Bomberman Tournament

"A half-baked game slapped with the "Bomberman" title."

I remember when Bomberman Tournament first came out in 2001, it was one of the first games available for the then fledgling Game Boy Advance. Therefore, it was an early "must-have" title not because it was a Bomberman title, but simply because it looked like one of the first "good" games for the new system. But this game is a bit of a disappointment. Like the title of my review says, I feel that this was a mediocre game that just happened to feature Bomberman characters and items simply to sell a few copies.

The story was nothing brilliant. Its main plot was pulled straight from Super Mario Bros. (1985). Instead of a missing princess, Bomberman Max goes missing after being captured by Brain Bomber, who takes the role of "Bowser." Thus, Bomberman, acting like Mario, must traverse the world of Phantarion to save Bomberman Max from the clutches of Brain Bomber. Throughout this journey, Bomberman will meet up with various characters who will aid him on his quest.

As the title implies, Bomberman's main source of power are his various types of bombs, from the standard design to remote controlled bombs. Bomberman will need to utilize the different types to traverse the world, as well as defeat a wide array of enemies. The main appeal of this game is trying to find all the different types of bombs, especially as you are not required to obtain them all to win the game.

Graphically, this game is nothing special. When it was first released in 2001, it was praised for being one of the first games to feature the "top down" style popularized by many RPGs. The graphics are not bad by any measure, but also are no better than other games released around the same time, such as Super Mario Advance and Iridion 3d. I have no real complaints about the graphics, though I have no real compliments, either. It's pretty much standard GBA quality.

One of the supposed "selling points" of this game are the Karabon, 25 creatures who give Bomberman unique powers, such as stronger bombs or the ability to lay down multiple bombs at once. This is a refreshing take on the series, as instead of finding a myriad of different bomb designs, you find Karabon, some of which are well hidden, and others which are obtained only by "fusing" two other Karabon together. Note that the Karabon obtained by Fusion are required to progress through the game, as they act as "keys" to battling the guardians of each dungeon. The Karabon can also battle each other in arenas, which can earn Bomberman a lot of money. The battling aspect is a clear rip-off of Pokemon, and a bad one at that. In fact, it's such a blatant rip-off you almost ask yourself if you're playing "Pokemon Tournament, featuring Bomberman."

Despite the fact that I given the game a rating of only 40%, don't think that it's a horrible game. It's not. The single player adventure is mediocre, but since when has anyone ever bought a Bomberman game for the single player adventure?

The multiplayer mode for this game simply cannot be beat. First off, it's one of a select few GBA games to offer the full experience in "single-pak" mode. Secondly, it's simply fun. While it's the same multiplayer that's been done to death on Super Bomberman and Bomberman 64, why fix it if it isn't broken? Few things are more rewarding than knowing you just toasted your friend with a well-hidden remote controlled bomb. New to this take on the multiplayer mode is the "Revenge" setting, which makes the gameplay almost like dodgeball. That is, if your Bomberman is knocked out, but manages to knock out another Bomberman in the "afterlife," you get to return to the arena as a second chance. This makes many of the battles longer and more exciting, especially since collected items are recycled, which can quickly change the tide of battle.

As of 2006, Bomberman Tournament is all but impossible to find in stores, so buying it online is probably your best bet. If you can find it cheap, I'd recommend buying it. Despite its weak story, fairly easy gameplay and the cheap Karabon aspect, it's still a mediocre game that can be enjoyable and just so happens to feature characters from the Bomberman universe. Of course, if you can't find it, you're really not missing out on anything, either.

Reviewer's Score: 4/10, Originally Posted: 10/27/02, Updated 11/14/06