We talked about the Bangai-O history before. New today is that last month’s in America announced DS sequel Bangai-O Spirits is being talked about in detail by developer Treasure’s founder and President, Masatao Maegawa.
First let’s take a look at the game in this Japanese trailer:
The over-the-top action-filled 2D multidirectional shooter game promises DS-specific design and a crazy way to transfer levels from DS to DS… via sound! Read all about it in some choice quotes from the IGN interview.
Why has Treasure decided to resurrect this particular series now, and what made the DS the ideal platform for a new Bangai-O game?
Masatao Maegawa: We were thinking about what game we wanted to make and to put it most simply, Bangai-O just popped in our head. Even before D3PJ/ESP approached us about working together on a project, we had already begun creating the game. The main reason we chose the DS for the platform was because of the concept of using the stylus to achieve the stage edit feature, but also the DS seems to naturally fit well for 2D action.
Literally hundreds of enemies could be chasing the player at one time in the original games. Has the DS allowed for this same degree of enemy swarming, or has the DS limited the game in this regard?
Masatao Maegawa: Rather the opposite, there are more enemies, especially when utilizing 4 player co-op, and the amount displayed on screen is tremendous. The user is able to place their own enemies as well, using the level editor, so it goes beyond the capability of anything you’ve seen on the DS before. In this version of Bangai-O, when the number of missiles fired goes over 100 shots, it doubles the size of your missile and become quite a display on screen.
Can you describe the new features in this game? We know there’s a level editor and some sort of melee weapon this time.
Masatao Maegawa: The types of enemies and weapons are exuberant, there are 160 stages aplenty ready for play. Also, if you create an original stage in edit mode, you will be able to discover another fun way to experience Bangai-O, which I will discuss later.
What sort of DS features, like touch screen, dual screen, and wireless, are being utilized specifically for this design?
Masatao Maegawa: The touch screen is a necessity for the functioning of the edit mode. Dual screen action is used with the bottom showing live gameplay and the top displaying the level map and radar. Also we have a particular mic feature, sound data transfer, that is unique. This is still in the process of implementation for the US version.
Please tell us more details about the sound data transfer feature [used to exchange custom edited levels], including how it works and specifically why you decided to include this feature in the game?
We wanted to try exchanging the data using the local network since it can be easier for players than using Wi-Fi and having to find friend codes and passwords so data can be shared more freely and easily. This feature allows you to distribute the data by recording it with a mic. During the 1980’s such method of saving data as a sound file was popular. This feature in Bangai-O uses the same basis. We were gamers during that era, so that’s why we were able to come up with this neat idea that is good for modern gamers!