Game Review – Bangai-O Spirits (DS)

Mechs (or mecha in Japan) are awesome, and that’s why they’re popular. But strangely, there’s a lack of buzz surrounding Bangai-O Spirits, a mech-themed action game for the Nintendo DS. Add that to the fact that this DS game was developed by Treasure (the creator of Astro Boy: Omega Factor and Gunstar Heroes), and you’ve got yourself a conundrum. But no matter; the game made it outside Japan, it’s fantastic, and that’s what’s important.

Bangai-O Spirits puts the player in the metal shoes of the titular robot. The mech may seem small when displayed onscreen, but the action and controls compensate for this. The game’s narrative is nonexistent, and so is its mission structure. This may not necessarily be a bad thing since players can choose to engage any level in any order they want.

Bangai-O, the robot, has two objectives: survive and destroy specific targets within each level. This isn’t as simple though, as each mission is packed with a variety of enemies that can snuff our hero out in a heartbeat. Players have to contend with mines of all sizes, robots that launch sheets of missiles, and turrets that never run out of ammunition.

Of course, the heroic mech is also bristling with firepower capable of wiping the enemies out. The combat is quite deep for a handheld game and there are so many things to take into account, like the type of EX and standard missile attacks to use in each level, and the mixes that work best for a particular type of situation. As a result, a lot of trial and error is required when playing Bangai-O Spirits and this could cause frustration in some players.

The Bangai-O mech controls like a dream. It usually responds quickly to commands, hovers in place while shooting, and puts on a burst of speed in any direction. When so many things are happening onscreen, slowdown usually occurs. Strangely, the slowdown is actually welcome in such occasions because everything happens so fast that the mech would get easily blown up.

While the action is fast, the game itself is quite substantial with 160 levels. Beyond that, there’s a level editor that allows players to create new maps or edit existing ones. And get this: all these edited or created levels can be shared with others as audio files. There’s also a multiplayer mode if one gets bored with everything that the game has to offer.

The lack of buzz surrounding Bangai-O Spirits is indeed a mystery. You have a game bursting at the seams with features, great gameplay, bite-sized missions for playing on-the-go, and seemingly infinite shelf life—but the online raves don’t seem to be enough, especially when compared to the coverage that games like The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass is getting. It looks like we’ve found the sleeper hit for the DS in 2008. If only more people knew about it.

Score: 9/10

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