Super Bomberman Review

★ ★ ★ ★ ★

4.50 / 5 (2 votes)

Author: Indy1988

Any retro gamer may remember Bomberman. He is the little blue and white robot that blasted his way onto many a multiplayer battle that has probably killed many a friendship almost as bad as Mario Kart or Halo. Bomberman hasn’t been as active as he used to be, but back in his TurboGrafx 16 and SNES days he was just getting started with his multiplayer fun. When Super Bomberman was released it came along with a special Super Multitap that allowed more than the usual two players to duke it out. Consequently, that accessory carried out into multiple SNES games. Super Bomberman is one Bomberman game that Hudson Soft got right, and this was long before Konami came in and literally messed everything up.

Gameplay
Some crazy magnate named Karat Diamond and his assistant, Dr. Mook, decided to come up with an elaborate plot to kidnap Bomberman (which we’ll call White Bomber) and steal his bombing abilities. Black Bomberman got wind of this and went alone, but got his head handed to him and begged for White Bomber’s help. Not happy about the current predicament, both White and Black Bombers set out to clean house and teach Karat Diamond a lesson! The core gameplay is the same: walk around a maze and strategically poop bombs to blow up walls and enemies without blowing yourself up in the process or touching hazardous traps. You have to blow up enemies and find the exit in order to clear the level before time runs out, and you’ll start every life temporarily invincible.

There are six worlds with eight levels each for you to traverse with the last level being a boss fight. As any Bomberman player knows, powerups are left in some walls that are destroyed. And they give Bomberman the essentials like more firepower, more bombs, kicking abilities, an extra heart to absorb damage, and the ever-handy time bomb. So don’t get hit or you’ll lose everything except bombs and fire. The fifth world is a long arena battle that pits you against fake Bombers that you have to destroy to finish. And they are a pain to deal with. Another player can join in the main campaign, but it might get harder depending on each other’s actions.

The crown jewel of this game, of course, is its multiplayer mode, where up to four players can compete in different arenas and blow each other to bits. The last man standing wins! Super Bomberman is one of the funner and slightly easier Bomberman games to play with and is a little more lenient if you make mistakes. Whereas in other games if you lose even one life, it gets much more frustrating. There are some enemies in later levels that are pure time-wasters as they take so many hits to kill. Unfortunately, when the clock runs out it makes you want to pull your hair out.

Graphics
Super Bomberman is one of the more detailed Bomberman games even for the SNES as it packs much more color and design. The arenas obviously don’t have as much room to run around in as the NES Bomberman, but it makes up for it by adding more variety, from mini-towns with sirens to stump woodlands to flower gardens with biting tulips (they don’t actually eat you, they’re just glorified blocks) to a fighting arena filled with spectators. The enemies are your usual Bomberman lot but Bomberman and his multicolored buddies are amazing to look at. The bosses are also detailed. One of them being a clown face that cries every time you injure it. There’s another that looks like some karate master that you have to knock into an electric wall to defeat it (and his animations are funny to watch)!

Sound
Most of the music to Super Bomberman are rehashes of music from older Bomberman games. But if you get past that they’re actually good to listen to, also taking detail like the graphics. In retrospect, the soundfont may be somewhat weak, however, but not that weak since you’ll most likely be too busy to even care. You don’t necessarily need an epic soundtrack to make a good game, and the music is strong enough to get the job done.

The sound effects add a nice touch, although Bomberman’s walking can get a little annoying; why it makes a clucking sound every time you set a bomb is beyond me. It is satisfying to hear the enemies go poof when they die, especially when some of them take more than one hit to destroy.

Conclusion
Although the music leaves a little to be desired and sometimes the gameplay needs a little polish, Super Bomberman is a great start into the SNES. Multiplayer is a blast (no pun intended) especially if you have the money to get a Super Multitap. Then you’ll definitely have a big party!

The main story is strong enough to keep you entertained if you have to play alone, and the graphics are very nice to look at. Making your opponents eat bomb shrapnel is a great way to start your morning. And when the dust settles there’s nothing more satisfying than being the winner while the losers are nothing but ash. Leave it up to Super Bomberman to get your demolishing needs done.

4 out of 5 Stars.