It's essentially one step forward and one step back from the Genesis original. You no longer have to switch between free-shot or fixed since holding the shoulder button allows you to shoot and fire in the same direction which is a huge improvement. The visuals once again show that Treasure knew how to push sprite-based games to their absolute limit with the amount of scaling and rotation going on.

That being said, they decided to throw in one of the worst vehicle sections I have ever seen in the form of stage 2's helicopter. Thank god it is easy to exploit by simply staying to the right hand side of the screen because I didn't want to deal with the clanky, janky controls. They could have just recycled the shm'up bit from the original game (which was totally fine) and it would have been better. I also personally think Black's stage in this game is significantly more annoying as there are several sections in which it is very easy to get knocked into pits and get yeeted back to the lower half of the board. Not as bad as the helicopter section, but still pretty stupid.

Some here have said they didn't like the Flicky throwback section in the first proper stage. I actually quite enjoyed it and kinda wish there would have been more classic IP throwbacks sprinkled in.

The game is arguably shorter than the Genesis predecessor, which is to be expected. It is also, gripes about the infamous helicopter section and Black's casino aside, far easier. The final boss was kind of a joke- you can easily just use the fireball weapon and shoot up while tanking hits on normal and still win. It was also a lot of fun exploiting Orange on the second bout with him- you can literally just slide into him over and over and boom he's gone.

While I had a good time with the game, I wouldn't say it's as fully realized or polished as the original. Had they just focused on the run and gun gameplay with the improved controls, this could have been a masterpiece. A real case of missed potential here.

there definitely is something to this game with the style, the general gameplay, and it having a lot of moments where they switch up the gameplay, but there are just so many frustrating parts to this game that drove me insane while playing it. the weird helicopter shmup section was really bad, the 7 force boss was insanely difficult and sometimes just complete bullshit, the fortress casino area is a cool idea but really annoying sometimes, and the final level requiring you to ration out enough health to be able to live to tank hits from the final boss was ridiculous. i feel like a lot of my frustration went away after beating some of these difficult areas because they felt somewhat rewarding after the fact, but in the moment they are just kinda bullshit at times because theres either too many things on screen to be able to dodge or the game just places you somewhere where you have no choice but to get hit, its definitely a problem with this game being on the gba. the game did overall feel fun to play in all of the other parts but just has glaringly bad moments that are more memorable than the good moments and are hard to overlook

I love the original Gunstar Heroes a lot. I used to love this game a lot, was surprised it was a sequel on the GBA of all things. Going back to it in recent years has been a very dampening experience. A lot of the game design was traded in favor of more gimmicky levels, player input with less individuality, and a focus on spectacle that doesn't feel that impressive on the hardware.

The biggest gripes I have is how both playable characters have restricted weapon choices rather than being more free-form in the original game. Whereas each character in the original had a choice of Free movement while shooting or Fixed positioning while shooting, in this both characters have access to both styles rendering a lot of their uniqueness out. On top of this, the expanded moveset is fantastic but given how both character splay exactly the same, it doesn't quite feel unique having to play the same game twice with only the slightest of gameplay changes.

The stages themselves are of a mixed bag, using multiple gimmicks in stages which I feel drags the game down more rather than relying on the more expanded gameplay offered. A big part of this is the shmup stages where you're often locked to one position or using the helicopter with the slowest movement options. The restrictions often placed on the character's movements really make it more frustrating since you're caught for about 5-15 minutes doing these sections (quite often if you play on harder difficulties) when the game keeps scaling the damage up. That said there is some good with some of the gimmickry going on with the fun Sega shoutouts like Flicky in the second planet. Also returning bosses like Melon Bread are a sight to see.

However, there is some good here. The aesthetics this game brings is so early 2000s and bright that its immensely charming to look at. The new character artwork, while feeling a tad generic, does really zone in on giving each a unique personality and flair that the original game had a slight bit of. All of the planets and areas you visit look unique and have incredible set-pieces for the boss arenas, my particular favorite is the Teddy Bear boss in the board game dungeon.

The expanded story is something I'm mixed on. Both Red and Blue have their own story paths that elaborate differently depending on not only who you play as, but what difficulty as well. The harder the difficulty, the more plot and backstory you're given. On paper this is neat, but given that Hard often feels unfair with the absurdly high damage scaling, it makes for a more frustrating experience trying to get the most out of this game. I do genuinely enjoy the expanded story and it gives some interesting ideas that I feel could use some more exploring.

