Bangai-O Spirits (2008). Play online

Summary

Bangai-O Spirits blew me away with its insane shooter chaos—laser fireworks flood the screen while you juggle seven weapons, melee bats or swords, and two EX attacks that can freeze, reflect, or hurl a torrent of missiles. The robot you pilot still feels gravity, but dashing lets you plow through enemies and scenery, triggering massive knock‑back cascades.

The game packs 160 free‑scrolling levels, and Treasure tossed in a full‑blown level editor that saves creations as a sound byte—record it, share it, and reload it on any DS thanks to the quirky Sound Load system. It even supports up to four players locally, whether you team up or battle head‑on.

Treasure handled the U.S. version themselves, polishing difficulty and adding new enemy patterns, which helped earn “generally favorable” scores on Metacritic and rave quotes from Eurogamer and Edge. If you crave a raw, pure shooter that feels like a frantic arcade exploded onto a handheld, BangcO Spirits is the maddest ride you’ll find on the DS.

Storyline

Bangai-O Spirits (often just Bangai-O) offers almost no narrative and isn’t linked to its predecessor’s continuity. The game introduces two pilots, Masato, a boy, and Ruri, a girl, who guide the player through a handful of tutorial‑style campaign stages. After clearing every level in the “Treasure’s Best” section of free mode, a short cutscene plays. In that scene one of the characters deadpans, “We’re only here because the fanboys would throw a fit on the internet if the game didn’t have an ending.” That’s the only story beat.