German developer NGDEV has announced that it's bringing an enhanced port of 'eurostyle' action platformer Gunlord X to Switch on 22nd May. You might recognise it as plain old Gunlord which launched originally on Neo Geo and Dreamcast in the year 2012. Yes, both of those systems were extremely old even seven years ago.
Something of an anachronism from the beginning, this run 'n' gun throwback was originally planned for 3DS and Wii U but a failed Indiegogo campaign back in 2013 led to the cancellation of the project. It seems you can't keep a good game down, though, and after the devs teased this port's existence last year, we finally have a solid date and a trailer. Check out the announcement video below for an idea of what to expect:
This new Switch version boasts a long list of upgrades and enhancements, including four new bosses, autosaving, New Game +, widescreen support, new effects, scanline and CRT shaders, improved control options and a stable 60fps in both docked and handheld mode.
It certainly looks like it'll scratch that retro itch, and we'll be fascinated to see how all these tweaks and upgrades affect the the game in just a couple of weeks.
Did you play the original Gunlord? Excited to see some substantial changes in this Switch port? Share your thoughts below.
Comments 45
Sign me right up! Turrican 4, here we go!
Got THE original collectors edition for Dreamcast bit will buying this!
Wow this looks amazing turrican meets axelay or any other shmup. I’m in on this one. Never heard of Gunlord before but it looks action packed.
Cannot wait. Finally get to play this.
And here I was thinking the ACA Neo Geo line wasn't dead LOL
Have this on Dreamcast it’s a great game but probably a little too tough took me months to make any real progress but it’s a great game tho
@Gs69 We reduced the difficulty and added auto saving (per stage). If you collect all big diamonds in a stage you permanently gain extra continues. Should be a lot more doable now.
Oh yes sir oh yes sir!
Looks great, I think I'l be giving this a go.
@NGDEV that’s good to hear although I did get through the game eventually I really enjoyed it and I will get it for switch I got the game after reading the video game critic review look it up if you get chance it perfectly sums up my feelings for the game will there be others ported like fast striker or Neo xyx?
Those are some tasty sprites and heavy, filling synths! I'll definitely have some of this when it comes out!
@Gs69 We will see how this goes and decide in 2-3 months if we stay NEOGEO only or not.
This looks fantastic. Day one!
I don't understand why they have changed the image ratio.
Or you go 4:3 or 16:9 but not 8:5. What the heck is 8:5 ?
Another sad thing, they left the game at 240p which means that the upscale on an HD screen is going to be x4.5.
Times 4.5 = deformed graphics on the TV screen.
Even if I understand that the developers wanted to keep a sub-multiple of 720 to match the screen of the Switch perfectly (240 is 720/3), the result on the big TV screen is going to be messy.
Otherwise, cool game but I prefer to play it on my CRT with a Dreamcast hooked to it.
@NGDEV well gunlord really deserves to do well on switch I hope it’s the first of many of your games to be ported and forgot to mention the soundtrack is amazing
It's an awesome action shooter, couldn't find the Dreamcast version so I'll just stick with this one instead.
Dreamcast? I thought that thing died in 2002 when PS2 got popular.
YOU CAN NOT ESCAPE YOU HAVE NO GUN
This looks like its up there with cuphead in quality and difficulty. I'll probably give this a shot at some point
@Seanmyster6 YOU ARE CUTE. I AM THE GUNLORD.
If this game doesn't win me over with its difficulty and gameplay, then lines like these are sure to keep me playing.
Love me some Turrican and this looks great! Sign me up.
This looks great. I will be picking it up.
Time for some Turrican nostalgia!
@NGDEV
Well, the Switch has build itself a good reputation as a shmup console (Darius Cozmic Collection, RXN -Raijin-, Sisters Royale, Rolling Gunner, Black Bird, Strikers 1945 series, Gunbird series, Samurai Aces series, Dragon Blaze, Thunder Force IV/Lightening Force...).
I think your shmups Fast Striker and Neo XYX would fit really well on the system.
This looks amazing! I cannot wait to get my hands on this.
So cool! It's Turrican
Hope physical release is still planned!!
@NGDEV YES YES YES YES YESS YESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS FINALLY. dear NGDEV please give us all the games or at leasy neo XYX and Razion....but Razion more than anything. I contemplated selling one of my family to buy the AES cart but the marklet dropepd out of family members.
@PCkid I run my Switch on a CRT so it's all good.
Looks awesome, this is definitely right up my street and it's great to see a developer really catching the look of these old arcade classics
Right on. I haven't bought a Neo Geo game in a while. I look forward to picking this up.
This looks amazing and will be a day one purchase for me . It would have been awesome if this would have made it to the 3DS as well, the stereoscopic 3D effect would have looked fantastic . I am so glad it's gonna be a short wait., May 22 is not that far out and this is gonna be a blast to play on the Switch .
I was lucky to find out about Gundlord on Dreamcast while there were still some copies available at some online stores. I enjoyed the game a lot. I was disappointed to hear they stopped releasing their games on Dreamcast. Good to see Gunlord coming to the Switch. I hope it might be even more platforms in the future for this and their others. The Dreamcast version was fantastic. I expect this new version will be as well.
Turrican!! Holy moly, it's freakin' Turrican!!
Never heard of Gunlord, but wow, I'm sooo getting this! This is exactly how a Turrican 4 should look like!
Dude this looks awesome! Sad I never played it on Dreamcast.
This'll def scratch the itch until SNK shows off the new Metal Slug.
Yep. Sold.
@Turrican No. THIS is what Turrican 4 could have looked like.
https://www.facebook.com/721973821152980/photos/a.721982294485466/1294590110558012/?type=3&theater
Cry with me.
I loved this on Dreamcast, and I'm getting this when it drops. I'm excited to see if there are any balance tweaks the DC one was so close to being A+, but I felt like a couple things held it back.. I still think it could be the best Turrican game; it's at least up there with Mega.
@Nickolaidas I'm crying now. 😭
Never heard of this game. And it came on Neo Geo and Dreamcast? This game slipped by me, but I’m definitely getting this on Switch.
Have this beauty on my Dreamcast will be getting for switch for sure.
This Looks so good, I can’t wait for this one.
@shonenjump86 Gunlord came out for Neo Geo and Dreamcast, but many years after official support for those systems had ended. It was 2013, I think. So unless you were keeping up with independent game releases on old hardware, it was easy to miss. I really enjoyed the DC version, so I do recommend it.
@sdelfin it’s on my radar for sure.
@NGDEV
Fantastic game have on Dreamcast. Glad you’ve offered level saves, the original was brutal having no save feature. Will be definitely buying again:)
Tap here to load 45 comments
Leave A Comment
Hold on there, you need to login to post a comment...