Wario Blast: Featuring Bomberman!

"I have met the enemy, and he is the character I didn't choose at the beginning"

As far as the story goes (which is negligible when playing games such as this), Wario is looking for another hapless nation to loot and stumbles upon the world of Bomberman and his cronies. When he lets loose a torrent of destruction and mayhem, the Bombermen refuse to stand for it. They get ready to do some serious bombing of their own, and a fat man wielding a mustache containing several right angles isn't going to stop them at all.

In Wario Blast: Featuring Bomberman (they had to squeeze in both names so they both have top billing), you can choose from either of the two titular characters in your explosive crusade toward victory. Each character has their own purpose but both operate in the same basic fashion. Bomberman moves faster than Wario, but aside from that there's practically no difference between the two. Your physical limitations at the beginning number many, but as you proceed you'll garner new skills such as the ability to kick bombs and run so you can escape large blasts. Temporary power-ups can enhance the number of bombs you can put down simultaneously and make the blast radius larger, or have adverse effects such as slower movement or the inability to lay even a single explosive. This variety is important to increasing your chances of victory (or defeat) and gives the Bomberman franchise some much-needed freshness.

Each character receives nice graphical representation, especially in their photos at the character selection screen, which are nicely detailed for such a low-bit system as Game Boy. The bomb blasts are carried out in a nice flaring fashion that I enjoy. Sound and music are good, but that walking noise can grate on one's (i.e. my) nerves easily after a bit. And while the boss's get pretty weird, it does actually become challenging after a while. You'll have to find patterns in the bosses' movements and attack schemes that will allow you to get in a hit. And while the bosses may seem predictably inspired by plain Japanese weirdness, they're nothing to laugh at, especially the end boss who I will not, in the interest of spoilage, describe here.

A lot of fun is to be had with this tiny cart if you're a fan of the Bomberman-style senseless destruction genre. You can actually use the tools given to you to make strategies once everything is deadlocked and all it becomes is a massive bombfest. Because of this, the game doesn't bore you too quickly, but you have to be a fan of the series to derive the most enjoyment from it. If you are looking to add to your Game Boy collection, this will be a good fun title to add to your mix of portable entertainment. It provides good solid fun with no margin for error and contains two characters with great resumes. Teamed up, they make a great combo.

Score: 9

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 05/31/02, Updated 05/31/02