Pang
| Developer: Ocean | Graphics: |
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| Publisher: Ocean | Sound: |
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| Year: 1990 | Difficulty: |
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| Genre: Arcade | Lastability: |
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| Number of players: 2 simultaneous | Rating: |
8/10 | |
Pang (also known as Pomping World or Buster Bros.) is a Japanese arcade game with a simple concept, perfectly executed—and, for once, perfectly ported to the Amiga! Sadly, that wasn’t the norm.
The idea is to pop giant bouncing balls with a harpoon (while avoiding getting hit). Each hit splits the balls into two smaller ones that bounce off in opposite directions. Repeat the process until they reach their smallest size and finally disappear. The catch? Shrinking them also multiplies their number!
While the levels feature platforms and ladders, your character can’t jump (or duck), forcing you to dodge balls by passing underneath them. As for your weapon, it only fires vertically.
In 2022, while trying to take new screenshots, I realised that the original version (“ipf”, not cracked) includes little critters (like the arcade version). According to the site Hall Of Light, most cracked copies were based on an unfinished development version. Lucky me for failing to get mine running that day!
Did you know? Pang’s ancestor is called Cannon Ball (MSX, 1983).
And its modern heir, you ask? I’d suggest Spitlings (2020).
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