Sunset Riders Walkthrough Version 1.01 October 20, 2004 by Matt Johnson - shika@mail.com Table of Contents ================= 1. Legal Information 2. Introduction 3. Player Select 3a. Steve 3b. Billy 3c. Bob 3d. Cormano 4. Part One 5. Simon Greedwell - Level 1 6. Hawkeye Hank Hatfield - Level 2 7. Bonus Stage One 8. Dark Horse - Level 3 9. The Smith Bros - Level 4 10. Part Two 11. El Greco - Level 5 12. Bonus Stage Two 13. Chief Wigwam - Level 6 14. Paco Loco - Level 7 15. Sir Richard Rose - Level 8 16. Version History ============= 1. Legal Info ============= Hamha! This document is copyright ©2004 by Matt Johnson. However, all trademarks and copyrights found in this document are owned by their respective copyright and trademark holders. No infringement of copyright is intended. This document may be printed, in part or in whole, for personal use ONLY. You may not take any part of this document and display it anywhere without written consent from me, in the form of an e-mail. My e-mail address is at the top and bottom of this document. The following sites have my permission to post this walkthrough: GameFAQs - http://www.gamefaqs.com Check GameFAQs for the most recent updates. Also, please include in your e-mail which site you saw my walkthrough on. =============== 2. Introduction =============== Sunset Riders is a game for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES). You (a friend is optional) travel through eight different stages to thwart evil and collect some green. The theme is an old west theme, so the main enemies are bandits and thieves and such. Weapon of choice? Guns. Lots and lots of 'em. Here are the default controls: D-Pad - Move, as well as enter houses with Up. Use the four other directions (as if it were a compass rose, directions NW, SW, SE, NE) to fire at an angle. Y - Fires weapon B - Jump (Hold Up or Down to jump from ground to ledge or ledge to ground) A - Slide (only while moving) X - Not used L - Not used R - Not used Select - Not used Start - Pause game ================ 3. Player Select ================ Upon pressing Start on the title screen, you will be prompted with 1 Player, 2 Players, and Options, where you can change how many lives you have before you must Continue, and also how many Continues you have, as well as the difficulty. **************************************** *DIFFICULTY | MAX LIVES | MAX CONTINUES* **************************************** * Easy | Five | Five * * Normal | Four | Four * * Hard | Three | Three * **************************************** A harder difficulty means more enemies and more difficult bosses. ================ 3. Player Select ================ Press Start on the number of players you have to be brought to this screen. Upgrade 1 - A silver badge with two crossed guns. Upgrade 2 - A yellow badge with a pistol on it. ========= 3a. Steve ========= Your typical hero-looking cowboy sheriff dood, Steve's a boring guy. Weapon: Pistol (1 bullet, straight) Upgrade 1: Double Pistol (2 bullets, one forward and one in a / direction) Upgrade 2: Rapid Fire ((1 w/o Upgrade 1)you can now hold Y to execute, stronger bullets) ========= 3b. Billy ========= Billy, the one decked out in blue, appears to be the casual lone ranger cowboy who drops in every so often to save the day. Billy's shots have a wider range than Steve's do, but other than that, the only difference between them is their sprite and their outfit (well duh). Weapon: Pistol (1 bullet, straight) Upgrade 1: Double Pistol (2 bullets, one forward and one in a / direction) Upgrade 2: Rapid Fire ((1 w/o Upgrade 1)you can now hold Y to execute, stronger bullets) ======= 3c. Bob ======= With an outdoorsy appearance, Bob is a good player for beginners. His shots have the widest range (but only _barely_). Weapon: Rifle (6 bullets, spread into two triangles of 3 bullets each) Upgrade 1: Twin Rifle (9 bullets, spread into three triangles of 3 bullets each) Upgrade 2: Double Shot (18 bullets (12 w/o Upgrade 1), spread into six (four) triangles of 3 bullets each, stronger bullets) =========== 3d. Cormano =========== Ah, the random Mexican guy that the people at Konami felt just had to be in this game. He is similar to Bob. Weapon: Rifle (6 bullets, spread into two triangles of 3 bullets each) Upgrade 1: Twin Rifle (9 bullets, spread into three triangles of 3 bullets each) Upgrade 2: Double Shot (18 bullets (12 w/o Upgrade 1), spread into six (four) triangles of 3 bullets each, stronger bullets) =========== 4. Part One =========== The first four levels of the game, where you will need to get used to the controls and master them. ============================ 5. Simon Greedwell - Level 1 ============================ Reward: $10,000 Before you actually