Bomberman 64 (N64) Retro Review

This weekend sort of has a theme of reviews on SuperPhillip Central. Two games to be reviewed today (Saturday) and tomorrow for Easter, and one is retro and one is modern. Well, there goes one theory of how they're related out the proverbial window! Stick around for tomorrow to find and figure out the theme!

In the meantime, let's turn our attention to a Nintendo 64 classic: Bomberman 64. I absolutely enjoyed this game back as a younger superhero, and nowadays I can actually beat the game without the need of a Game Genie! Progress! Huzzah! Here's SPC's retro review of Bomberman's first N64 outing. 

Does whatever a Bomberman can (traditional jumping not included)

 
One of my first forays into the Bomberman franchise was Bomberman 64. I'm sure like many, a lot of us have approached and been introduced to a long-running series like Bomberman via different games and eras. That could be the original classic Bomberman games, the modern Super Bomberman R games, and yes, the era that one could argue debuted with Bomberman 64 and concluded around Bomberman Jetters. 

At any rate, Bomberman 64 starts with a devious villain named Altair who uses an all-powerful device called the Omni Cube to cause destruction in its wake. Countless planets have fallen victim to Altair's forces and the Omni Cube, and now poor Planet Bomber is under attack next. Unfortunately for Altair, the previous planets didn't have the White Bomber aka Bomberman to save the day! 

Upon seeing his home planet being bombarded and assaulted by this new threat, Bomberman is introduced to Sirius. This potential ally informs Bomberman that in order to reach Altair's base, he'll have to destroy the anchors in four different worlds to lower the force field surrounding the base. Thus, Bomberman and we, the player, have our goal and are ready to bomb and blast away.  

You can pull the camera in and out, circle it around completely, but cheap deaths can and still do happen.

Bomberman 64 was quite different to pretty much every past and previous Bomberman game at the time. Instead of battling in what were essentially arenas, destroying blocks, and all enemies in order to reach a goal, the objective in Bomberman 64 was to explore fully 3D areas, blasting away at baddies, yes, but most of the time Bomberman needed to solve some sort of environmental puzzle to open up the way to the exit of the stage.

Taking the very first level of Green Garden, the recommended world for first time players, it's here where the objective is to step on four green switches, some hidden away better than others. These unlock a force field around a large red crystal, which when removed, opens up the level exit. Now, sure, one can simply make like a speed runner and rush to clear the objective, but first-time players will most likely wish to explore the rather sizable level. 

After the four green button switches are pressed, your prize awaits.

It's here where Sirius serves as your tutorial's teacher of sorts, giving you advice and information on the controls and abilities Bomberman possesses. Pretty much everything that Bomberman needs to beat each level he already has at its beginning. Save for remote bombs that detonate manually as opposed to an automatic, timed explosion, but these are earned via temporary power-up. 

Pump up the jam and pump up the bombs to blow certain, otherwise invulnerable enemies away.

Regardless, Bomberman has all sorts of tricks to his trade. He can drop bombs, of course, but he can also kick them, pick them up, and with the latter, he can even pump them up to large size, letting loose a powerful explosion in its erupting wake. Obviously in true Bomberman series fashion, poor Bomberman--despite years previously of repeatedly doing so--he never became immune to blowing himself up, so both carefulness and caution are required when planting bombs all about.

Bomberman 64 also introduces a new mechanic that is touched on briefly around the beginning of the game, but it's not exactly mandatory to use until much later in the game--for instance, going for 100% completion. This is the bomb jump. Like the '90s movie said, "White Bombers Can't Jump." Or maybe I'm mixing that up with something else. EITHER WAY, Bomberman does not have the ability to jump in this iteration of the series, unlike his Bomberman Hero self. Therefore, to mind gaps and "leap" over them when it's necessary, Bomberman must drop bombs in the gap to bounce over. Needless to say, one should consider utilizing remote bombs here, but also that this takes some getting used to, as well. 

Feeling hot under the collar, Bomberman? ...Wait, do you even have a collar to feel hot under?!

Even in the first level there are warp pads that are totally inaccessible without clever use of bomb jumping. Usually it amounts to placing small and big bombs in various patterns to make a "staircase" (for lack of a better term) of bombs to bounce up or across to reach new areas. That said, even mistakenly placing or kicking a bomb just a smidge too far or too short can cause your entire bomb jump attempt to be a dud. Seeing Bomberman get smacked in the face or head with a bomb and become dazed, helplessly bouncing up and down, is just a demoralizing thing at best and the absolute worst at, well, worst.

