Gun.Smoke retrospective: Wild gunmen | NES Works

[@ralfvanbogaert3451]

No need to buy the wanted poster, they're hidden in the stages. Just shoot all over the place, they're easy to find.

[@kaynesantor8136]

I was gonna say the same thing. Your comment was the first one on top of the list. No need to be redundant. I'm surprised he didnt mention it. Weird.

[@lucasmiller4613]

I didn't have this game as a kid. But I played it in college, beat it, and the secret to beating it is finding the hidden wanted posters and saving money. It's a great game, and it's weird that Jeremy missed this essential point of the game.

[@TheSlickMachine]

I've been binging on this channel really hard. Thanks for the great content.

[@MikeChimeri]

I've been a loyal viewer for three years and the content *is* truly great. Welcome aboard.

[@LorenHelgeson]

If you haven't gotten to it, I recommend Jeremy's set of videos on the Virtual Boy. Particularly interesting were some of the Japanese-only titles.

[@brux357]

It’s sooooo binge-able

[@jhornbaker311]

The wanted posters are hidden in each level -- you have to fire at a certain spot (indicated by a sound effect like you're shooting a barrel) in each stage to make them appear. Also, your hits are registering on the bosses. Different weapons do different amounts of damage per shot. After you do enough damage, you get the sound effect and the boss will lose a chunk of life. The magnum does a ton of damage to bosses compared to the other weapons. I love this game, if you can't tell. lol

[@DamienMC83]

:RIPPED:

[@jhornbaker311]

@@DamienMC83 Hell yeah brother, cheers from Iraq

[@lucasmiller4613]

YES. I was screaming this at the screen while watching the video.

[@FloatingSunfish]

I always loved how the cowboy looked like he had long, big pants whenever he got on a horse. 😂

[@JeremyParish]

They're his big boy pants

[@Technosphile]

Oh thank god more NES Works. Literally my favorite KZbin thing

[@feitclub]

Funny you should highlight the Advantage as this was also a NES game that worked very well with that joystick's "slow-motion" feature which was a turbo button for the pause function. Of course, it really just set START onto autofire so for some games it didn't work at all but it was a perfect fit for this title and I needed all the help I could get!

[@TheSmart-CasualGamer]

I love seeing it at work on games like Megaman or Rygar.

[@jasonblalock4429]

I remember, as a kid, being SO disappointed when I realized what "slow mo" mode really was on these sorts of controllers. I mean, it makes sense when you know how consoles work, but not so much for someone who's 8 years old and the NES is a magic grey box. (The Advantage was a great solid piece of hardware, tho. Vintage Nintendium. Also, I love that oh-so-80s industrial design.)

[@BrakODatWak]

Ah yes, my favorite piece of old West technology, the...*checks notes* ...smart bomb

[@TheSmart-CasualGamer]

John Wayne's best films are when he used to throw smart bombs at Ninjas.

[@thecunninlynguist]

Mind blown that red dead is tied to Gun.Smoke

[@Starpilot17]

Still have this game for my NES. I play it every time I get a chance. Love it. Also, nice Ollie North reference at the end.

[@eddievhfan1984]

Had to chuckle at the next episode preview. Top-tier content that keeps me coming back... plus the in-depth historical exploration.

[@rzzz5946]

I remember this. So hard, but my friend loved it and I could see why.

[@SameNameDifferentGame]

It's been a while, so I might be conflating this with a different game, but isn't it possible to find the Wanted Poster just hidden in a random spot by shooting every square inch of the stage?

[@JeremyParish]

I actually don’t know! I’m not a pro here

[@SameNameDifferentGame]

@@JeremyParish Don't sell yourself short!

[@TheyCallMeBruce13]

This is correct. I've beaten this game and, if you know where to look, you don't actually have to buy any wanted posters. If you don't know where to look, they can be tough to find.

[@lucasmiller4613]

@@JeremyParish Yes, there is a hidden wanted poster you an uncover for free on every level. You can save money to buy weapons... and this is central to making this game a top-shelf early NES release. It takes time to discover where all the secret wanted posters are... but it's rewarding... and you save money for weapons.

