is a 2010 platform

video game A video game or computer game is an electronic game that involves interaction with a user interface or input device (such as a joystick, game controller, controller, computer keyboard, keyboard, or motion sensing device) to generate visual fe ...

developed by

Visco Corporation is a software company located in Japan. It was founded in 1982 by and later became corporate on August 8, 1983, while revealing itself as "Visco" in Japan. They originally developed video games for several platforms from the Arcade game, arca ...

and originally published by Neo Conception International for the

Neo Geo AES The , stylized as NEO•GEO, is a video game platform released in 1990 by Japanese game company SNK Corporation. It was initially released in two ROM cartridge-based formats: an arcade system board (Multi Video System; MVS) and a home video gam ...

(home). Taking place on the fictional planet of Palua in the

future The future is the time after the past and present. Its arrival is considered inevitable due to the existence of time and the laws of physics. Due to the apparent nature of reality and the unavoidability of the future, everything that currently ex ...

, where an evil being known as Honey plots to have his own

galaxy A galaxy is a Physical system, system of stars, stellar remnants, interstellar medium, interstellar gas, cosmic dust, dust, and dark matter bound together by gravity. The word is derived from the Ancient Greek, Greek ' (), literally 'milky', ...

, players assume the role of Lazy and Refia in order to prevent Honey and his followers from realizing their plan. Its

gameplay Gameplay is the specific way in which players interact with a game. The term applies to both video games and Tabletop game, tabletop games. Gameplay is the connection between the player and the game, the player's overcoming of challenges, and t ...

mainly consists of platforming mixed with

action Action may refer to: * Action (philosophy), something which is done by a person * Action principles the heart of fundamental physics * Action (narrative), a literary mode * Action fiction, a type of genre fiction * Action game, a genre of video gam ...

elements using a main two-button configuration. Headed by Visco founder Tetsuo Akiyama and '' Breakers'' producer Don Gabacho, ''Bang Bang Busters'' was created by most of the same team that previously worked on several projects at Visco. Though it was initially launched for the Neo Geo AES, the game was later released for both Neo Geo MVS (arcade) and

Neo Geo CD The is a home video game console produced by SNK Corporation, released on September 9, 1994. The system is the same platform as the cartridge-based Neo Geo released four years earlier, but converted to the cheaper CD media format which reta ...

2011 The year marked the start of a Arab Spring, series of protests and revolutions throughout the Arab world advocating for democracy, reform, and economic recovery, later leading to the depositions of world leaders in Tunisia, Egypt, and Yemen ...

and

2012 2012 was designated as: *International Year of Cooperatives *International Year of Sustainable Energy for All Events January *January 4 – The Cicada 3301 internet hunt begins. * January 12 – Peaceful protests begin in the R ...

respectively, as well for the

Dreamcast The is the final home video game console manufactured by Sega. It was released in Japan on November 27, 1998, in North America on September 9, 1999 and in Europe on October 14, 1999. It was the first sixth-generation video game console, prec ...

2018 Events January * January 1 – Bulgaria takes over the Presidency of the Council of the European Union, after the Estonian presidency. * January 4 – SPLM-IO rebels loyal to Chan Garang Lual start a raid against Juba, capital of ...

Gameplay

''Bang Bang Busters'' is a platform game similar to '' Snow Bros.'' and the Neo Geo's own ''

Nightmare in the Dark is a Platform game, platform arcade game developed by AM Factory, with the assistance of Paon DP, Paon, and released by Eleven/Gavaking on January 27, 2000. The game never received an official release for either the Neo Geo (system), Neo Geo AES ...

'' and ''

ZuPaPa! is a platform game developed by Face and published as an arcade video game by SNK on September 1, 2001. It stars the eponymous creature. Players are tasked with travelling through nine stages, throwing small creatures called Zooks, jumping on an ...

'', where the players assume control of Lazy (P1) and Refia (P2) across seven stages comprising multiple levels that take place on planet Palua, each with a

boss Boss may refer to: Occupations * Supervisor, often referred to as boss * Air boss, more formally, air officer, the person in charge of aircraft operations on an aircraft carrier * Crime boss, the head of a criminal organization * Fire boss, ...

at the end that must be fought before progressing any further, in order to stop an evil being known as Honey and his followers before the former has his own galaxy as the main objective.''Bang Bang Busters'' user's manual (Neo Geo AES, US)''Bang Bang Busters'' manual (Dreamcast, US) The players must throw energy projectiles at enemies to inflate them with air, which is reminiscent of ''

Dig Dug is a maze arcade video game released by Namco in 1982. It was distributed in North America by Atari, Inc. The player digs underground tunnels to attack enemies in each level, by either inflating them to bursting or crushing them underneath rock ...

