Bangai-O Spirits Review

By Dave McCarthy Published 5 May, 2008

Buy. Play. Treasure.

Version tested: DS

So, Bangai-O Spirits. I think it's amazing. I sort of suspect that if you didn't play or love the first one, it'll probably leave you baffled for a long time. And then suddenly you'll have an epiphany, in which you utterly understand it and what it's trying to do.

Some of the time it's like WarioWare; some of the time it's like Gradius; some of the time it's like Brain Training. But you never know what to expect. You never know if a map is going to be over in two seconds, or if you'll be dodging bullets for five minutes. And there are so many nuances, like the counterintuitive process of putting yourself directly in the path of danger because your bombs increase their power in proportion to the number of incoming projectiles, or grasping the need to switch bullets to solve particular puzzles.

It's glorious; eclectic, furiously inventive, dizzying, baffling, confusing, witty, clever and beautiful. There are mazes, there are races, there are block puzzles, there are platform games, there are sports games, there are playful tributes to videogame classics from Pac-Man to Mr. Driller, there's pachinko, there are giant robots, there are giant giant robots, there are Lilliputian giant robots, and there are screens and screens of bullets.

There is perfection, there are flaws, there are moments that test your patience, there are moments that test your endurance, there are moments that test your timing, there are moments that test your intelligence. But, above all, there are moments that send you soaring skywards.

'Bangai-O Spirits' Screenshot 1

Even just the screenshots are full of joy. And bullets.

In essence, it is simply a 2D side-scrolling shoot-'em-up. The original Bangai-O (or Bakuretsu Muteki Bangaioh to give it its full name) appeared on the N64, and, in slightly modified format (and as Bangai-O), on the Dreamcast. It featured a brilliantly incomprehensible storyline in which you piloted a big robot (that was tiny on-screen) across 44 levels. It did three important things. The first was that you could choose from either bouncing bullets or homing missiles. The second was that you had bombs, and they increased in power in proportion to the number of enemy bullets that were about to hit you. And the third was that each of those 44 levels was essentially some sort of a puzzle that you had to solve using the first two things.

One map might be balls-out bullet hell to test your reflexes; the next might be an elaborate maze. One level might see you bouncing bullets round corners; the next might see you unleashing waves of homing missiles in large, open spaces. Several missions saw you racing against a fuse; others saw you taking on bosses who didn't actually fight back. Although it was cruelly overlooked by the majority of gamers and critics, it was a game that was brimming with wit and invention - not to mention screens full of explosions and, rather curiously, fruit that recharged your bombs. It was so brilliant, in fact, that it was even elected one of the top 50 games of all time in Hodder Headline's Game On!: From Pong to Oblivion - The Greatest Video Games of All Time. Widely recognised, at least by the authors, as the definitive selection of best ever games ever. [I suppose we did let Ellie get away with the Guinness stuff. Pass. - Ed]

Bangai-O Spirits picks up where the original left off. It does the above and throws in loads more. There's a wider range of weapons. Instead of a fixed choice between bouncing and homing bullets, Bangai-O Spirits lets you pick your payload at the start of every mission. You can use a baseball bat to wallop your enemies or their missiles, sending them rebounding to carve out a destructive arc; there's a sword; a shield; napalm; 'break' bullets that cut through enemy attacks; bombs that reflect bullets; bombs that freeze opponents; and, of course, the original two weapon types for good measure.

The next new feature is the greater number and wider variety of missions - made possible by all those new weapons (and enemies). The crazy (and generally amusing) narrative continues to send up videogame conventions, just like the first one did, but this time it's restricted to just 17 levels. Disappointingly, that that means the game contains far fewer boss-style encounters than the original. To compensate, the remaining 143 missions contain a variety even more boundless than the original.

There are even more complicated mazes, and races, as well as ball games, and videogames (Pac-Man, Mr. Driller and R-Type, for example). There are levels that spell out words, or levels that just make pretty patterns. One level is a variation on the buzz-bar fairground game, where you have to move a loop along a wire without touching the two; another is modelled on an ant farm; another is actually modelled on the DS itself. Between them, they will tax your brain cells as much as your reaction speed, and sometimes even your patience, and they will confuse, perplex, entertain and delight.