[@masterrserch3971]

This game was friggin awesome. If u played with the NES ADVANTAGE, u would have a huge advantage

[@opaljk4835]

My dad almost exclusively played games with that cp. when he played with the regular controllers he would put it on the floor and use his pointer and middle fingers on both the d pad and action buttons. Arcaderz die hard

[@masterrserch3971]

@@opaljk4835 haha I could only use it for a few games, like this one and track and field

[@kicksex]

@@opaljk4835 my best friends dad was the same way He couldn’t use the controller any other way

[@opaljk4835]

Lee Evans it’s actually comforting to know other people’s dads did this. Maybe we should start a support group

[@jasonblalock4429]

No mention of the banging main theme? It'd be a couple more years before Capcom's music staff would hit top gear, but I feel like between Commando, Mega Man, and this they started to have a really good grasp of making catchy tunes with the NES hardware.

[@NucleaRaptor]

The NES OST is miles better than the arcade original, too.

[@LorenHelgeson]

They really did.

[@kmaru80]

This game holds up so well. Still worth a play through. Thanks for the vid

[@pttn975]

The Nes max controller was designed for this game

[@Musicradio77Network]

Yep! Same goes with “Section Z”, “1942” and “Gradius” among other NES shooters.

[@JazzySpF]

I commented awhile back on how I felt the static transitions were jarring when they first started appearing in your videos. I don't know if you changed them or if I just got used to them, but they feel a lot better now. The use of TV programming of the time period before changing to the game is a nice touch as well. Keep up the good work :)

[@magus2342]

He turned down the noise level on the transitions. It's very nice.

[@sonicmario64]

I may not be a huge fan of side-scrolling shooters, but I'll admit that "Gun.Smoke" is definitely one of the best games that Capcom has ever produced for the NES. :D

[@Beer_Baron_]

Unless I heard incorrectly, you said Gunsmoke the tv show starred Matt Dillon. That’s wrong. The tv show’s character was named “Marshal Matt Dillon”. Matt Dillon the actor is different. Other than that, I used to play Gunsmoke at my buddies house ALL the time. Loved it.

[@MikeChimeri]

I like Gun.Smoke's unintentional, purely coincidental tie-ins to the Long island hamlet of Hicksville and Wingate Drive in adjacent East Meadow. This is another game that makes me think of Game Sack since Joe Redifer calls it "Gun Dot Smoke" and former co-host Dave White admitted to using the NES Advantage for it "and it gave *me* the advantage."

[@Monodi91]

Been meaning to get this one, love me a nice wild west themed game on NES

[@RetroCabeza]

The Gun.Smoke PAL cover art is really nice too. Check it out!

[@Musicradio77Network]

I believe that “Gun Smoke” was the last Capcom NES game to featured the grid box art like the one used in previous Capcom NES games. According to the box art, Capcom was advertised as “State of the Art - High Resolution Graphics”, and “1 Megabyte Memory”. The back has “Capcom - Worldwide Arcade Game Designer” and “Captain Commando’s Challenge Series”.

[@dukejaywalker5858]

If you have a rapid fire controller, this game is so much fun, and beatable. Without one, I could never get very far. BTW: There's a wanted poster hidden in every stage if you shoot the right barrel. Buying posters is for suckers!

[@dumpnchase]

Black Tiger is one of my all time favs. If you haven’t played it you need too.

[@RyumaXtheXKing]

A shame it didn’t get a console port.

[@GameplayandTalk]

Because of this video I fired up this game last night and finished it for the first time. Man that was fun! It's definitely tough on a first go around, but once you learn where the Wanted signs are (as opposed to buying them) and you figure out the best use case scenarios for weapons, it's not too bad to roll through it again consistently without taking many hits. I also found out the game loops two more times and actually ends after the third one. I think this is going to be a new favorite of mine. Thanks for the video!

[@TobyDeshane]

The second box art looks almost like something you'd have seen on an old 2600 game. It looks wonderful, though. But unlike a 2600 game, there's at least a slightly passing resemblance to what actually ends up on the screen. 😉

[@lunarstain7545]

God I love this channel. Documents on that game may have been destroyed.

[@matthewlane518]

I loved this game, I played it so much I bet I could still walk thru it without much trouble

[@saturncrush]

I loved this game.

[@ChatWithAsh]

Loved Gun Smoke as a kid! Great replay value :)

[@MissAshley42]

My first memory of this game was seeing it in one of those book fair Nintendo strategy guides. The blurry screenshots within made discerning the sight of a man on a horse from an overhead perspective even more difficult.

