City Hunter Re-release Review
City Hunter, originally released for the PC Engine on March 2, 1990, finally made it out of Japan. The 2026 rerelease, published by Clouded Leopard Entertainment and distributed in the West by Red Art Games, launched February 26 on Nintendo Switch, Nintendo Switch 2, PS5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC via Steam.
City Hunter
Platform(s): PC (Steam), Xbox Series X|S, PS5, Nintendo Switch|Switch 2, Android
Developer: SUNSOFT, Red Art Games
Publisher: Clouded Leopard Entertainment
Genre: Action, Side-scroller, 16-bit, Retro
Reviewer Rating: ★★★★(4/5)
The re-release of City Hunter brings old school detective noire into 2026 with a beautiful bang and soundtrack.
City Hunter is a 16-bit, side-scrolling action title based on Tsukasa Hojo's manga, which ran in Weekly Shonen Jump from 1985 to 1991 and spun off into an anime series, films, and later spinoffs like Angel Heart. You take on the role of Ryo Saeba, the "sweeper" known as City Hunter, working through missions with his partner Kaori Makimura to clean up the city's criminal underworld.
Admittedly, I’m extremely rusty when it comes to side-scrollers, especially on PC, so it was easier for me to use my Xbox controller. Some are calling this a “remake” but it’s definitely not a remake; it’s a re-release, though they made some changes. The game has been officially translated into English, Italian, German, Chinese, and more languages!
They also updated the game with a CRT filter and adjustable aspect ratio to give you the option to play it the way it looked in 1990 or clean it up for a modern screen. The rereleased game also includes a 3D Archive of the original packaging and manual, a gallery of anime artwork, and a music player for the full soundtrack.
“Get Wild” Still Goes Hard
Speaking of the soundtrack, the game opens with TM Network's "Get Wild," the theme most associated with the City Hunter anime. Even without having played the original PC Engine version, “Get Wild” is instantly recognizable. After all, it has always been a dope song. The gameplay soundtrack is fire in general, though.
City Hunter Gameplay
You can choose one of three difficulty settings: Enhanced, Hard, and Original Gameplay.
Enhanced: The remastered version with refined gameplay.
Hard: The remastered version but with harder enemies.
Original: The original, unaltered gameplay from 1990.
I’m honestly not sure what the difference in difficulty is because, as I mentioned earlier, I’m already pretty bad at side-scrollers.
You are given three missions to choose to start with:
Gone with the Beauty
Umibozu Hates Cats
Ryo & Saeko’s Fiery Escape
After completing the first three missions, a fourth and final mission, The Final Target, becomes available.
I didn’t realize I could enter some of the doors. Why? Because the first door I tried to go into wouldn’t allow me. But, on controller, you have to press the Up button when standing in the center of the doorway in order to enter the room.
When you enter a room and there’s an NPC in there, you might automatically trigger a dialogue sequence. If they say, “I have nothing to say to you,” or ask, “Who are you,” then you may have missed an event prior to entering the room.
In Gone with the Beauty, the very first door on the lower level, enter the room. There is a nurse waiting to heal you. So, if you take damage, throughout the game, you can revisit the nurse to heal you up.
And don’t forget the good ol’ fashioned ecchi anime sexism. Don’t be alarmed by the corny and lewd dialogue and encounters with women barely dressed women in the game. That’s just…it’s always been a thing in anime but rarely in the games. Honestly, it’s more hilariously bad than offensive. Personally, I’ve never understood the fascination with being a “pervert” in anime. I joke but it’s honestly not that bad. I mean, the games we play TODAY are, well, you know…much, much worse.
I have always loved the old school Japanese neo-noire aesthetic and City Hunter definitely gives that in its in-game design and art.
System Requirements & What I Played On
Requires a 64-bit processor and operating system.
OS: Windows 11 64-bit
Processor: Intel Core i5 6400
Memory: 16 GB RAM
Graphics: HD 630 / GT 740
DirectX: Version 12
Storage: 2 GB available space
I played City Hunter via Steam on an older Alienware R1 laptop with a 3060 RTX, so I had no issues.
Retro and side-scrolling games aren’t really my thing. But City Hunter was pretty fun. It reminded me of gaming with my friends when I was a kid, passing the controller back and forth to see who could beat the level. It’s a nostalgic game for sure. But does it justify a price tag of $24.99? Not for me.
City Hunter is out now on Nintendo Switch, Nintendo Switch 2, PS5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC via Steam.