'Bangai-O Spirits' Screenshot 2

Joy, and bullets, and balls.

Beyond those 160 maps, there's also a multiplayer mode, which allows you to compete with friends, or to create and trade maps or replays - sharing them as audio files. Audio files! That you play to your DS! At once, it is an homage to both videogame history and Nintendo's cutting-edge handheld technology, as well as being so much more fantastically haptic than the act of downloading. If you'll allow me to get all poncy: it is yet another example of Treasure's unique understanding of the videogame medium, transforming an otherwise banal element into entertainment. And yet, it is also a means of extending the range contained within a DS card that is already bursting at the seams - extending it infinitely, in theory.

This infinite variety brings us on to the problem with just listing and describing Bangai-O Spirits: as with so many things, the journey is so much greater than the destination. So much of the pleasure of playing Bangai-O lies in discovering that enormous variety, and getting to grips with the twisted logic that underpins it all. As you work your way through the 160 levels, that perplexing logic gradually reveals itself until you succumb. It's when you start to pick up on the jokes, or the tributes, or the experiments, that you'll begin to realise why Bangai-O is so utterly amazing. That's when you'll start to forgive its imperfections and its flaws - because when Bangai-O fails, it fails gloriously, or bafflingly, or interestingly.

That's when you realise that although Bangai-O is just a shooting game, it's far from just a shooting game. Playing Bangai-O Spirits is a pleasure. If I could, I'd play it for every waking moment.

10 / 10

Bangai-O Spirits is out now in Japan.

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About Dave McCarthy

Read more articles from Dave by visiting the Dave McCarthy archive page.

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Comments (69) Latest comment 4 years ago

Comments threads automatically close after 30 days, but please feel free to continue chatting on the forum!

  • macmurphy #1 4 years ago

    Have the N64 version. I love treasure. Mischief makers update maybe?

  • Dizzy #2 4 years ago

    Great!

    Loved the DC version. Sold!

  • muscleblade #3 4 years ago

    Gonne buy this for sure when it arrives in Europe. Hope its soon.

  • Aretak #4 4 years ago

    I was playing the Dreamcast version a few days ago. Never really got on with it to be honest.

  • Physically_Insane #5 4 years ago

    10! wtf?

  • Bangaioh #6 4 years ago

    Well, what can I say? I'm a treasure fan from the good old days of the Megadrive, glad to see that the latest Bangai-O scores a 10! :) I have the N64 and the DC version (besides various other Treasure classics) and would love a translated version of this release.
    Edited by 1 at 05/05/08 @ 09:40

  • asphaltcowboy #7 4 years ago

    I don't understand!

  • Eraysor #8 4 years ago

    This game sounds fucking incredible. Thanks for enlightening me, EG!

  • FaceOmeter #9 4 years ago

    And here was I, worrying that the DS was "over"... WEWY and this in a fortnight! Fantastic!

    /buys
    /again

  • MightyPenguin #10 4 years ago

    BANGAI-O!

    Makes me want to find where I put the Dreamcast. Good year for the DS, innit?

  • m1tche11 #11 4 years ago

    I'll wait for the US version which isn't due to be released until August.

  • ardamillo #12 4 years ago

    Loved this on the DC, hope they bring it to XBL. Is it DS specific in any way?

  • ChrisS #13 4 years ago

    It's not the most import-friendly game ever, it has to be said. What I've played, I've loved - but I get the feeling I'd enjoy it more if I held off until the English-language version until August.

  • bunglebonce #14 4 years ago

    Oh, this could be my first DS purchase since my Animal Crossing import!

  • Raz76 #15 4 years ago

    You knew it had to happen.

    Here it comes ...


    As good as GTA IV then?
    Edited by 2 at 05/05/08 @ 10:39

  • PinkSpider #16 4 years ago

    I have this, tis very good. Best portable shooter, however would probably give it a 9/10 myself. Still great.

  • Mr_Bogus #17 4 years ago

    As much as i loved the DC version to bis, never quite understood the continue screen.

    "HEY, I CAN STILL..."
    and a picture of your character dancing naked with the klu klux klan and a massive anime style grin on his face. WTF?!

