Gunstar Heroes is a run-and-gun action game that Sega released for the Mega Drive in Japan on 10 September 1993 and in the West the same month. It was the debut of Treasure, a studio founded in 1992 by former Konami staff after Konami turned down their pitch. The game can be played solo or by two players in co-op.
Development took about nine to ten months. The working title was Lunatic Gunstar; the final name was suggested by Sega of America. The team packed 16 megabits of data into a cartridge image of under 8 megabits through compression.
The version history is short but varied. M2 ported the game to the Game Gear in 1995 and later made the 3D Classics edition for Nintendo 3DS in 2015. In Japan it also appeared in the PS2 Treasure Box compilation. A sequel, Gunstar Super Heroes, came out on the Game Boy Advance in 2005.1
Names and releases
| Region | Title on the box | Platform | Date | Publisher | Src |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| NA | Gunstar HeroesRussian Wikipedia gives 9 September 1993 for North America | Genesis | September 1993 | Sega | 1 |
| JP | ガンスターヒーローズ | Genesis | Sep 10, 1993 | Sega | 1 |
| WW | Gunstar HeroesSega Mega-Play board version | Arcade | 1994 | Sega | 1 |
| JP | ガンスターヒーローズPort by M2 | Game Gear | Mar 24, 1995 | Sega | 1 |
| JP | —Sega Ages 2500 Vol. 25 'Treasure Box' compilation | PlayStation 2 | 2006 | Sega | 1 |
| JP | —PlayStation 2 Archives release of the Treasure Box compilation | PlayStation 3 | Sep 19, 2012 | Sega | 2 |
| JP | 3D ガンスターヒーローズ3D Classics, by M2 | Nintendo 3DS | Jun 24, 2015 | Sega | 1 |
| WW | —3D Classics, by M2 | Nintendo 3DS | Aug 20, 2015 | Sega | 1 |
| WW | —Mega Drive Mini built-in title | Other | September 2019 | Sega | 2 |
| WW | Gunstar HeroesNintendo Switch Online + Expansion Pack, SEGA Mega Drive app | Switch | Oct 25, 2021 | Nintendo | 3 |
Also known as: ガンスターヒーローズ JP1Gansutā Hīrōzu JP43D ガンスターヒーローズ JP1Lunatic Gunstar WW1
Box art by region
NA Gunstar Heroes 
JP ガンスターヒーローズ
Box art © its publishers, shown to identify each release. Scans: libretro-thumbnails.
Version differences
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ContentGame Gear
M2's Game Gear port is single-player only, cuts the Dice Palace stage and some bosses, and runs at a lower frame rate.1
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GameplayArcade (Mega-Play)
The 1994 Mega-Play arcade version gives several lives per credit, adds a 10-second decision timer and allows continues.1
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TextInternationalJapanese
Besides the title, the main difference between the international and Japanese versions is that the in-game messages are in English.2
Translations
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English Official
Sega1993Genesis · Japanese versionReleased · complete
The Western Genesis release has the game's text in English; the Japanese release is in Japanese.4
Where to play legally today
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Nintendo Switch Online Subscription
Gunstar Heroes (SEGA Mega Drive - Nintendo Switch Online)
Mega Drive/Genesis version
Checked: 2026-10-135ec.nintendo.com
Reception
Sega first shipped only about 10,000 copies in Japan; the game eventually sold about 70,000 there and 200,000 overseas. Critics loved it (EGM 9/10, CVG 92%), it won GameFan's Game of the Year, and it later made all-time lists at IGN and Game Informer.1
Sources
Checked: 2026-10-13Text reviewed: 2026-10-13
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