Treasure: New DS Game Countdown: Bangai-O Spirits

Frederik · Post by **Frederik** » Mon Feb 11, 2008 12:54 am

Nanostray 2
Ketsui DS
Bangai-O Spirits
Geometry Wars Galaxies

...man, the DS is getting better.

Spazicon · Post by **Spazicon** » Sat Feb 23, 2008 12:31 pm

March 19th (Japan), and "Q2 2008" for the States. D3 Publisher is supposedly bringing it over.

I can't wait. I love me some Bangai-O.

Frederik · Post by **Frederik** » Sat Feb 23, 2008 2:05 pm

Hell yeah.

Nuke · Post by **Nuke** » Sat Feb 23, 2008 5:18 pm

Geometry Wars Galaxies worth the pickup on the DS, or is it more of a wii title?

Also, the music level upload feature in Bangai-O spirits is fantastic!
Imagine playing your favorite music to the DS for random results!

grovsnus · Post by **grovsnus** » Sun Mar 09, 2008 10:27 am

I'm looking forward to becoming drunk from the missile battle of incandescence, but does anyone know what the second screen will show / be used for?

Zebra Airforce · Post by **Zebra Airforce** » Sun Mar 09, 2008 11:45 am

A map

MX7 · Post by **MX7** » Sun Mar 09, 2008 12:36 pm

Nuke wrote:Geometry Wars Galaxies worth the pickup on the DS, or is it more of a wii title?

It's obv not as hectic as the xbox version, but it still can get surprisingly cluttered. The only time I've noticed serious slowdown os in 2 player co op (which is awesome btw). Of course, the best thing about it is being able to play it in the garden/bus/toilet. If you can find it for a good price then pick it up!

grovsnus · Post by **grovsnus** » Mon Mar 17, 2008 1:52 pm

Tomorrow's the day apparently. I have had it on pre-order for a week - my first pre-order ever. Can't wait really.

As added boni, I ordered a DSL to play the game on, Space inv E, Suchie-pai 3 and Star wars TCS. I'm totally going current gen. Looking forward to Korg DS this summer among others.

Any new clips or pics of this? I can't get the treasure site to open properly.

Frederik · Post by **Frederik** » Mon Mar 17, 2008 7:43 pm

I´ll be all over this one

Nanostray 2 turned out fantastic, I am really anticipating this one, and Ketsui DS will be the climax of this wave of shooting action for the DS. (Yeah, I maybe sound like a broken record, but THIS IS JUST SO COOL.)

Arvandor · Post by **Arvandor** » Tue Mar 18, 2008 12:33 am

I tried pre-ordering it and they couldn't find it in their computer >_<

I hope they get some copies anyways, bastids. Or I'll have to pick it up online.

Maybe it's because it was too close to release time, I think I was asking about it only last week, and usually you can't preorder within ... 2 weeks of release is it?

rockaroller · Post by **rockaroller** » Thu Mar 20, 2008 7:03 pm

It's been out since yesterday. Already got mine! \o/

Well, it's not a shoot'em'up according to the classic definition of the term, but it's a shooter anyway, and it's gorgeous. The gameplay mechanics are very simple, and yet addictive just as the first game (for DC and N64).

Tons of stages. And all I've played so far (played through the 25th) are beautifully designed. The puzzles are good as always.

The only downside, at least for me, is that I don't understand the dialogs, which are usually very fun.

Go check it out! Another must-have for the NDS.

greng · Post by **greng** » Thu Mar 20, 2008 9:49 pm

This game is tits! I've been waiting for it for so long that when I first slotted it in I was a little underwhelmed (was just doing the training stages). Then I got to the real stages and man, this game is great fun! I've been starved of new bangai-o for too long. I love their original games but since I've played n64 and DC bangaio to death I'm very glad for something new in the same style.

Lots of weapons to choose from, this will take a while to optimise strategies for each stage.

It's fast, loud, tons of explosions, baffling and loads of fun.

Yeah!

grovsnus · Post by **grovsnus** » Thu Mar 20, 2008 9:53 pm

So great to hear it lives up to the high expectations of discerning shmup fans. My box was shipped out today so I should have it in the beginning of next week, provided the post service work during the holiday..

Frederik · Post by **Frederik** » Thu Mar 20, 2008 10:32 pm

I never played the original so I can´t compare this to anything else, but it´s kinda neat so far. I don´t really know if I like all these puzzle stages, I usually prefer more action, but the occasional bosses are cool.