  • Der_tolle_Emil #18 4 years ago

    I am so sold.

  • hybridial #19 4 years ago

    "As good as GTA IV then? "

    Most 7/10 games are better than GTA IV.

  • Retroid #20 4 years ago

    Bullet bukkake! \o/

  • caligari #21 4 years ago

    Excellent - I love the Dreamcast version. Looks like I'll have to nab a friend's DS for a while to play this and Ouendan 2.

    Perhaps we're coming into the second wave of decent DS titles after a rather long dry patch'.

  • Rizzle #22 4 years ago

    To quote EG: "A score of ten reflects a game that, within the reviewer's estimation, is something you must buy ... the message is you can't get a better game of this type."

    And although I still don't entirely understand what type of game it is, I'm happy to take that recommendation.

  • samaran #23 4 years ago

    i completely agree with this review, easy 10 and clear GOTY so far. everyone get on it.

  • Skeletor #24 4 years ago

    So this is the best action game on the DS and there's NO DATE FOR EUROPE?! Yeah, must be on a Nintendo platform...really hope this doesn't end up unreleased in the EU like Contra 4 did.

  • ChrisTop #25 4 years ago

    Beware of Tens. MGS4 is a bet.

  • samaran #26 4 years ago

    also guys this is seriously about as import-friendly as any game that doesn't involve cooking can be - you just need to know what each of the weapons does so you can select the right ones for each level, then you're golden.

    i barely speak a word of japanese and i've had more fun with this than anything else this year. it's arguably the best thing treasure have ever done, and certainly the best action game on DS.

  • AnnAQ #27 4 years ago

    A 10? seriously? haha get real.

  • samaran #28 4 years ago

    have you played the game? get real.

  • Rev.StuartCampbell #29 4 years ago

    As the world's biggest Bangai-o fan, I'd broadly concur with the review but also definitely advise hanging on for the US version in a couple of months time. It's apparently going to have more levels, as well as obviously lacking the fairly high amount of fairly important Japanese text in this one.

  • rare_uk #30 4 years ago

    Yes!!! I got this on DC, definitely getting this at some point.

  • CitizenGeek #31 4 years ago

    10/10?! Whoa, I sure hope this game gets a Western release eventually! :D

  • Chalee #32 4 years ago

    Better than Bioshock! :)

  • superjag86 #33 4 years ago

    So this is the review with "the alarmingly large number at the end..."
    I thought it'd be a review to something like Haze, but instead it looks like its for something alot more interesting! Just a shame it'll probably be another year before we get to play it over here... :(

  • BooMMooB #34 4 years ago

    halleluja... f**k GTAIV, this is where gaming is at. JOY!

    /joke btw.

    /edit: well, the entire post wasn't a joke.. just the GTAIV part. ;)
    Edited by 1 at 05/05/08 @ 13:21

  • silke #35 4 years ago

    Mon dieu, I will have to get this. I always wanted to try the original.

  • lemonfist #36 4 years ago

    Man. I'm really struggling to get into the Japanese version. Maybe because I have no clue what the different options are for.

  • spekkeh #37 4 years ago

    Wat.


    so, better than halo then?

  • rogueJT #38 4 years ago


    Have the Jap version.
    Good.

  • tobsen #39 4 years ago

    Looks like the best worst-looking game ever.

  • Duddyroar #40 4 years ago

    Another good review here:

    http://ww w.pocketgamer.co.uk/r/DS/Bangai...

  • Lim-Dul #41 4 years ago

    I can assure everybody that sooner or later a temporary Japanese-to-English FAQ will appear on GameFAQs.com. I mean - if a game gets such favorable reviews... Eurogamer isn't the only service that gave it a high score although as always the local editors are even more positive towards really strange and cool titles which is why I love this site so much. :-D
    There were even FAQs for Apollo Justice and Professor Layton before their E/U release and these games make absolutely no sense if you don't know the language and get the solutions to all the puzzles in advance.

  • step #42 4 years ago

    As a seasoned Bangai-O player, this is utterly incomprehensible (and not in a good Bangai-O sort of way) and near unplayable without a translation guide of weapon types to hand at all times. Wait for the US release, unless you've got the patience of a saint.

