Gun.Smoke
Encyclopedia
Gun.Smoke is a vertical scrolling shooter arcade game
created by Capcom
in 1985 (its author is Yoshiki Okamoto
). The game, which has a Western theme, centers around a character named Billy Bob, a bounty hunter
who is after vicious criminals of the Wild West.
Despite its name and theme, it has no connection to the western TV series Gunsmoke
. The Red Dead video game franchise is a spiritual successor to Gun.Smoke.
Also, there are other items that are used for points like stars, bottles, bags, dragonflies, and cows, but two other items to watch out for are the yashichi, which is a 1up
, and the cattle skull, which reduces Billy's power. There are obstacles in the game such as streams, buildings, and hills but they do not cause damage to Billy even if he is caught between the screen and the obstacle (this will, however, kill the horse).
Note: Two versions of Gun.Smoke were released under license in America by Romstar
. One follows the same sequence of bosses as above; in the other, the third and sixth levels are swapped, so that Roy is followed by Wolf Chief, and Pig Joe is followed by Ninja. The other version also removes the boss rundown, as seen in the beginning of every other variation of the arcade game.
and Family Computer Disk System in 1988. The objective is to free the town of Hicksville from the band of criminals known as the Wingates. But in order to capture their most dangerous henchmen, in each stage the player must retrieve a Wanted sign of said henchman, otherwise it is impossible to clear the stage. The NES version also has different music. In this game, the main character is a bounty hunter named Billy Bob.
In both the NES and Disk System versions of the game, the game has to be beaten 3 times in order to obtain the true ending, in which the player is rewarded with a simple message that types out as "THE END."
Arcade game
An arcade game is a coin-operated entertainment machine, usually installed in public businesses such as restaurants, bars, and amusement arcades. Most arcade games are video games, pinball machines, electro-mechanical games, redemption games, and merchandisers...
created by Capcom
Capcom
is a Japanese developer and publisher of video games, known for creating multi-million-selling franchises such as Devil May Cry, Chaos Legion, Street Fighter, Mega Man and Resident Evil. Capcom developed and published Bionic Commando, Lost Planet and Dark Void too, but they are less known. Its...
in 1985 (its author is Yoshiki Okamoto
Yoshiki Okamoto
Yoshiki Okamoto , sometimes credited as Kihaji Okamoto, is a video game designer credited with producing many popular titles for Konami, including Gyruss and Time Pilot, and Capcom, including Final Fight and Street Fighter II...
). The game, which has a Western theme, centers around a character named Billy Bob, a bounty hunter
Bounty hunter
A bounty hunter captures fugitives for a monetary reward . Other names, mainly used in the United States, include bail enforcement agent and fugitive recovery agent.-Laws in the U.S.:...
who is after vicious criminals of the Wild West.
Despite its name and theme, it has no connection to the western TV series Gunsmoke
Gunsmoke
Gunsmoke is an American radio and television Western drama series created by director Norman MacDonnell and writer John Meston. The stories take place in and around Dodge City, Kansas, during the settlement of the American West....
. The Red Dead video game franchise is a spiritual successor to Gun.Smoke.
Gameplay
Gun.Smoke is very similar to Commando, another Capcom game, but with several differences. Whereas Commando is a run and gun game, this game is a scrolling shooter in which the screen scrolls upward automatically and players only have three ways to shoot, using three buttons for left, right, and center shooting. However, a player can also change the way the gunman shoots through button combinations. A player can still die by getting shot or struck by enemies like in Commando but improve protection by getting special items, including a horse, for protection up to three hits; boots, for speed of movement; bullets, for faster shots; and rifles, for shot length. These items are found by shooting barrels and rifles, boots, and bullets can stock up to five.Also, there are other items that are used for points like stars, bottles, bags, dragonflies, and cows, but two other items to watch out for are the yashichi, which is a 1up
1-up
1-up , pronounced "one up", is a term in console video gaming that commonly refers to an item that gives the player an extra life, to complete the game. In certain games, it is possible to receive multiple extra lives at once...
, and the cattle skull, which reduces Billy's power. There are obstacles in the game such as streams, buildings, and hills but they do not cause damage to Billy even if he is caught between the screen and the obstacle (this will, however, kill the horse).
