Received: December 25th, 2016 / Written: May 15th-19th, 2019
Alternate Title: Super Buster Bros.
Year: 1990, 1992 | Developed and Published by: Capcom
Licensed by: Mitchell Corporation | [ ⬤ ]
Arcade-style action-puzzlers are addicting fun, so let's talk about one! π
Yes, the first three titles were cropped in the PlayStation One compilation Super Pang Collection/Buster Bros. Collection, as you can tell by the framing not being centered properly not to mention the upper part of the frame being cropped out
On December 1989 the arcades saw the release of Mitchell Corporation's Pomping World in Japan which saw a release in America as Buster Bros., but would later see a 1990 release in Europe as the simply titled Pang.
With its popping gameplay inspired by Hudson Soft's 1983 MSX game Cannon Ball (Bubble Buster on the ZX Spectrum), the coin-op was successful and highly revered which resulted in not just receiving certain home conversions but also spawn a franchise because of it with the series' name deriving from the European title--until recent years it only applied outside of America where the series was known as Buster Bros. instead.
Pang was planned by Toshihiko Uda and directed by Yoshiki Okamoto, the former of whom worked on the game design for the cult classic Ore! Tomba/Tomba!/Tombi! (which he also assistant produced) and its sequel Tomba: The Wild Adventures/Tomba 2: The Evil Swine Return/Tombi 2 by Whoopee Camp, a tragically shortlived company comprised of former Capcom staff on account that both titles were commercial disappointments despite the positive praise they received at the time.
1990 would see the second installment of the Pang franchise in arcades in the form of Super Pang with the American version being known as Super Buster Bros. which was also successful in its own right--planned by Uda and Kuwahara with characters designed by Akemi Kurihara and Furukawa--and it's the one Pang people would probably be most familiar with.
Images from Wikipedia
There was an unofficial attempt at porting the game to the NES in Asia by Thin Chen Enterprises which got released there by Sachen in 1991 which curiously enough got a sequel of its own for the same format a year later.
As for the home console port of Super Pang that actually was official, that came in the form of the Super Famicom version (programmed by Hyper Tsugu and Cyber Amp) which came out in Japan in August 1992 and saw a release in the NTSC SNES format that October and the PAL SNES in an unspecified date in 1992. Interesting to note is that responsible for the Nintendo 16-bit conversion was Capcom (planned by ChΕmakaimura/Super Ghouls'n Ghosts' actor designer Hyper Bengie), if only because they only acted as distributor for the Western version of the first two Pang coin-ops as the company had naught to do with the development.
Then again, Mitchell Corporation also was a company that consisted of former Capcom staff as evinced by the shuriken-like Yashichi power-up icon, which is normally associated with Capcom's earlier fare, that pops up on occasion to give you an extra life, so make of that what you will. In all seriousness though, because of the connection Capcom was likely the most qualified company to port it anyway, but the question is: did they do a good Super Pang conversion?
When starting up Super Pang there are two different game modes to choose from: Tour Mode and Panic Mode. For the majority of the review I'll cover Tour Mode, but I will touch upon Panic Mode later on; once you choose whether to play the former mode on Easy, Normal, Hard, or Expert, it's time to begin the game proper.
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| Java |
In the arcade action-puzzler Super Pang you control a boy who's armed with nothing but a harpoon gun, when you begin each stage and after losing a life anyway. You can only run to the left and to the right, you cannot jump but you can drop from a ledge or a platform you landed on, and you can climb ladders in certain stages that include them plus you can step off any portion of the ladder to drop off, and pressing any of the face buttons will have you fire straight up with your harpoon gun. The biggest threat that you have to eliminate in these forty stages taking place in the world: a legion of bubbly, bouncing balloons.
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| Shoot that white stallion for a bonus |
In each stage there are differently sized balloons, and with each shot the respective balloon takes it'll split in two with the process repeating until it becomes tiny and shooting the tiny balloon will ensure that it pops out of existence. You'll be granted access to the next stage once all the balloons in the present stage have been cleared. There are also hexagonal forces that float and ricochet off walls in certain stages, but they are no less of a threat so you best be on your guard. With all the action taking place inside a frame, the balls in question will bounce towards one direction until it bounces off the side wall or an interior block, and being touched by any of them will cost you a life and have you start the stage over. There is a timer to keep track of in each stage, and you will lose a life if it reaches zero while a balloon is still standing, so it is absolutely imperative that you decimate them all in the allotted time.
