Dangar UFO Robo

It is interesting how Dangar, an old style vertical scrolling shoot’em-up by Nichibutsu, is still to me a captivating game, especially if taking a look at the date of birth (1986).

Sure, it belongs to an eternal genre, with a lot of rivals in any platform I can think of (considering only arcade titles before the nineties, we can cite 1943, Dragon Spirit, Raiden, Gemini Wing…), but I never found it in any shoot’em-up worth-playing games list available in the web: maybe I’m the only one who did appreciate this game?

Anyway, you are in control of a flying robot (as seen in a lot of Japanese manga/anime, with UFO Robo Grendizer identified by many as the direct reference) made of three small ships merged together, with the aim of destroying every single item that is throwing bullets at you (already heard, isn’t it?).

During your journey, sometimes you’ll find power-ups that improve Dangar death-bringing capabilities, mandatory if you want to be a challenge for bigger enemies.

Those bad bosses are found in specific screens that can be accessed through a sort of black-hole.

Note that every time a bullet hits you, your hardly collected improvements will partially disappear, until, when you are in the simplest form of a single spaceship, death arrives.

Each of Dangar’s incarnation (apart the most basic ship) has a secondary configuration that can be activated a limited number of times and allow to differentiate the attack (e.g. the robot can split into the three small ships that is composed of), adding a bit of strategy to the gameplay (but just a bit…).

At the end of the day, what’s so special about this game? It’s fun, a lot. And it’s honest too: when you read game over, you have always the feeling that next time you can go on a little more. The game has not been created just to steal you coins.

Then there is Dangar itself: most of the charm in the game belongs to him, with his rocket punches, different power-ups and ships merging. Nothing extremely innovative (already seen, for example, in Terra Cresta by Nichibutsu itself, belonging to the same series), but in this game all available is well packed.

How is Dangar aged?

Graphic: still enjoyable, kudos for the rocket-firing robot.
Sound: your mind won’t soon pay attention anymore about the music
Playability: far from Bullet Hell games, Dangar can be easily approached and will become a game that can be pleasantly played now and then.
Signs of the time: Dangar did not lose an ounce of its appeal, still a lot of fun. If you never played it, fire your mame up and give it a try.
Overall: evergreen.