Characters
| Name and weapon | Description | Prize money |
|---|---|---|
| Billy Bob | The hero of the game. He is the bounty hunter that is after 10 of the most dangerous men in the west. He is armed with two revolvers, and wears a 10 gallon hat, a blue shirt, white vest and jeans Jeans Jeans are trousers made from denim. Some of the earliest American blue jeans were made by Jacob Davis, Calvin Rogers, and Levi Strauss in 1873. Starting in the 1950s, jeans, originally designed for cowboys, became popular among teenagers. Historic brands include Levi's, Lee, and Wrangler... . |
|
| Master, Winchester | Round 1 boss. He is said to be fast with a rifle Rifle A rifle is a firearm designed to be fired from the shoulder, with a barrel that has a helical groove or pattern of grooves cut into the barrel walls. The raised areas of the rifling are called "lands," which make contact with the projectile , imparting spin around an axis corresponding to the... , AKA a winchester. He wears a hat with a blue scarf, a blue shirt, and brown overalls. Master shoots while standing up but, if he is hit he crawls on the ground to avoid Billy's shots. |
$10,000 |
| Roy, Knife | Round 2 boss. Roy is a dead eye when it comes to using knives. It is said Roy can throw knives as fast as bullets fly. He wears a flat brim hat with knives holsters and red clothing. | $12,000 |
| Ninja, Darts | Round 3 boss. He is a ninja who can disappear and reappear to keep his enemies confused to where he would pop up next. Ninja is armed with shurikens (called "Darts" in the game) which he throws while jumping through the air. He wears a red ninja outfit. | $15,000 |
| Cutter, Boomerang | Round 4 boss. He is a bald-headed cretin who carries two razor-sharp boomerangs to cut his victims to pieces with. He wears a U.S. Cavalry-like uniform with gloves. | $15,000 |
| Pig Joe, Dynamite | Round 5 boss. Pig Joe is a big fat slob who is armed with dozens of dynamite Dynamite Dynamite is an explosive material based on nitroglycerin, initially using diatomaceous earth , or another absorbent substance such as powdered shells, clay, sawdust, or wood pulp. Dynamites using organic materials such as sawdust are less stable and such use has been generally discontinued... sticks. He must be a fire-eater too because he also spits fireballs. Pig Joe is shirtless and has dynamite Dynamite Dynamite is an explosive material based on nitroglycerin, initially using diatomaceous earth , or another absorbent substance such as powdered shells, clay, sawdust, or wood pulp. Dynamites using organic materials such as sawdust are less stable and such use has been generally discontinued... sticks strapped to his waist and two sticks strapped to his head. |
$20,000 |
| Wolf Chief, Shot Gun | Round 6 boss. He is the chief of a corrupt Indian Indigenous peoples of the Americas The indigenous peoples of the Americas are the pre-Columbian inhabitants of North and South America, their descendants and other ethnic groups who are identified with those peoples. Indigenous peoples are known in Canada as Aboriginal peoples, and in the United States as Native Americans... tribe who does his dirty work. Wolf Chief is armed with a shotgun Shotgun A shotgun is a firearm that is usually designed to be fired from the shoulder, which uses the energy of a fixed shell to fire a number of small spherical pellets called shot, or a solid projectile called a slug... . He wears a feathered headress with red clothing. |
$80,000 |
| Goldsmith, Double Rifle | Round 7 boss. He is claimed to be the ultimate frontierman. Goldsmith Goldsmith A goldsmith is a metalworker who specializes in working with gold and other precious metals. Since ancient times the techniques of a goldsmith have evolved very little in order to produce items of jewelry of quality standards. In modern times actual goldsmiths are rare... is armed with two rifles, he rolls on the ground to avoid enemy attacks, and mostly shoots when there is some distance between you and him. He wears a blue outfit with a brown jacket. |
$20,000 |
| Los Pubro, Double Pistol | Round 8 boss. He is actually the same as the player character because he carries two pistols. Los Pubro is a bandit from Mexico Mexico The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of... and he wears a sombrero Sombrero Sombrero in English refers to a type of wide-brimmed hat originating in Mexico. In Spanish, however, it is the generic word for "hat", which originates from "sombra", meaning "shade".... with a light blue vest and blue clothing. |
$25,000 |
| Fat Man, Machine Gun | Round 9 boss. He is a big guy who carries a gatling gun Gatling gun The Gatling gun is one of the best known early rapid-fire weapons and a forerunner of the modern machine gun. It is well known for its use by the Union forces during the American Civil War in the 1860s, which was the first time it was employed in combat... with ease and uses it to mow down enemies like weeds. He is shirtless just like Pig Joe. |
