Bang Bang Busters - Review - by Billy Pitt
FACT FILE:
Game Name: Bang Bang Busters
Licensee: Visco
Year of Production: 1994
Genre: Action
Product Number: UNKNOWN (speculated NGH-071)
Meg Count: UNKNOWN
FORWARD:
On January 20th, 2004 I received a VHS video cassette containing about 3 minutes of recorded footage of the Bang Bang Busters proto. Below are my personal impressions of the game. Soon to follow, I will have the video placed online so that everyone else can see and enjoy it.
INTRODUCTION:
Sadly, the game has no intro. (although I do have a screenshot on my website of what looks like an intro which I obtained elsewhere) Not having an intro however is uncommon for Neo-Geo games, but yet not completely absent. Windjammers comes to mind. After the initial warning screen, the first image to appear is the title screen. The title screen is slightly different then previosuly shown but surprisingly not very much! It has some japanese sub text and also features two rabbits, the main characters of the game. Other then that, it is pretty much the same. It is possible that this video is of a different revision of the games code. Afterwards, the game goes into demo mode for a little while. Then a sample game is started which eventually ends.
STARTING OUT
When the game starts, a map screen is shown which displays your typical fun journey style action plot. In general, it is an action game which plays very much like Zupapa & Nightmare in the Dark. (static screens) Not like a side scrolling platformer such as Blues Journey. The A button allows you to shoot the enemies which "blows them up" like balloons. After doing so, you can grab them and throw them as projectile weapons at other enemies. Sometimes when enemies die, bonus items such as various fruits & carrots appear. The B button is used for jumping around from one platform to the other. You can even hold onto certain enemies when they are ballooned to assist you to float up towards the top. You can also control the speed of your falls depending on what power ups you have. Also an invincibility power up appears at times. After you eliminate the last bad guy, the stage ends and the next wave begins. Another option allows you to throw and set up bombs to kill the enemies as well.
GRAPHICS
The graphics are pretty simple. Nothing ground breaking or special here. Again, very much like Zupapa. They have a cutesy "candy world" look to them. The video is rather short and only shows 2 worlds, but stage 1 consists of an ice/snow area and stage 2 has egyptian style artwork and backgrounds.
SOUNDSThe background music is simple and basic. It has an upbeat feeling to it. The sound effects are also pretty standard stuff. Their is also some voice, but not very much. The boss for example taunts you by saying a few undecernable words each time he is hit and takes damage.
GAME DIFFICULTYThe games difficulty appears to be on the easy side. Given enough practice (or enough continues depending on your preferance) it looks like just about anyone could beat the game. Also since 2 player simultaneous play is available, (player one male and player 2 female) it would be that much easier to beat with teamwork.
FINAL THOUGHTSThis particular prototype looks like it may have been shelved for the same reasons that Zupapa (also a 1994 action game and very similar to this) was shelved. It's market was very limited and it may not have been perceived as a worthwhile prospect. For whatever reason, 7 years after being "cancled" Face's Zupapa was unearthed and released by SNK. Maybe at the time, they needed a release or saw an opportunity to move some product. Perhaps the same fate will fall on Visco's Bang Busters as well someday.
Alot has changed since my last proto review. (Last Odyssey Pinball)
When I wrote that article, I stated my doubts as to wether or not NGF actually had/has any protos, siting that the video (although 100% real) was not conclusive proof that they themselves actually possessed the proto shown on the video. Well low and behold that after further study, I came to realize that if anything, the evidence points more to them having just these videos and not the actual games. Why? Consider these basic points:
NGF has always had and still maintains the "bad boy" image. They love to show off. They provide dozens and dozens of pictures of SNK figurines, trinkits, & other assorted "junk" and tout it all as "special", "extreme", & "collectible". Yet if they really did have ANY protos, (CERTAINLY items that would more then fit this description) they would have shown screenshots, pics, and videos of them long ago. Instead, so far, all they have provided is the following:
-- pics of an MVS beta, proto, or tester unit boardset.
(even if it was a proto version of a game, it could have been of a released title)
-- pics of last odyssey displayed on a television set at the CGE2K2 show.
(several of my friends attended this show. they never saw them do this. so if it even was done it had to have been after the show was closed to the public..contrary to what NGF claimed)
(the 4 pics were all found to be "staged". all of them appear at pause points in the very video that they provided whereby determining that the neogeo console deck and cartridge placed strategically in front of the television for the show pics, were in fact dummies and a VCR was running behind the table and thats what was connected to the television)
Now one has to ask...if they really did/do have the actual proto and not just the video...
-- why bring the video to the show instead of the game?
-- why bring the same video if even arguing against the above?
If NGF really did have this or any other proto, they could simply post pics to prove it and eliminate the serious doubt that surrounds the story. But they have never done so, and most likely never will. And YES, they are "required" to do so in order to not be questioned. Afterall when it comes to "claiming" possesion of a proto, I set the "standard" for required proof myself quite a while back. And anyone who cannot or does not meet this minimum standard, fails to convince me or anyone else.
My standards:
pics of the cart, pics of the morning newspaper with the cart, pics of yourself with both!
a dozen screenshots or more including the mandatory title and game code screens, along with a video!
THAT is what I call PROOF!
Either way, regardless of where the video came from, it is indeed REAL and fact is, somebody out there may actually have this game in their collection. Hopefully, someday, the games data will be made available to the public so that everyone can enjoy this unique game.As a reminder anyone who owns this or any other neogeo proto cartridge, please feel free to contact me, Billy Pitt, at: chadokada@aol.com I offer large cash rewards and/or trade exchanges for my other proto games.
NOTE: Real proof isn't hooking up a VCR to a TV w/a Neo Geo next to it (but not plugged in). Furthermore, if you are to send a video, the first level must be played 4 different times, with random results each time. We may be naive, but we can tell when something is looped over and over again....with the same damn score every single time!!
"There can only be one..." Christopher Lambert - Highlander
"I am the only one...who got the real proto" Billy Pitt - Self Proclaimed Proto Ho
- by trieu
