Buster Bros.
The traveling brothers who battle dangerous balloons around the world using harpoon guns.
Documented for this version
Joystick Left | Move left |
|---|---|
Joystick Right | Move right |
Button 1 | Fire the harpoon The harpoon travels vertically upward. |
Arcade control labels can vary by cabinet; the game uses a joystick and one action button.
How it plays
The player controls a character at the bottom of a single-screen stage. Move horizontally, fire a vertical harpoon, and avoid contact with balloons while the line remains on screen. A balloon struck by the harpoon divides into smaller balloons; the smallest pieces are destroyed rather than divided again.
The main objective is to clear every balloon in each stage. Tour-style stages use scenery and barriers to change safe firing positions, while later rounds demand more precise timing. The game is built around limited lives, quick restarts, and progressively more crowded patterns rather than character statistics or equipment upgrades.
Plan your run
Stay beneath open sections of the screen and fire when a balloon is moving away from your position. A harpoon can create a temporary barrier, but it also restricts movement until it disappears.
Meet the cast
The traveling brothers who battle dangerous balloons around the world using harpoon guns.
Before you begin
Watch the smallest balloons carefully; their faster movement often causes the final mistakes.
Use the full width of the stage instead of remaining in one corner.
Learn the timing of each barrier layout before attempting a fast clear.
Pang is an arcade action game developed and published by Mitchell Corporation in 1989. Its central premise is simple: clear each stage by destroying bouncing balloons before they hit the player. A harpoon fired upward catches a balloon and splits it into smaller versions until the final pieces disappear. The game is played from a single-screen side view, with careful movement and timing taking priority over complex controls. Stages are arranged as a world tour and introduce barriers, narrow spaces, and increasingly difficult balloon patterns. Pang was well received for turning a straightforward idea into tense, readable arcade challenges, and its distinctive balloon-splitting mechanic helped establish a lasting series.
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