City Hunter

City Hunter is one of those hidden gems that makes you wonder why it never left Japan. You're this guy Ryo Saeba, a private detective who's apparently a total ladies' man in the anime, but in the game, he's just dropped into a hospital with unlimited ammo and a mission. You just run around, pop into rooms, shoot bad guys who look like they borrowed The Joker's wardrobe and rescue people tied up or stuck behind laser walls. The humor from the show peeks through sometimes, like when you barge into a room and find a girl changing who naturally yells at you.

The graphics are pretty solid for the system. Reviews I've seen agree that the sprites are crisp and animate well, even if the characters are small and lack detailed faces. The music tho, they handled it, so you know it's good. Everyone who's played it mentions the soundtrack as a highlight, which tracks because SUNSOFT always delivered on that front. The problem is that after the hospital stage, you move on to what's supposedly a science lab, but it looks exactly the same, and then the next level, same deal. You're doing the same objectives: get keys, shoot waves of purple suited goons, find the boss, just in a slightly different shade of hallway. It gets repetitive.

The gameplay itself is straightforward sidescrolling action. Your pistol never runs out of ammo, which is nice and you can pick up better weapons like rocket launchers along the way. Exploration is key since you need to talk to NPCs to trigger events or grab items, some people pointed out that backtracking can happen if you're lost, but it's not too punishing so it's fun enough to keep you going.

If you're a fan of the anime, you'll probably get a kick out of playing as Ryo, even if the sci-fi direction feels out of place. The pause screen has a cute little animation that captures the show's vibe and there's a certain joy in seeing what's behind each door, even if the layouts blur together but for everyone else, it's a solid action game that doesn't overstay its welcome. It's not too hard, offers a password system so you can take breaks, and has enough personality to make it memorable, just don't expect variety in level design and you'll have a good time.

Download

Arright, sweeper. The city's crawling with trouble, some mob boss with a bad perm has taken over the local hospital and word is he's got a laser equipped robot on standby, that's where you come in. Suit up, grab your unlimited ammo pistol, and dive into the fray by tracking down the City Hunter through whatever back-alley sites your mission parameters allow, just try not to barge into any women's changing rooms unless you're ready for Kaori's mallet, and hey, a remaster hits PC and consoles next week! So please consider tossing a few credits the way of the devs here to ensure the fight for Shinjuku continues!

English (Pixel Perfect)

English (Widescreen)

Español (Resolución nativa)

Español (Pantalla completa)