While the first and third stages of each world are exploration and puzzle-based, the second and forth stages involve some form of boss battle. The first four worlds pit you against either Sirius or one of Altair's right-hand henchmen or hench-woman, as it were for one of the trio, for the second stage, and a big, bad boss to battle in the fourth and final stage. The former encounters are the pure Bomberman boss battle formula in essence. You bomb them and beat them before they can beat you, as you smartly drop, kick, or throw bombs to blow them up three times. With the latter battles, these require dodging attacks while waiting for an opening to blast the large boss, whether that be a blue dragon in Green Garden or a massive death robot in Red Mountain's finale.

Send Hades (the mech) back to Hades (the place) where it belongs!

After the initial four worlds have been completed with bosses battled and beaten, the fifth world opens up: Black City, featuring four more stages. Once the final level is reached and Altair is defeated, then the day is saved... right? 

Well, not so much. Taking a page out of the same rulebook that so many games of the era used, in order to get the true ending of Bomberman 64, you must do much more than the basics. What that amounts to is getting all 100 Gold Cards, five in each previous stage, before being graced with the opportunity to visit the final, true world of the game where Bomberman 64's real villain awaits.  

And THIS is where all that bomb jumping will come in. While a lot of the levels and stages don't require bomb jumping to acquire most of the Gold Cards that are scattered about, hidden in different locations, some are indeed placed in locales that DO require bomb jumping to reach. Hopefully you're not like me back in the day and either failed to learn how to properly bomb jump or the concept just alludes you completely. Otherwise, you might drop the game like middle school Phil did way back when. Honestly, it wasn't until a friend brought over his Game Genie that I finally was able to play the last levels! Fortunately, this time around, I, at long last, managed to get all 100 Gold Cards on my own--cheat devices be damned!

In the exploration-oriented stages, three Gold Cards are hidden in blocks located in out of the way places or secret spaces that are off the beaten path. A fourth Gold Card is always earned by defeating your 30th enemy, while the fifth and final Gold Card in each stage is acquired by beating the stage's target time. Trying to get all five Gold Cards in one run in one of these stages is next to impossible, but I'm sure speed runners are--and have been--more than up to the challenge! 

In the boss-based stages, four Gold Cards are attained from damaging or hitting the boss in a certain way. This can be bouncing a bomb off its head, exposing a secret weak point, damaging an appendage enough to make it completely worthless in battle, etc. The fifth Gold Card in these boss battles are also target time-related, and unlike the exploration stages, you need to earn all five Gold Cards at once in boss battles. Otherwise, only your best Gold Card score is saved.

Discovering the way to defeat bosses to earn Gold Cards is a bit of a puzzle unto itself!

Bomberman 64 is definitely a difficult game due to the bomb jumping aspect. The final world basically has you doing bomb jumps with essentially no safety net, so a mistaken jump will lead poor Bomberman to fall to his doom, death, demise, whatever horror you can think of! For a playthrough without necessarily rushing, but also having some prior experience and playthroughs under my proverbial belt, my run took about 8 hours to fully beat the game with all 120 Gold Cards. (Counting the 20 Gold Cards that are in the true final world of the game.) However, there's also goodies to unlock from beating the game in less than three hours with 100% completion, but suffice to say, your superhero pal was not up to that particular challenge in the slightest. Nor was the Hard Mode that appealing after all struggling I encountered, as well!

Bomberman will slip and slide away on this icy floor, so mind your footing!

Apart from Gold Cards, there are also hidden custom parts to discover in stages, and these are placed in even more fiendish locations than the Gold Cards. Thankfully, these are entirely optional, but they do unlock cool costume pieces to equip your Bomber with in the multiplayer portion of the game.

Yes, it wouldn't be a proper Bomberman game without a multiplayer aspect! (Yes, I know Bomberman Hero fans have a bone to pick with me right now, but I said what I said!) This mode forgoes the grid-like movement of traditional Bomberman games and instead uses full 3D movement, just like in the single player adventure component. Further going just like in the single player adventure component, bombs don't blow up in cross-like patterns like typical Bomberman games, and instead they explode in spheres. The game's multiple 3D arenas--all set to fit on a single screen with little to no camera movement--are rather fun, and it's really novel to play Bomberman multiplayer like this! Throw in the custom rules and custom parts you can outfit your Bomber with (the latter from the single player campaign), and you have a game that was a figurative and literal blast for party nights at the SuperPhillip household!

