Bangai-O

If you've ever wished to see hundreds of explosions on screen at once and still feel like it makes sense, Bangai-O from Treasure is exactly that experience. This action shooter for the Dreamcast from 1999 puts you in a robotic mech that spews bullets in every direction at once and fills the screen with such a density of projectiles that your eyes can barely keep up.

The heart of the game is a „smart bomb"-style mega-attack whose power depends on how many enemy bullets are around you at that moment. The greater the risk you take and the more you let yourself be surrounded by fire, the more devastating the salvo you can then unleash. This mechanic actively pushes you into danger and flips the usual logic of shooters on its head – instead of dodging, you actually want to throw yourself into the thickest fire.

The levels are sprawling and full of enemies, so the action constantly escalates into chaotic shootouts where the screen literally lights up with explosions. Yet behind all that visual maelstrom stands Treasure's typically inventive design, which rewards the player for boldness and improvisation. It's a fast, intense and surprisingly addictive game.

Treasure built a reputation as a studio that doesn't make boring things, and Bangai-O is further evidence of that – it combines action, a touch of tactics and a sense of exaggeration into a package that doesn't take itself entirely seriously but plays superbly. It's one of those titles that defined the quirky identity of the Dreamcast library.

Thanks to its originality and insane density of action, Bangai-O found devoted fans and became another of the cult pieces that made retro players so fond of the Dreamcast. It's a game you only need to switch on for a few minutes to know at once that you're not playing anything ordinary.

Why play it: A crazy action shooter from Treasure where the more bullets around you, the more devastating the counterattack – chaotic, inventive and instantly addictive.