move, there's a few things you should know: - Similar to Contra, if you are hit by an enemy bullet, you will die, no questions asked. - If and when you die, you will lose any and all upgrades you may have had. - Remember that you can only slide if you are moving. Master sliding as soon as you can, as it will become integral in beating this game (and this level). - You will earn a free life with every $50,000 you collect. - If you pick up an Upgrade you already have received, you will get $2,000. - It's a good idea to keep shooting, regardless of whether or not you have an Upgrade. You aren't being graded on accuracy, and you never know what bad guys lurk around the corner, especially in later levels. Now you can start! Move to the right and kill some bad guys. Enter the open house for an Upgrade. Jump to the ledge above and enter the open house for another Upgrade (and a little sugar). You can shoot the hanging barrels to pick off bad guys below (or just murder them yourself). Pick up the turkey, and then the gold. The red bandit in the hay will throw a dynamite stick at you if you don't kill him first. Watch for the ! to know when it's going to blow up. It blows up in a column, so stick to the sides to avoid the blast. You can also pick it up and throw it at enemies, but it will blow up in your hands if you don't throw it! On the bridge is an Upgrade 1, and an Upgrade 2 isn't too far off. Watch out for the thieves, they will try and knife you and make you die. Move forward until a bunch of chickens run by, and jump onto the ledge above. Wait until the stampede passes (or run over them if you feel like it - just don't let go of forward), then go. There's a couple of thieves here who like to run up to you while you're distracted with the dynamite, so be careful. Cross the bridge (or jump down and take the low road), and kill more. Head right and more chickens scurry away. Jump onto the backs of the cattle and hold right to avoid being carried off screen (thus killing you). Don't run too far to the right, because there's a break in the cattle, and if one runs you over, you will suffer pain-type things and die. After this, you're free to continue to the boss of this level. Each boss shall be rated on a scale from Very Easy to Very Hard, on how easy it is to stay alive. Fighting Simon Greedwell ------------------------ Difficulty: Medium Enter Quote: It's time to pay. Bandits will shoot you from the top windows as well as the bottom windows. Due to the small area you have, it's hard to not get shot. I hope you're at least proficient with sliding by now. Simon himself is blocked off by two barrels, but those can be shot down. The more a barrier of any kind flashes red, the closer it is to being destroyed (bosses will do this as well). Be careful, though; if you destroy a barrel, the barrel will fall. And if it falls on you, you die! Strategies: As usual, Bob and Cormano have the easiest time here. All you really have to do is just fire in random directions. You'll be surprised at how fast you decimate everyone. Exit Quote: Bury me with my money. After defeating a boss, it will calculate the boss damage ratio (who of the two of you did more work). Whoever damaged the boss more gets the full reward. In the event of a tie, both players receive the full reward. This is hard to get intentionally, except on Level 4. If there's only one player, the boss damage ratio is obviously 100%, so that player gets the full reward. ================================== 6. Hawkeye Hank Hatfield - Level 2 ================================== Reward: $20,000 For this level, you will be mostly on a horse. You can fire your weapon as normal, but the horse will move in the direction you're trying to shoot in. Try to get used to it, because you'll be using the horse in another level. A wagon will appear and bad guys will try to kill you from the back of it. Use B to jump over the logs they drop (tripping equals death), and watch out for the guys that come from behind. If you kill three log droppers and two bad guys, the wagon will explode. You cannot be killed by this explosion. If you don't, it just continues on. After a few more bad guys, a train will appear. Stay in the center and fire at the enemies when they come out. At the end of the train, your character will center himself, and eventually dismount. He will then walk towards the boss as the train moves. Fighting Hawkeye Hank Hatfield ------------------------------ Difficulty: Medium Enter Quote: Draw pilgrim! Hawkeye's bullets, as well as his minions', are extremely fast. Be careful. Hawkeye will dive behind the crates, as well as crawl from one to another. You cannot hurt him when he is diving or crawling, so concentrate