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| Fire in the scorching desert |
When you first start each stage you can only fire your harpoon upward one at time, but there are power-ups that will aid you for the remainder of the stage (or until you lose a life) when you pop certain balloons, when you destroy breakable blocks, or when you fire at seemingly inconspicuous spots: with the double harpoon you can fire two harpoons at a time, with the hook you shoot until it hits a balloon or gets stuck on a ceiling which will remain in place temporarily or until a balloon makes contact with it which is ideal to use in narrow spots, with the shield power-up you're given a health supplement which will protect you until you either finish the stage or when a balloon shatters your shield,
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| Watch your step |
food which gives you varying amounts of points, an hourglass to briefly slow down time, a clock that freezes time for a random amount of single-digit seconds, a player doll that gives you an extra life, and the best power-up in the game is a blaster which will let you fire many spread shots at a time! π One force that is not necessarily deadly but can prove detrimental to you is a sentient flame enemy if it comes in contact with you, because if it does then you won't be able to fire anything for a brief moment thereby leaving you vulnerable. Some beneficial forces are white stallions in certain stages where you successfully manage to shoot at them then you'll get whatever bonus they leave behind, same for if you shoot the violet-colored winged creature in the quartet that whizzes by in certain stages, penguins who slide and pop balloons by touching them during the Canada stages,
and hungry dragons in the stages that take place in Asia and Europe who will walk in, sometimes turn around, then walk out while potentially chomping and/or eating balls that come into contact with it, but if you shoot at it while standing beside it and then shoot at it again you'll make it angle projectile towards a side (depending where it was facing) until it lands and explodes (because why not?) and any tiny balloon that is near the explosion when it happens will pop.
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| Hook shot in nighttime Nepal |
The visuals in Super Pang are very bright and colorful, with all the events transpiring in front of a static backdrop of the present part of the world you are in. I like how in the majority of the places you visit in the world there is a gradual day to night progression, with the first stage in that place taking place during the day then the next one takes place during sunset with the subsequent one taking place at night, and I love the picturesque designs of these locations. I like how everything takes place inside a chartreuse-colored frame in Tour Mode while the frame in Panic Mode is cyan, when you're about to run out of time the frame begins to flash in pink and orange, and if a balloon has touched you then the frame turns pink until the character bounces towards a side and then disappears offscreen below you.
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| Elaborate setup |
The character designs by Mayumi Tanabe, Miki Kijima, Naoe Nonomura, Iriko, and Ina·Chi have a lighthearted appeal and are endearing to look at. π The nameless boy you control is decently designed and his walking animation is drawn to a solid degree, I like the way the regular harpoon is drawn as you see the rope twirl quickly while it flies in the air, and when the balloons get split in half it happens so quickly that the starburst effect would be very easy to miss if you blinked--the balloons might not have a bounce effect when it hits a surface, but there is a nice sheen about them. I like the way the hungry dragons and penguins are designed, but what I also love is how your life icon in the HUD breaks into celebration upon clearing a stage and how it falls on its back after you lost a life, it's a really cute touch.
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| Mad balloon time |
Super Pang's original soundtrack was composed by Hiromitsu Takaoka (whose other audio credits comprised of Capcom's Final Fight, 1941: Counter Attack, and Chiki Chiki Boys/Mega Twins), but when it came to the Super Famiport the music was converted by Tatsuya Nishimura (who did music for some games of Tose's Moero!! Pro YakyΕ«/Bases Loaded franchise before making music for Capcom with Mickey no Magical Adventure/The Magical Quest starring Mickey Mouse, Final Fight 2, and the Super Famiconversion of Westwood Associates' Advanced Dungeons & Dragons: Eye of the Beholder)
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| Night-time Germany |
and Minae Fujii (who composed music for Rockman 4: An Evil New Ambition!!/Mega Man IV and would go on to be involved in Capcom's Alph Lyle sound team for the only 16-bit Breath of Fire turn-based RPG I genuinely love and care about, the original) and the soundtrack is good and very catchy. I love how each country has got their own distinctive track that ends up fitting the location well. The Wild West theme is essentially the equivalent of "Camptown Races", and some of my favorite tracks are the ones that are played in the stages taking place in Silk Road, Germany, France, the Tower Bridge in England, Brazil, and the Caribbean Sea;
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| Even Venice looks great at night |
my favorite all-time Super Pang song takes place in Canada because it's so pristine and pretty-sounding, especially with the pretty location it's paired up with, and the sound quality reminds of a song from Eighting's Kuru Kuru Kururin--I love it so much that I could listen to it for a long time and never grow tired of it. π Panic Mode has got a theme that permeates throughout, the sound effects for when you get the items and galloping white stallion are quaint, and there's something satisfactory about hearing the balloons' popping sound. The good news if you're an audiophile is that you can listen to the songs and sound effects in the game's in-game sound test in the options screen.