I lament that this era of Bomberman is over. I don't particularly mind the modern era that is a throwback to the classic era of Bomberman, but there was something to this adventure era that was so fun in its novelty, so cool, and so... explosive. While I certainly don't lament Bomberman 64's requirement for mastering bomb jumping or otherwise having a frost bomb's chance in Hell at succeeding at completing the Adventure mode, I do love this game to this day. It gets frustrating, it gets difficult, and it gets annoying at times, but with enough practice, enough patience, and enough perseverance, players will blast on through without hopefully blowing themselves up too much in the process. For these reasons and the absolutely novel multiplayer, I truly hope Bomberman 64 arrives on the Nintendo Switch Online subscription service sooner rather than later.

[SPC Says: B-] 

Bomberman Generation (GCN) Retro Review

With the news of Bomberman returning to gaming with a brand-new Nintendo Switch exclusive entry in the series, SuperPhillip Central decided to celebrate with a look back at one of the White Bomber's GameCube adventures. It's Bomberman Generation, and here's my retro review of the game!

Does whatever a Bomber can.

Bomberman Generation's story mode follows the destruction of a vessel that was transporting the six Bomb Elements through space. The HIGE HIGE Bandits are behind the destruction and subsequent theft, and it's up to Bomberman to track the Bomb Elements down, nab them from the HIGE HIGE Bandits, and save the universe once more. Dialogue in Bomberman Generation is fully voiced, and Bomberman will repeatedly get stopped mid-game by Professor Ein who generally has something obvious to say about what you need to do next in a given level. Thankfully, these interruptions only happen the first time through a level. Meanwhile, during boss stages you have to suffer through the introductions of each boss with no means to skip them, even if you've already taken them down before, which can become quite vexing.

Generation plays similarly to previous 3D entries in the Bomberman franchise, such as 64 and its now rare and valuable sequel, The Second Attack. It plays with an overhead, slightly isometric view, where you have full control of the camera, being able to turn it with the GameCube's shoulder buttons. Occasionally, however, especially in enclosed areas, it can be difficult to get the right angle on the action, though this problem doesn't occur often.

Bomberman begins with a limited amount of firepower and bombs available to him. Only through bombing specific objects do firepower power-ups that expand the range of his bombs' explosions, roller skate power-ups that speed Bomberman's movement, and bomb power-ups that add more bombs that Bomberman can summon on screen at the same time appear. Starting off, you're limited in how you can defeat enemies. You can kick a bomb into an enemy, but they'll recover faster than your bomb will explode. As you get more bombs and more firepower, it's much easier to take out enemies. Otherwise, hitting enemies is rather hard when starting the game, requiring an annoying sense of timing and strategy. Unfortunately, if Bomberman loses all of his health, when you begin the level again, all your firepower, movement, and bomb boosts are removed. This makes some boss battles near impossible due to how sluggish Bomberman moves, making it challenging to avoid their attacks.

Starting off, Bomberman is slow and makes it challenging to hit enemies.

There are five major areas in Bomberman Generation, and each possesses 4-6 levels each. Levels consist of using bombs to not only take out enemies, but also to interact with the environment to solve simple to complex puzzles. You start off in the first world doing easy things like bombing trees to have them fall over, creating bridges, as well as bombing boulders that block the passage of water in order to create flowing rivers. Later in the game you're shifting giant sheets of ice with big bombs to strategically pass around and even through them.

Water you thinking entering the ocean without some water bombs, Bomberman?!

Through Bomberman's adventure he'll come across various portals, some out in the open and some requiring some form of careful exploration to find them. Some of these portals have mini-games that when won give Bomberman a material that can be used to fuse new types of bombs, such as water bombs that are the only bombs that can explode underwater or ice bombs that freeze geysers that Bomberman can then cross. Other portals contain Charaboms, a series of creatures no doubt inspired by Nintendo's Pokemon.

Your first Charabom is given to you automatically. Every other one requires you to battle them. Battles are somewhat luck-based, requiring each side to choose from one of six orders of moves (attack, defense, and special attack) to take down their opponent. The early battles against Charaboms are the most challenging, as later in the game you get the ability to fuse Charaboms together. This makes them immensely strong and able to steamroll most Charabombs you battle regardless of your luck and what order of moves you choose.

Charaboms aren't just for battling and collecting. When equipped to Bomberman, each gives him a special ability. Some give Bomberman maximum firepower from his bombs regardless of how many firepower pick-ups he's collected. Others give him the ability to detonate his bombs at will with the press of a button, allow him the ability to bounce off bombs to cross certain chasms (a great thing to have as Bomberman can't jump), or give him the ability to set a bomb and control its movement until it explodes. Fused Charaboms give a combination of abilities depending on Charaboms fused.

