wanted to make a Game Gear game after being impressed by their Gauntlet port for the Genesis. M2 wanted to port The Cliffhanger: Edward Randy, but they were ultimately handed Gunstar Heroes. Since the Genesis version pushed hardware limitations, a Game Gear port was difficult. The port had some changes, such as the Dice Palace being removed, and it ran at lower frame rate. It was released on March 24, 1995. Sega released Gunstar Heroes Treasure Box in 2006 in Japan, a compilation of Treasure games for the PlayStation 2 as part of their Sega Ages 2500 series. Included on the compilation were Gunstar Heroes, Dynamite Headdy (1994), and Alien Soldier (1995). The games are run through an emulator and include display options for filters and resolutions. The Japanese and international versions of each game were included, along with the Game Gear ports of Gunstar Heroes and Dynamite Headdy, and a Genesis prototype of Gunstar Heroes. A gallery is included with scans of the original instruction manuals, concept illustrations, and design documents. This compilation was released digitally on the PlayStation Store in 2012. The game was ported by M2 to the Nintendo 3DS in 2015 as part of Sega's line of 3D Classics. Gunstar Heroes was originally not considered for the series because converting the game's backgrounds into a layered 3D effect was thought to be impossible, but these perceived problems were later overcome. In addition to supporting stereoscopic 3D, the game features two new game modes. "Gunslinger" mode starts the player with a full arsenal of every weapon type and grants the ability to change shot stance at any time, and "Mega Life" mode starts the player with double the normal amount of health. The game also supports local cooperative play and includes both the Japanese and international versions. Gunstar Heroes has also been released on the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, Wii, and Windows. A Sega Forever version for mobile devices was released in 2017. The game was again released on the Nintendo Switch Online + Expansion Pack in 2021. Reception Gunstar Heroes achieved greater recognition than Treasure anticipated. Electronic Gaming Monthly called it their "Game of the Month," and the game placed first in Beep! Mega Drive's reader rankings in Japan. GameFan deemed it their "Game of the Year" and called it a new benchmark for action games. Mean Machines Sega wrote that Gunstar Heroes was setting a