The game mode opposite of Tour Mode, Panic Mode, has you on a seemingly indefinite standoff against an unlimited number of balloons, with each popped balloon gradually filling the gauge until it fills up thereby graduating you to the next level. The rules are the same in that popping a balloon will split it in half and having it touch you will cost you a life, with the difference being that occasionally there will be some tiny balloons that flash which will freeze the action for a second should you pop it.
Once in a while there are special balloons which will aid you for a brief moment, and if you leave it untouched for some time the clock balloon will change to a star bubble: the clock will freeze balloon action for a random amount of seconds while successfully shooting the star balloon will make every single onscreen balloon pop until the next wave comes. You can shoot up to two harpoons at a time, but the further along you survive the harder it will get and unlike Tour Mode where you have a limited number of continues you'll receive a game over if you lose your last life here.
Just like its predecessor Super Pang was a successful arcade action-puzzler, so in May 1995 the arcades saw the third installment by Mitchell Corporation in the Pang franchise with the arcade entry Pang! 3: Kaitou Tachi no Karei na Gogo in Japan, which was released in Europe as Pang! 3 but as Buster Buddies in America which had a worldwide art motif and four playable characters with distinct gameplay mechanics. The first three games were made available on the PlayStation One compilation Super Pang Collection/Buster Bros. Collection in 1997 and then reunited again for Sensory Sweep Studios' 2007 PlayStation Portable compilation Capcom Puzzle World with Block Block and Super Puzzle Fighter II Turbo.
Image from GameFAQs
On November 2000 came out the fourth Pang arcade installment Mighty! Pang, and on September 2010 Rising Star Games released Mitchell Corporation's subsequent iteration Pang: Magical Michael (which is an interesting subtitle once you know there is a basil with that exact name) for the Nintendo DS in Australia and Europe which was well-received; there were plans for an American release but they went up the air. In April 2016 DotEmu released the latest entry with the Pastagames SARL-developed Pang Adventures which retained the namesake for the American version for once which saw a Nintendo Switch eShop downloadable release in January 2019.
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| Lots of tiny balloons on your trail |
I was familiar with the Pang franchise over the years, and I had only seen screenshots of them online but I didn't consider playing at the time despite thinking it interesting; I wondered how the gameplay was going to work. For Christmas 2016 one of the games I asked for was Capcom's Super Famiport of Super Pang as I figured it was time to quench my curiosity for it. And when I got to play it that day I found the game to be fun and rather addicting at that, and while it's not without problems I found it to be good. π I had been wanting to talk about this game, but I knew I wanted to play at least the first game and its immediate sequel before I did as very recently I caught up with Buster Bros. Collection, and I'm glad I did because I simply can't get enough of arcade-based action-puzzlers! π
And since I got to play both versions, I can highlight some of the biggest differences. The Nintendo 16-bit version doesn't have the gameplay instructions that pop up in a couple demos like the arcade original did and some of the tracks that were converted are played in different countries.
Both versions have their distinct HUD set up in terms of time and score set up as well as how lives are presented in Tour Mode: in the arcade version the HUD allowed up to three lives to be shown and if you had more than that amount than there would be a number to indicate such, but in the Nintendo 16-bit it was simplified to show just one player icon with the number of lives beside it and doesn't display the high score in its HUD.
For another game and HUD comparison, here's Panic Mode.
In the arcade game in-between countries you're only given a glimpse of the continent you're in, but in the Super Famiversion once you're done with a country you're shown the entire world map which is nicely drawn and actually bothers to utilize countries from both hemispheres unlike Krisalis Software's Soccer Kid/The Adventures of Kid Kleets where it shows you the world map but only takes place in the Northern Hemisphere, but I digress.