The best thing about it so far is the editor. I spend a couple of hours yesterday just stuffing levels full with turrets, making the DS completely choke. My favourite new ability is the "reflect" bomb, that instead of firing missles according to your proximity and number of bullets around you just throws everything back to where it came from. Did some little stages with these huge blue rocket-turrets and many missles around it, demand you to lead the missles to the turret and throw them all into it.

I also love how every enemy has a tiny and a huge version of it, kinda like in Astro Boy Omega Factor; even though they are just scaled versions of the original sprites. Music is a bit so-so. I also found it strange that after you complete the first tutorial stages you can access every stage right from the start. But nevermind, that way I can just choose which one to tackle.

I heard that the US version is supposed to have even more levels. I wonder if that´s true; but given that the western release of Astro Boy Omega Factor was vastly improved that might not be unlikely. Think about it - a western release of a japanese game ACTUALLY BEING BETTER.

greng · Post by **greng** » Thu Mar 20, 2008 11:09 pm

Interesting read Frederik, what is the source of the claim that the US version will have more stages? It's perfectly possible, perhaps taking some 'best of' user creations.

The level editor is nice and simple, although I haven't ironed out its subtleties as yet.

Frederik · Post by **Frederik** » Fri Mar 21, 2008 12:09 am

greng wrote:Interesting read Frederik, what is the source of the claim that the US version will have more stages? It's perfectly possible, perhaps taking some 'best of' user creations.

Don´t know, just read it somewhere (forgot where), so don´t quote me on that

The level editor is nice and simple, although I haven't ironed out its subtleties as yet.

One thing that took me some time to figure out was the two buttons right next to the enemy selection - the first is where you set what enemies or obstacles are the "targets" the player will have to take out to finish the level (you need at least one, otherwise you´ll get an error warning and the level will instantly be finished after the start), and the other toggles the tiny and huge sizes of the selected sprites.

neist · Post by **neist** » Fri Mar 21, 2008 12:45 am

greng wrote:Interesting read Frederik, what is the source of the claim that the US version will have more stages? It's perfectly possible, perhaps taking some 'best of' user creations.

The level editor is nice and simple, although I haven't ironed out its subtleties as yet.

It was actually in an interview by the Treasure guys. A few weeks ago a wave of interviews for Bangai-O seemed to pop up everywhere. This little tidbit was among the facts that popped up. They wanted to add more levels to the Japanese release but simply ran out of time before it was shipped.

They also said they weren't sure yet if they were going to include the sound-saved levels in the US edition either. I'm not quite sure why they wouldn't, but who knows.

UnscathedFlyingObject · Fri Mar 21, 2008 5:47 pm

Man, this game slows to a crawl with a bunch of enemies on screen. It'd be really impressive if they had pulled a no slo mo on this one.

grovsnus · Post by **grovsnus** » Fri Mar 21, 2008 6:58 pm

I felt that the slowdown on DC added a dramatic pause when you pulled off a high count special. I would rest for a second and then go back to setting another one up. I wouldn't have wanted it any other way.

UnscathedFlyingObject · Fri Mar 21, 2008 11:05 pm

I guess I oughta be clear on this. In some levels, like level 24, there is so much slow down when there is lots of enemies on screen that you basically crawl your way throughout the level whether you attack or not and the enemies attack or not.

Frederik · Post by **Frederik** » Sat Mar 22, 2008 1:28 pm

Astro Boy Omega Factor had similar problems. There was a part where two bolts came from the bottom and the ceiling with two enemies attacking you, making you wonder where exactly the heavy slowdown was coming from (that persisted during the whole scene). Other parts in the game with considerably more stuff going had none at all. Must be some programming flaw... especially considering how many sprites they pushed in games like Alien Soldier or Gunstar Super Heroes.

Turrican · Post by **Turrican** » Sat Mar 22, 2008 1:30 pm

UnscathedFlyingObject wrote:I guess I oughta be clear on this. In some levels, like level 24, there is so much slow down when there is lots of enemies on screen that you basically crawl your way throughout the level whether you attack or not and the enemies attack or not.

Does it break the game?

UnscathedFlyingObject · Sat Mar 22, 2008 3:29 pm

It gets annoying but it's still pretty playable.

jp · Post by jp » Sat Mar 22, 2008 7:28 pm

They're supposed to be fixing the US release (which they also did with Astro Boy).

