"A cute sidekick, a dark rival, a dangerous mission."

Alright, Bomberman 64: Second Attack isn't well known. But you know about it, because you are reading the review, right? Right. Anyway, Bomberman's back in this generally unknown game, now incredibly hard to find, and as the review's title suggests, the crap really does hit the fan for our little friend. He gets involved in what must be his toughest adventure to date. The stakes are higher than anytime before, and higher still than any game that came after it. You thought Jetters was bad? A planet-sized missile threatening the destruction of a planet is NOTHING compared to a feuding Angel and Demon bent on destroying the Universe no matter WHO wins. Ouch. Anyway, my review.

Graphics: 9/10
Alright, in truth, the graphics aren't perfect. They're pretty, with no jaggies or anything, but not fantastic. Why does it get a 9 then? Because it doesn't subtract from the experience. The graphics could be far better, but you wouldn't notice the difference between what it has and could have, because you are be too lost in the game to care. It's better than 64 though, with some pretty message faces too. It gets the job done rather nicely.

Sound: 9/10
Pretty. A lot of people think the music sounds like a MIDI, but a MIDI is flat. There are a lot of effects to the music scores. It's more like synthesizer music. You might find yourself humming it while playing. It's cute, kind of Secret Agent-y. Works great with the background.

Control: 10/10
There are no problems with the controls. The controls are all very responsive and very easy to memorize. Nothing else to talk about. Next.

Story: 10/10
This is where the game shines. Bomberman, his spaceship, and his souvenir egg get drawn into a black hole, and he finds himself trapped in a prison with his fire stone missing. That means he can't make bombs. His egg hatches while he plots escape, and he meets his new teammate, Pommy. The dimwitted but lovable fellow then goes so far as to beat up the guards to get Bomberman back his Fire Stone. They break loose, and find themselves in a mini-universe inside the black hole. Bomberman has to free all the planets from the black hole, then get out himself. Not SO bad, but then he runs into 7 Angelic knights who believe they are working for a greater good, and one of them is awful familiar... It's Regulus, sporting black armor, dark gravity powers, and a cool new alias: Bulzeeb, the Black Breath. Then you get into a huge struggle between a great Demon and Angel, basically the Bomberman equivalents of God and Satan, which involves collecting new crystals like your Fire Stone. Not cool. They both want to destroy the universe, but for some reason are fighting each other over it. Oh well. I won't get TOO into it, but you get the idea.

Gameplay: 10/10
Fun. Very fun. Hard, but fun. You go to a planet, themed after the knight who protects it (For example, the Wind Knight guards a flying temple world). You go through, solve lots of puzzles so you can get to the knight, beat them, get their stone, then solve more puzzles, then destroy the BHB Generator and get out of there. Sounds simple and boring, but it isn't. There's a lot of exploration, a lot of puzzles, and good ol' Pommy. You will get frustrated with this game, but you will love it for it. There's also that Multiplayer mode everyone loves, and it isn't any different. Beautiful, as always ^_^

Replay Value: 10/10
You will want to play this game multiple times. You have to unlock all the customization parts, you have to find all the Guardian Armor pieces, and you might want to find all the different pommy forms. You'll want to get both endings. You'll want to play through it again just to have your friends play Pommy with you. You'll have LOADS of fun every time.

Overall (Guess what? It IS an average!): 9.5 (But because we can't do that, and any number .5 or above gets rounded up... a 10!)
Buy it if you can find it. Likely, you don't have a 64 anyway, but still, if you do, get this game. If not, bug Hudson about making a remake. There's nothing like this game.

Reviewer's Score: 10/10, Originally Posted: 03/27/06