Bakuretsu Muteki Bangaiō (or plain old Bangai-O, if you prefer) hit the Nintendo 64 all the way back in 1999, and was exclusive to Japan at the time. It's now one of the console's most expensive games, thanks to excellent quality and low print run, but it did get a Western release – just on a different system.
The Dreamcast version – which arrived a few months after the N64 one in Japan and would come to North America and Europe in 2001 and 2000 respectively – had its localisation handled by Conspiracy Entertainment, and the results left many fans feeling a little disappointed.
Fast forward to the present, and RoboVerse Translations and GammaTrove have joined forces to right this wrong with a brand-new translation for the N64 original.
"Our translation is a brand new script," says GammaTrove. "It's not the Dreamcast translation. This took the better part of a year to complete. I've wanted a Bangai-O translation since around 2021, but the idea didn't fully materialise until January 2025. I worked on it on and off until I contacted RoboVerse Translations (Super Robot Wars 64) last fall. He had started preliminary work on Bangai-O, so it made sense to combine our efforts and produce something concrete!"
GammaTrove adds:
"From the bottom of my heart, do yourself a favor and pop this sucker in! More people need to try out Bangai-O. Breezy old-school arcade action, explosive combat, and satisfying presentation really bring the whole package together. And above all... it's a woefully underrated N64 underdog: a 2D title standing in the shadows of 3D giants (and the Dreamcast!)."
Amazingly, a second translation for the game has been released by a different team at almost the same time, and in a gesture that proves just how downright awesome these fan translators are, GammaTrove actually emailed in to bring it to our attention.
"A SECOND Bangai-O translation was uploaded," says GammaTrove. "Now, there are two ways to enjoy this game. This one is unaffiliated with ours, but Deadscene and Zoinkity (the authors of this patch) did an amazing job!"