skullomania
Member
Welcome back everybody! For the second exciting installment we are going to take a look at the arcade classic "Pang! / Buster Bros" series. Known in the Japanese and European markets as Pang, and the North American market as Buster Bros, this series of arcade and home console games introduced a new gameplay mechanic to players back in the late 80s.
Developed by Mitchell Corporation (although its actual origins may be more mysterious, though we will look at that later), the basic gameplay style involves clearing the screen of bubbles/balloons by shooting a harpoon up in the air, until they have all split or been destroyed. Its gameplay style strangely resembles a mixture between Asteroids, Arkanoid and in some aspects, Space Invaders, as the player moves only along the bottom of the screen shooting upwards.
There are several colourful games in the series, spanning the decades since the original release, so lets take a look at them one by one.
PANG / BUSTER BROS (1989) [ARCADE, VARIOUS HOME PORTS]
By taking control of 2 explorer brothers, your mission is to clear each stage of deadly bouncing balloons as you traverse across many famous landscapes all over the globe. There are 50 stages, set across 17 worlds - including Mt Fuji, Paris, London, New York and Easter Island.
Several power ups are introduced here, including multiple harpoons, grappling hooks, missiles and dynamite, as well as an hourglass to briefly stop time. Crabs, eagles and other birds occasionally fly onto the stage to cause disruption, and bonus food items can appear under certain conditions.
The two player simultaneous mode is probably remembered quite fondly, which probably attracted many players when it was first revealed in arcades across the world. A very fun title, that takes a simple mechanic and slowly adds subtly increasing stage layouts to entice the player forward.
Aside from the Arcade and home console ports, there was also a GameBoy version of the original Pang, that contains basically the same levels, although several features, such as the animals appear to be removed in some stages, and obviously the backgrounds are not as detailed.
POMPING WORLD / BUSTER BROS (1993) [PC ENGINE]
When the original Pang/Buster Bros was ported to the PC-Engine it was essentially a direct port, but included a bit of extra content. New artwork has been included for the victory screens between stages, and an additional Bee enemy appears in some levels.
the most notably update, is that it now includes 54 stages (as opposed to the original 50) where the Buster Bros head into space for a final showdown with a red-balloon (that has some sort of face).
Also of interest, the name "Inafaking" appears in the credits, which, if I am not mistaken, is likely referring to Keiji Inafune?
SUPER PANG / SUPER BUSTER BROS (1990) [ARCADE]
The first real sequel in the Pang series. Retains much of the mechanics of the original, but the characters now wear cool backwards baseball caps (because this is the 90s!). Two modes are presented here - "Tour Mode" and "Panic Mode".
Tour Mode is basically the regular story mode, where the 2 brothers advance through 40 stages, again across the world, through various continents, defeating balloons. A few new elements have been added, such as dodecahedrons, flashing balloons, and additional monsters in the shape of baby dragons, and fire creatures that occasionally patrol the stages.
Panic Mode is an endless (well up to lvl 99) mode in which an onslaught of balloons appear and you have to see how long you can last. the background changes as your skill level advances.
A nice update to the Pang formula, but not a massive departure by any means.
SUPER PANG / SUPER BUSTER BROS (1992) [SNES]
A port of Super Pang for the Super Nintendo was released in 1992. Pretty much a faithful port, but again, includes some slight additions.
The first thing of note, is that the 2 player simultaneous option is missing for some reason (unless I am mistaken), but it adds an additional difficulty option to Tour mode - "hard" or "expert" that includes 40 brand new stage layouts to play.
An additional bonus stage is unlocked between worlds also, where a power up can be obtained, and I believe it includes some exclusive monsters, such as penguins, wandering around the stages.
I also noticed that the background for the very first stage is different to the arcade version (a temple covered in blossom, rather than Hong Kong?) but the stage layout seems to be the same.
Has a couple different ending animations for each mode than the arcade version also.
PANG! 3 / BUSTER BUDDIES (1995) [ARCADE]
Another game in the classic Pang series, except this time around you aren't controlling the famous Pang Brothers, but instead you can choose between 4 sneaky art-thieves. Each of the 4 characters have slightly different abilities (one can shoot harpoons at 45-degree angles, one is invulnerable to stage hazards etc), but your goal is to clear all the stages and therefore steal pieces of famous art for your own personal gallery. Rather than famous landmarks for the backdrops, this time it is classic art.
The character sprites visually appear in a more pre-rendered, CGI look - possibly influenced by the success of Donkey Kong Country at the time?
As per Super Pang, we get a choice between tour mode stages, or panic mode stages. Tour mode has a simple beginner mode, with just 10 stages to try out and tutorial explanations in between. The Normal mode has 50 stages to clear, and the expert mode (than can be accessed by inputting a code) has an additional 10 stages.
New for this iteration are giant Bombs bouncing around in some stages to cause chain reaction explosions, coins that fall from destroyed blocks, a new improved temporary laser gun weapon, teleporters, conveyor belts and several new enemies such as helicopters, dogs and flying squirrels that occasionally get in the way. We can see these additional elements build up the gameplay slightly as each series goes on.
