Buster Bros.

Timed Nintendo exclusive

Pang, originally released in Japan as Pomping World and in North America as Buster Bros., is a 1989 arcade action game developed by Mitchell Corporation. Its core gameplay is similar to the 1983 Japanese MSX game Cannon Ball, also released that year for the ZX Spectrum as Bubble Buster.

Released: 1989
Platforms: Amiga Amstrad CPC Arcade Atari ST Atari ST/STE Commodore 64 Commodore C64/128/MAX Game Boy MS-DOS NES SNES TurboGrafx-16 Turbografx-16/PC Engine CD ZX Spectrum
Genres: Arcade Platformer Puzzle Shooter
Developers: Capcom
Publishers: Capcom
Modes: Multiplayer
Perspective: Side view
Themes: Action
Country: Japan
Languages: English
Composers: Yoko Shimomura

About

Pang, originally released in Japan as Pomping World and known in North America as Buster Bros., is a 1989 action game developed and published by Mitchell Corporation for arcades. It was released in North America by Capcom, which most of the developers had previously worked for. The basic gameplay is identical to a 1983 Japanese MSX computer game called Cannon Ball (also released in 1983 on the ZX Spectrum as Bubble Buster) by Hudson Soft.

In the game, players must finish a round-the-world quest to destroy bouncing balloons that are terrorising several of Earth's landmarks and cities. The fight to save the Earth begins on Mount Fuji, Japan, where the players must pass all three stages before moving on to the next location.

Keywords

anime
pixel art
high score
grapple
verticality
games released for unsupported platforms
bubbles

Media

The articlegameplay, story, development, reception

Gameplay

There are 50 stages at 17 locations: Mount Fuji, Mount Keirin, the Temple of the Emerald Buddha, Angkor Wat, Ayers Rock, the Taj Mahal, Leningrad, Paris, London, Barcelona, Athens, Egypt, Mount Kilimanjaro, New York, Mayan ruins, Antarctica, and finally Easter Island.

Each location has a unique background that shows the area's most famous landmarks. The stages contain a different layout of blocks, some that disappear after being shot, others that do not, and still others that are hidden and can reveal bonuses.

Reception

The arcade game was a hit in Japan, and had a successful launch in North America. In Hong Kong, it was the top-grossing conversion kit in January 1990.

The arcade game received a positive review from Commodore User magazine, scoring it 8 out of 10.

Legacy

The game was the first in a series of games:

Pomping World aka. Pang, Buster Bros. (1989)

Releases by platformdates and regions as published

Platform	Released	Regions
Arcade	29 November 1989	Japan · Europe 1 December 1989 · North America 1 December 1989
SNES	31 December 1989	Worldwide
MS-DOS	31 December 1990	Worldwide
Commodore C64/128/MAX	31 December 1990	Worldwide
ZX Spectrum	31 December 1990	Worldwide
Atari ST/STE	31 December 1990	Worldwide
Amiga	31 December 1990	Worldwide
Amstrad CPC	31 December 1991	Worldwide
Turbografx-16/PC Engine CD	31 December 1991	Japan · North America 31 December 1993