Treasure: New DS Game Countdown: Bangai-O Spirits

[Frederik]

Wow, she´s annoying! I like how they portrait that feature like some kind of teeny schoolyard fad. Let´s trade heart-shaped levels! (the girl with the MASH shirt is pretty cute, though ) Also, good job on not actually showing what this game is like at all But yeah, that sound-trade option is a pretty neat throwback to early internet days.

Looking forward to the western release. I kinda memorized what weapon is called what and the rest of the game can be figured out pretty easily, but with the extra levels and hopefully removed slowdown I think I´m getting this, too. I also like the new boxart.

[Koa Zo]

(...). Is that a Sam Keith avatar? If so, I love his artwork.

s/m

..just noticed this question about my avatar.
...and of all things, in a Bangai-O thread!!!



In other news, even though I knew the local stores wouldn't have it on their shelves today, I called around, and even rode my bike to ToysRUs looking for Bangai-O Spirits.

I haven't been this excited about a new game release since Ikaruga.

[Zeether]

Getting this. The level sharing should be awesome.

[Koa Zo]

The hottest arena-shoot-em-up-puzzler to come out this century has been available in North America for a week and this thread is 3 pages down in the forum...
what gives?!!

[evil_ash_xero]

(...). Is that a Sam Keith avatar? If so, I love his artwork.

s/m

..just noticed this question about my avatar.
...and of all things, in a Bangai-O thread!!!



In other news, even though I knew the local stores wouldn't have it on their shelves today, I called around, and even rode my bike to ToysRUs looking for Bangai-O Spirits.

I haven't been this excited about a new game release since Ikaruga.

How embarrassing. I just got the first one for Dreamcast, and noticed this guy. Well, you have to admit, he looks like he's out of The Maxx.

s/m

[evil_ash_xero]

Eurogamer which is certainly no gamespot or IGN

Don't kid yourself.

Those other two sites have their problems, but Eurogamer's motto should be "Eurogamer: We Fucking Suck".

s/m

[Koa Zo]

(...). Is that a Sam Keith avatar? If so, I love his artwork.

s/m

..just noticed this question about my avatar.
...and of all things, in a Bangai-O thread!!!

How embarrassing. I just got the first one for Dreamcast, and noticed this guy. Well, you have to admit, he looks like he's out of The Maxx.

s/m

Hadn't heard of Sam Keith before.
There is a strange semblance to some of the Bangai-O style.
This guy could have easily appeared as one of the SF Cosmo Gang:



So far, Bangai-O Spirits has been entirely kicking my ass.
After a few hours with the Treasure's Best stages, and a little time with the Puzzle stages, I think I'm beginning to come to terms with the weapons. I'm not at all comfortable with the fact, as it seems, that if you go into a stage with the wrong weapons, you'll be annihilated before even being able to register what's going on.

[Frederik]

So far, Bangai-O Spirits has been entirely kicking my ass.
After a few hours with the Treasure's Best stages, and a little time with the Puzzle stages, I think I'm beginning to come to terms with the weapons. I'm not at all comfortable with the fact, as it seems, that if you go into a stage with the wrong weapons, you'll be annihilated before even being able to register what's going on.

Bounce and Break combined is almost always a good choice, both for EX weapons and as your regular shot, especially in the narrower levels.

And you did play the tutorial, right? After that you are pretty much set. The many choices of weapons seems confusing at first, but there really is a purpose to every single one of them.
(I have the impression that a lot of people who tried this skipped the tutorial and then wonder why they get their asses handed to them, that´s why I´m asking.)

What I initially didn´t like was the lack of a proper "play-through" mode, having everything already avaiable for me and no directions on what to play next, but after some time of getting used to that I really love it - it certainly isn´t game you just play through once, it´s a very open-ended challenge type of game, which gives it a longevity even exceeding most racing or puzzle games. I already tried beating my own times in certain stages, but so far I´m more concentrating on completing as many of them as possible. And after a while, controlling Bangai-O becomes a breeze. Great stuff

And the level editor is pure gold, too, and the cut-and-paste option makes it very easy to handle. I made a test stage with a ton of these minigun-enemies and invincibility on to see how much missles you can possibly counter, and it seems to max out at 999, at which point the system stops for maybe ten seconds and the screen glitches as hell.