When you've cleared a continent you're told the name of the continent you cleared, but whereas in the arcade version you're given bonus points for each country you cleared in the Super Famiport you're treated to a bonus stage where you must shoot one of three balloons which will reward you 5,000 points, 10,000 points, or an extra life depending on the one you chose (it's always randomized).
The coin-op original could be played up to two players, which is simply not the case for the Super Famiport as it's a one-player only affair.
American cover on the right from GameFAQs
The Super Famicover suggests that it's a two-player romp, which is false advertising in this case; even the Western SNES cover--which is comparatively crap to no one's surprise--gives you the idea that there's potentially cooperative action, but that is simply not so; and I don't simply mean there's no two-player co-op but there's no alternative two-player mode either. Another reason the cover's inaccurate is that since it's been rendered a one-player only venue, that means the only playable character that shows up in it is the one decked in blue.
Which is a shame, because the orange-colored boy has got his own design and animations with the frontwards cap, he carries his harpoon gun differently, and he has different poses for when he loses a life and successfully clears a stage despite otherwise sharing the same gameplay. I suppose in order to get much of the balloon popping action possible in the console conversion Capcom had no choice but to make some cuts.
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| The shortest stage to beat timewise |
There is a beauty to the simplicity of Super Pang's controls, it's one of those games that is easy to play but very difficult to master. Every stage is set up differently than the last not just in terms of balloon and block colors but in starting balloon size also. What's also great is how there is replay value in regards to the difficulty setting you choose to play in Tour Mode as the layout would be altered in the subsequent difficulty or if it remains the same then the difficulty would increase in terms of how much time you have to do it in not to mention the speed in which the balloons will attempt to bounce towards you.
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| *POP* go all the balloons |
And regardless of the difficulty setting you choose to play, regardless of challenge value, a good strategy is knowing which balloon to split first. Generally speaking it would be a wise idea to shoot at the smaller balloons and then making your way up from there, but if you've got enough room to maneuver in the ground it is possible to shoot at the second smallest or third smallest followed by immediately shooting the split ones; it all depends on the scenario and what you can work with. One item I neglected to talk about is the dynamite, which is a very dangerous thing to use if there are a lot balloons as what will happen is if you touch it then all of them will pop until they're split into tiny littles pieces.
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| What a beautiful sunset |
This can make maneuverability and survivability very difficult because the tiny balloons don't bounce as high as the bigger sizes ones but in the long run you will be overwhelmed, so unless you end up dealing with a smaller amount of balloons (or unless there's a clock or hourglass to help you) avoid using the dynamite if you can. In the Canada stages there are spike boots which can help you maintain your position without sliding on the ice, but it's not something you'll use often. The blaster is a greatly potent and effective weapon as it does a good job at decimating the balloons, but it can't destroy blocks, the harpoon and double harpoons are effective when it comes to open spaces and tiny gaps you can shoot through but when it comes to narrow spaces if they touch the ceiling it will disappear,
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| Penguins to the rescue |
but not if you use the hook shot which will stick in place for a short period but it does leave you in a vulnerable spot (well, more vulnerable than you were if you weren't protected by a shield adorning you) since you can't shoot again until it's gone but you can reduce how long it sticks by repeatedly pressing the button. All the kid's weapons have their own strengths which compensate for the others' weaknesses, so given the layout of the stage and how many balloons you have to deal with left they are all good weapons to use and it's crucial to know which ones to use.
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| Beautiful nighttime Canada |
It is too bad that Super Pang on the Nintendo 16-bit doesn't have two-player support like the arcade version did. I'm not too bothered by it personally but I can see how it would upset some as it would potentially make the game easier than if you were to play it by yourself (I said "potentially", I never said it would entirely alleviate the difficulty). You can't help but feel bad for Capcom, though, they couldn't make Super Famiports of Final Fight, Area 88/U.N. Squadron, and Magic Sword that supported up to two players either, and the only arcade-to-Nintendo 16-bit conversions they handled that successfully incorporated a two player mode were anything Street Fighter-related and anything combat-based pretty much while the rest of their Nintendo 16-bit games were console exclusives (or used to be in most cases).
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| The Grand Canyon |
There are only a limited amount of continues whenever you use up all your lives, and this is one of those score-based games in that there's a top five board for Tour Mode and Panic Mode (where you input your three initials). The catch is that if you decide to use up a continue then whatever score you had up to that point will be reset to zero. There is a code that lets you start anywhere from the first to the fortieth stage in Tour Mode: simply press the left shoulder button, the right shoulder button twice, then the left shoulder button again, up, and then down and if you did it right you'll see a number in the center of the mode select screen which you can toggle up and down and once you selected it you're free to choose the difficulty setting.