''. From there, players can grab the inflated enemies to perform a variety of actions such as launching them against other enemies at any direction by holding the attack button, perform a dash throw by double-tapping the

joystick A joystick, sometimes called a flight stick, is an input device consisting of a stick that pivots on a base and reports its angle or direction to the device it is controlling. Also known as the control column, it is the principal control devic ...

left or right, as well as float above the ground by repeatedly tapping the jump button. Any enemy inflated with air cannot move until it shakes it off. Defeated enemies may spawn

power-up In video games, a power-up is an object that adds temporary benefits or extra abilities to the player character as a Game mechanics, game mechanic. This is in contrast to an Item (game), item, which may or may not have a permanent benefit that ca ...

s and items like a speed increaser, a bomb that obliterates any enemy caught in its

blast radius ''Blast Radius'' is a space combat simulator video game A video game or computer game is an electronic game that involves interaction with a user interface or input device (such as a joystick, game controller, controller, computer keybo ...

, among others. Players can sustain a number of enemy hits, at the expense of losing power as a penalty, but the game is over after taking one last hit unless the players decide to continue playing.

Development and release

''Bang Bang Busters'' was created by most of the same team that previously worked on several projects at

. Its development was helmed by Visco founder Tetsuo Akiyama and ''Breakers'' producer Don Gabacho, with Yasuhisa Itoi acting as

supervisor A supervisor, or lead, (also known as foreman, boss, overseer, facilitator, monitor, area coordinator, line-manager or sometimes gaffer) is the job title of a lower-level management position and role that is primarily based on authority over la ...

. Ebi Taisyo and Tel.Y served as

designer A designer is a person who plans the form or structure of something before it is made, by preparing drawings or plans. In practice, anyone who creates tangible or intangible objects, products, processes, laws, games, graphics, services, or exper ...

, with Taisyo also serving as

writer A writer is a person who uses written words in different writing styles, genres and techniques to communicate ideas, to inspire feelings and emotions, or to entertain. Writers may develop different forms of writing such as novels, short sto ...

Artist An artist is a person engaged in an activity related to creating art, practicing the arts, or demonstrating the work of art. The most common usage (in both everyday speech and academic discourse) refers to a practitioner in the visual arts o ...

s Hirofumi Mawatari, Makoto Nobetani and Kaoru Ishizawa designed the characters, while Kentaro Masakane and Kenichi Imamatsu were the

programmer A programmer, computer programmer or coder is an author of computer source code someone with skill in computer programming. The professional titles Software development, ''software developer'' and Software engineering, ''software engineer' ...

s. The music was composed by Kiyoshi Kusatsu, while other people also collaborated during development. It was initially slated to be co-published and distributed by

SNK is a Japanese video gaming and interactive entertainment company. It was founded in 1978 as by Eikichi Kawasaki and began by developing arcade games. SNK is known for its Neo Geo arcade system on which the company established many franchises ...

. ''Bang Bang Busters'' was initially showcased at

trade show A trade show, also known as trade fair, trade exhibition, or trade exposition, is an exhibition organized so that companies in a specific industry can showcase and demonstrate their latest products and services, meet with industry partners and ...

s and intended to be released in

1994 The year 1994 was designated as the " International Year of the Family" and the "International Year of Sport and the Olympic Ideal" by the United Nations. In the Line Islands and Phoenix Islands of Kiribati, 1994 had only 364 days, omitti ...

, and again in

2000 2000 was designated as the International Year for the Culture of Peace and the World Mathematics, Mathematical Year. Popular culture holds the year 2000 as the first year of the 21st century and the 3rd millennium, because of a tende ...

, but was never released for unknown reasons until 2010, when independent developer and publisher Neo Conception International released the AES version as part of an acquisition deal with Visco in regards to the rights of their

intellectual properties Intellectual property (IP) is a category of property that includes intangible creations of the human intellect. There are many types of intellectual property, and some countries recognize more than others. The best-known types are patents, co ...

. Although its production number during development remained unknown, it was later revealed to be officially assigned with the number 71. The title was then launched for

Neo Geo MVS The , stylized as NEO•GEO, is a video game platform released in 1990 by Japanese game company SNK Corporation. It was initially released in two ROM cartridge-based formats: an arcade system board (Multi Video System; MVS) and a home video ga ...

in 2011 and later for

by N.C.I. in 2012. Years later, an officially licensed port by Visco for the

was also released by JoshProd worldwide in 2018.

Notes

References

External links

'' Bang Bang Busters''
at

GameFAQs GameFAQs is a video gaming website that hosts guides and other resources, as well as an active Internet forum, message board forum. It was created in November 1995 by Jeff Veasey and has been owned by Fandom (website), Fandom, Inc. since October ...

''Bang Bang Busters''
at

Giant Bomb ''Giant Bomb'' is an American video game website and wiki that includes personality-driven gaming videos, commentary, news and reviews, created by former ''GameSpot'' editors Jeff Gerstmann and Ryan Davis. The website was voted by ''Time (maga ...

''Bang Bang Busters''
at

MobyGames MobyGames is a commercial website that catalogs information on video game A video game or computer game is an electronic game that involves interaction with a user interface or input device (such as a joystick, game controller, controlle ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bang Bang Busters 2010 video games Arcade video games Cooperative video games Dreamcast homebrew games Multiplayer and single-player video games Neo Geo games Neo Geo CD games Dreamcast games Platformers Video games developed in Japan Video games featuring female protagonists Video games set in 1994 Video games set in the future Video games set on fictional planets Visco Corporation games