And while I am too busy playing through the stock stages right now to use the editor more seriously, it´s great for setting little training stages with certain enemies you want to get to know better - Longai-O for instance, or that blue robot that smacks your missles back. If you really know what they do when then the stages they appear in become a lot easier.

Also, some of these stages are working very creatively with the games enemies and objects, and making your own stage that has a good flow and layout to it is a lot harder than I imagined. There really is a lot more to it than you would think on the first sight.

This is clearly one of the most focused and over-the-top games Treasure made recently, and it´s so good to get the western release and that it receives such high scores.

[neist]

Hm. Was a bit easier than I was expecting it to be. Beat everything but the puzzle levels in a few days time (I rather dislike the pure puzzle levels, so I doubt I'll finish them).

FrederikJurk is right though, Bounce and Break pretty much gave me most of my needs. Sword/Bat and Shield combo wasn't too bad though on the levels where you can nearly entirely use EX attacks all the way through.

It is very good though. Probably my favorite version of the game. Man, the people reviewing the game though must be fairly horrible at anything remotely challenging if they think this is bad. Some of the levels gave me a bit of trouble, but that was mybe 3-4 levels out of the 150 or so I completed.

[kemical]

THIS GAME IS FUCKING AWESOME

[drboom]

Meh...Through 11 levels and I just keep putting it down. Maybe it just hasn't grabbed me yet. it only takes a try or two to see what's going on and then you can ususally get it.
Level 17 of the tutorial got me stoked for a super hard game and then the stages have been kind of a letdown.

[Frederik]

Meh...Through 11 levels and I just keep putting it down. Maybe it just hasn't grabbed me yet. it only takes a try or two to see what's going on and then you can ususally get it.
Level 17 of the tutorial got me stoked for a super hard game and then the stages have been kind of a letdown.

It certainly didn´t grab me by the neck and never let me go - it took me some time to appreciate it, too - I guess for the most part because it has such a different structure than most other action games.

If you search for hard stages, try "Best Of Treasure" - "The Earth" (the last one). Sometimes I got lucky and managed to wipe out most of them by first attacking them with, say, Napalm, and then knocking the Longai-O EX attacks back with Reflect. Sometimes it works and they die before I run out of bombs, sometimes they don´t and I drown in a sea of giant pixellated missles.

One very nice touch they even tell you about in the tutorial but that I almost completely forgot until recently is that you can also get bomb stock back by getting hurt, meaning that if you´re in a tug-of-war with a Longai-O you can intentionally get hit to get a full stock back. It´s a very nice kamikaze technique. There is a stage with lots of little rooms with large enemies and full live boxes in each one, which certainly is meant to encourage damage-charging.

So all in all, the game gets exponentially better the more you figure out how the mechanics work. Before that it´s just chaos. It would have been great, though, if the preset levels had some sort of grades or medals, so that you know if you beat a stage superfast. So far I´ve been playing pretty carefully, but trying to beat my own time might inspire a more daredevil playstyle. The game certainly doesn´t force anything onto you. It really works well within the "superplay" kind of mindset - playing it just for completion is certainly a lot less fulfilling.

And somehow, this game reminds me of Jetpack for MS DOS and similar games of that time, mostly because of the level editor and the "block sprite" look, only much more exaggerated.

[neist]

Meh...Through 11 levels and I just keep putting it down. Maybe it just hasn't grabbed me yet. it only takes a try or two to see what's going on and then you can ususally get it.
Level 17 of the tutorial got me stoked for a super hard game and then the stages have been kind of a letdown.

If you want to try some of the hardest levels, any of the incredibly combat oriented ones in large spaces can be a bit daunting. Not necessarily incredibly so, but far harder than a lot of the enclosed levels.

[Frederik]

If you want to try some of the hardest levels, any of the incredibly combat oriented ones in large spaces can be a bit daunting. Not necessarily incredibly so, but far harder than a lot of the enclosed levels.