[@idxman01]

Great review, it was one of my favorites in the 80’s. Now I have a copy arriving this week to go with my new nes. 👍

[@TheSmart-CasualGamer]

I've only played the arcade version of the weirdly punctuated Gun.Smoke, and I'm bloody awful at it, so it's nice being able to see a version of it past the first forty-five seconds.

[@RICHUNCLEPENNYBAGS77]

It's the kind of thing where you really have to just keep playing it a million times until you can do it.

[@RussellB]

fantastic Reagan impression

[@RobotMonkeytron]

Remember renting this one back in the day. I didn't dig it enough for a buy, but I do remember enjoying the rental!

[@rabiroden]

Realizing the Genesis had the perfect controller setup to potentially host a perfect home conversion of this game. Also just noticed the enemies' bullets have shadows cast on the ground, which seems odd, but is hugely helpful for seeing and following them (particularly on that gray brick floor).

[@vandad13]

Happy you brought up the connection this game has with the red dead series red dead revolver this games successor certainly feels like an arcade game and you could argue it feels more like a cap com game than a rockstar one light on story with a scoring system after each level some goofy enemies and bosses and it’s pretty sparse on story compared to its sequels by like a lot still it’s an interesting game and I’d recommend people check it out

[@slowmotion8717]

When will the Wario’s Woods episode come out, Jeremy?

[@JeremyParish]

We'll all be dead by then, please look forward to the zombie retrospective apocalypse

[@MrTableDesk]

There needs to be an episode just on Wario Woods' soundtrack. It doesn't get talked about much but, that is a Soyo Oka masterpiece

[@MikeChimeri]

@@JeremyParish Couldn't it get the NES Works Gaiden treatment?

[@EinDose]

@@MikeChimeri Technically you could make a Patreon request for Wario's Woods as a VERY long queue-jump. We've already had one for Batman.

[@JeremyParish]

I've asked patrons not to make those requests anymore. They defeat the purpose of this series.

[@slamjackson2137]

One of my favorites on the system.

[@SaxcatGamingCorner]

While this game has always given me fits with its difficulty; I’ve always loved it.

[@zubizuva]

Gunsmoke's adaptation of the font from Metal Gear (or is it the other way around?) makes me chuckle.

[@Shrapnel82]

Love the introduction for Contra.

[@koobert]

I really do love the new bumpers!

[@VahanNisanian]

Gun.Smoke for the NES was first released as a Disk System game in Japan, and it felt like a beta version; it didn't have all the tunes, and it kept recycling the Stage 1 theme in Stages 4 and 6. I feel ambience is essential in creating good music for an NES game, and that's where our version shines while the FDS version falls short in.

[@MrERLoner]

This always reminded me of 1 player vertical Hyper Dyne Side Arms. Shoot left button. Shoot right button. Collect an item to survive hits ( horse)

[@MarcBarkyMarta]

I think they changed the name from Rockman to Mega Man simply because Capcom USA thought "Rockman" was an awful name for a character. I don't think it had to do with the trademark on Tom Scholz's Rockman amplifiers or anything like that.

[@jamesmoss3424]

I will play gun.smoke for the nes. 😀👍🎮

[@angrytheclown801]

You don't actually lose all your guns. Just the one you're currently using when you die.

[@NickSayre]

Jeremy, or anyone else -- I miss the chiptune Sailor Moon "next episode" send off. Can anyone hook me up with a link where I can listen/download?

[@JomasterTheSecond]

Gotta love the Wild West and the desert ninjas that were all over the place back then.

[@VahanNisanian]

Ninjas in the Wild West isn't something you see so often, but there's no denying that that's pretty damn awesome.

[@Ginormousaurus]

The movie Red Sun (1971) featured a Japanese samurai in the American Old West and the TV series Kung Fu (1972-1975) was about a Shaolin monk in the Old West, so the idea of inserting East Asian culture into the Western genre wasn't unprecedented.

[@TheSmart-CasualGamer]

And then we have Wild Arms, which is basically a game made of the concept.

[@kmaru80]

Did I miss you mentioning that there is a wanted poster hidden in each stage? Also, I don't think it loops indefinitely. After 3(?) Loops you get the boss fight

[@AverageDrafter]

This was the perfect game to borrow from a friend. One weekend and you can suck the marrow out of it, especially with an Advantage. The Advantage turned a sort of sloggy game into the enjoyable but brief lark it should have been for the aesthetic - about the level of difficulty that Sunset Riders achieved.