$30,000 |
| Wingate Family, Machine Gun & Rifle | Round 10 boss(es). They are a family of criminals consisting of a father and two sons. They are said to be the most dangerous of the 10 villains because the sons are ace shots with their rifles and their father carries a huge Minigun Minigun The Minigun is a 7.62 mm, multi-barrel heavy machine gun with a high rate of fire , employing Gatling-style rotating barrels with an external power source... that spreads bullets wider than a shotgun Shotgun A shotgun is a firearm that is usually designed to be fired from the shoulder, which uses the energy of a fixed shell to fire a number of small spherical pellets called shot, or a solid projectile called a slug... . Like Master, Pa Wingate will crawl on the ground when hit to avoid Billy's shots. The Wingate sons are dressed in black and Pa Wingate is dressed in red with a belt of bullets strapped across his chest. |
$80,000 |
| Common enemies | These are just the guys Billy fights before and during a boss battle. They consist of gunslingers, demolitionists, snipers, riflemen, knifemen, and Indians Indigenous peoples of the Americas The indigenous peoples of the Americas are the pre-Columbian inhabitants of North and South America, their descendants and other ethnic groups who are identified with those peoples. Indigenous peoples are known in Canada as Aboriginal peoples, and in the United States as Native Americans... . |
Note: Two versions of Gun.Smoke were released under license in America by Romstar
Romstar
Romstar Inc. was a video game distribution company based in Torrance, CA that started operations in 1984. They originally started as the first American distribution arm for SNK . They were known for licensing arcade games from major makers for distribution. Among Romstar's clients include Taito,...
. One follows the same sequence of bosses as above; in the other, the third and sixth levels are swapped, so that Roy is followed by Wolf Chief, and Pig Joe is followed by Ninja. The other version also removes the boss rundown, as seen in the beginning of every other variation of the arcade game.
Ports
Gun.Smoke was ported to many systems:- The MSXMSXMSX was the name of a standardized home computer architecture in the 1980s conceived by Kazuhiko Nishi, then Vice-president at Microsoft Japan and Director at ASCII Corporation...
- The PlayStationPlayStationThe is a 32-bit fifth-generation video game console first released by Sony Computer Entertainment in Japan on December 3, .The PlayStation was the first of the PlayStation series of consoles and handheld game devices. The PlayStation 2 was the console's successor in 2000...
and the Sega SaturnSega SaturnThe is a 32-bit fifth-generation video game console that was first released by Sega on November 22, 1994 in Japan, May 11, 1995 in North America, and July 8, 1995 in Europe...
as a part of Capcom Generation 4 - The above version was featured on the PlayStation 2PlayStation 2The PlayStation 2 is a sixth-generation video game console manufactured by Sony as part of the PlayStation series. Its development was announced in March 1999 and it was first released on March 4, 2000, in Japan...
, PlayStation PortablePlayStation PortableThe is a handheld game console manufactured and marketed by Sony Corporation Development of the console was announced during E3 2003, and it was unveiled on , 2004, at a Sony press conference before E3 2004...
and the XboxXboxThe Xbox is a sixth-generation video game console manufactured by Microsoft. It was released on November 15, 2001 in North America, February 22, 2002 in Japan, and March 14, 2002 in Australia and Europe and is the predecessor to the Xbox 360. It was Microsoft's first foray into the gaming console...
as a part of Capcom Classics CollectionCapcom Classics CollectionCapcom Classics Collection is a compilation of arcade games released by Capcom for the PlayStation 2 and Xbox on September 27, 2005. It was developed by Digital Eclipse Software . A second volume, Capcom Classics Collection Vol... - The IBM PCIBM PCThe IBM Personal Computer, commonly known as the IBM PC, is the original version and progenitor of the IBM PC compatible hardware platform. It is IBM model number 5150, and was introduced on August 12, 1981...
as a part of Capcom Arcade Hits 3 - The Amstrad CPCAmstrad CPCThe Amstrad CPC is a series of 8-bit home computers produced by Amstrad between 1984 and 1990. It was designed to compete in the mid-1980s home computer market dominated by the Commodore 64 and the Sinclair ZX Spectrum, where it successfully established itself primarily in the United Kingdom,...
as Desperado - Gun.Smoke; this platform actually received a sequel called Desperado 2 - The ZX SpectrumZX SpectrumThe ZX Spectrum is an 8-bit personal home computer released in the United Kingdom in 1982 by Sinclair Research Ltd...