The Panic mode returns also, and in similar style to Super Pang, has an oncoming barrage of balloons to pop, slowly increasing in levels, up to 99.
I was initially put off by the early-CGI visuals of the main characters, but the gameplay is solid, and there does exist some 2d interpretations of the characters on the arcade marque art, in keeping with the art style of the rest of the series.
MIGHTY! PANG (2000) [ARCADE]
This time we return to the two Pang Brothers, albeit represented in a slightly more super deformed/cuter character aesthetic, for the early 2000s.
As with most of the games in the series, we have an option of 3 modes - "Tour Mode", "Expert Mode" and "Panic Mode".
Tour Mode sees our heroes once again globetrotting around the globe, through 57 stages set across various landmarks. Basically, the same as previous Pang games, but with a few new gimmicks introduced.
Every so often, between stages, the player will encounter a "Hurricane Accident Stage" whereby some platforms in the stage will tilt at an angle when each balloon popped, against a rainy background.
Also, Players occasionally have a choice of routes between worlds.
Some new balloons are introduced - including ones that seem to defy gravity and bounce upside down along the ceiling in inverted bounces. Some stages contain platforms that you can push around to reach higher areas, and to cross gaps. In fact, I'd say this game contains much more "puzzle / strategic-thinking" stages rather than the more action packed of the first few games. Some stages have floating clouds passing by that block your harpoons. Various weird animals this time round, including an umbrella animal, a dog, and something else that I don't know what it is. The Dog will grab onto the player if touched, hindering movement.
The Expert Mode includes 10 additional stages, with increased difficulty.
Panic Mode is similar to earlier Panic Modes, with one neat new addition. This time occasionally "seedlings" will fall from certain popped balloons. If these are not "kicked off" the screen before they sprout, they will increase the height of the ground, pushing the player slightly closer to the ceiling, and making arena smaller. Very neat gimmick actually, and a good addition to the basic gameplay to keep players on their toes.
PANG MAGICAL MICHAEL (2010) [NINTENDO DS]
A whole 10 years later, a brand new Pang game appears, this time for the Nintendo DS. Entitled Pang Magical Michael, this version allows players to control a magician who has accidentally cast a magic spell causing pang balloons to appear all over the world. He must obviously clear this catastrophe by utilising the trademarked gameplay style of popping as many balloons as possible to save the world!
I haven't actually played this version, but as it is set across both screens of the Nintendo DS, it appears the stages are more vertical this time around, which may add some different elements to the gameplay.
Has anyone here played this version? If so, drop any thoughts below!
PANG ADVENTURES (2016) [PS4/STEAM/XBOX ONE/iOS]
The most recent Pang game, and in some regards one of the best. It introduces a lot of clever new elements - such as boss characters, additional power ups, and returns to the original animal-enemies that wondered around the screen in the very first version.
The balloon variety has been ramped up also here, with lava balloons that drop lava when burst, and electric balloons that send a shock back down the harpoon once burst, so players must quickly get out of the way.
I had a lot of fun with this one.
COMPILATIONS
The "Buster Bros Collection" / "Super Pang Collection" was released on the PlayStation back in 1997, and includes arcade ports of the 3 initial Pang games - Pang, Super Pang and Pang 3.
BONUS:
CANNON BALL/BUBBLE BUSTER (1983) [MSX/SPECTRUM]
Here's something interesting. Although Pang came out in 1989 and was developed by a company called Mitchell Corporation, an actual predecessor was developed a good 6 years earlier by Hudson Soft.
A game called Cannon Ball / Bubble Buster was released for the MSX and Spectrum, and is clearly the inspiration for the Pang series.
There is an interview with Roy Ozaki (head of Mitchell Corporation) in the well-researched book "The Untold History of Japanese Game Developers" by John Szczepaniak, in which the question is put to Mitchell regarding the similarities between the Pang series and Hudson Soft's Cannon Ball title. From what I recall (I don't have the book to hand) the question is dodged a few times, and no clear answer was given making it all the more mysterious.
But what is the Hudson Soft connection? In the Japanese-only "Bomberman 64 Arcade Edition" for the Nintendo 64, developed and published by Hudson Soft, there are a series of mini games. One is clearly a reference to the Pang series - so it looks like whatever the connection is, Hudson Soft still retain the rights to the basic gameplay style after all.
So, there you have it, and entire overview of the Pang / Buster Bros series so far. Did I miss any games, let me know if I did, and congratulations for making it this far
Feel free to drop any thoughts or memories about the series below. I'm not sure it is one of the most popular series, but a few of you might have had some experience with it over the years!
SECRET BONUS QUESTION
(Pang 3 seems to contain a reference in one of its stages to another classic arcade game franchise (the very same franchise I covered in my previous "Let's appreciate" thread). Can you discover what it is?)
Previous threads in this ongoing series
Let's appreciate Vol 001... BUBBLE BOBBLE series! (July 2017)
