Originally posted December 20th 2015 on the Seafoam Gaming forums

Thanks to Bertil Hörberg for the review code.

Title: Gunman Clive HD Collection

System: Wii U (eShop)

Price: $3.99

Release date: 09/03/2015

The main game/story

In this compilation of the two critically acclaimed Gunman Clive titles, both action platformers are brought to the Wii U eShop in HD, virtually unaltered. In other words, the stories of both titles remain the exact same as they did on the 3DS. Does it manage to remain as fun as ever on the big screen, or is this a title better suited for handhelds?

Graphics

In terms of the art styles for both of the included games, they are just as you remember them from their 3DS counterparts. The first Gunman Clive goes for a simple, hand drawn visual style reminiscent of the old west, while the second Gunman Clive game takes things into color while still keeping a similar art style. In HD, they both look great, with extra props going to the second title in particular due to the color visuals looking even better on the big screen. Overall, the visuals were brought over faithfully, and with the exception of the 3D effect there’s nothing missing.

Music and Sound:

Completely unaltered from the original 3DS games. This means that the first Gunman Clive game retains its generic, repetitive soundtrack, while the second game keeps its nice variety of memorable tracks. There’s really nothing new to note of here.

Gameplay

The second game plays exactly like it did on the 3DS, in that the controls are smooth, each of the four characters offer an interesting take on the Mega Man style of gameplay, and there are 25 levels for you to conquer, some of which completely change the genre of the game for a bit. Pretty much anything I mentioned in my earlier Gunman Clive 2 review applies to this version as well, as it’s literally a perfect port of that game.

The first game, on the other hand adds something new that makes it worth replaying, and that is the Wii U exclusive character Chieftain Bob from the second game. Yes, the slow yet powerful spear-wielding Chieftain is back, and he plays surprisingly well in the first game, despite originally being created specifically for the second title, with no bosses or levels seemingly impossible if you have enough patience. He’s still one of the more difficult characters to use, but his addition helps make the first Gunman Clive’s length a bit more tolerable, as otherwise it’s a perfect port of the 3DS title.

Conclusion

In conclusion, Gunman Clive HD Collection is one of the best port jobs I’ve ever played. Nearly every aspect of the two 3DS games are faithfully brought over to the Wii U, with no missing content and the brand new character for the first game. If you haven’t picked up either of these two titles yet, then you owe it to yourself to buy this collection, as it’s by far the definite version of the two Gunman Clive games. When you also take into account the bargain price of $4, you’ll essentially save the extra $1 that you would spend buying these both on the 3DS eShop, and with three different difficulty modes for both games, there’s a lot of replay value to be had for such a low price. I give Gunman Clive HD Collection a 9 out of 10, and strongly recommend it to all fans of action platformers, and for those who enjoyed the two titles on their 3DS.