PixelHeart, the publisher behind retro games like Gladmort, Shadow Gangs Zero, and Chronicles of the Wolf, has announced it is planning to release a sequel to Visco's single-screen Neo Geo platformer Bang Bang Busters.
The sequel is crowdfunding now on Kickstarter, offering backers the chance to order a digital copy for modern platforms like Nintendo Switch, Xbox, PS4/PS5, or Steam, or retro machines like the Neo Geo (AES/MVS) or Sega Dreamcast. It has currently raised €20,346 of its €35,000 goal, with 26 days still left on the campaign.
Published in 2010 for the Neo Geo AES, the original Bang Bang Busters is a game with a somewhat complex history. Originally developed in the '90s, it was intended to be released for the Neo Geo platform in 1994. However, it didn't see a commercial release until roughly a decade and a half later, when the independent developer and publisher Neo Conception International approached Visco with the possibility of finally finishing and distributing the game under license.
Following that, it was then brought over to the Neo Geo MVS and Neo Geo CD over the next couple of years, with a Sega Dreamcast version also following in 2018 from the independent publisher JoshProd.
Often compared online to games like Toaplan's Snow Bros and AM Factory's Nightmare in the Dark, the original game puts players in control of a pair of bunny-esque creatures named Lazy and Refia, as they battled across different stages to save the planet of Palua from an assortment of strange enemies, such as fake Santa Clauses, Egyptian mummies, and monobrowed penguins.
With the sequel, PixelHeart is hoping to continue "the eccentric sugary universe" of the first game, while "taking its mechanics and scenario a step further". It sees the chief bad game of the first game, Emperor Honey, making a return, with a plan to "transform the kings of the universe into giant mascots and lock them up in a planetary amusement park called Happy Universe." It, therefore, falls to Lazy and Refia to set off on another adventure "to free the imprisoned kings and put an end to the circus once and for all."
The cheapest option available as part of the Kickstarter is the Space Cadet [Digital pack], priced at €12 for modern platforms, but there are various more expensive options for those who want to opt for physical versions to play on their retro consoles.
You can watch a trailer of the game in action below: