Gunner Tribe

Gunner Tribe is a series of light-gun shooter video games developed and published by Multisoft. The series debuted with the release of its first installment, Gunner Tribe: The City of Justice and the Masters of Evil, in 2005, and has spawned a number of sequels. Originally released in the arcades, it has since been released on other consoles such as the Xbox, PlayStation 2, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, Wii, etc.

Gunner Tribe became one of Multisoft's popular franchises, next to Bomb Strike, Dimenbeasts, Superstar, Step Craze, and most of their shoot 'em ups. The praise comes from its unique types of gameplay, whimsical cast of characters, and various changes in setting.

Setting
The series revolves around Justice City, a city where there is no criminal activity. The city was founded by Isaac Might in order to develop and research the talents of Masters, incredibly talented people who are selected by the Justice Council of Heroics, with the "Lucky" Master being chosen by winning a lottery draw.

In Gunner Tribe: The City of Justice and the masters of Evil, Markus Nartey, an average citizen selected to move to Justice City, arrives only to be attacked by a robotic lemur named Dualemur and find himself trapped in the city along with 14 other Masters. Dualemur then announces that they will live in this city forever and will send his forces to attack those who try to escape. Markus motives the other Masters into trying to fight against Dualemur and his minions, fully aware of the sacrifices that will cause, as well as find the true mastermind controlling the robotic lemur.

The sequel, Super Gunner Tribe 2: Farewell to Evil, has a similar premise, this time taking place on a tropical island known as Hexagon. Henry Higgins, a young man with no memory of his Master talent, along with fifteen other Masters, are taken there by a cat named Moggly, who states it to be a vacation trip to help the Masters make friends with each other. However, Dualemur interferes yet again, and it is up to Henry to put his life and others at risk as he fights the robotic lemur.

Gunner Tribe .5: Mega Evil Ladies, which takes place between the events of the first two games, follows Markus' younger sister, Kimberly Nartey, accompanied by Tabatha Flanagan, as both of them trek through a city ruled by Dualemur's influence, fighting against a group of murderous children calling themselves the Saviors of Justice.

Gunner Tribe 3: The End of Justice City serves as a conclusion (and prelude) to the Justice City saga featured in the above games. The series is split into two arcs divided by two types of media; the video game portrays the Future Arc, which follows Markus and members of the Future Organization as they are forced to fight against each other, while a comic portrays the Evil Arc, which details events that take place prior to the first and second games, introducing the Chaotic Shootout Incident, the Isaac Might project, and the Tragedy of Justice City.

The games following Gunner Tribe 3 take place in different settings. For example, Next Gunner Tribe 4: Evil Over Justice take place in Hope Mansion, where Amy Faust, a young woman known to be the Master Violist, and 17 other Masters are abducted from Justice City by the mansion's owner, Dusty Lee. Another example is the setting of Anniversary Gunner Tribe 10: Birth of Evil, which takes place in Chronotropolis, a man-made time station compromised by Dualemur when holding 18 Masters, including Barts Irving the Lucky Master and Gill the Master Caveman (who was actually brought from the Neolithic Era), hostage.

Gameplay
The game plays similarly to most light gun shooters of the 90s and 2000s. The players have a simple goal: defeat the enemies before reaching the end boss. Each stage has about three phases, the Safe Phase, where there are less minions and the players' goal is to guide the Masters to safety, the Siege Phase, where the players have to avenge a fallen Master after they have been attacked by Dualemur's minions, and the Evil Phase, where the player has to defeat a possessed Master, who became evil as a result of being controlled by Dualemur and killing a Master. In between these phases, the players will have to solve a puzzle, whether they have to unlock a door or defusing a bomb, in order to avoid Dualemur's traps.

Super Gunner Tribe 2 adds some new features to the gameplay, including the Evil Showdown, where the player has a brief fight against a Master who is being possessed by a lesser minion and must shoot at the correct intervals to counterattack in order to save the Master, and Chase Slide, where the player is riding a snowboard to outrun the incoming enemies. Evil Showdown made appearances in a few sequels while Chase Slide is often remade, changing from a snowboard to a jet (Dream Gunner Tribe 6: In the Name of Justice) or a speedboat (Shin Gunner Tribe 7: Evil vs. Justice)

Next Gunner Tribe 4 introduces the Dual Shot, where players can gain extra bonus points for shooting an enemy together. This also helps against a stronger enemy, especially an evil Master, that would have made the fight more difficult alone. It also introduces the concept of “Combo Shots,” where players link multiple chained shots at an enemy. These two new styles of play were emphasized in Final Gunner Tribe 5: Return of Dualemur and Omega Gunner Tribe 8: A New Justice and Evil, when the concepts of armored enemies are introduced.

Since Final Gunner Tribe 5, players can hide from enemies, which is a play style inspired by Namco's Time Crisis series. This way, players can reload their bullets and avoid surprise attacks.

Finally, Anniversary Gunner Tribe 10 introduces the Focus Shift, which can slow everything around the player for more focused shots. This makes a return in New Gunner Tribe L: Pride in Shooting, but it is renamed "Truth Shift."

Soundtrack
Gunner Tribe features an original soundtrack composed by Multisoft's in-house composers. The first four games featured synth-rock music similar to those from Sega's Virtua Cop and Namco's Time Crisis, while later games since Next Gunner Tribe 4: Evil Over Justice showcases a more electro-rock-based soundtrack.

List of Games

 * Gunner Tribe: The City of Justice and the Masters of Evil (2005; Arcade, Xbox, PlayStation 2, PC)
 * Super Gunner Tribe 2: Farewell to Evil (2006; Arcade, PlayStation 2, PC)
 * Gunner Tribe .5: Mega Evil Ladies (2007; PlayStation 3, PC)
 * Gunner Tribe 3: The End of Justice Square (2008; Arcade, Xbox 360, PC)
 * Next Gunner Tribe 4: Evil Over Justice (2009; Arcade, Wii, PC)
 * Final Gunner Tribe 5: Return of Dualemur (2010; Arcade, PlayStation 3, PC)
 * Dream Gunner Tribe 6: In the Name of Justice (2011; Arcade, Nintendo Wii, Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, PC)
 * Shin Gunner Tribe 7: Evil vs. Justice (2011; Arcade, Xbox 360, PC)
 * Omega Gunner Tribe 8: A New Justice and Evil (2013; Arcade, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, PC)
 * Miracle Gunner Tribe 9: Evil Strikes Back (2014; Arcade, Nintendo Wii U, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, PC)
 * Anniversary Gunner Tribe 10: Birth of Evil (2015; Arcade, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, PC)
 * New Gunner Tribe L: Pride in Shooting (2018; Arcade, Nintendo Switch, PC)

Trivia

 * The first Gunner Tribe is adapted into a cartoon animated by Warner Bros. Animation that aired on Kids WB in 2006. While a few people questioned this movement, the lack of adult themes from the game was enough to make the cartoon acceptable.
 * Gunner Tribe Zero, a film also animated by Warner Bros. Animation, serves as the prologue to the Justice City saga alongside Gunner Tribe 3: The End of Justice Square -Evil Arc-.