Bomberman 64

"A backwards, yet still good, entry in the Bomberman series"

One can always count on two things from a Bomberman game: a passable single-player experience that can usually be described as nothing beyond mediocre, and a frantic, charged multiplayer that is simple, yet insanely addictive. Bomberman 64 takes this formula, flips it upside down and runs with it. The result, though completely unlike anything in the series preceding it, is actually quite enjoyable.

Graphics: 7/10

For their time, these were quite good. There's nothing overly spectacular about the look and feel of the game and it's more or less standard N64 fare, complete with blocky models, and bright, if rather blurry, textures. Those who have played... well, pretty much any N64 game will know what to expect here.

The character sprites are also, for the most part, fairly bland. A notable exception to this is the bosses, which are actually quite well detailed. I really like the art style used on this game's characters, and it's a shame that most subsequent entries in the series do not follow the same style.

Sound: 9/10

I was actually quite impressed with Bomberman 64's soundtrack. It sports a number of very catchy tunes. All the songs are all upbeat and try and keep up the frantic mood of the game, but they do vary in tone and the mood they set. The Green Garden theme, for example, sets a care-free, laid back tone, while the industrial sounds of the Red Mountain theme give a much darker mood.

The game has a few voice clips here and there, none of which are of particularly high quality, but they are small enough in number to be more or less ignored.

Story: 7/10

Yes, this Bomberman actually has a story. I think it might be the first Bomberman to ever have a cohesive one, but I could be mistaken on that... Anyways, Bomberman's planet, the aptly-named Planet Bomber, has come under attack by a group of interplanetary raiders. Led by the nefarious Altair, and his underlings Artemis, Orion and Regulus, these ne'er-do-wells move from planet to planet and use a strange item called the Omni-Cube to absorb the life energy from the planet. After taking a small chunk of the planet and attaching it to their ship, they move onto the next world.

The game opens with Bomberman witnessing the enemy's strangely-shaped ship descending from orbit, only to see it suddenly start blasting huge lasers at a nearby village. You are then introduced to the final member of the cast, an enigmatic, angel-like being named Sirius, who offers to help Bomberman save his planet.

You don't get a lot of story-development beyond that, but it serves its purpose. Sirius acts as your mentor throughout the game, introducing you to the game's mechanics. Occasionally, he will outline a little bit of history, either filling you in on the origins of Altair and his cronies or describing the worlds subjugated by the villains. The story even has a few fairly surprising plot twists that make it worth following, further setting it apart from other Bomberman games.

Gameplay - Single Player: 9/10

What?! A Bomberman single-player game that doesn't suck? Yes, it's true! Believe it or not, Bomberman 64's single player mode is thoroughly enjoyable. Basically, you play through four in-game worlds, each of which has four stages. After completing all four worlds, you must play through a final, fifth world for a showdown with Altair. Sounds pretty short, but the game is challenging enough that it will still take you a while to get through. Stages 1 and 3 are pseudo-platforming stages, stage 2 is a mini-boss fight and stage 4 features a fight against a large, suitably impressive boss.

The normal levels have a variety of different goals. In one stage you may need to hit several switches, while in another you must destroy a specific structure. They all follow along the same vein, but are varied enough to suitably spice up gameplay. Exploration is actually quite cleverly handled. You see, Bomberman can't jump, which means you have to find a very specific path through each level. Obviously, given the series' emphasis on wanton destruction, part of finding that path involves blowing up large bits of scenery to MAKE a path when one isn't immediately apparent.

The game further spices things up by adding a “bomb jump” ability. If Bomberman lands on a bomb he has set, he will “skip” across it, giving him a means to cross gaps and chasms. You can make a pseudo-ramp of bombs by rigging up a bunch of bombs of various sizes and setting them on top of each other, thus allowing you access to new areas.

“Wait a minute... different sized bombs?” you say. Yes! One of Bomberman's new abilities is to lift up a bomb and charge it, causing it to grow to a large size. The bigger bomb has a bigger, more powerful explosion and can be used to blow up larger bits of scenery that are immune to smaller bombs.

As is standard for Bomberman games, Bomberman has access to a slew of power-ups that do anything from increase the number of bombs he can set at a time to improving the blast radius of said bombs and even making them remote-controlled. Careful use of these power-ups is essential, particularly given that Bomberman loses them all upon getting a game over.

The bosses are quite fun, and you can't really handle any of them the same way. The mini-bosses will remind veterans of the series of classic Bomberman multiplayer matches (albeit with enemies that have special powers), while the bigger bosses require more strategy to take down.

Now at only 20 stages total, 10 of which are boss fights, this game sounds like it would be really short. But the beauty of it is the collectables. Hidden around each stage are 3 gold cards that are sometimes quite deviously hidden in very hard to reach places. Two more must be earned by either toasting a bunch of enemies or finishing the level in a set time. Similarly, there are also two “costume pieces” hidden in each stage that allow you to dress up your Bomberman in multiplayer in various cool or silly looking outfits. Finally, if you attack bosses in a certain way, you can earn another five gold cards. What happens when you collect all the gold cards? Well, I won't spoil that for you, but suffice to say, it's actually quite cool.

The game has a nice host of unlockable content and getting all the gold cards and costumes can be devilishly hard at times. The single player campaign alone will keep you occupied for a good 10-20 hours or more, depending on your skill.

Gameplay – Multiplayer: 6/10

Sadly, the improved single-player comes at a cost of a fairly mediocre multiplayer. I know, this is really weird for Bomberman... but sadly, the 3D gameplay and explosions do not lend themselves well to Bomberman's frantic style of play. The multiplayer is certainly playable and there's nothing really wrong with it, but it's an overall bland experience. Basically, for those who've never played a Bomberman game before, you run around a big arena with four other Bombermans (Bombermen?) hucking bombs at each other. Last one alive wins.

Like previous Bomberman games, the multiplayer features a slew of extra features not available in the single-player game. For example, players can catch “diseases,” skull-shaped powerups that usually (but not always) provide a detrimental effect. Anything from making your character giant (and slow) to small (and fast) to making your bombs blow up almost instantly to reversing your momentum. Additionally, there are “evils” present, which act as sort of global diseases that affect everyone.

Bombermen who die can still affect the battle by acting as ghosts. If a ghost touches another player, he can briefly control that player's actions. This leads to all sorts of mayhem in the last minutes of the game.

That said, the multiplayer is fairly sub-par, especially considering the roots of the series are in excellent multiplayer.

Overall: 8/10

I do recommend Bomberman 64, but that would be because of its single-player rather than its multiplayer. Despite a few flaws here and there, it is a thoroughly enjoyable game and its puzzles are nothing short of fantastic. Definitely worth buying, if you can find a copy.

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 11/12/07

Game Release: Bomberman 64 (US, 11/30/97)