Bang Bang Busters

Visco Corp./2010/Neo Geo AES

Bang Bang Busters has a complicated history. Originally intended as a 1994 Neo Geo release, it got delayed until 2000, and then again until 2010. Although the reasons for the game’s elusiveness are not fully understood, it does carry an undeniably old-school, almost-dated vibe—it would have seemed quaint even by the standards of 1994. For a cutting-edge “24-bit” title, Buster’s simple graphics and single-screen gameplay would have seemed a tad inexplicable placed against the likes of Samurai Shodown and Art of Fighting.

Which is not to suggest that Buster isn’t good. Mechanically, it innovates where most single-screen platformers don’t bother, granting its space-faring heroes Lazy and Refia three “inflatable” skills or maneuvers. Put simply, the duo can sling projectiles to inflate their foes into poufy, helpless caricatures of themselves. These fatty baddies can then be grabbed and hurled into other minions; by tapping forward twice, players can “dash” an enemy through a string of foes, while holding the button down can twirl the villain lariat-style. With good timing, the baddie can then be swung and tossed anywhere across the screen, making it the game’s most challenging but satisfying move. Most interesting, however, is the flying ability—by holding an inflated meanie and jumping repeatedly, players can bob around the screen, reaching platforms otherwise a chore to reach.

Stage-wise, players will travel between seven lands divided into five rounds apiece, battling bad guys and precarious platforms alike within pyramids, oceans, haunted groves, and other hostile abodes. Many of these levels come equipped with pinball-like bumpers that further add to the shenanigans, repurposing tossed bad guys into ping-ponging projectiles that can either help or hinder progress. Boss fights occur on every-other stage, although these encounters don’t vary significantly from each other save for the final battle against Honey, the game’s maniacal (if puny) villain.

Indeed, the game’s sense of humor can’t be denied. Although poorly translated through a series of cutscenes, the game has fun sending its protagonists—two anime-style space bunnies—out on a hapless quest to apprehend what’s essentially a squat bunny. Other enemies, from garish Santa Claus imposters to Cleopatra impersonators, lend additional lunacy to the proceedings.

But the game also feels a smidge unfinished, with some sloppy animations, a messy script, and general proceedings that can’t quite escape a vague sense of jank. Considering its troubled history, these little bumps in the bunnies’ journey aren’t exactly surprising, but they are unfortunate, robbing the game of the influence and classic status it could have enjoyed.

Nevertheless, SSP fans should count themselves grateful the game ever saw release at all. Although flawed, its zany cast and clever mechanics still make it a success amongst the legions of less inspired platformers. Like other late entries into the genre, such as Zupapa! and Penguin Brothers, this is a game that deserved, and deserves, more attention--back during its troubled development, and from the retro-curio fan communities of today.--D