[@bjturner2250]

You actually only lose the sub-weapon you have equipped. And it has to be equipped to lose. So you can buy one and switch back to the pistol and collect ammo without having to worry about losing it if you get hit. It's actually very forgiving that way. It makes it easy to stock all four weapons very quickly, and you can even carry a smart bomb to negate a hit.

[@jorgecuelar3391]

Missing a few stages from the arcade but VERY GOOD port Thanks👍👍👍for uploading One of my favorite arcade and nes games😇

[@rodneylives]

Clever end line, heh heh.

[@absolutezeronow7928]

Ah, the NES Advantage controller, that takes me back. Well as far as Ikari goes, you'll have to deal with it's even worse "sequel" Victory Road in 1988 NES Works so good luck when you get to that. And yeah, the public timing of the episode the day before Thanksgiving is not ideal, but at least we patrons are treated to this episode the same week we got the great news that Joe Biden was elected as our 46th President which gives us some things to be thankful for in a year in which has given many of us a lot of stress. I definitely agree that the newer package art looks so much better than the original. Cheeky reference to the title of the next NES game which is an all-time NES classic from Konami.

[@Musicradio77Network]

I still have my NES Advantage which is an arcade style joystick controller where it has a turbo function to go with it. It was later used in “Ghostbusters 2” where they controlled the Statue of Liberty. NES Advantage works with everything including shoot ‘em ups that requires turbo buttons.

[@absolutezeronow7928]

@@Musicradio77Network yes I know. I used to have one. Turbo was a great feature on games that required button mashing.

[@Jayce_Alexander]

The inflated cost of wanted posters really did a number on the bounty hunting industry. I remember my grandpappy tellin me bout how in his day you could get a wanted poster for as little as $30,000. Now, only millionaires can afford them.

[@JeremyParish]

You have to factor in both inflation and livable wage standards, though.

[@mediamonarchyplus]

I've been on a pretty big Robert Palmer kick lately

[@mediamonarchyplus]

And I only recently realized you can shoot straight if you press A+B at the same time

[@hemangchauhan2864]

Wild west... Ikari Warriors?

[@OHG_Fawx]

Im glad other people have commented about the hidden wanted posters in each stage. You should never waste money buying one.

[@duhdeedee]

So I guess the anime style covers from the Rockman games couldn't be used because anime wasn't in vogue and maybe it would create the impression the game really looked like that? At least both Gunsmoke covers were decent.

[@JeremyParish]

Anime wouldn’t be ok in the US, from a marketing perspective, until the late ‘90s.

[@absolutezeronow7928]

The only anime that were in vogue in 1980s USA were bowdlerized Carl Macek-style dubbed versions like Robotech & Voltron. Or Co-productions like The Mysterious Cities of Gold that mask their Japanese contributions. The Eighties still had some lingering anti-Japanese sentiment as Jeremy has said & shown via movie clips in other NES Works episodes.

[@duhmez]

I use my Bluetooth NES receiver with my 8BitDO SN30Pro+ which suports rapid fire onthe fly on whichever buttons u want.

[@codyseevers6405]

You can find a wanted poster as opposed to buying it but it's hidden. The only way you know you're shooting it is it has the same sound as the barrels do when you shoot them

[@evilskunk1]

Gun.Smoke is one of my favorite childhood games for the NES and I still play it. The one thing I can tell you is hidden in every stage is a wanted poster, you really don't need to buy one if you know where to look. Also, if you use the NES advantage with the game you only really need the base weapon and a smart bomb to beat the game. The horses are the only other useful items in the game. The other weapons are kind of pointless unless you want to beat it with the standard controller.

[@elfiebranford9330]

This game REALLY gives off Ikari Warriors NES vibes, but at the same time, it looks way more enjoyable lol

[@kennethchia4194]

Did not know about the box art.

[@LorenScott-ub2qb]

still can't believe i reached level four of this without knowing that you could center fire cause i only ever played the nes version. i didn't know that hitting both buttons at the same time would center fire, i can barely make it to level 3 today. still remember that the smart bomb is the most important item cause it allows to to take an extra bullet before you die. so i bought alot of smartbombs going into boss fights

[@bittersweetjesus]

Great video! Do you know when the next Sega vid will occur?

[@JeremyParish]

There's a Game Gear episode next week.

[@thebassbeast]

Great episode. Just FYI, some of the onscreen banner captions at the bottom are missing their text (like for Yoshiki Okamoto). Hope you don't have to reupload!

