Bangai-O Spirits Review

[Zera]

Intro: Greetings, folks. This is my review of Bangai-O Spirits, a fantastic 2008 DS game from Treasure that most people have never heard of. Few things are more disappointing than discovering an amazing game - and discovering that less than 10,000 other people discovered it. On behalf of the dedicated Bangai-O fanbase (which is probably less than 200 people), this is my full review of Bangai-O Spirits. It is my hope that this review will explain precisely why Bangai-O Spirits is one of the greatest games ever made.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fwXBdb2eXdE

Bangai-O Spirits is a shooting action game with some strategy and puzzle elements, and its gameplay is primarily based around missiles. Missiles are unique from bullets in that they can cancel each other out, so the best offense and defense are usually the same thing. Bangai-O Spirits has no real story, with only a few characters providing comic relief in the tutorial.

Missiles: On the surface, Bangai-O Spirits plays like an 8-way twin-stick shooter with a surprisingly intuitive control scheme. Before each stage, you select two normal and two EX weapons. Most weapons are based around missiles, of which there are four types. Homing and Bounce are self-explanatory, Break missiles have double durability, and Napalm missiles have half durability and double damage.

Ex Weapons: EX weapons are charged and released with the shoulder buttons. While charging, Bangai-O hovers in place and prepares up to 100 missiles - a bonafide barrage. However, you can increase this amount even further by absorbing nearby enemy missiles when firing. Closer missiles count for more, so you'll want to get as close to danger as possible, providing a nice sense of risk vs reward.

Dashing: Bangai-O has a dash attack that can be used at any time. In addition to making Bangai-O move faster and resist flinching, it's a continuous attack that can knock back most enemies. Enemies who are knocked back can't fire, absorb hostile missiles, and act as powerful projectiles that can damage other enemies - and knock them back as well. Proper use of dashing and knock-back can drastically turn a battle in your favor.

Enemies, fruit, and combos: Bangai-O Spirits features a variety of enemies. Most fire missiles, some erase or reflect missiles, and a few even have EX attacks of their own. Destroying enemies yields fruit, with larger fruit filling your EX gauge more (it can hold up to three EX attacks). The "Bomb" counter shows the number of explosions in the stage, and the higher it is, the better fruit enemies drop. Using knockback and EX attacks to create explosive combos will give you far more EX attacks than picking off enemies from a distance. Enemy explosions also wipe out hostile missiles, which sounds minor but it can make a big difference.

Other weapons: For players who want something different, there are a few other normal and EX weapons. The Sword lets you cut through any number of missiles, but it only protects you from one side. The Bat is a mid-range weapon that knocks back missiles and enemies. The Shield automatically orbits around Bangai-O to erase nearby missiles. Direct is an EX attack that sends discrete clumps of missiles toward enemies, but the Homing EX attack renders it nearly useless. Freeze temporarily stops everything onscreen, while charging and absorbing missiles increases its duration. Reflect knocks back everything onscreen, and it can be aimed in a specific direction for increased feelings of omnipotence.

Weapon combinations: Now, here's where things get really cool - if both normal or EX weapons are missile types, they will MIX to create a new kind of missile. Want missiles that bounce off walls and home on enemies? How about missiles that deal double damage with no drawbacks? By using different combinations of normal and EX weapons, you can discover which work best on each stage. Or you can find a favorite set for your own playstyle. I like to use Shield/Napalm and Bounce/Napalm for my normal and EX weapons. The Shield makes dash attacks and point-blank Napalm attacks safer, and Bounce-Napalm missiles are versatile and powerful.

Stages: Of course, these weapons and strategies would mean nothing if the stages themselves weren't varied. But Bangai-O Spirits is perhaps the most varied DS game in existence. Some stages exist on a single screen and can be beaten in less than 10 seconds. Others are multiple screens tall and wide, and take several minutes to complete. Some focus on a single enemy or idea, while others throw everything and the kitchen sink at you. Some are claustrophobic mazes, while others are wide open space battles. Some are timed races, while others are head-scratching box puzzles. Some are easy, while others are devilishly difficult. Some are throwbacks to classic video games like Super Mario Bros., Pac Man, R-type, and more. One stage has you fighting ninjas with a soccer ball inside a giant Nintendo DS. You never know what to expect.

Freedom: Bangai-O Spirits forgoes conventional progression systems as ALL stages are available from the very start. Want to skip straight to the final stage and have your ass handed to you? Knock yourself out. This, combined with the level editor (more on that later), gives Bangai-O Spirits a feeling of freedom that few other games provide. You're don't play Bangai-O Spirits to unlock things behind arbitrary walls, you play it just to have fun..

Challenge: Bangai-O Spirits also lacks a "difficulty curve" because if it had one, it would look like a freaking roller coaster. However, this only adds to the game's chaotic aesthetic - not only are the stages unpredictable, their difficulty is too. Mixing up the difficulty also lowers the chance that a player will encounter two very hard stages in a row, which could be frustrating. And of course, any complaints are invalid since any stage can be skipped.

