Bangai-O

"I was expecting Radiant Silvergun, but I got Rampage World Tour."

The name Treasure is synonymous with excellent shoot-'em-ups. There was the legendary Gunstar Heroes for Genesis, and the godly Radiant Silvergun for Saturn (the greatest non-RPG ever made). Based on Treasure's past success, I had to get Bangai-O. I must say, I'm quite disappointed...

Graphics: D
Graphics normally don't matter to me unless they detract from the overall quality of the game, and they do in this instance. The sprites are VERY tiny and lacking in detail, which is bad for an intense shoot-'em-up— it's too easy to lose yourself on the screen among swarms of miniscule enemies and bullets. The backgrounds, in sharp contrast to Radiant Silvergun's, are bland and lifeless. Which is probably just as well, considering a lush animated background would only aggravate the problem of the tiny sprites.

Sound: C
Again, in sharp contrast to the magnificent soundtrack of Radiant Silvergun, which was designed by the same person who did the music for Tactics Ogre and Final Fantasy Tactics, Bangai-O's soundtrack consists of standard background music. Most of the tracks have a nice beat, and none offend the ears, but nothing in particular stands out.

Gameplay: C+
Your little robot Bangai-O moves quite fluidly, and you get the choice of two different control schemes, although one (ABXY) is vastly superior to the other (XA). You also have your choice between two pilots: Riki and Mami. Riki uses homing missiles (better in open spaces), while Mami's weapon of choice is a reflecting laser (better in tight spaces). Fortunately, you can switch between pilots at any time by pressing the L button. When you find yourself surrounded, you can press the R button to let loose a barrage of ammo in all directions. While your main objective is to reach the end of the level and defeat the boss, you get tons of bonus points for obliterating everything in your path. The levels, however, lack variety, and quickly become monotonous. The game really does play more like Rampage World Tour than a respectable Treasure shooter.

Lasting Appeal: D
You'll get sick of it really fast, only coming back whenever you need to relieve stress by blowing lots of stuff up. I must also point out that Bangai-O is cursed by only being a 1-player game. While no serious Radiant Silvergun players ever used the 2-player mode (I had a friend who used up 27 lives on the first part of the first level alone), it DID add lasting appeal to the game. Besides, annihilating massive swarms of enemies is more fun with a friend.

Bangai-O is definitely worth a rental, and maybe even a buy if you're truly a diehard fan of 2-D shooters... but only when the price drops. Just don't expect it to be the next Radiant Silvergun— it's far from it.

Reviewer's Score: 5/10, Originally Posted: 04/09/01, Updated 04/09/01