  • riz23 #43 4 years ago

    A '10' for a game I cannot understand and will never "pick up on the jokes, or the tributes, or the experiments, that" [I'll] "begin to realise why Bangai-O is so utterly amazing"? That cannot be right. Perhaps the US version might merit a '10' on an english language gaming site, but this Japanese version cannot. Gomenensai to all the hardcore massive who might disagree.

  • GingerNathan #44 4 years ago

    "Any dependable reviewers looked at this one yet?
    "

    Edge gave it a 9.

  • PinkSpider #45 4 years ago

    Do you really need that much of an understanding for the weapons? It requires a small bit of fiddling but I've probably done half of the levels now without too much faffing.

    Some of them are too tricky though, like when you shoot a blob and have to get to the end of the course before the end of the chain reaction.

  • secombe #46 4 years ago

    I absolutely love Bangai-O on my DC, thrilled to see it has made the transition to the DS so brilliantly, can't wait for a English langauage version.

  • blueheat #47 4 years ago

    I'll probably pick this up soon, as Bangai-O on DC was great. It'll also be a nice way to test how far my Japanese reading ability has come along; two fun games in one.

  • menschenfracht #48 4 years ago

    riz23,
    at least learn Japanese before you try to show you know it.

  • samaran #49 4 years ago

    i feel like i'm shouting at the great wall of china.

    this game has BARELY ANY text necessary to play
    i speak BARELY ANY japanese and i'd say it's worth 10/10
    anyone who can't play this game because of some nonexistent language barrier has BARELY ANY brain cells

    there is more gameplay packed into the cart than any 2008 release thus far. you don't play bangai-o for the plot! by all means wait for the western release, but the comments about how this can't be 10/10 because the european audience won't get it are flat-out wrong. would i lie to you?

  • aine #50 4 years ago

    there's a translation of the tutorial floating around anyway. in fact i think i've seen it posted on this very site somewhere.

  • Rev.StuartCampbell #51 4 years ago

    this game has BARELY ANY text necessary to play

    This is absolute rubbish, I'm afraid. All the options (and there are lots of them) are in Japanese, and you need to use the weapon-select menu - which is VERY confusing - before every stage. You can muddle through quite a lot of levels, particularly the early ones, just by sticking to the same couple of weapons, but as you progress you'll find more levels where you really need more specific ones, and finding those on the menus is a major trial-and-error chore, which in many cases can take several times longer than actually playing the level.

    It's only a couple of months - wait for the US release, which will be far more enjoyable, and genuinely worth 10/10.

  • mingster #52 4 years ago

    I spent ages copying out a complete translation of the tutorial section for you here:

    http://ww w.eurogamer.net/forum_thread_po...

  • samaran #53 4 years ago

    stuart - once you've used each weapon a couple of times and can commit it to memory as "the one with four characters and a squiggle at the end" or whatever, the language barrier is not a problem. i don't quite understand how remembering how to select from a few words is all that taxing - inconvenient for the half hour or so til you get used to it, i guess.

    the 17 tutorial stages explain how everything works via their level design just as well as words could.

    though yeah, the level editor would be a bit much i guess, that's the strongest argument for waiting to pick up a western release. that's sensible behaviour for sure, but i'm only taking umbrage with the idiotic comments assaulting the reviewer for recommending a game they'll never bother to play.

  • dr_faulk #54 4 years ago

    Suck on it, GTAIV!

    I had the original on the Dreamcast. Has to be in my top 5 games. Utterly incredble.

  • riz23 #55 4 years ago

    @menschenfracht - Twat. The reason I made my comment in the first place is because I can't speak Japanese. Keep up dimwit.

  • Nikanoru #56 4 years ago

    A '10' for a game I cannot understand and will never "pick up on the jokes, or the tributes, or the experiments, that" [I'll] "begin to realise why Bangai-O is so utterly amazing"? That cannot be right. Perhaps the US version might merit a '10' on an english language gaming site, but this Japanese version cannot. Gomenensai to all the hardcore massive who might disagree.


    Ok, what is it with comments like this? How in the hell is a game any worse just because it hasn't been translated yet (which it will be)? What the fuck? Do you do this with every game that comes out in Japan first? Utterly nonsensical grasping at straws is what this is.

