Bangai-O Spirits

Developer Treasure is world-renowned for its skill in creating intensely challenging shooters and action games, the most famous of which is Ikaruga. But sandwiched between the more popular console generations, Treasure released another deviously difficult shooter on the N64 and Dreamcast called Bangai-O, which is reemerging on the Nintendo DS as Bangai-O Spirits. But the name isn't the only thing about Bangai-O Spirits that has been tweaked, because Treasure is quick to point out that the game is not a direct port. Even though it features many of the levels from the Dreamcast and N64 versions, there are a few new levels and a pretty impressive level editor combined with a "universal sharing system" that could change the way user-generated content is transferred on the DS.

Activate the Death Blossom

The gameplay of Bangai-O Spirits should be immediately familiar to any gamer, because it draws from that ancient well of shoot 'em-ups that began with classics such as Capcom's 1942 and Namco's Xevious. Bangai-O Spirits takes this concept a little further by giving you more control over which direction you shoot, and like Robotron it lets you shoot while moving in another direction. For example, you can be backing away from enemies while still sending tons of withering fire in their direction.

You also get a fairly wide variety of weapons to choose from, and you can carry more than one at once as you get slots for both melee and missile weapons. The sword and the bat make up your melee arsenal and both weapons accomplish discreet tasks; the sword destroys incoming missiles, while the bat will send those missiles careening back towards whoever originally launched them. Meanwhile, you have much more variety in the ranged department and can choose from Napalm, Freeze and Bounce cannons among others, as well as select from a variety of missile attacks.

Holding down the right shoulder button will begin loading missiles that, upon releasing the button, erupt from your mech in a gigantic volley of explosive chaos. Holding a particular direction when releasing the button will guide your wall of ordnance in that direction, but remaining immobile will scatter your decimating salvo in every direction, similar to the Death Blossom from "The Last Starfighter."


Sound and Fury

Bangai-O Spirits introduces a level editor that enables you to build your own challenges or modify existing levels using any objects found in the game. A small palette featuring a variety of drawing tools lets you choose exactly what you want to "paint" with and the DS' stylus works amazingly for designing intricate and varied environments. Of course, the most innovative thing about this level editor is the method of disseminating your creations among your friends (or even complete strangers): Soundloading.

Soundloading is a system that converts your level designs, replay videos and high scores into short melodies that sound something like an old modem attempting to connect to the Internet. These noises aren't just designed to annoy siblings, but rather make it so that you can share your creations and accomplishments more easily without requiring the DS' Wi-Fi connection. These sounds can be shared through a variety of means and it is not difficult to imagine fan sites springing up featuring huge libraries of custom levels all available as small mp3 files.

Due out sometime this summer, Bangai-O Spirits combines classic shooter mechanics with some innovative customization and sharing features. If you long for the good ol' days of Truxton and Forgotten Worlds, then you'll want to keep close tabs on Bangai-O Spirits.