I wish this game was a lot better, I know Treasure can make a lot better. All of what I said plus the lack of co-op I feel puts this game in a position where I can see so many improvements that would've made this hold the test of time. Instead it feels more like a curiosity in Treasure's more strange era of trying to push technical edges on hardware that was more than capable.

If Gunstar Heroes is A New Hope, then Super Heroes is The Force Awakens. Except unlike Episode VII, Super Heroes is imo better than the original.

Does Gunstar Super Heroes borrow way too much from the original? Absolutely. However, I think the overall experience it crafts is even more enjoyable. While a lot of designs and level framework is the same, the actual level designs, setpieces, and bosses are significantly different; the overall experience is wayyy flashier and sprite-intensive, and yet it does so without any sort of slowdown. It's like a perfect marriage between the sprite capabilities of the SNES and the effective performance of the Genesis's processor.

People like to say that Gunstar Heroes is a crazy game, but honestly I never really thought that because of how slow-paced it is (compared to, say, Alien Soldier). Super Heroes's combat and movement is completely revamped from the ground up, and I sincerely think it's up there with the Mega Man Zero and ZX games as one of THE best combat/control systems in any 2D action game. The melee combat in this game is ridiculously fun and ramps up the pacing significantly, and it somehow is integrated seamlessly with the gunplay despite the button mapping.

Another very common complaint with Super Heroes, you can no longer mix-and-match weapons. Yes, this was a pretty novel concept that Gunstar Heroes had but..................what was the point of it??? At the end of day, there were certain combinations that were significantly better than anything else you could be doing, why bother experimenting when Thunder+Homing tears the game apart on Easy and Normal. Sure, it's nerfed on Hard and Expert Mode and it's not used in high-level play, but even those have some pretty common combinations being used like Flame+Homing or Flame+Thunder. Super Heroes doing way with this entirely and just giving you three weapons, all of them useful, that you can switch between on the fly, AND some powered up super shots, make for much more entertaining gunplay in my opinion.

Gorgeous looking game with an excellent soundtrack too. It's not Treasure's best game (Star Successor is pretty much a perfect masterpiece) but I do think Gunstar Super Heroes is one of their better games, and very underappreciated

Great run-and-gun shooter for the GBA. Definitely uses the hardware's capabilities to their maximum potential. Tons of rotating sprites, pseudo-3D models, onscreen explosions, and even a few one-liner voice clips. The game is fairly short. Not necessarily a bad thing, but it left a bit to be desired. Changes to the gameplay from the original are somewhat welcome enough. Enhanced melee is nice, even if I do miss yeeting enemies around. While I miss the weapon combos from the original, being able to swap between three different weapons depending on the situation is cool too.

Overall a good game, even if I do prefer the original over this title. Still worth checking out if you like the original, games developed by Treasure, or games like this in general.

Gunstar Super Heroes embora ainda seja um ótimo jogo, ele acaba pecando muito em comparação ao original de Mega Drive.

O jogo em si acaba não tentando muita coisa nova, todas as fases do jogo são tiradas diretamente da versão de mega com algumas áreas diferentes que tentam alguma nova gimmick, devido a isso o jogo acaba passando um sentimento de reimaginação do que uma continuação direta ao primeiro.

A gameplay ainda continua frenética e intensa como o primeiro, porem algo que acabou me decepcionando em relação a gameplay é o fato de que removeram o sistema de combinar armas, em vez de você combinar duas armas para criar uma arma nova, os personagens tem apenas 3 armas que podem ser alternadas entre si a qualquer momento, sendo elas.

Um tiro normal que dá um dano decente, porem nada de especial;

Um tiro teleguiado que segue qualquer inimigo próximo porem que causa menos dano;

*E por ultimo um tiro explosivo de curto alcance que causa muito dano;

Alem disso cada arma tem uma barra que ao ser preenchida permite você usar o super dela.

Veredito Final:
O jogo é muito divertido embora não tenha sido a continuação que eu tanto queria, ele ainda rende boas horas de diversão, recomendo.

Gunstar Super Heroes is a run and gun video game for the Game Boy Advance developed by Treasure, known for their Genesis library, this game, in particular, is the sequel to the popular Gunstar Heroes contra-like on Sega Genesis.

The game is very fast-paced, probably more than its prequel, with the removal of the iconic Throw and Combine weaponry came many new abilities such as fast melee combat and a dash ability, the player can alternate between three weapons without worrying about pick-up or learning the combination of the first game. Gunstar Super Heroes has many shoot-'em-up sections, where the rest of the game feels like the typical Treasure formula of boss rush with short intermissions.

It is a content-packed, short game with plenty of replayability, the only thing missing was a two-player mode using the Gameboy Link.