Bangai-O HD (360) Review

Posted by Trace Aber on 05.21.2011

Treasure returns with its latest bullet-hell shooter, but is it worth the asking price? 411's Trace Aber has the answer in his full review!


Game: Bangai-O HD: Missile Fury
Genre: Shooter
Players: 1-2
Developer: Treasure
Publisher: D3Publisher of America, Inc.
Rated E for Everyone

Developer Treasure is known for a couple of things, two of which are great shooters and shooters that are extremely challenging. With the original Bangai-O appearing on the N64 and Dreamcast in 1999, it would take another nine years before Bangai-O Spirits would be released on the DS. Unfortunately, the handheld couldn’t keep a proper framerate due to all the madness (and missiles) on the screen, and suffered because of it. Fast forward to 2011 and the Bangai-O series returns in HD and on a console where it’s full potential can be realized.

For those not familiar with the series, you control a small mech with a variety of weapons, though you’ll mostly be working with lasers and missiles. Like most shooters, your goal is to kill as many enemies as possible, but simply picking them off while staying clear of trouble isn’t an option here. Enemies constantly respawn and attack from all sides and you’ll frequently be trapped with nowhere to go. That’s where the games special attacks come in handy, with my favorite being a charged moved in which you can send out seemingly hundreds of missiles at once killing all in its path. There’s also a short charge attack that leaves you invincible and wipes out any enemies who happen to be in your way, helping you get out of a sticky situation. Also, the enemies drop fruit that charges your special meter. Yeah.



If it sounds like a difficult game, it’s because it is. Your first thirty to sixty minutes of the game may prove to be extremely frustrating, as the in-game tutorials do little in the way of preparing you for the endless onslaught you’ll have to endure. Dying over and over again is the best way to learn, and the game is aware of its difficultly and allows you to skip to the next level after you die three times. Purists will want to keep playing despite the challenge, but casual fans wanting to see a bunch of explosions will probably enjoy the option.

The game does offer a bit more than simply “blow everything up.” A lot of levels contain one or two cavets, which range from your special bar filling up faster to not being able to attack at all. These can be some of the most fun and frustrating experiences throughout the game’s 100+ levels, though this constant change of pace means there’s a lot of trial and error.

Multiplayer is a lot more fun than I would have imagined, and helps make the game a bit more accessible. Some levels require you to hit switches or race against time, and having a friend with you against the endless barrage of missiles helps. Plus, trading off special moves to create combos is really satisfying, especially when you can beat a level using only a few well-timed charges. Unfortunately, there is no local multiplayer, meaning if you want to play with a friend you’ll both need a copy of the game.

The more creative players out there will want to check out the game’s level editor mode, but should be warned that levels can only be shared amongst friends. I don’t see many casual players interested in this, especially once they get a look at the horrible user interface, and the 360 controller doesn’t help things either. Still, I imagine there will still be some awesome levels that pop up on YouTube, but whether or not you’ll be able to ever play those is another story. Disappointing for a feature with so many possibilities, but Little Big Planet 2 this isn’t.



Pros
-Extremely challenge
-Missile hell has been given a whole new name
-Variety of levels to choose from


Cons
-Extremely challenging
-Multiplayer is online only
-Level editor disappointing


The 411
If you’re a Treasure fan then you most likely already picked this up. If you’re new to the genre this is a great place to start and will provide you with one hell of a challenge and plenty of levels to get frustrated over. The game never slows down and there’s always something new ahead of you, and if you can get past the clunky controls the level editor is fun to mess around with if you have friends willing to share levels with you. This isn’t a game for everybody, obviously, but if you want to hop on the bandwagon Bangai-O HD is the stop to get on.

Graphics	8.0	Considering how much is going on during gameplay, it's shocking there's no framerate drops
Gameplay	7.0	Extremely challenging and yet addicting
Sound	7.0	You'll hear mostly explosions, but damn if they don't sound nice
Lasting Appeal	8.0	Assuming you don't throw the controller down in frustration, the game's 100+ levels should keep your entertained
Fun Factor	8.5	If you're a fan of bullet hell games, this is the perfect release for the asking price
Overall	8.0   [ Very Good ]