Gun.Smoke

ガンスモーク

Year: 1988
Developer: Capcom
Publisher: Capcom
Platform: FC / NES
Hardware: Family Computer (8-bit)
Genre: Top-down Shooter
Players: 1-2 players (alternating)
Controls: D-pad + A (shoot left) / B (shoot right), scroll to aim forward
Series: Capcom arcade conversions

⬇ Coming soon

Gameplay Screenshots

About This Game

Gun.Smoke is Capcom's western run-and-gun: bounty hunter Billy Bob rides into the town of Hicksville to bring in the gang boss Wingsworth, fighting bandits with a two-direction shooting scheme that is unlike anything else on the Famicom.

The famous twist is the control scheme — A fires left, B fires right, and to shoot an enemy directly ahead you scroll the screen forward while firing, which turns aiming into an actual skill. The NES conversion builds on the arcade original with shop owners who sell upgrades (shotgun, machine gun, magnum), wanted-poster bonus targets and horse-riding sections across its longer campaign.

Unique two-button directional shooting that must be mastered
Shop upgrades: shotgun, machine gun and magnum
Wanted-poster bounty targets hidden in each stage
Expanded NES campaign with horse sections and bosses

Version History

Arcade original1985-11
Capcom's coin-op Gun.Smoke.
Famicom (Japan)1988
Capcom's expanded Famicom conversion.
NES (North America)1988-02
The version this page's screenshots come from.

Tips & Strategy

Practise the scroll-shot first

Everything in Gun.Smoke depends on shooting enemies ahead of you by scrolling the screen while firing. Spend the first stage deliberately drilling this instead of hugging the screen edge — it is the difference between a smooth run and constant deaths.

Buy the shotgun before the boss stages

The shop weapons are stage-limited but devastating. The shotgun's spread covers the wide bandit swarms, and having it loaded for the wanted-poster bosses turns a bulletstorm into a manageable duel.

Hug the top lane when the screen is crowded

Enemies enter from the bottom and sides. Moving along the upper part of the screen gives you the most reaction time against spawns and keeps wanted-poster targets in view longer.

Download Resources

Resource packs for this game are provided through the button below.