Big Bang Mini (DS)

[toythatkills]

Caution: Big Bang Mini may create happiness.

It's rare that I play a demo and instantly purchase a game, but that has indeed just happened. The fact that it's budget priced may have influenced my decision slightly but this also might be the best demo I've ever played. Screw your Resi 5!

So, what is this? It's a shmup, basically.

Controlswise, you have a ship on the bottom screen which you touch and drag to move around. You can flick anywhere else on the touchscreen to fire bullets at enemies on the top screen in that direction.

Enemies on the top screen fire bullets down at you, but also, and this is genius, any shots you fire that don't hit the target explode into a firework, and then filter back down to the touchscreen as "enemy" fire. You're fighting against your own rubbishness!

To complete a level, you have to fill a gauge up by collecting stars, these stars are dropped by dead enemies.

So you'll be moving your ship around to collect stars, avoid enemy fire, avoid your own incompetence, and then firing as well when you get a second... There's so much to look at and concentrate on at once and it's amazing. And this is just the demo, it hasn't even really got hard yet!

When you finish a level you get a little minigame thing which in the demo has consisted of a dot to dot, and then a memory game. Fun asides.

The demo is massive, though, really. There seems to be two levels, made up of loads of stages, and it's definitely well worth giving a go to. The art/music changes significantly between each level and if that keeps up it'll be brilliant, and won't get old. I'm currently stuck on a boss, it's pretty epic. Oh yeah, there're boss fights. Some giant frog thing? Ace. Now beaten it! Fire from beneath my ship too? Good grief!

The one low point seems to be the lack of a score, but that might yet be in the full game which, as far as I can tell, has Wi-Fi leaderboards! It also promises single-cart multiplayer amongst other modes. It's $20. It's rude not to.

This thread shall become non-demo when the full game arrives for someone.

Basically, try this thing, buy this thing!

TRAILER:



BOX:



Remember: Big Bang Mini may create happiness.

[merf]

is this the game where I've seen lots of moaning about the big dead spot betwen the 2 screens being really obtrusive to gameplay ?

[huxley]

Nice write up. That kind of reminds me of that fireworks game that was released about the same time as the PS2.

[wakka]

Fantavision.

[The Mole]

Sadly this game has failed to grab me and it is one i have been looking forward to and keeping an eye on.

toythatkills has done a great job of explaining the game and what its about so i will just add my opinions.

The game is very easy and is less than about skill and more about just firing as many fireworks as you can, as it is very easy to dodge the missed ones. Even the boss battles can be completed in this way, just ignoring the top screen and launching as many fireworks as you can from the lower screen. The minigame at the end of the round has no point what so ever and has little relation to the main game, to me it is just some random pointless thing tacked on.

The control system is flawed as you need to keep your ship in one of the lower corners of the screen to avoid moving it when trying to launch a firework, i would have much rather they mapped the ships movements to the d pad.

All in all i think it is quite the game lacks action and a punch and is not even close to the review scores it has been getting. Maybe this will be another The World Ends With You for me a game i just can't enjoy no matter how hard i try, but everybody else seams to love.

[toythatkills]

is this the game where I've seen lots of moaning about the big dead spot betwen the 2 screens being really obtrusive to gameplay ?

I didn't find it too bad. It's noticeable, definitely, but it was OK.

The game is very easy and is less than about skill and more about just firing as many fireworks as you can, as it is very easy to dodge the missed ones. Even the boss battles can be completed in this way, just ignoring the top screen and launching as many fireworks as you can from the lower screen. The minigame at the end of the round has no point what so ever and has little relation to the main game, to me it is just some random pointless thing tacked on.

Yeah, it is possible to play like that but there's a skill to it too. Your method outlined above is akin to button bashing in a fighter, successful enough but not the real way to play, and with more practice and/or skill it's possible to play a lot better.

The control system is flawed as you need to keep your ship in one of the lower corners of the screen to avoid moving it when trying to launch a firework, i would have much rather they mapped the ships movements to the d pad.

