> The people who founded Treasure worked on the Contra games, but founding their own company finally meant having free rein over their ideas. In Gunstar Heroes you take control of a duo of twins as they endeavor to stop an evil empire from rampaging across Gunstar-9 -- a planet your family has protected for generations. The vile Colonel Red, who bears an uncanny resemblence to M. Bison from Capcom's Street Fighter games, has kidnapped your brother Green and bent your sibling to his will. This powerful empire has found several gems capable of bringing to life an even more powerful robotic monstrosity by the name of Golden Silver who has every intention of wreaking havoc once activated. Of course, being devoted to the protection of all that is held sacred means that it is your mission to stop these gems from falling into the wrong hands. This is your cue to start blowing things up.

     > Gunstar Heroes' character sprites seem anime-inspired, and also seem as if they were drawn with many frames of animation, as they animate very smoothly. Despite their small size they are surprisingly detailed, too. Each and every stage of the game is filled with some great looking enemies that might seem comical at times if they weren't trying to kill you. I must say, the bosses in this game are some of the best and most original I've seen in a game like this. They are almost always huge, but always menacing enough to remind you to watch yourself around them. There are so many cool looking weapon effects in the game that I've lost count. The most notable special effects are the fiery explosions which either leave trails or expand rapidly. There are some nice warping effects present in the game too.

     > You can select a weapon from four different types of weapons at the start of the game, which include: force (a pulse laser), lightening (a beam laser), chaser (a homing weapon), and fire (a flame thrower). Any two individual weapons (once you've acquired a second weapon power-up) can be combined to either produce a more powerful version of the same weapon or one weapon that shares traits with the other (how does a pulse laser that chases your enemies across the screen sound?).

     > At the beginning of the game you can also choose whether you want to run and shoot at the same time, or shoot while rooted to a fixed position. I find shooting from a fixed position to be much easier in the long run because it's better to move from one safe spot to another and then fire, rather than constantly be on the move. However, remaining in one place for too long makes you an easy target. The choice is yours.