Bangai-O

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Bangai-O

System(s): Sega Dreamcast

Publisher: Treasure/ESP(JP), Crave Entertainment(US), Virgin Interactive(EU)

Developer: Treasure, Conspiracy Entertainment

Peripherals supported: Dreamcast Jump Pack

Genre: Shoot-'em-Up

Number of players: 1

Release	Date	RRP	Code

ESRB

Sega

ELSPA

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Bangai-O, known as Bakuretsu Muteki Bangaioh (爆裂無敵バンガイオー) in Japan, is a shoot-'em-up video game developed by Treasure for Japanese Nintendo 64 consoles in September 1999. With assistance from Conspiracy Entertainment it was brought to the Sega Dreamcast three months later, where it eventually saw a worldwide release.

Gameplay

Bangai-O is a shoot-'em-up game in which the player, piloting a mechanoid, can fly in one of eight directions across the screen shooting a constant stream of projectiles at enemies and obstacles. Taking cues from the "bullet hell" sub-genre of shooters, Bangai-O is populated with sometimes hundreds of enemies which can fire at a rapid pace. The object of the game is to clear the level of enemies within a given time limit.

The Dreamcast version makes several tweaks over its Nintendo 64 counterpart, changing rules on super moves and adding more content (as well as refining pre-existing assets such as graphics and music).

History

Development

Bangai-O was originally intended to be a remake of the 1985 PC-8801 and Sharp X1 game, Hover Attack, but inevitably became its own independent game. The mechanics in Bangai-O are very similar to those found in Hover Attacks, however the pace of play is a great deal faster and enemies are more plentiful. It also, as expected, offers superior graphics and sound. Vehicles found in Hover Attack are missing in Bangai-O, presumably as their use had been depreciated.

Legacy

Despite critical acclaim, limited marketing kept the Dreamcast version of Bangai-O from becoming a huge success in the west. This is particularly noticable in PAL regions, where its late release of March 2001 has made led Bangai-O to retain its value over a decade after going on sale.

Nevertheless, Bangai-O was followed by the Nintendo DS game Bangai-O Spirits in 2008 and Bangai-O HD: Missile Fury for Xbox Live Arcade in 2011.