Bury Me With My Money
Now this is more like it. After several weeks of perfectly acceptable but frankly obscure releases, Hamster’s Arcade Archives is knocking it out of the park with one of the most beloved arcade games of the golden age, Konami’s rootin’ tootin’ classic Sunset Riders.
Released in the arcade market in 1991 – at a time when Konami were pumping out hit, after hit, after hit – Sunset Riders has one-to-four players pick from a selection of four badass hombres – Steve, Billy, Bob, and Cormano – before battling through frantic and garishly coloured side-scrolling action, on a mission to take down a gang of outlaws terrorising the county.
Featuring brilliant sprite work, memorable boss battles, goofy digitised speech and an absolutely kicking soundtrack, Sunset Riders holds up as a helluva good time. A genuine blast from the past which I’ve played through an abundance of times over the past three decades. You can check out the action in the video below, courtesy of World of Longplays.
While the admittedly high price tag of $8 might be off-putting to some, the arrival of Sunset Riders brings hope that Hamster might re-release further gems from Konami’s brightest era. An era which brought us Mystic Warriors, Vendetta, and Lethal Enforcers, as well as licensed classics such as TMNT, The Simpsons, Moo Mesa, and X-Men (though the chance of seeing those latter releases is admittedly highly unlikely).
Sunset Riders is available to download now on PS4 and Nintendo Switch.