I didn't find that at all. The ship's fairly small so there's always plenty of room on the touchscreen to fire from. I didn't hide it in the corner a single time!

[The Mole]

I do not agree at all. Button bashing is usually used by players who know no better. If you get better at the game, you tend to learn the moves and can control when you are making that attack.

With Big Bang Mini, i see no point what so ever to launching 1 firework and seeing if it hits before firing another. The penalty for missing is not enought to stop this from being the best way to approach the game. Again back to button bashing, if you do this you are not guarenteed to pull off a move and a skillfull oponemnt or well developed CPU AI will block anyway. Sadly i think the game is a bit flawed in this respect, because if you launch 1 at a time things get tougher, the screen usually has enough targets that you are always going to hit maybe 2 or 3 out of 4 on the first launch. Hence launching 1 would slow down the already slow gameplay.

If you launch many you will find they will usually hit the targets and it is level over, sadly the game strucure does not work (IMO) and i think it is very poor.

As for the controls, In the first 8 or so levels, twice i found myself grabbing my ship when trying to franticly launch some fireworks.

I say well done for trying something new, but this time for me the developers have missed the mark.

[toythatkills]

I take it you've got the full game, then? How does the score mode work? Are there penalties for missing shots or anything like that as that would fix your criticisms, I've no idea though.

[The Mole]

Yes i am playing the full version.

First of all it forces you to play tutorial before anything else is unlocked. Once completed, it unlocks Arcade and Vs. To unlock what i assume is Score mode, it is ???, you need to beat Mission mode, to unlock Mission mode, you need to beat Arcade and i am never going to have lost the will enough to want to beat Arcade.

I do not like the fact that Arcade has no score or anything, so again another reason to just blast random fireworks off. No penalties for missed shots, apart from having to avoid the very easy to avoid blasted fireworks that fall back down.

[toythatkills]

Hmm, I'll wait until I've played every mode before judging it entirely, I think.

In other news, demo is up on EU Wiis, apparently.

[The Mole]

I can imagine the gameplay is going to be similar, if not the same in each of the modes and that is where i have the major problems.

[toythatkills]

Well yeah, the gameplay will be similar because that's what it is. It seems a bit unfair to judge all the modes based on a limited experience of one mode though, so I'll wait until I've played every mode before judging it entirely.

I read on GAF that one particular mission involves completing a level but firing less than 25 times. Challenges like that seem to remove your main complaint of shooting at random, for example, so you may be being overly harsh on it at the moment.

[The Mole]

To get Mission mode you have to complete Arcade, i may not be giving the game a fair crack of the whip (by not trying other modes), but i just don't like it and find the dull and repetative gameplay a chore. I have since started playing something else, which i am enjoying far more, so the chances are Big Bang Mini is not going to get much more, if any of my time.

This game should have been something i loved, i wanted to love it but its not for me.

[buster_broon]

To get Mission mode you have to complete Arcade, i may not be giving the game a fair crack of the whip (by not trying other modes), but i just don't like it and find the dull and repetative gameplay a chore. I have since started playing something else, which i am enjoying far more, so the chances are Big Bang Mini is not going to get much more, if any of my time.

This game should have been something i loved, i wanted to love it but its not for me.

Mole do you buy every DS release, alot of love for the system

might have a look into this

[The Mole]

LOL nope, i buy the releases i like, i do have a fair few DS games though looking at about 80 i am guessing i have not counted. Saying that i cheat i also have a Express card. The DS is my format of choice, i rarely buy Wii games and at the moment they are the only 2 curent gen consoles i have (apart from a PSP that is gathering dust).

Getting back onto Big Bang Mini, i am going to try and get myself to the next unlock when i have a free min to say i gave it a fair chance.

Big Bang Mini is very Marmite i think, looking at the reviews ranging from 50% to 90% its a love or hate thing.