The Buster Bros. are back in action on PS4 in April

By Danny Cowan March 7, 2016

Retrogaming-focused boutique publisher DotEmu will make its PlayStation 4 debut on April 19th with Pang Adventures, an all-new entry in Mitchell’s classic arcade Pang series.

Known as Buster Bros. in some parts of the world including North America, Pang is a co-op platformer in which players team up to pop dozens of deadly bouncing bubbles that populate each of the game’s single-screen arenas. Popped bubbles progressively split into pairs of smaller orbs, forcing players to stay on their toes as they survive increasingly hectic challenges.

While the bulk of publisher DotEmu’s catalog consists of straightforward PC and mobile ports of classic arcade games, Pang Adventures is an entirely new title developed by Pix the Cat creator Pasta Games.

“We worked really hard to infuse Pang Adventures with new ideas while staying true to the series’ original spirit,” DotEmu notes. “The result is a great balance between the traditional gameplay we loved in the good old days and some fresh mechanics.”

Pang Adventures will introduce a variety of new enemy types, along with unique boss encounters – a first for the long-running series. Players can expect to square off against the bouncy opposition with an expanded arsenal of weaponry, including lasers, flamethrowers, and more.

Pang originally launched in 1989 as an arcade game developed by Mitchell Corporation and published by Capcom. Multiple sequels and spinoffs premiered in the years afterward, including standouts like Super Buster Bros. for the 16-bit Super Nintendo Entertainment System and the series compilation Buster Bros. Collection (aka Super Pang Collection) for the original PlayStation.

Despite its popularity both in arcades and via home console ports, Pang saw few sequels in the decades after it first premiered. Prior to this week’s announcement of Pang Adventures, the last time the series surfaced was in 2010 with the launch of Pang: Magical Michael, a Europe-exclusive sequel for the Nintendo DS.

Pang Adventures will be available for download from the PlayStation Network starting on April 19th.

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