<s>
The	O
player	O
must	O
take	O
control	O
of	O
Pistol	B-Application
Daimyo	I-Application
,	O
a	O
small	O
Japanese	O
lord	O
,	O
who	O
has	O
a	O
pistol	O
strapped	O
to	O
his	O
head	O
;	O
he	O
faces	O
to	O
the	O
right	O
side	O
of	O
the	O
screen	O
,	O
and	O
is	O
always	O
moving	O
forward	O
with	O
the	O
backgrounds	O
scrolling	O
to	O
the	O
left	O
,	O
bringing	O
enemies	O
into	O
view	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
There	O
are	O
also	O
blue	O
(	O
and	O
yellow	O
)	O
vases	O
which	O
can	O
be	O
broken	O
open	O
with	O
a	O
medium	O
or	O
large	O
cannonball	O
,	O
and	O
will	O
leave	O
Hanafuda	O
cards	O
behind	O
,	O
for	O
Pistol	B-Application
Daimyo	I-Application
to	O
collect	O
—	O
and	O
once	O
he	O
collects	O
three	O
of	O
them	O
,	O
it	O
shall	O
cause	O
a	O
Kusudama	O
ball	O
to	O
come	O
down	O
into	O
view	O
from	O
the	O
top	O
of	O
the	O
screen	O
(	O
which	O
can	O
also	O
be	O
broken	O
open	O
with	O
a	O
medium	O
or	O
large	O
cannonball	O
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Game	O
Machine	O
stated	O
that	O
Pistol	B-Application
Daimyo	I-Application
no	I-Application
Bōken	I-Application
was	O
the	O
third	O
most-popular	O
arcade	O
game	O
of	O
November	O
1990	O
in	O
Japan	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Pistol	B-Application
Daimyo	I-Application
no	I-Application
Bōken	I-Application
has	O
gained	O
notoriety	O
retrospectively	O
for	O
its	O
bizarre	O
nature	O
and	O
high	O
level	O
of	O
difficulty	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Ray	O
Barnholt	O
of	O
GamePro	O
said	O
that	O
its	O
cutesy	O
visuals	O
and	O
lampooning	O
of	O
Japanese	O
mythology	O
made	O
it	O
stand	O
out	O
from	O
the	O
company	O
's	O
usual	O
Galaxian	B-Application
,	O
Galaga	B-Application
,	O
and	O
Xevious	B-Application
offerings	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
While	O
he	O
was	O
critical	O
of	O
the	O
game	O
's	O
intense	O
difficulty	O
,	O
Barnholt	O
felt	O
that	O
Pistol	B-Application
Daimyo	I-Application
was	O
a	O
clever	O
and	O
interesting	O
game	O
nonetheless	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
the	O
Hardcore	O
Gaming	O
101	O
book	O
Namco	O
Arcade	O
Classics	O
,	O
Kurt	O
Kalata	O
liked	O
the	O
game	O
's	O
goofy	O
nature	O
,	O
which	O
he	O
compared	O
to	O
Konami	O
's	O
Ganbare	B-Device
Goemon	I-Device
and	O
Parodius	B-Application
series	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
However	O
,	O
he	O
did	O
n't	O
think	O
its	O
presentation	O
was	O
enough	O
to	O
save	O
Pistol	B-Application
Daimyo	I-Application
from	O
its	O
difficulty	O
,	O
which	O
he	O
blamed	O
on	O
the	O
game	O
's	O
poor	O
design	O
and	O
near-useless	O
weapons	O
.	O
</s>
