Guncon vs Justifier, an uneven match

To follow up on the driving controllers versus, I compared the most common non-standard controller ever known to man : the gun controllers. Once again, I went with the hardware I have in my collection.

The early game systems were mostly one-sided in the controller category. You only have to think about the NES Zapper, the SNES Super Scope, the SMS Light Phaser, the Genesis Menacer, etc. Of course there was some third party gun but the were mostly crap, except the Konami stuff.

Konami came up with the Justifier in the SNES/Genesis era and created a second iteration of the gun for the Playstation. The gun looks great except for one thing : it light green. The kind of green your face get when you're sick. Other than that, it looks cool, not too heavy and has a nice grip. I tested it with Project: Horned Owl, the only game that I have that is compatible with that gun, at least to my knowledge.

The game controls are simplified by the gun's lack of buttons. You have the trigger, an action button and a Start button. Nothing else. That doesn't mean the game is lacking in any way. Just don't expect any crazy button combos.

The game was designed by Masamune Shirow and it shows. All cut scenes are drawn in the style that Shirow is famous for. Really Ghost in the shell like. You basicaly fighting off an alien invasion in a mecha that holds a giant gun. That concept won't rewrite history but it serves it purpose: shoot anything that move (except small civilian).

The gun work fine with the game except that you don't have a crosshair. You really have to know where you are pointing your gun or you'll die pretty quickly.

Moving on to the most popular gun controller, the Guncon. Made by Namco for the popular Time Crisis games (and many others too), this is the most real looking gun made, in its PS1 iteration. The orange PS2 version kinda breaks the mood. Same amount of buttons here but the A and B placement makes it harder to remember which is which as they are placed on either side of the gun, at the front.

I first intended to innovate a try the controller with a lesser known title: GUNFIGHTER: The legend of Jesse James. The story glorified a criminal, the graphics were bad for the system and the movement (of both the main character and the bad guys) didn't make a lot of sense.

I died 4 times before giving up, as I figured I was still far from clearing the first stage. I don't recommend that game. So I went with a sure bet, Time Crisis, the original. What I like about Namco gun games is that they have a calibrating screen, which was missing in the previous 2 games. Now it's included in all the game but I think game designers didn't see it as a necessity at the time.

The gun responded well in the game even tho you still don't have a crosshair. It's less inconvenient since the controller was calibrated before.

I shouldn't really compare the 2 guns, as each of them is compatible with a different set of games. The Guncon enjoyed a better life as it is now in its 3rd iteration on the PS3 and can be use with LCD and plasma screens. The Justifier life ended with the PS1. So the Guncon still wins in the long run but I'd say that if you get your hands on a Justifier, I would recommend checking out the games that were made for it.