“Gun Nac”, which seems like a hybrid of Blazing Lazers for the TurboGrafx 16. If you’re into old school top scrolling shooters, this game is for you. Gun Nac is packed full of enemy-sizzling weapons to blast away anything that steps in your way.
Standard Shmup Gameplay
The idea of Gun Nac is much like that of Gradius or other shooters of the same genre. You go level by level and destroy anything that approaches you. There are a total of 7 levels to defeat, and a boss to defeat at
the end of each level.
The fun thing about the game is that it has animals trying to kill you. You have crazed rabbits throwing huge carrots at you, not to mention a rabbit is an end boss. So you have that strange element of crazed animals, but the game really isn’t about that.
Weapons and Power-Ups
Your task is to start off each level and blast your way through the maze of enemies approaching you. Along the way, you will receive bags of money and different bombs that you can pick up. During your mission(s), you have five different weapon numbers to pick up and choose from. The first number is just a multi bullet blaster, up to triple-loaded lasers that can destroy everything in your way.
There are lots of upgrades you can pick up along the way to max out your weapons. The problem is that if you die mid-level, it’s going to be hard to pick up all the weapons you had before you died. (It always sucks dying just before the end boss) You can pick up four variations of bombs along the way; each bomb reacts differently when selected.
The Shop System
The money bags come in handy after you complete a level. You can buy weapons, bombs, and turbo upgrades for your ship. I only really just bought myself bombs; I generally kept the same weapon equipped most of the time.
Difficulty and Speed
"The speed - or what I like to call the 'flying by the seat of your pants' factor’ - starts out slow, but the further into the game you get, the faster and faster it plays. So you’re zipping around trying to kill and avoid the mass amounts of bullets.
In my opinion, this is what makes the game fun and hard. This game starts out pretty easy with tons of weapons and upgrades, but once you get to level 3, the speed and gameplay tactics become vital to your success.
Cheat Codes
I don't know if you press down both “A” and “B” at the same time during the opening scene, but you can enable the option of invincibility. To truly beat the game, this was the option I chose. You can beat it without cheating, but then the grueling grind and skill full NES tactics come into play.
The Verdict
We rate: Gun-Nac (NES) a 7.5/10 – a ★★★½☆☆ on our retro game scale.
Would I recommend it?
Yes, I’m a huge fan of old school shooters, so Gun Nac was truly up my alley.
Would I replay it?
Yup, I really relished playing Gun Nac and would definitely recommend it to anybody. There are a lot of cheats you can use for the game. I didn’t find many Game Genie codes, but you can do a bunch of different button presses to obtain codes once the game starts.
Collecting Gun NAC
Gun Nac is a rare NES shooter released in 1991. Not many copies were made, so fewer people own it today. Complete copies with the box and manual are worth a lot more than the cartridge by itself. Even the manual by itself has value.
Condition matters a lot. Writing, stickers, label tears, and bent corners all lower what you can sell Gun Nac for. The same goes for the box and manual; any damage means less money. Rental stores used to put price tags on games and write on them. Those worn copies are worth less than clean ones. Collectors want games that look nice, not ones covered in old stickers.
Gun Nac is difficult to find, which makes collectors want it. We buy Gun Nac at The Old School Game Vault, loose or complete, in any condition, for cash.
