Bomberman Generation

"Bomberman Never Fails To Amaze Me..."

Yes, boys and girls, Bomberman has finally arrived on the Nintendo Gamecube in the cel-shaded game, 'Bomberman Generation' But, the question is, will Bomberman's newest game be an instant classic, or will it bomb? (Excuse the pun)

Story: 10/10

A space freighter carrying six ultra-powerful bomb elements is blown up by the HIGE HIGE Bandits, causing the six elements to go colliding into a nearby planet. It's up to Bomberman to get the bomb elements before the HIGE HUGE Bandits, lead by a badly translated villain called Mujoe, do. If that's not hard enough, Bomberman's arch enemies the Crush Bombers are also trying to get their hands on the bomb elements. The story ties perfectly in with the game's theme.

Graphics: 10/10

Everything is done beautifully. The cel-shading and the 3D graphics work wonderfully together, and there's no shortage of color in this game. Bomberman Generation uses the Gamecube's power to create stunningly complex characters and items, and make everything fit into the colorful environment. Best of all, there's hardly any glitches in the entire game! (Of course, this may be a bad thing for people who love to hunt for glitches.) The only small gripe is that the items used to merge bombs are in 2D, not in beautiful 3D, but you rarely see the merge items in the game at all.

Gameplay: 10/10

There's more that meets the eye in this stunning game. At first, the Gameplay is consisted of just blowing things up, but then it reveals something more. After the first level, you receive your own Charabom. A Charabom's an animal-like creature that has one or two of these attributes; fire, earth, water, and electric. Charaboms make certain things possible, like Bomb Jump, Remote Control Bombs, and Mines. Also, you can merge two Charboms with a Merge Portal to create a new Charabom that shares attributes of both of its parents. Learning to use them properly is one of the key things to winning the game.

Bomb Merge items are used to create new bombs, like Water and Ice Bombs. Soon, you must learn how to use the right Bomb in certain situations, like putting out fires and moving tree leaves. There's also these blue items called lightning cards. If I told you what they do, I'd be spoiling the game. Collect as much as you can; they can be a huge help!

If you're bored with single player, then there's always the ever-famous Multiplayer to fool around with. There's more options in Multiplayer than before, and each mode has a different type of fun.

To summarize, you won't be bored with this game any time soon.

Control: 9/10

The control is amazingly smooth, so controlling Bomberman won't be a problem. However, there's a slight camera problem, and the camera will sometimes cause some frustration when you're trying to toss a bomb. Good thing the camera has two control buttons....


Sound: 10/10

The Music fits the game's mood well, but it won't get stuck in your head sadly. The game's sound is beautiful; each Charabom has four different calls, each bomb has a different explosion sound, waters sounds like water, etc. The Voice-Acting is very clear, and fits the characters perfectly; (Except Bomberman; he sounds a little like a girl in this one.) You won't be using the Mute Button on this game.

Replayability: 10/10

There's so much to do in this game. You can replay the bosses as much as you want, collect all the lightning cards, play the Multiplayer until your eyes bleed, and much more. It's hard to see why someone would be bored with this game.

Buy or Rent?

This game is an instant classic to the Nintendo Gamecube, and would look great in anyone's collection. If you question the cel-shading and happy-go-lucky look, then rent it before you shell out $40-50 dollars.

Despite the fruity colors, Bomberman is a challenging game to 100% complete. Also, Bomberan's endless Multiplayer will keep even the most hard-core person glued to the screen as they blast their friends into oblivion. This is a game you don't want to miss.

Reviewer's Score: 10/10, Originally Posted: 07/27/02, Updated 07/27/02