Super Strike Gunner
Also known as: Strike Gunner S.T.G
Developed By:- Athena
Published by:
Super Strike Gunner is a top down vertical scrolling shoot 'em up that has a great arcade feel. The story begins with a strong tense animation introduction that shows the power and destruction of the invading forces. It's a great introduction but that is pretty much it for story related elements. The rest of the story is told by playing the game and watching the back ground scroll under your craft. It's a little disappointing that the story doesn't have a strong presence in game but it allows you to just focus on shooting and surviving the fast gameplay.
The game is broken down over 8 long scrolling levels that go for around 5-8 minutes each and feature a butt load of enemies and the large and powerful boss. The game runs at a great speed and requires practice with dodging projectiles and enemies who crash into you and destroy you instantly.
The game takes place over many settings which include forests, deserts, oceans and even in space. As you finish each level they previous designs sort of blends into the next setting, which is story telling in a way because the aim is to go from your base to the enemy ship and destroy it. With the 8 levels I managed to get around 1-2 hours gameplay in one playthrough. There is also great replay value because you can modify the difficulty to create or remove some of the challenges.
Super Strike Gunner is very fast and only requires a little amount of focus on the controller when playing. The layout takes inspiration from the arcade and is primarily a two button shooter unless you play with a friend and use the team join options. This would be a great title to play if you had the Super Advantage Joypad.
This game has a great single player and two player campaign which is identical unless you change the options between play throughs. The two player mode runs really well and allows for some interesting strategic moves with the use of special weapons. Unfortunately there is a downside to multiplayer, this being if one player loses all their lives they must wait till the end of the level to return and they only get one life when they do. You can get around this by deliberately taking your own lives and using a continue but those are limited to 5 uses.
I really enjoyed the special weapons featured in this game. It was a great idea to allow the player to choose which weapon they want to use at the beginning of the level and not leave it to random power up drops in game like some shoot 'em ups. There are more weapons than you can use per playthrough which gives more strategic plays and of course replay value if you want to experience them all. Each weapon has it's own strength and weaknesses and can only be used once per run which keeps every play through fun and fresh.
I don't usually get excited for games with 'Super' in the title because they tend to be a port or redesign of another game, however I was pleasantly surprised when I sat down to play this.
This is a great top down shoot 'em up game with great play speed, firepower, music and on screen mayhem. The game is exciting all the way through to the end and even though it doesn't have a great ending it is a great shoot em up to play by yourself or with a second player.
- Athena
Designers:
- Noaki Morishima
- Kouichi Ishibashi
- Tsutomu Tabata
- Shotaro Sasaki
- Kouichi Ishibashi
- Arcade
- Super NES
- JP - 1994
- NA - 1993
- PAL - 1993
Genre:
- Shoot 'em up
Modes:
- Single-Player
- Multi-player
Check pricing here:
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Box Synopsis
Allied nations are trying to establish global peace by destroying nuclear weapons and reducing armaments. But Sovinia, an independent military country, is planning a massive invasion of the planet...get ready to defend Earth flying the ultimate fighter: the "Modified f-14 Strike Gunner". "PROJECT EARTH", the last hope for the human race, is about to begin.....
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Gameplay
Super Strike Gunner is a top down vertical scrolling shoot 'em up game that was originally released on arcade and then ported over to the Super Nintendo. In this game the player takes control of a "modified F-14 strike gunner" and must battle through multiple levels to reach the invaders master ship and then destroy it to save mankind.
The game plays over 8 levels that scroll vertically as you fight you way through. As you progress you are given power ups by drop pods that either power up your primary weapon or refill your secondary special weapons ammunition. Once you blast your way through the level you are then challenged into beating a large boss with massive fire power. After successfully destroying the boss vehicle you return to base and prepare for the next level.
The game also allows you to have a more strategic approach by allowing the player to select 1 of many special weapons. Once chosen a weapon is then armed on your ship until you beat the mission you have chosen the weapon for. Each weapon can only be used for one mission per playthrough and is not available after you use it.
Once you defeat all the bosses and destroy the master ship then you successfully beat the game and are given the end sequence as a reward.
The game plays over 8 levels that scroll vertically as you fight you way through. As you progress you are given power ups by drop pods that either power up your primary weapon or refill your secondary special weapons ammunition. Once you blast your way through the level you are then challenged into beating a large boss with massive fire power. After successfully destroying the boss vehicle you return to base and prepare for the next level.
The game also allows you to have a more strategic approach by allowing the player to select 1 of many special weapons. Once chosen a weapon is then armed on your ship until you beat the mission you have chosen the weapon for. Each weapon can only be used for one mission per playthrough and is not available after you use it.
Once you defeat all the bosses and destroy the master ship then you successfully beat the game and are given the end sequence as a reward.
