered, instead present some, small changes: the first is accompanied by a drone that will automatically point to targets inside its large viewfinder; the second will throw several grenades, in number and power proportional to the duration of the pressure of the fire key.
The different levels are composed of two areas in which we can move sideways to avoid the attacks coming from the background, separated by two mini bosses. The environment reacts to our blows, showing the damage taken and sometimes revealing targets, prizes or hidden power-ups.
At the end of each stage, however, a powerful final boss, often accompanied by several secondary enemies that will act as a distraction.
Compared to the original version, two new levels have also been added with the related boss fights.
One is also present Boss Rush mode, where we will face one after the other all the bosses of the game, with a timer to mark the time taken.
A real challenge to be faced in a group!
The difficulty level is very high even selecting the simplest option, so much so that beginners may feel rejected by the game itself. Ending all lives it will be game over, but there is a beginner mode which allows you to play with infinite lives.
It still feels there lack of a tutorial that explains the game mechanics: in fact the only form of explanation is hidden within the options. A player approaching the game for the first time could therefore be in the thick of the action without even knowing the controls.
In local multiplayer the experience changes, becoming no longer easy to quickly eliminate all enemies on the screen, but also fun to share with a few friends. Nintendo Switch enhances this aspect of the game by making it possible to play in pairs at any time, using only one joycon each.
Last technical notes on the game
All sprites and scenarios have been redone in high definition, while remaining faithful to the stile 16-bit original and never drops below 60 fps. From the options you can also adjust both the aspect ratio and the size of the game screen according to your preferences.
The soundtrack has been completely remastered, however, for the more nostalgic, the possibility of unlocking the retro soundtrack has been made available.
Despite the very high level of challenge and the presence of the online leaderboard guarantees a good longevity for the most avid gamers, the price of 29.99 € for the digital version and 49.99 € for the physical one is a bit too high for the amount of content offered if you do not fall into that category.
Conclusions on Wild Guns Reloaded
For nostalgics and fans of the genre, Wild Guns Reloaded is a good buy that presents an experience that is sometimes brutal, but capable of giving satisfaction and awakening memories.
Players outside these niches can spend a handful of very busy hours facing it alone, some fun and enjoyable moments in company, even if at a price a little too high for the experience offered.