[@JeremyParish]

Those are just source credit captions. Nothing is missing. It's weird that I include those captions pretty often and people suddenly decided it's a problem this week.

[@thebassbeast]

@@JeremyParish they are really wide, perhaps they should be narrowed to only fit the text you need? Lots of blank space, is all. (and if I have your eyes, know that I have several of your books and absolutely love your work! Thanks for doing such great stuff)

[@lindsaywheatcroft8247]

First you’ve got to root, then you’ve got to toot!

[@matthewlane518]

You don't HAVE to buy anything if you don't want, why repeat the screen over to horde anything?

[@fenikso]

Y u no like GnG? It's such a good game. It doesn't deserve the hate it gets.

[@RoGoGradStudent]

Iran/Contra jokes are still funny in 2020! 🤣

[@idnyftw]

always get smart bombs

[@Dorelaxen]

Ya mean ya gotta use your hands? That's like a baby's toy!

[@EURIPODES]

I remember getting mad I couldn't beat the last boss. I let the S word slip and my dad tanned my hide.

[@michaelblair2536]

Matt Dillon most certainly did not star in Gunsmoke, but William Conrad did star as Marshal Matt Dillon

[@BenCol]

For a long time it was the most successful NES game in America, that is until ‘Bart vs. The Space Mutants’ overtook it.

[@JeremyParish]

[citation needed]

[@JeremyParish]

Nope, my family had the Jurassic Artist Set that came with Color A Dinosaur

[@TheSmart-CasualGamer]

@@JeremyParish Lucky. Mine came with Winter Games and Alex Kidd for the Master System packed in.

[@chamchamtrigger]

I love Gun.Smoke. It's probably my favorite shooter for the system. It was pretty much what it needed to be as a console overhaul of a brutal arcade game (probably a bit too brutal); A shooter with great music which didn't overstay its welcome (I prefer 5 or 6 stage shooters). I just wish the point system didn't tie into the money. Those cheap shots and long boss invulnerable periods you mentioned are also kind of annoying. I always thought they were taking damage, but it just took longer to whittle down a bar. I guess I was wrong. I found the implementation of the shooting angles better for the NES version. The angles' area seemed to be wider to reduce the need to actually shoot forward unlike the arcade where you definitely needed all 3 buttons to survive past the first stage. I could be misremembering, but I thought you only lost the current (purchased) weapon you're using rather than all of your stored weapons on a death. I don't really think getting money was such a problem unless you were always buying the horse and/or wanted poster. The horse is great, but it increased your hitbox, so there are definitely ways to get by without one. I wish free horses were more available, though. You can usually have a good amount of weapons by the 2nd stage if you know where the hidden wanted posters are, and with such a short game, that shouldn't be too hard to memorize.

[@billcook4768]

I liked this game much better when I could play it through emulators with a modern controller. So much easier with auto fire and the ability to assign a button to A+B. Probably would have like it more back in the day if I had a NES Advantage.

[@MrTableDesk]

I've always felt that Gunsmoke is just like 1 step away from being a phenomenal game. It's got a fantastic soundtrack, great graphics, smooth controls. It's just annoying how much of a pain those wanted posters are.

[@JoypadDivison]

I think it's the best Capcom ever did on the NES besides Mega Man... as you might be aware if you've read the comments those wanted posters are hidden throughout the levels and you never have to buy one or loop a level if you know where they are.

[@dukejaywalker5858]

Wanted Posters are hidden in barrels in every stage! Paying for posters is for suckers!

[@GoldenPickaxe]

Even the music sounds like bootleg Xevious

[@ZappBranniglenn]

Ah yes, the weird history of the red dead series. Nice stinger for the next game!

[@apoplexiamusic]

6:39 TATE MODE!!!!!

[@RICHUNCLEPENNYBAGS77]

The arcade game is better imo.

[@nesgimp6099]

I beat Gunsmoke and actually injured my thumb from all the shooting (I didn’t have turbo).

[@shoshana7369]

So here is a unique perspective: I first heard about this game from song called Bullets and Buckshot from an underground rap group called Scrub Club Records off the album 8 Bit Bullshit. Thanks to that song, I knew some of the boss names for a game I've never played before. Such an odd, roundabout way to learn about well... Basically anything really.

[@orchNEStra]

We got a CD with those songs on it from them at a local con many years ago.