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Controls
*Default layout
Directional pad up - Moves ship
L - N/A
R - N/A
Y - Join ship (2player mode)
X - N/A
B - Shoot (can hold)
A - Special weapon
Select - N/A
Start - Pause
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Game Videos
Introduction Video
Gameplay Sample
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Shanwow's Review
Story and Gameplay: 2 point
Super Strike Gunner is a top down vertical scrolling shoot 'em up that has a great arcade feel. The story begins with a strong tense animation introduction that shows the power and destruction of the invading forces. It's a great introduction but that is pretty much it for story related elements. The rest of the story is told by playing the game and watching the back ground scroll under your craft. It's a little disappointing that the story doesn't have a strong presence in game but it allows you to just focus on shooting and surviving the fast gameplay.
The game is broken down over 8 long scrolling levels that go for around 5-8 minutes each and feature a butt load of enemies and the large and powerful boss. The game runs at a great speed and requires practice with dodging projectiles and enemies who crash into you and destroy you instantly.
The game takes place over many settings which include forests, deserts, oceans and even in space. As you finish each level they previous designs sort of blends into the next setting, which is story telling in a way because the aim is to go from your base to the enemy ship and destroy it. With the 8 levels I managed to get around 1-2 hours gameplay in one playthrough. There is also great replay value because you can modify the difficulty to create or remove some of the challenges.
Controls and Features: 3 points
Super Strike Gunner is very fast and only requires a little amount of focus on the controller when playing. The layout takes inspiration from the arcade and is primarily a two button shooter unless you play with a friend and use the team join options. This would be a great title to play if you had the Super Advantage Joypad.
This game has a great single player and two player campaign which is identical unless you change the options between play throughs. The two player mode runs really well and allows for some interesting strategic moves with the use of special weapons. Unfortunately there is a downside to multiplayer, this being if one player loses all their lives they must wait till the end of the level to return and they only get one life when they do. You can get around this by deliberately taking your own lives and using a continue but those are limited to 5 uses.
I really enjoyed the special weapons featured in this game. It was a great idea to allow the player to choose which weapon they want to use at the beginning of the level and not leave it to random power up drops in game like some shoot 'em ups. There are more weapons than you can use per playthrough which gives more strategic plays and of course replay value if you want to experience them all. Each weapon has it's own strength and weaknesses and can only be used once per run which keeps every play through fun and fresh.
Design and Difficulty: 3 point
Super Strike Gunner is an arcade game ported over and that means it does have some small design issues. To be honest the graphics aren't the best and the sprites do sometimes look very simplistic and lazy but you don't really notice unless it's quiet on screen. The game runs really well with the amount of projectiles and enemies it can handle before slowing down. There is some speed issues when you spam spread missiles and other multi shot weapons but it isn't all the time which is nice.
There is a handful of songs in the soundtrack that was composed by Shotaro Sasaki and Kouichi Ishibashi. They music is simple and repetitive but it has a dark driving sound which sets a good environment for a mission that is about life and death. The music rotates a couple of times through the game so you do get a repeat track but it isn't back to back which is great.
The difficulty default for this game is a great level for new or returning shoot 'em up gamers. I found the standard three lives was fair to start with because of the survival aspect of the story. However there are options to adjust both your life count and difficulty level. Adjusting the level changes some of the enemy patterns through the game but also reduces the amount of primary weapon power ups you are given leaving you underpowered if you are destroyed.
The game naturally gets harder as you progress into the later levels due to the introduction of targets that appear behind you and have some really tricky movements to follow. The boss battles are amazing and require more focus than the level before them. They usually have multiple targets that must be destroyed while they have a huge arsenal of firepower protecting them from you. If you keep an eye on the projectiles fired at you, it isn't as hard as it sounds. However if you do struggle on a certain boss you could always equip the 'Mega cannon' which is a one shot kill on everything.
There is a handful of songs in the soundtrack that was composed by Shotaro Sasaki and Kouichi Ishibashi. They music is simple and repetitive but it has a dark driving sound which sets a good environment for a mission that is about life and death. The music rotates a couple of times through the game so you do get a repeat track but it isn't back to back which is great.
The difficulty default for this game is a great level for new or returning shoot 'em up gamers. I found the standard three lives was fair to start with because of the survival aspect of the story. However there are options to adjust both your life count and difficulty level. Adjusting the level changes some of the enemy patterns through the game but also reduces the amount of primary weapon power ups you are given leaving you underpowered if you are destroyed.
The game naturally gets harder as you progress into the later levels due to the introduction of targets that appear behind you and have some really tricky movements to follow. The boss battles are amazing and require more focus than the level before them. They usually have multiple targets that must be destroyed while they have a huge arsenal of firepower protecting them from you. If you keep an eye on the projectiles fired at you, it isn't as hard as it sounds. However if you do struggle on a certain boss you could always equip the 'Mega cannon' which is a one shot kill on everything.
Fun and Summary: š+1
I don't usually get excited for games with 'Super' in the title because they tend to be a port or redesign of another game, however I was pleasantly surprised when I sat down to play this.
This is a great top down shoot 'em up game with great play speed, firepower, music and on screen mayhem. The game is exciting all the way through to the end and even though it doesn't have a great ending it is a great shoot em up to play by yourself or with a second player.
- Graphics a little messy
- No in game story
- Great special weapons
- 2 player mode
RetroRating: 9 / 10
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