on destroying his lowlies while this goes on. Right before Hawkeye is about to die, he will lunge into the foreground for one last hurrah. The bad guys will also stop appearing if they haven't already (there are 24 in all).He'll fire three shots, then dive to the other side of the screen, followed by three more shots. He'll keep this up until he kicks the bucket. Strategies: Bob and Cormano's spread shots really help here, as it can take out multiple goons at the same time. As usual, go ape and murder everyone. If you're playing as Steve or Billy, you won't be able to shoot Hawkeye while standing up when he jumps to the floor. Duck or aim southeast to score a hit. Exit Quote: You got me! ================== 7. Bonus Stage One ================== In this game, you will be able to shoot a series of enemies in groups of one, then two, and finally three at a time. By the time it gets to the point of three at a time, it'll go pretty fast, so you have to be even quicker. To shoot a bad guy, press the D-Pad in that direction and press Y. There are fifty bad guys in total. You earn $300 for each bad guy killed. If you hit them all, you will receive $15,000 in addition to the $15,000 you earned for shooting 50 bad guys, for a total of $30,000. ======================= 8. Dark Horse - Level 3 ======================= Reward: $30,000 You start the level with two bandits shooting right above you, so take them out before they take you out. Enter the hotel for an Upgrade (or gold if you have it already). More bad guys line the path. Watch out for the barrel hanging from the upper level. If it falls on you, it kills you. You might also get shot by a bullet hidden by the barrel (if you drop it). Duck to avoid it. If you choose, you can jump up to the roof of the second building, and you can also jump up to the second level of the hotels and taverns. Speaking of taverns, you can enter the one you come up to for an Upgrade. Just be careful, because those lanterns will drop down and fry you if you shoot them. Try not to, or just avoid them. The Upgrade guy will drop the next Upgrade you need (or Upgrade 2 if you have them both). Continuing on, you'll come across a thief who wants to knife you (as usual). Three bad guys will jump from the green building, and a dynamite guy will throw dynamite at you. It's best to avoid this particular stick, because if you jump to pick it up, you'll probably get shot by the two guys lying in wait just ahead of you - unless you're fast. Dispose of them, and then throw the stick if you feel safe. Moving on! Another thief wants a piece of you, as well as more bad guys. An Upgrade 2 will be sitting on the ground, even if you don't have Upgrade 1. Enter the hotel for an Upgrade. As you exit, move away from the about-to-explode dynamite stick. Just a little farther, and you'll come across a rope. A dynamite guy will throw a lantern onto the oil, and start it on fire. Fire makes you feel pain-type things (for example, death), so avoid it. Jump to the rope and cross. Two men will try to shoot you from afar, so you can either jump their bullets (not good) or destroy them (good). Helpful hint: When you jump while on a rope, you will be temporarily immune to enemy fire. Drop from the rope and kill the baddies. Pick up the Upgrade 1 and enter the building for another Upgrade. Bad guys will appear from the barrels to kill you, so kill them first. Jump over the lantern if it falls, pick up the Upgrade 2, and proceed to encounter Dark Horse. Fighting Dark Horse ------------------- Difficulty: Medium Enter Quote: You in heap big trouble! As soon as Dark Horse finishes talking, jump to the top! He'll try to run you over. Dark Horse's... well, horse, is covered in a protective armor that is immune to everything. This means that you can't hurt him from the ground (well, you can, but you'd have to be literally a foot away, and that means you die). The bad guys will pop out from the three windows at the top. This means that if you're not fast in disposing of them, you die. However, there are only nine of them. After you finish off the last one, concentrate on Dark Horse. He will gallop onto the screen, fire a few shots, and then gallop off the screen (most of the time - sometimes two or three times). He will repeat this until he dies. Strategies: When he comes on the screen, follow him and duck directly over him. Position yourself right, and he won't be able to touch you. Rinse and repeat. Exit Quote: Me in heap big trouble! What's this? A damsel in apparent distress is thrown from the tavern and begs whoever got the reward for help (be it player 1 or player 2). You will agree, and will, winner first, enter the tavern to encounter the next boss. =========================== 