Those are my favourite stages so far.

I particularly hate the Longai-Os with their EX attacks and these blue hedgehogs that keep ramming me when I´m off-guard. The solution to those big blue robots that keep slashing your missles back is pretty simple, though - they can´t attack when you´re behind them, and they rotate pretty slowly, so sneaking behind and pumping some missles into them works wonders.

My least favourites are the puzzle stages, but I don´t like puzzles in general and once you figured it out there´s no real reason to play it again. But it´s kinda neat that the game engine allows for puzzles like "make the bounce missles bounce in the right way" and stuff like that. It really showcases how flexible it is.

And then there are tons of little touches, like how the game always remembers which stage and weapons you selected last time you played. Very convenient!

[Frederik]

Just when I thought I could finally play this a little less, I started to figure out the scoring system, which is pretty cool:

Normal enemies give you regular spacefruit, but Target enemies (and maybe "boss" enemies, didn´t check yet) give you cash, which doubles your scores at that point (I wasn´t smart enough to figure out what X2 meant while playing, I thought that was indicating my EX power or something). So naturally, when you play for score, try to first kill all the minor enemies and then go for the big and target ones to double your points each time you get these cash-stacks.

So far I tried that on the "Bluesky Bangai-O" stage a lot, and it was loads of fun, and a nice diversion from "Kill all targets quickly". I made a little test stage with a lot of huts, and when I killed one at a time it always gave me an orange (1pt), but if I EXed them all some of them gave me lemons (2pts). I guess that has something to do with how many enemies you kill with one EX attack, again, haven´t had time to really check that out yet. But when killing small enemies in one large attack with big missles they suddenly gave me grapes and pineapples, which have a lot more points.

I also wonder how stages with spawners work, but my guess is that you can milk them as long as you want.

It´s a shame neither the tutorial nor the manual says anything about that, I ignored score so far, but maybe that´s the beauty of the game - the depth that isn´t apparent right away.

BTW, I never played the original game, did it have a similar system?

[MOSQUITO FIGHTER]

Is anybody else making levels for Bangai-o? You should upload them. I made one, its ok I think. It might be a little tough though, but not too bad.

http://rapidshare.com/files/141389578/EN004.MP3.html

[Arvandor]

BTW, I never played the original game, did it have a similar system?

The first game your EX gauge just refilled by killing stuff, and fruit was score only. The size of the fruit in the first game I think was related to how many explosions were happening on screen when an enemy died. More chaos = bigger point fruits. You had two weapons (homing and bounce), and couldn't "link" them. There was also no dash. But the controls were a lot better (pretend the face buttons are a second d-pad, and they're your firing direction. Like geometry wars with two d-pads instead of analog sticks.)

[silvergunner]

Did anybody mentioned the changes in the US Version?

-Rongai-O's name was changed to Longai-O. The typical Japanese to English L and R switch.
-Longai-O's Normal Homing shots were changed to Bounce shots, and his fire rate was increased slightly.
-The Ninja's vulnerability period after the Dashing Slash attack was severely reduced. Although the Ninja can move shortly after the Dashing Slash, it seems he cannot retaliate for a short while.
-New Stages were added.
-Stages are Categorized now.
-5 New Block Sets have been added.
-2 New Backgrounds have been added.
-The Music that plays in the Free Play Menu and Option Menus have been switched.
-The Top Screen has a picture of the Bangai-O Spirits cast whenever a map is not being displayed. Main Menu excluded.
-The Main Menu Logo is different.
-Target Enemies now have a Targeting Cursor over them to make them easier to distinguish between normal enemies.
-The action is slightly zoomed in. (According to online sources, I have yet to notice it...)
-Selecting an option in the Pause Menu must be done by pressing Start now. A does nothing.
-There is now a "flash" on Bangai-O's gun when he shoots Normal Shots.
-The Homing + Bounce MIX'd missile now displays the appearance of the Bounce Missile instead of the Homing Missile. A bizzare switch.
-The Homing + Break MIX'd missile now displays the appearance of the Break Missile instead of the Homing Missile. Another bizarre switch.
-After beating a Stage a short animation of Bangai-O flying toward the screen is shown. Similar to the original Bangai-O.
-The Freeze Wave now starts at 1.0 and caps at 3.0. In the Japanese Version it started at 2.0 and capped at 4.0.
-Bangai-O's rate of fire has been increased.
-The Hedgehog Mech has a slightly increased vulnerability period after spin-dashing.
-The Hedgehog Mech's spin-dash speed is slightly slower.
-The Hedgehog Mech's rate of fire has been dramatically increased.
-When standing next to a full or half turret, the missiles sticking out of it will retract.
-There is no music in the Stage Editor. Except for the Test Play Menu.
-The order in which the enemies are lined up in the list of enemies in the Edit Menu is slightly different.
-You are not prompted to name the Stage before entering the Stage Edit Menu.
-There is one new sound effect in the Sound Test, for a total of 117. (I haven't the patience nor attention span to find out which.)
-Explosions from bombs do less damage and no longer trap you inside it like in the Japanese Version, where touching a bomb was almost instant death. This counts for the Cannon Boss's giant missile too.
-The Pachinko Stage has been removed.