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| Perfect formation |
Don't think of it as cheating, think of it more as picking where you last left off without having to start all over. But even if you were to manage it all right from the beginning without using a stage select, there is no ending. If you manage to beat the last stage on easy then you're given a message to "try the other level" which is fair enough as there's more difficulties to choose from, then on normal it says the same thing (understandable), ditto for hard (also understandable), but if you manage to beat the last stage on expert mode (it'll take countless attempts to do so, but it can be done)
you're treated to the usual Stage Clear message with the time bonus, then afterward you're given a final tally of what you played overall, so what are you treated to?
Yes, really! All that for a non-ending. π I found that to be very disappointing.
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I didn't know Niagara Falls was in Brazil! π
I'm joshing, I know it's not; just learned they're the IguazΓΊ Falls
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But I decided to look into it by looking it up on YouTube recently, and the conditions in which you can see the ending (or slideshow of the country backdrops you've been in rather) are very demanding to say the least: basically it entails that you bookend the game with the highest score than the one that was there when you booted up the game and since using a continue resets your score to zero if you wish to see it firsthand you cannot allow that to happen! π« That's pretty backwards of Capcom, don't you think? π I mean, I'm not expecting much from a game that's not backed up by a story of any kind, but a little something would've been preferable to "try the other level".
Even when you used the Konami-like "Special Presents" code in Affect's Cacoma Knight you would still see the ending even if you played from the beginning or from later on, and that game had a story (a slim one, but still).
Click image to see in bigger size; when I "PrtScn"ed days ago it had 149 views, as I post this it's got 151 views
By the way, what is up with the spike in views of my Cacoma Knight review the past five months versus the other reviews I wrote in 2018 (when the year started it only had roughly thirty-ish views)? Until recently my highest read 2018 review was for Konami Computer Entertainment Hawaii's Frogger's Journey: The Forgotten Relic. I hope it's not because I upset people, because if it was I'm very sorry. π
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| There's a slice of pie over there |
But regardless of all of that I still found Super Pang to be a very fun game, it's a relaxing arcade action-puzzler to play every once in a while and I love the big sense of replay value it's got. π One thing I thought of recently is how it's similar to a space shoot'em up in that sometimes you must contend with lots of tiny balloons later in the vein of bullet hell except you can't move forward and backward (unless there's a ladder involved or if you're dropping off a ledge) as you're generally moving left and right in the same section of the stage and the enemies bounce towards you instead of coming straight from one side. It is similar to that genre in that you have to pay attention to everything happening onscreen or you die, but I found it to be generally more manageable but not without its share of challenges.
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| A fitting way to bookend this game |
If you like action-puzzlers of this ilk I think you'll like Super Pang, but if you wish to play a version that has a two player option then your best bet is to play the original Mitchell Corporation-developed arcade version in Super Pang Collection/Buster Bros. Collection on the PlayStation One. If you've never played a Pang/Buster Bros. game before then this is not a bad place to start, and if you like a little globetrotting action in your arcade-based action-puzzlers then I think you'll be really satisfied in that regard; if you like a lot of challenge and replay value, then there is plenty of that going for this package. Balloon bustin' makes me feel good! π
My Personal Score: 7.5/10
d(^-^)bTO EACH THEIR OWNd(^-^)b
● I love how the Buster Bros. Collection manual stated that there was "no particular reason" for this series' events happening, I found that pretty candid and funny from Capcom. π
● At the end of April I saw Avengers: Endgame. What an amazing and incredible three hours that was! π I want to see it again!
● This is probably the one game PAL gamers were glad ran at 50 Hz speed, a good chance to take advantage of the 16.7% slower than intended speed given how crowded the screen becomes at points with balloons... or is that still a bad thing?
● This game is more deserving of the "Super" label than---oh, you all know what game I'm about to reference, I only mentioned it every review I wrote so far this year. π
Thank you for reading my review, please leave me a comment and let me know what you think (neither spam nor NSFW allowed); hope you have a great day, take care! π
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Awwwww, don't make the penguin cry, that's awful! π That's just lacking human decency, no need for penguin cruelty, c'mon!
π³ … uhhhh… That... doesn't cooount...
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