  • Lim-Dul #57 4 years ago

    Well - I "imported" the game and I have to say it's utterly brilliant. I was very, very skeptical and didn't know what to make of the comparisons Dave drew between this and Wario Ware etc. but now I understand. Some levels are insta win/fail. Some are large, some are small, some are very "puzzle-y", some have lots of action... It's basically a shooter-puzzler? A puzzle-shooter? Is there such a thing? Well - there is now. :-D
    You have to play it to appreciate it...
    The game is also very small - 7 MB after trimming. Indeed Treasure have lots of space if they want to add more features to the US version as they announced. I'll be picking up the US version for sure - without an "import". ;-)

  • riz23 #58 4 years ago

    @Nikanoru - It's not 'clutching at straws' it's about taking things in full context. Look at some of the comments from people here 'game is utterly brilliant, but incomprehensible without a translation guide'. It is the reviewer himself who alludes to the in-jokes and humour that someone who does not speak Japanese will not get. So the game is not any worse, but the users experience of it is less than it should be if you don't speak the language it is in. Take GTAIV for example. What if all the dialogue and radio station chat was in a language you didn't understand. Would the game still be as immersive and rich in narrative as it is? Or would it perhaps devolve to a decent driving game where you can shoot people? Would it still be a 10/10? I don't think it would. That's all I am saying here.

  • mazk #59 4 years ago

    Cant wait for this! . Nice plug there for Game On, which incidentally is an amazing list of videogames. Bangai-O was a game in the list I'd never played which now I get to! Joy!

    The book does suffer slightly by being about hardcore videogames generally (Bangai-O itself, Warcraft, Oblivion) yet aiming the prose at total non-gamers with not even entry-level knowledge of games. Good for the coffee table (read: toilet) to entice the unenlightened.

    My thanks for the review monsieur!

  • Nikanoru #60 4 years ago

    Riz, you're full of shit. It's gonna be translated, and that makes absolutely everything you and others with the same "opinion" said utterly retarded.

  • nanaki #61 4 years ago

    Ya'll are hilarious.
    @riz23- get. a. clue.
    First of all the 10 was just McCarthy's opinion, but I'm not sure you really read his review. For example he said about the DC version,
    "It did three important things. The first was that you could choose from either bouncing bullets or homing missiles. The second was that you had bombs, and they increased in power in proportion to the number of enemy bullets that were about to hit you. And the third was that each of those 44 levels was essentially some sort of a puzzle that you had to solve using the first two things."
    None of this has anything to do with jokes or a story, dipshit, and if you don't have the patience to figure out the controls, that's your problem, not a problem with the game. One more thing, about calling that dude a twat, look who's talking - douche
    Edited by 2 at 21/05/08 @ 02:30

  • triforce23 #62 4 years ago

    O SHIT CAN'T WAIT TO SHOOT THIS UP GIVE ME MY BANGAI O FIX NOW.

  • BooMMooB #63 4 years ago

    this one is sooooo bought already... again! (have the DC version)

  • Rev.StuartCampbell #64 4 years ago

    It's really almost nothing like the DC version.

  • Tonka #65 4 years ago

    Better than RE4 then?

  • Gearskin #66 4 years ago

    This is the hardest game EVER!

  • CaoSlayer #67 4 years ago

    Is not that hard. Your robot is the most overpowered piece of destruction ever and the game rewards you if you spam your EX weapons with more uses.

    The bat can be considered the most amazing weapon in any game ever.

  • hoster #68 4 years ago

    Well -1 for that huge USK label on the front, I mean really that is the biggest age rating label in the history of ever.

    I know the slowdown is meant to be ironic (or something) but this really really kills the DS, theres a level called Longai-o in which it literally locks up for about 5 seconds every time you launch a burst attack, its quite funny.

  • flapps #69 4 years ago

    @hoster
    That USK rating logo is the size of all age rating logos now in Germany.
    It's crazy big!!

    Absolutely loving this game by the way. Good tip if you're stuck on Training Level 17 - press B a few times on the main menu and you'll see a demo of the level and how to play it. As a Bangai-O novice this really helped me out for the mad levels to come...
    Edited by 1 at 01/09/08 @ 16:19