Other Minor Tidbits...

-All enemies and missiles have a color depicting what kind of Missile property it has.
-MIX'd missiles display the appearance of one missile and the color trail of the other.
-No enemy has a MIX'd weapon.
-Unlike the original Bangai-O, the Core can actually defend itself this time, reflecting all bullets that hit it's reflective casing until you get next to it. This is old news now, but worth mentioning.
-Beat all Treasure's Best Stages and you will be treated to a mini-ending. Where the three characters exchanged some more silly dialogue. This can be watched again by beating Tutorial Stage 17 and skipping the Credits.
-There's a new Zoomed In resolution in that there US Version...somewhere...

I quoted this from Gamefaqs.com by EskimoMario550

[Ceph]

I took the liberty of posting this at 2Dgaming.net, too.

[Frederik]

Is anybody else making levels for Bangai-o? You should upload them. I made one, its ok I think. It might be a little tough though, but not too bad.

http://rapidshare.com/files/141389578/EN004.MP3.html

Pretty tricky but funny I´m too busy with RL stuff to sink my teeth deeper into level editing, but I´ll post some stages here when I come up with something nice. Funny it took so long for somebody to post a stage.

[silvergunner]

Anybody can tell me how to beat Level 9(in US Version!)"Don´t give up!"?
Yes ;I dont give up but I´m not able to solve this Level.Within 0,05 seconds I died!!! (O_o)
On other hand I cleared over 70 Levels of this Game,now!

[Frederik]

Anybody can tell me how to beat Level 9(in US Version!)"Don´t give up!"?
Yes ;I dont give up but I´m not able to solve this Level.Within 0,05 seconds I died!!! (O_o)
On other hand I cleared over 70 Levels of this Game,now!

Sorry, I´m totally clueless on this one as well The bombs and mines just keep stopping me in whatever I´m trying to do. Freeze doesn´t seem to help either.

[silvergunner]

Yes,in this case freeze should help to take a safer position but it doesn`t work Will wait for a Video of this stage on Youtube or other sources.
O.k,there are many other Levels to beat...Thanks a lot!

[Frederik]

Yes,in this case freeze should help to take a safer position but it doesn`t work Will wait for a Video of this stage on Youtube or other sources.
O.k,there are many other Levels to beat...Thanks a lot!

Okay, I finally did it and here is how it works:

Select Freeze and any other EX attack, I used Direct (which I´ve been using a lot lately). When the stage starts, INSTANTLY use Freeze. (It´s a good idea to already push the Freeze trigger before the stage starts and instantly let go as soon as the action starts.) If you wait even a little bit (for charging for instance) the mines will trap you with their explosions and the minigun enemies will do the rest. After you used Freeze, use the small timeframe to charge another Freeze attack which will give you more time. This will stop the mines from closing and the minigun enemies from firing at you and triggering all the bombs in the process.