9. The Smith Bros - Level 4 =========================== Reward: $40,000 There is no level. You leap directly into the fight. Fighting the Smith Bros. ------------------------ Difficulty: Hard Enter Quote: We're gonna blow you away! Obliterate the two wimps on the chandelier. The girl will give you an Upgrade if you touch her, but I'd save her until you've almost killed the second brother, in the event that you die (and you probably will). You now have two options: either position yourself under a brother and fire at the barrier protecting him, or jump to the chandelier and slaughter them from there. The brother in green will throw bombs at you, and the one wearing blue will throw fire. And since they never stop, it makes it *really* hard to not die. The good side? If you're feeling nice, and you're playing two player, you can divide the Smith Bros. between you, having each player kill a brother, resulting in a tie, and each of you $40,000 richer. If you're *not* feeling so nice, all you have to do is shoot the other brother *once*. This will result in a 51/49 ratio in favor of who shot both brothers, giving the entire reward to that player. After you kill a brother, the other will fire his weapon much faster than normal in a last ditch effort to survive. Kill him, and he will fall and explode. Strategies: The chandelier always moves, and you'll move with it, so use it to your advantage. If the one in green throws a bomb at you while you're on the chandelier, jump off it using Down + B. You'll be immune to the blast. Likewise, the opposite is also true. If you jump to the chandelier when you get a bomb lobbed at you while on the ground, jump to safety using Up + B. Since fire doesn't move and has a MUCH smaller range than bombs do, take out the one in green first. Another reason to do this is because since fire can't reach you from the bottom, simply hang from the chandelier and take out the blue one. Exit Quote: That was a bang! After you have received the money, three ladies will dance for you and give you information about Richard Rose, and how there's a huge reward for him, but he always has his three sidekicks with him. Time to cash in on the first one! ============ 10. Part Two ============ The last four levels of the game. The bosses get considerably harder from this point on, so mastery of the basics is crucial if you want to survive (and even then, sometimes you'll still die). ====================== 11. El Greco - Level 5 ====================== Reward: $50,000 This board consists of you on a train. You must fight your way to the front to challenge El Greco. Start by killing the baddie and picking up the Upgrade 2 (be careful not to get shot by the bad guy waiting just after it. From this stage on, most of the dynamite throwing guys now carry bombs that will fall and explode when you kill them. Stay away from them! Move forward, and multiple bad guys will try to get you in a pincer attack. Take the knife guy out first, then quick turn around and pelt the red bandit coming from behind. Then shoot the other bandit in front of you to move on. Continue to blast random bandits (one more'll try to get you from behind) until you come to some crates with a dip that you can stand in. Stand in it, but don't jump just yet - A mail pole will kill you if you touch it. After it passes, you're safe to continue on. Now you're finally at the cars. Bad guys will emerge from the windows and try to shoot you (along with another mail pole - jump over it). For this part, it's best to aim southeast and mash Y (unless you still have rapid fire), then jump the pole when it comes at you. A bandit will try to snipe you from behind the car, so be on the lookout for him. He's next to an Upgrade 1 (which you should pick up). Another car just like before is next (and another pole, too), followed by an Upgrade 2 (which you should also pick up). Kill the two bandits in the third car, and jump to the top. Walk a little to see El Greco. Fighting El Greco ----------------- Difficulty: Hard Enter Quote: Adios amigo! El Greco has a shield that prevents you from damaging him from far away. He also has a whip that he love to make use of, which is a one-hit kill (like everything else in this game). If you get behind him, he will promptly turn around and crack you with the whip. It's hard to stay alive, but you can do it. Upon killing him, he will fall and be run over by the train (ouch). Strategies: Since that big ol' shield makes the front of him protected from your bullets, you only have two options. One is to get behind him and blast him, but he turns around one second after he lands from jumping, so you'll have to do a lot of running. The other option is to only shoot