Wild Gunman began in 1974 as an electro-mechanical arcade machine from Nintendo, created by Gunpei Yokoi. Instead of graphics, it projected 16 mm film of a live-action gunslinger, and the player had to outdraw him. Drawing before the gunman shouts "Fire!" counts as a foul and loses the duel. Sega brought the cabinet to North America in 1976.
The Famicom version, directed by Shigeru Miyamoto with music by Hirokazu Tanaka, went on sale in Japan on 18 February 1984. It came in a set with the Beam Gun and a holster, so players could quick-draw the way the manual recommended. The NES release followed in North America on 18 October 1985, played with the Zapper. Like other light-gun games of its era, it works only on CRT televisions, not on LCD screens.
The arcade machine later appeared on screen: Marty McFly plays it in Back to the Future Part II (1989), and Part III shows the skill paying off with a real revolver. In 2021 Benjamin Solovey found two of the original 16 mm film reels.12
Names and releases
| Region | Title on the box | Platform | Date | Publisher | Src |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| NA | Wild GunmanNorth American release of the electro-mechanical original | Arcade | 1976 | Sega | 1 |
| NA | Wild GunmanNES; uses the Zapper | NES | Oct 18, 1985 | Nintendo | 1 |
| NA | Wild GunmanVirtual Console; timed to 'Back to the Future Day' (region inferred, Wikipedia gives only the date) | Wii U | Oct 21, 2015 | Nintendo | 1 |
| JP | Wild Gunmanelectro-mechanical cabinet projecting 16 mm film footage of a live-action gunslinger | Arcade | 1974 | Nintendo | 1 |
| JP | ワイルドガンマンWairudo GanmanFamicom; sold in a set with the Beam Gun light gun and holster | NES | Feb 18, 1984 | Nintendo | 1 |
| EU | Wild Gunman | NES | Feb 15, 1988 | Nintendo | 1 |
| JP | ワイルドガンマンWairudo GanmanVirtual Console | Wii U | Jun 22, 2016 | Nintendo | 2 |
Also known as: ワイルドガンマン JP2Wairudo Ganman JP2Gun Fight JP1荒野のガンマン JP2
Box art by region
NA Wild Gunman 
EU Wild Gunman 
JP ワイルドガンマン
Box art © its publishers, shown to identify each release. Scans: libretro-thumbnails.
Version differences
-
GraphicsArcade (1974)NES/Famicom
The 1974 arcade machine showed filmed footage of real actors, shot around Kyoto and at Nara Dreamland. The Famicom and NES game replaces it with cartoon-style sprites.1
-
ContentArcade (1974)NES/Famicom
The arcade original has five gunslinger opponents. The console game instead offers three modes: one outlaw (Game A), two outlaws (Game B) and a whole gang in saloon windows (Game C).1
-
GameplayFamicom (JP)NES
Japanese players used the Famicom Beam Gun, a plastic revolver modeled on the Colt Single Action Army and sold with a holster belt; in North America the game used the NES Zapper.1
Reception
The electro-mechanical original was the sixth-highest-grossing electro-mechanical arcade game in Japan in 1976 and one of the most popular machines at that year's AMOA show in North America, even though only about 100 units of the 1974 cabinet were sold.1
Sources
Checked: 2026-10-13Text reviewed: 2026-10-13
Spotted a mistake? Write to atlas@old-games.net.