NES version
The game was later ported to the Nintendo Entertainment SystemNintendo Entertainment System
The Nintendo Entertainment System is an 8-bit video game console that was released by Nintendo in North America during 1985, in Europe during 1986 and Australia in 1987...
and Family Computer Disk System in 1988. The objective is to free the town of Hicksville from the band of criminals known as the Wingates. But in order to capture their most dangerous henchmen, in each stage the player must retrieve a Wanted sign of said henchman, otherwise it is impossible to clear the stage. The NES version also has different music. In this game, the main character is a bounty hunter named Billy Bob.
Differences from the arcade version
Even though the NES version stayed true to the gameplay of the arcade version there were major changes done:- Only six of the ten bosses were in this version (Master, Ninja, Cutter, Wolf Chief, Los Pubro, and Fat Man).
- Billy was given extra weapons like: a shotgun, a machine gun, a smart bomb, and a magnum.
- Bullets are used for ammo for the extra weapons.
- A storyline is built around the game: in 1849, the Wingates attack the town of Hicksville, kill the Sheriff, and raid trouble every day until Billy comes (with a sunset behind him).
- The Wingates in the game are a gang instead of a family of 2 sons and a father.
- You can purchase weapons and items from people
- Four of the bosses had their names changed. Master's name was changed to Bandit Bill, Wolf Chief was changed to Devil Hawk, Fat Man was changed to Fat Man Joe (a knockoff of Pig Joe) and Los Pubro was changed to Wingate.
- Los Pubro was made the final boss in the NES version as Wingate with a slash over one of his eyes, a cape, and armed with a gatling gun.
- The other bosses had their appearances changed too. Bandit Bill (Master) now wears a red shirt and blue jeans. Cutter wears a baggy blue sleeveless shirt and red pants. Ninja wears a purple ninja outfit with no mask and sports a ponytail and he shoots shurikens that split into fours. Devil Hawk (Wolf Chief) is now shirtless and uses fireballs as his weapon. Fat Man Joe wears an armored plated shirt and uses a bomb gunGrenade launcherA grenade launcher or grenade discharger is a weapon that launches a grenade with more accuracy, higher velocity, and to greater distances than a soldier could throw it by hand....
. - There is another type of yashichi that will give you temporary invincibility.
Disk System version
Though virtually identical to the NES version, the FDS version featured several differences from the NES version:- This game, like virtually all other FDS games, feature load times.
- The font is similar to what is used in most Capcom games on the Famicom/NES. However, on the NES version, the font is changed to the military-font, also seen in the arcade version.
- "In America" is called "In 1849".
- Bandit Bill's mugshot on the wanted poster is slightly different in both versions of the game. In the FDS version, his shirt has an open collar, with part of his body showing. In the NES version, his shirt has a scarf around it. On top of that, the mugshots for the wanted posters were originally more colorful looking, whereas in the NES version, they're a bit more realistic looking.
- In this version, the shopping music features less instruments. Also, many of the tunes featured in the NES version are nowhere to be found in this version, and instead recycle the same music for certain scenes in the game. This is due to the limited memory space in FDS disk cards.
- There is no game demonstration like there is in the NES version
- After beating the game the first two times, the player is rewarded with a Japanese message that tells the player to try the game again. After the third time, the player will be rewarded with a simple message that says "THE END". The Japanese message was thrown out in the NES version, instead of being translated into English.
Levels
Each level in the game is given a name. These are the names of each level and the bosses of them.- Round 1 - The town of Hicksville - Boss: Bandit Bill - Prize Money: $10,000
- Round 2 - The Boulders - Boss: Cutter - Prize Money: $12,000
- Round 3 - Comanchi Village - Boss: Devil Hawk - Prize Money: $25,000
- Round 4 - Death Mountain - Boss: Ninja - Prize Money: $20,000
- Round 5 - Cheyenne River - Boss: Fatman Joe - Prize Money: $20,000
- Round 6 - Fort Wingate - Boss: Wingate - Prize Money: $30,000
In both the NES and Disk System versions of the game, the game has to be beaten 3 times in order to obtain the true ending, in which the player is rewarded with a simple message that types out as "THE END."
Soundtrack
The soundtrack for the arcade version was composed by Ayako Mori. On August 25, 1986, Alfa Records released a limited edition soundtrack, featuring all of the music from the arcade version, as well as two unused tracks. Its catalog number was Capcom Game Music - 28XA-94.| Track listing | |
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