him when he jumps, because he isn't protected by his shield. Just be careful not to get too close, because his whip has a long reach. Exit Quote: Adios amigo! =================== 12. Bonus Stage Two =================== Same thing as before. ========================== 13. Chief Wigwam - Level 6 ========================== Reward: $60,000 At the start of the level, two rocks will roll down the slope, and they will kill you if you don't jump over them. Do so. A bandit awaits on the ledge below, another one waits for you shortly after that, and a former-dynamite-now-bomb guy will throw bombs at you (and drop one when he dies). Take him out from afar. Use Up + B to jump the next part. This part's a little tricky. You'll encounter a bad guy in front of you first, then two of them - one on the ledge above, one on the ledge below. Take them out, then move forward a little until you can see the first bomb guy. Move away and let him throw his bomb, and then move forward a little to reveal a second bomb guy. Move away again and let them throw their bombs, then jump up and shoot southwest to kill them (you can't shoot them from behind the rock (Steve and Billy can!)). Two bandits below, one in front, and a bomb guy. Kill them all. Blast the bandit waiting for you, then shoot the one that comes from behind. Another bad guy on the ledge below, And another one from behind. If you shoot the rock, it'll fall, but if you're under it, guess what happens? Two knife guys will try and rush you, and another bad guy will try to get you from behind. The Upgrade guy will drop an Upgrade, and someone'll try to get you from behind (again). Two knife guys try and cut you again, followed by a bomb guy, and there's a bandit on the ledge below. Jump over the three rocks and THEN pick up the Upgrade 1 (in case you die). Two bandits, a bomb guy, a knife guy, and another bandit await you, and then a rope. Someone will try and kill you from behind AGAIN, and you'll be safe to cross (for now). Just like in Dark Horse's level, you're immune to projectiles when you're jumping, so use it to your advantage. Move forward a little and - what's this? A free life?! Yes, it's a free life, one of three IN THE ENTIRE GAME. Look at its yellow heart-ness, then pick that sucker up. Move on. An Upgrade 1 sits there all lonely, so pick it up and be its friend. A bandit guards an Upgrade 2 (which you will definitely need). Chief Wigwam waits for you just past that. Fighting Chief Wigwam --------------------- Difficulty: Very Hard Enter Quote: Get ready for a pow-wow! The Chief uses his knives to block all your attacks. If you get close, he'll slice you one. When he jumps, he'll throw three knives in your general direction. Stand between them to dodge them. If you're on either side of the screen, you'll most definitely die. When he jumps to the rocks above, he'll use his knives once again to deflect your bullets. The only time you can ever strike him is when he's moving from the rock to the ground, and vice versa. Strategies: To put it bluntly: YOU ARE GOING TO DIE. I guarantee it. You will die once at the very least when you fight this boss. He's just too freaking hard. I know there's some elite gamer out there who could beat this game blindfolded who would just say that it's very possible to not die (and I'm sure it is), but let's be honest here. The odds of you surviving are extremely little. Do NOT e-mail me saying "haha u suk i beat cheif wigwam w/o dying" or any likeness to that, because not only will I not reply to your e-mail, I will laugh at your inability to follow directions. Back to the strategy: stay in the middle when he jumps to the air to make it easier to dodge the set of knives he throws. When he moves to the ground, shoot him mid-jump and quickly move to the side when he lands to avoid getting ripped a new one. Exit Quote: I'm pow-wowed out! After showing him what for, his sister will come out and beg for his life because he was 'only following orders'. You give in and spare him. That's kinda like sparing Hitler's high-ranking officers because they were 'only following orders'. POINTLESS AND WRONG. ======================= 14. Paco Loco - Level 7 ======================= Reward: $70,000 You won't be here the entire time, but you begin this level on a horse. A guy will try and smack you from behind (nail him), as will another person from the lower right. Kill him and along comes our friend the baddie-filled wagon. This time, the guy will drop the log as someone comes from behind, so you have to be super quick to not get killed. Another man tries to kill you from the wagon, as well as the lower right, so take 'em out. This is followed by another log/come- from-behind combo, then two more