Hardware limitations: Bangai-O Spirits deals with the hardware limitations of the DS in some very clever ways. In the original Bangai-O, you could fire up to 400 missiles at once and it would slow down the Dreamcast. If you fire over 100 missiles in Bangai-O Spirits, the number is divided while the size is multiplied up to 4x. This allows Spirits to play like it's predecessor while staying within DS hardware limitations. Even so, large amounts of missiles can cause slowdown, but this is actually a benefit since it gives to more time to think. This is a rare case of hardware limitations actually improving the design of a game.

Level editor and sharing: Although Bangai-O Spirits has over 150 stages, it also features a level editor, which is rare for a non-PC game. It is controlled entirely with the touch screen, and dragging terrain and enemies where you want is incredibly easy. You can set the size, background, and music for each stage, and you can even copy and edit the in-game stages. Other than the 24 slots for custom stages, the only limit is your imagination. You can share stages locally or over the internet through Sound Load, which transfers stages through static sounds. Sound load bypasses the need for Friend Codes and WiFi, which is especially convenient since DS WiFi no longer exists.

Presentation: The graphics in Bangai-O Spirits are colorful and feature some impressive enemy sprites and animations. And lots of explosions. Sound effects are great, especially the explosions. The music isn't amazing, but it can be catchy when it isn't drowned out by explosions. Micheal Bay would be proud. There's also a sound test, yet another feature few games have. Finally, the game plays maniacal laughter when you clear a stage with a best score or time, but also when you die, which is quite often. It's as if Treasure itself is laughing at your woeful incompetence.

Flaws?: Is there anything to dislike in this game? Well, the learning curve is pretty steep despite the lengthy tutorial. The fact that I myself died over a dozen times on the last stage of the tutorial should be a good indication that this game is not for everyone. Until you get into a mindset of "SPAM EX ATTACKS", a lot of stages will seem much harder than they actually are. With so many stages, there are inevitably going to be a few that you don't like - but it's not the game's fault that your tastes aren't broad enough to appreciate everything it has to offer.

Multiplayer: Bangai-O Spirits also has multi-cartridge multi-player. However, since literally 99.999% of people don't own this game, you can pretend it doesn't exist since you'll never actually play it. I'm sure it's great though.

Conclusion: Bangai-O Spirits is one of the most anarchic shooters in existence. It's a great example of what happens when a developer breaks all the rules to provide a truly unique kind of game on a system that can barely run it. Even hardcore gamers won't be wont for challenge, and with tons of varied stages and a level editor, it has nearly infinite replay value. It is one of the best games I've played, portable or otherwise.

10/10 Glorious!

Summary
+Good presentation
+The only portable Bangai-O game.
++Different weapon types provide strategy and customization.
++Knocking back enemies enables mass destruction.
++Explosions themselves are an important mechanic.
+++EX attacks transform the genre and create unique gameplay.
+++Tons of stages, excellent variety, and plentiful challenge.
++++Flawless level editor and sharing without Friend Codes or WiFi.
-Challenge may put off less skilled players.

Praise from other reviewers (Because mine isn't enough)

"...the start of the stage is basically a countdown to the trigger being pulled. You have literally half of one second to figure out how to win. All of the praises heaped on Wario Ware instead belong to this game." - Tim Rogers, Action Button
"...I want you to stop playing all the popular games on the DS... there’s another game out there that deserves an equal (if not greater) amount of attention, but you’ll likely never notice it... But should you ever come across Bangai-O Spirits... be sure to pick it up. It might look like a generic mech action game, but it is anything but." - Justin Boot, Thunderbolt
" I can't remember a time when I've ever scored a game this high and yet warned the general public to stay away, but I suppose there's a first time for everything..." - Brad Hilderbrand, Worthplaying
"Bangai-O Spirits is one of the few games that tries to be a jack of all trades, and actually ends up becoming a master of all." - Kurt Kalata, Hardcore Gaming 101
"It's glorious; eclectic, furiously inventive, dizzying, baffling, confusing, witty, clever and beautiful." - Dave McCarthy, Eurogamer
"There's a more gleeful, wanton insanity at the heart of the Bangai-O, which seems worlds apart from Ikaruga's crystalline obsession and purity. Instead of unfolding like a magnificent clockwork, Bangai-O is more a seething pit of systems and their agents colliding to see which fireworks explode first." - Tony Coles, Eurogamer
"But is it a game? If you ask me, it's more like pure chaos on a cartridge." - Brad Gallaway, GameCritics
"Bangai-O Spirits is an action game masterpiece showing us that graphics and processing power aren't what makes games great. It's all about quality design from the very core to each and every one of its features." - Richard Terrell, Critical-Gaming Network

Edited July 29, 2017 by Zera

[Melissa]

Looks fun,might play it someday