Platform: Sega Genesis (Mega Drive); Sega CD (Mega CD)

Developer: Konami

Publisher: Konami

Release Date (NA): Genesis: May 1994; Sega CD: November 1994

Genre: Arcade Shooter, Rail-shooter

Nerd Rating: 5 out of 10

Reviewed by NerdBerry

Released in 1994, this arcade port followed up the original Lethal Enforcers shooter game with a throwback to the old west! Technically considered a prequel, Lethal Enforcers II: Gun Fighters graces its viewers with a unique Wild West experience that’s only slightly more advanced than that of the original Lethal Enforcers. What we get is a game that looks and sounds entirely different yet plays EXACTLY the same.

Lethal Enforcers II takes place in the western part of the US back in the days of the Wild West. Bank robbers, saloon barflies, and outlaws run wild in the streets and refuse to be controlled by anyone, especially you. You are the sheriff of this little Podunk sandy town and it’s your responsibility to kill these outlaws and protect the town-folk. Restore order by eliminating the enemy and ridding their presence entirely.

Yea I’ll have a shot of whisky and a OH MY GOD WTF!

Just like in the previous installment, you start the game with a set number of lives (five lives to be exact) and a number of continues. Unlike the arcade game, once you run out of continues, you’ll be pushin’ daisies. In the arcade version, you have zero continues but can play until your little pockets run dry of quarters. Anytime you get shot or shoot an innocent little damsel or barkeep, you will lose a life. These are the same general rules of the original game. It’s frustrating, though, as the good guys wear the same damn clothes as the bad guys sometimes. They look crazy similar and aren’t always distinguishable.

Also just as in the previous installment, Lethal Weapons II saw a release on both the Sega Genesis and the Sega CD. This tactic is wildly confusing. I don’t understand why not make exclusive titles for one and not for the other? I know they DID make these, but not enough non-FMV (aka: Not Crap) games were exclusively released for the Sega CD. Possibly because of how much the add-on was failing.

Again, the graphics are based on digitized pictures of backgrounds, yet this time, there is much more involvement with the scenery. There is a level where you are riding a horse alongside of a train and you have to shoot the bad guys popping in and out of the windows. It’s a refreshing take on a practically identical game. How is it identical? Well, the game engine is entirely identical, but this time the enemies are wearing cowboy hats and chaps instead of ski masks and mustaches. This time they are hiding behind a barrel instead of a table. This time they are riding in a train instead of a car. Are you seeing the pattern yet? It’s the same game just with a different look. It’s like a person wearing one mask and then putting on a new mask. It’s the same person under the mask but it looks different on the outside.

Should Konami be chastised for their lazy efforts at creating a new game? Absolutely not. It makes sense for arcades but is cheating the home console owners. If you took the number “2” off of the 2^nd game, and put both arcade machines next to each other in 1994, they would both be wildly popular because they LOOK so different! Kids wouldn’t see the similarity, no matter how obvious it is. So congrats Konami… YOU’RE THE BANK-ROBBER-OUTLAW! BANG! I GOTCHA!

If you shoot the machine gun on screen, you’ll acquire it for your own usage.

Lethal Enforcers II uses the same gun, The Justifier. I think this gun has more of an old west look to it anyway, so it’s much more appropriate for this game. The gun accuracy is still just as good and provides for plenty of outlaw-killin’ action. I can get over the fact that the game is mostly the same as the original, but I CANNOT get over how incredibly atrocious and lazy the voices are! The enemies say only 3 things (YES! ONLY 3 THINGS!) repeatedly throughout the… entire… game… On average, they say “I’m gonna git you sheriff!” about 75% of the time, “Eat lead!” about 20% of the time, and “Take that!” about 5% of the time. It’s awful. And they all have the exact same voice, except for the one girl voice who says the same things though. Why? How? How can they be so lazy as to only have 1 voice saying 3 different things throughout THE ENTIRE GAME?! This is unforgivable. I know, I know… You’re probably wondering WTF is wrong with me that would make me flip shit over something so simple… Well you go play the damn game you little shit! WHAT DO YOU KNOW?!

Sorry… sorry… I think I have PTSD from my hours of playing Lethal Enforcers 1 and 2. The sound effects become a dagger in your ear and seriously cause major frustration and annoyance to your entire mental and emotional system. It’s mostly “I’m gonna git you sheriff!” every 2^nd or 3^rd bad guy. And considering that I’m killing a couple hundred of these dudes (and dudettes) throughout the entire game, you can understand my frustrations.

One positive note is the music. The music is in traditional western fashion (instead of that terrible early 90s rad music from the first game) and helps add to the whole feel of the Wild West. I loved the pairing of the music with the scenery and the look of the enemies and distressed townies. As a stand-alone game, it’s certainly not terrible. It has some saving moments such as decent music, decent colors throughout, added motion to the scenery (which help a lot), and great gun controls/calibration (again). But Lethal Enforcers II is entirely marred by the excessive repetitive use of the same phrases and a complete lack of effort in creating a different experience.

There’s really not much more I can say about this game that hasn’t already been said in my review of Lethal Enforcers 1. It’s virtually the same game but with a different look. Overall, not a terrible game. I can’t endorse this game too much though as there are too many problems that really make this game more frustrating than fun. This is a little odd, but even though Lethal Enforcers II: Gun Fighters is JUST A LITTLE BIT better than the original, I have to rate it lower due to the lack of originality and effort by Konami. Could have been much better, even though it is still a fun game. So Konami, you think you’ve got me by the balls? Well I’m a daisy if you do.

Nerd Rating: 5 out of 10

Reviewed by NerdBerry

Check out the review of Lethal Enforcers 1 right here!