men, and then a log...followed by someone from above. Be careful. Various bad guys will continue to shoot you until you've killed three log guys, then the wagon will explode. A man will try and shoot you during the explosion, and the explosions cover up his bullets, so you'll have to have an extra-sharp eye to not get wasted. After this section, you'll get off the horse. Shoot the bad guys, as well as the Upgrade guy. Take out the knife guy from above and pick up the turkey for a quick G. Bandits will try and kill you from the trees, so watch out. Also, a dynamite guy will drop...dynamite. Yeah, so be careful of that, too. A little past the dynamite guy, you'll find a bomb guy, followed by a dynamite guy and some more baddies. Be extra careful. An Upgrade guy and more bad guys line the path to the second free life, hidden behind a tree. The same thing pretty much repeats itself until you find a turkey instead of a free life, which marks the end of this level. Fighting Paco Loco ------------------ Difficulty: Easy Enter Quote: Aye chihuahua! Jump as soon as he finishes this phrase - the ground goon will shoot you. Strategies: The only real threat is the goons in the trees. They'll throw bombs at you (which are really hard to dodge with Paco Loco's bullets flying at you). The reason I marked it as easy is that if you take out a tree goon, then get right next to the barricade, aim at Paco Loco's stomach, and let the bullets fly, he can be killed literally within seconds. You'll be immune to all of Paco Loco's shots until he aims his rifle straight at your head, so just lay into/hold Y until he does so. Then move away, take out a tree goon, and repeat. Exit Quote: Asta la bye-bye! After getting some bogus last-ditch-effort shots shot at you (two go right through your head, yet you escape unscathed), you'll run over Paco Loco, set up The Mystery Dynamite From Nowhere Land, blow up the barricade, and proceed to the final level. ============================== 15. Sir Richard Rose - Level 8 ============================== Reward: $100,000 Three men will instantly shoot you. Shoot back and slide under their bullets. It's routine bad-guy shooting for a while, until you come to a rope. Bomb guys will appear with a knife guy, so be careful here. More killings, then an Upgrade guy. A lantern guy will drop his lantern and start the ground on fire. Use the rope to get yourself to safety. Jump off the rope as soon as possible, and just murder the rest of the baddies until you get to the end of the first part. An Upgrade 2 lies on the ground with a bad guy guarding it (take him out first). Bad guys will appear from the windows and shoot you from above, so be on your guard. A little bit more, and you'll find the third free life. Go a little more until you reach a red carpet. You're almost there... Kill the Upgrade guy and walk to your doom. Fighting Sir Richard Rose ------------------------- Difficulty: Very Hard Enter Quote: Cherrio old chap! After destroying the balcony, Richard Rose will jump around and shoot a few shots, then repeat. He'll jump from the bottom to the top frequently, so switch places when he does this. He'll take insane amounts of damage, and finally collapse. Congratulations, you've just beaten - NOTHING. Richard Rose stands up and laughs a hearty laugh while revealing his secret - body armor. Oh, it's on. Now it's a one-on-one duel between you and Richard Rose. He's just a tad bit faster than before, so triple your own speed and smoke him. After collapsing the second time, it's finally over. Strategies: "Very hard" is an understatement. This battle is insanely hard with Steve or Billy, but it's just a tiny bit easier with Bob/Cormano (because of their spread shot). Our old friend Richard is protected by the balcony he stands at, and bad guys will regenerate and shoot at you from the upper left, lower left, upper right, and lower right. Don't forget that Richie will try and cap you from above, so you will be CONSTANTLY ON THE MOVE if you don't want to die. There are around fifty bad guys before they stop, and even then, Richard Rose can still shoot you from every single angle. I thought it was impossible to beat Richard Rose (both 'forms') without dying, but I did it in at least sixty or seventy tries, I kid you not. Beating this boss without dying is a feat in and of itself, and if you can do it, you truly are a master at this game. Exit Quote: I say. Bit of bad luck! After that... you're finally finished. =================== 16. Version History =================== Version 1.0 - January 23, 2004 Finished basic walkthrough. Version 1.01 - October 20, 2004 Changed e-mail address. This document is copyright ©2004 by Matt Johnson. E-mail: shika@mail.com