For every good segment there is an equally bad one. This is significant as they had different attack patterns than the standard bandits that made for a different experience. This version is uncensored and so Chief Scalp Em’s stage has its Indian enemies.
The location and mechanics of that boss simply do not fit making it frustrating. The train of the second level nicely replicates the flow of the coin op but is then ruined by placing Paco Loco as its boss rather than El Greco. The structure wouldn’t be so bad if it wasn’t all over the place. Technically there are eight levels and the game is the same length as the other versions but in practice is much shorter overall. Then you are given the wanted poster for that level’s boss. Each of the four levels begins with a short introduction where you rescue a captured saloon girl. Only four of the bosses have made the cut: Simon Greedwell, Paco Loco, Chief Scalp Em, and Sir Richard Rose. The game has a weird structure that is so different this might as well be a new game. Only Billy and Cormano have made the cut although it isn’t as big a deal since Steve and Bob might as well have been their palette swaps. With the far superior SNES game out there really is no reason to bother with this version. But the whole production seems halfhearted, with the parts carried over from the arcade missing lots of details while the original content pales in comparison. I’m sure those who simply wanted the coin op at home could have forgiven this if it were a good game. In a way it reminds me of the Hyperstone Heist, another title that was weirdly put together. Why this was done is a mystery as the system was perfectly capable of handling a port of the arcade game. The Sega version of Sunset Riders is a weird half port/half original game. There are some good elements under all of the game’s problems but you needn’t bother digging for them when there are better alternatives. Konami’s Sunset Riders should have been an easy slam dunk but instead is a slightly above average mess. A lot of these efforts were home console exclusives but early in the system’s life arcade ports were its bread and butter. Many of them are in the running for greatest action game of all time. There were a good number of run and gun action games for the Genesis.