Hence why I'll just wait for the US release for now.

Frederik · Post by **Frederik** » Sat Mar 22, 2008 9:37 pm

http://www.actionbutton.net/?p=335#more-335

Review by the loved/hated Tim Rogers on ACTION BUTTON!. I have yet to read it, though, but I am looking forward to what this guy has to say about it (and judging by the good rating and how fast it came out it must be pretty positive).

I hope you guys had fun reading this website, because I’m probably not going to bother writing on it anymore!

The reason would be Treasure’s Bangai-O Spirits, a game so perfect and so deep that when it comes right down to the wire, I’d probably rather be sealed in a sensory deprivation tank playing it against my best friend for millenia than working, vacationing in the Bahamas, or even having pseudo-violent sex.

Yeah, I guess he kinda liked it a little.

He also describes what these guys in the tutorial are saying in case you wondered:

The tutorial in Bangai-O Spirits is pretty boring. However, unlike an actual school, the long-winded tutorial in Bangai-O Spirits teaches you how to be objectively awesome. Each tutorial stage opens with a dialogue between three characters — a commander with an eyepatch, a young girl with large breasts, and a too-cool youth in a hip military uniform. In addition to teaching you how to use weapons, the commander also manages to enrage the cool youth: as the tutorials get more complicated and wordy, toward the end, the kid literally says that he didn’t realize he signed up for “an actual robot anime” — he just thought the robot and the anime characters on the box were there to draw in anime fans. The professor then gets defensive, insinuating that the end of Evangelion was “the best part”. Not making this up! When you beat the tutorial, the commander says, “We’ve defeated the Tutorial Army!” And the kid says, “That was fast. If we sell this game back now, do you think we can get at least 3,500 yen for it?”"

captain ahar · Post by **captain ahar** » Sat Mar 22, 2008 10:31 pm

i will buy it, sounds most sweet.

i still need to track down bangai-o. i remember the one time i saw this game it was either this or record of lodoss war. i bought RoLW, because i figured it would be harder to find in the future (and i still had a working boot of Bangai-O

)

Frederik · Post by **Frederik** » Sun Mar 23, 2008 12:11 am

At first I found it a bit hard to get into it, ironcially because it has such an open structure (you can choose freely from the 160 stages and don´t seem to get anything for completing something, quite unusual even for classic 2D games), but I start to get sucked in by it. It really is pure "blow shit up fast". The additional weapons add a lot of depth to it.

And it is a quite unusual feeling to build your own stages and then try to blast through them as fast as possible, but this gives the game an unlimited amount of replay value. I first thought of the editor as a neat add-on, but if you look at it from any perspective, this might actually be the meat and potatoes of the game. Don´t like the labyrinth or puzzle stages (like me)? Just do your own rooms full of bullet-spewing enemies. It´s also fascinating how huge you can make the stages. I bet there will pop up a ton of interesting stages shortly!

(The sometimes extremely short stages and the very quick way to restart them reminds me of Trackmania Nations somehow, and the tiny sprites and the editor of the 1993 MS-DOS Jetpack.)

The only thing that depresses me about this game is that I wish more games had level editors. Just think if you could have one in Dodonpachi or something, complete with your own bullet pattern creator... *sigh*

captain ahar · Post by **captain ahar** » Sun Mar 23, 2008 1:54 am

how different is the N64 one from dreamcast?

don't mean to derail, but it seems semi appropriate.

UnscathedFlyingObject · Sun Mar 23, 2008 2:01 am

captain ahar wrote:how different is the N64 one from dreamcast?

don't mean to derail, but it seems semi appropriate.

Wikipedia:

In addition to major graphical and audio improvements, the gameplay was altered significantly.

* The explosion counter replaced the combo system, and the "shop" was done away with entirely. Life and Invincibility powerups automatically drop with high explosion counts.
* The special attack's strength is based only on the amount and proximity of incoming fire, no charging required. However, the player can only hold up to 5 special attacks at a time instead of the N64 version's 10.
* Riki and Mami's shots do the same damage. Mami's shots are lasers instead of missiles, and rebound off walls at fixed angles at all times.
* There are additional boss characters, two new enemies (flamethrower and giant egg), a solid life bar, and myriad small changes to the levels (though the layouts remain mostly the same).

captain ahar · Post by **captain ahar** » Sun Mar 23, 2008 2:14 am

thank you, i am ashamed i forgot about wikipedia.

post count +2, look out GaijnPunch