Visuals:: Bangai-o is 2-D. I love 2-D. Others hate 2-D. Screw them. The first thing you will notice is how small everything is onscreen. This is to accommodate all the action that takes place throughout the game. It does get pretty damn insane as you could imagine. (500 explosions at the same time, anyone?) Thankfully, slowdown occurs only once in a while. When it does occur, it doesn't affect gameplay, thankfully. In fact, it produces a pretty cool dramatic effect. Bangai-o is a pretty nice game to look at, especially when you unleash the Scatter Bomb. Overall, the graphics are pretty smooth.
Gameplay/Control:: Bangai-O tells the gripping tale of a brother/sister duo who pilot the almighty Bangai-O against the evil SF Kosmo Gang in an attempt to stop their evil ways. Yea, right. It's hardly "gripping" or even a "tale," for that matter. That doesn't mean you shouldn't read the conversations and watch the intro, though. They are quite humorous, I must say. In a shooter like this (or any shooter, I should say), story is not the top priority. But once again, gameplay is. You pilot Bangai-o through 44 (yes, that is a lot) 360„a (it's not a vertically or horizontally scrolling shooter) sugar-sweet levels of pure madness. Riki and Mami, the brother and sister duo pilot the Bangai-o and have their own firing modes. With the simple tap of the left trigger, you can switch from homing missiles (Riki's mode) to ricocheting lasers (Mami's mode). You will discover that each firing mode is suitable for unique situations. For example, the lasers are best suited for tight areas.
Each time you blow up a building, enemy, or something blocking your path, a small fruit is left behind. Yes, fruit. (More on that later.) That is what the SF Kosmo Gang is smuggling as part of their evil ways, after all. (Just read the story, trust me.)
In the lower left corner of the screen, you will notice a Street Fighter-like power meter which rises each time you hit or blow something up. As long as you have at least one level filled, you can unleash the holy Scatter Bomb. You'll definitely need to use this SOB, too. The screen gets filled up with pink pixels of death real quick in later levels. The closer you are to getting hit by an enemy, the better. This is when you should release the Scatter Bomb for maximum simultaneous explosions. The more the explosions, the better. Don't be surprised if you get over 400 or even 900 or particular levels. And when you do, you're in for a treat--it's a sight to see. Also, the more simultaneous explosions, the better the fruit to collect. Oranges, apples, bananas, pineapples, and watermelons: these are the fruits you will come across on your epic journey. Pineapples and watermelons are the more difficult to acquire and are worth a lot more points. They require quite a few explosions to obtain. Treasure, I love you¡K
Control is an important element of every shooter. Bangai-o does not fail in this category. (Make sure you use the ABXY control mode.) You use the d-pad the control the robot and the four face buttons to fire in eight directions. For example, hitting A will produce a downward shot but pressing both A and B together will produce a shot to the down and right (southeast, if you will). Left trigger switches firing modes and right trigger unleashes the Scatter Bomb. The control is very intuitive and responsive, it couldn't be better.
Audio:: Although the sound is not as impressive as the graphics, it's pretty good overall. The voices are quirky and the music is light-hearted and catchy. The explosions are crisp and sound quite nice. What else do you want me to say¡K the sound is good.
Overall:: Bangai-o is must-buy for any Treasure fan, shooter fan, or 2-D gameplay fan. It's just great fun. Buy it!! Collect fruit!! TREASURE!!
What an insane game¡K Treasure is god. I didn't mention the terrible grammar and typos throughout the game. Ah well, it hardly matters. I just thought I'd throw that it for grins, I guess. But buy this game, will ya? It's pure gameplay. Treasure forever!
Score:: 9.0/10
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