Then fly upwards between the mines and two red bombs towards the first core between the buildings. Don´t dash there, though, as this will increase the chance of making the mines and bombs explode, just fly regularly. From up there you can charge and release your first missle attack, aimed downwards. The rest should be pretty easy.

I should mention that I lost about half of my life anyways, as the place is packed very tightly with exploding things, but as soon as you get out of the "trap" you first start off you´ll have a much greater chance of surviving. I cleared the stage in 6 seconds.

(It´s level 11 btw, I have the US version too)

Hope this helps Very tricky stage. I´m personally suffering with the "war in space" level now. It´s interesting how many stages are incredibly easy and other crushingly hard, as well as extremely short or very elaborant, tight corridors or open space, inside of alien bases, metropolian cities or blue skies. I´m still playing it daily for maybe half an hour and still not tired of it

[silvergunner]

Thanks FrederikJurk

will try this strategy soon!

I´m still playing it daily for maybe half an hour and still not tired of it

Same here
It´s absolute addictive.currently my favourite DS Game!

[spadgy]

Now I have the PAL version in my hands I'm in love with it too! I just took it away on holiday and found myself playing every spare moment.

I've got to review it for a UK paper too, so I can spread the love and hopefully get some more people into it...

[MX7]

Got it on Monday and have been playing it solidly since. I haven't been this enamoured with a game in years. I love the way it's so ridiculously over the top, but with a little thought, most of the levels can be finished in a couple of seconds.

In fact it's so good, I've almost forgotten about Ketsui DS

[Necronom]

Same here. Love the game and playing the hell out of it every day. "Falling Rock" and the very last Treasure stage nearly drove me insane though
Anyway, there are some nice custom stages as a result of a Japanese contest here. They even give you the replay data, nice.

http://www.esp-web.co.jp/products/banga ... ents1.html

And yeah, check this out. Was only a matter of time I guess

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=APJYYaB6 ... re=related

[Frederik]

http://www.esp-web.co.jp/products/banga ... ents1.html

WOW! These look super-nice. And much better than the ones found on the actual Bangai-O page. I´m sure to give these a try. Shame sound load only seem to works when it feels like it, first time I tried it went flawless but occasionally it get very bitchy.

Did you solve Falling Rock btw? If not (or for everybody else): Destroy one block at a time with a non-bouncing shot, Break for instance; you can also shoot diagonally between two blocks to make your way to the bottom

I managed to beat War In Space yesterday; first time it didn´t count it since I used select for looking around the map. Those blue fastbots are the most annoying enemies in the whole game, they always crash into you off-guard, but Bat takes good care of them. And if you´re not careful you will run into the endless spawning huge airmines or release the three big bosses in the top left corner by accident... The hardest stage in the whole game yet.

And yeah, EASILY the best DS game I´ve played so far. Good to see so much love for this game. Level-editing is huge fun, too, and even within the limitations you can create levels with a very diverse feel to them. I think the difficulty levels you are able to create with this are literally endless.

When I was a kid I always dreamt of being able to design my own levels in games, and now there finally is a game that really has the perfect structure for it If I have some more spare time today I might upload my first level I´m really satisfied with

I don´t really like those "picture" stages though, as they usually play like crap, like those first three in "Other Stages". But anyways, here´s hoping that this game will create a long-living fan community. I sure will be a member.

[spadgy]

Right - I'm not one for continually pointing people to my work, but if you're in the UK I'd love some feedback on my review of Bangai-O Spiritis that hits newsagents this Sunday.

It's in The Observer (The national paper - not one of the locals with Observer in the title!) on the back of the TV guide. Now I only had 230 words, so not much space at all, and bare in mind its meant to be read by a non-gaming crowd as well as gamers, but do feel happy to give me some honest feedback and really slag it off if you need to.

I review for the paper almost every week, so have plenty of previous articles in there, but it will be really interesting to see what serious fans of a genre think of my handling of said genre.

There's also, if they don't edit it out, a very subtle reference to us lot!

And by the way - getting a shmup review in a national paper is damn damn hard, but it's the second I've managed, and I'll continue to do so!