Bang² Busters is a game that has had a bit of rough history. Developed by Visco, this game was fully completed and slated for a Neo Geo release in 1994 before being cancelled and shelved. Several years later in 2000 it was again considered for release by SNK but ended up getting cancelled a second time. It wasn’t until 2010 when Neo Conception International obtained the rights to Bang² Busters from Visco that a limited amount of copies were printed for the Neo Geo AES and MVS. In 2012 it was released for Neo Geo CD and in 2018 received a Dreamcast release. This game had the misfortune of being released nearly a full 20 years later despite being fully complete which has made it a very rare and unusual game which had achieved cult classic status. The game is fondly remembered by the elite tier of gamer’s who were fortunate enough to grow up playing Neo Geo games while the rest of us were playing the Super Nintendo and Sega Mega Drive.
Bang² Busters has recently been resurrected in the form of a sequel Bang² Busters 2 which stays true to the fast paced gameplay, colorful visuals and dynamic soundtrack of the original. The game seeks to capture the full essence of classic arcade game cabinets. The kickstarter campaign let’s backers pledge for Neo Geo AES and MVS physical cartridge releases of the game and PAL, NTSC-US and NTSC-JAP editions of the Dreamcast version of the game. The Neo Geo version stays true to the old school limitations and presentation of the game while the Dreamcast version takes advantage of it’s hardware to deliver richer visuals (bigger color palette) and CD quality soundtrack. This arcade style game is a classic single screen platformer in which the player launches enemies at each other, similar to other arcade games like Snow Bros. The enemies are trapped or inflated then tossed to hit others which in turn builds combos and clear stages.
The protagonists of the game are space rabbit cops Lazy and Refia who must battle the evil Emperor Honey in a cosmic amusement park called Happy Universe. What has been disguised as a fun family holiday was actually a fiendish trap to turn people into stuffed animals. The heroes must battle and stop the villain and his evil theme park and rescue the captives at the same time. The game features an interesting blend of colorful 90’s cute cartoon characters, over the top villainy and arcade chaos with space-opera-ish visuals and tone. It fits the classic retro nostalgia vibe from the 1990’s that many retro gaming fans treasure. At the time of writing this article the kickstarter campaign is due to end in only a few hours so if you are lucky enough to be reading this before that happens then I highly recommend you take this rare opportunity to own the very limited run of this already rare game. The Neo Geo AES and MVS versions are, of course, ridiculously expensive however the Dreamcast versions are well within the reach of normal retro gamers (e.g those who don’t have a 6 figure income).
Relevant Links
- Bang² Busters 2 kickstarter campaign [https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/pixelheart/bang-bang-busters-2/]
- The Dreamcast Junkyard on the Bang² Busters sequel [https://www.thedreamcastjunkyard.co.uk/2025/11/bang-bang-busters-2-kickstarter-goes.html]