Possessing elemental bombs and different Charaboms is important to fully explore every level in Generation. Bomberman can discover a whole slew of interesting things in the game such as heart containers that add a heart to his health as well as Lightning Cards that unlock a special bonus when all of them have been collected. Both of these not only require careful exploration of levels, but they're a lot of fun to find and figure out how to collect.

The halfway point and last level of each world of Bomberman Generation pits Bomberman against a boss of some type. The halfway point boss is part of a special force of bombers associated with the HIGE HIGE Bandits known as the Crush Bombers, who each have their own distinct powers and personalities. The final level boss is a more difficult opponent if only because some of these encounters make it difficult to know when that boss is vulnerable to a bomb attack. I spent several minutes and lives on some bosses just due to the fact that I didn't know when the boss could be damaged. Despite the initial frustration, I eventually figured it out and went on my merry way in Bomberman's adventure.

This mammoth boss concludes the first world in Bomberman Generation.

Bomberman Generation's story mode is enjoyable, and it doesn't outwear its welcome either. It's a breeze to play as it's not too terribly challenging, but going for all the Lightning Cards, especially from the Crush Bombers where you need to perform specific tasks during the battle to earn their five cards, makes for a greater challenge. And even if you don't find yourself enjoying the story mode (which would blow my mind as it's quite good), then there is the tried and true multiplayer modes to sink your teeth into.

Multiplayer offers a variety of modes, maps, and options to make for many sleepless nights of local partying fun. Whether it's traditional deathmatches, a mode where you use bomb explosions to flip tiles in order to have your color appear most on the map before time runs out, a mode where you avoid falling bombs, and much more, there is a lot of entertainment to be found here.

If you're looking for traditional Bomberman multiplayer action, you've got it in Bomberman Generation.

Bomberman Generation sports a lovely cel-shaded art style, though to be fair, I am sucker for this visual style. Characters look great in their cel-shaded glory, though the environments could be a bit more detailed. That said, there are no frame-rate issues to speak of, perhaps because of the aforementioned lesser detail of the environments. The voice work stretches from decent like Professor Ein to comically bad. Meanwhile the music delivers catchy melodies fitting for each level and boss it plays during.

Overall, Bomberman Generation is a blast. (Hey, I could have gone with "it's the bomb" so go easy on me.) With a highly engaging single player component and the tried and true multiplayer mode that offers some of the most fun in the series this way of the Sega Saturn's Bomberman, Generation delivers an explosive package worthy of playing. The inability to skip cutscenes and Bomberman's sluggishness at the beginning of each life make for some slight annoyances, but all in all, this version of Bomberman blows the competition away.

[SPC Says: B]

Bomberman (PSP) Retro Review

I have a special announcement coming in about an hour or so from this post, so please look forward to that. In the meantime, keep yourself occupied with this all-new retro review for the PlayStation Portable version of Bomberman. How does it hold up? Find out with my review!

Bombs away!

Like another popular 'Man in gaming, Bomberman once had so many games that were coming out at once that they were overflowing out of that poofy thing that comes out of his head. However, like Capcom's Mega Man, Bomberman's best days are seemingly behind him with no new releases in sight. Still, that doesn't mean I can't explore his vast library and entertain myself, right? That's exactly the point of checking out the PlayStation Portable version of Bomberman, simply titled... well... Bomberman! Is it a blast or a dud?

Bomberman's PSP outing features two main solo modes to enjoy. The first is Normal Mode, while the second unlocks after the former has been completed. This mode is Classic, and it pits you against 50 increasingly more difficult levels.

Normal Mode is essentially the same as Classic, save that it has 100 levels total spread across 10 worlds. Each world houses its own gimmick, whether it be the Jungle World's network of pipes that can be walked through, yet can also house enemies, or the Desert World's transporter system.

Be mindful of your surroundings, Bomberman. You don't want to blow yourself up.

The main aim of each of these modes is the same: to eliminate all enemies within each level and reach the goal, hidden in one of the bomb-able soft blocks. This is harder than you might think because the AI is relatively smart. Enemies won't just stand there while you set bombs up next to them. They might hide in a safe haven away from the cross-shaped explosion pattern of Bomberman's bombs. Not only do you have to destroy the soft blocks that stand in Bomberman's path in order to make it to the enemies in a level, but you have to blow them up without torching your own rear end.

Some enemies like these stone golems take multiple blasts to bring down.

Normal Mode also differs from Classic because in Normal Mode, you can collect different item icons from destroyed soft blocks, cycle through them with the shoulder buttons, and use them whenever you want. Some items stay with you as long as you stay alive, such as additional bombs that can be set on screen at the same time, bigger explosion patterns, and faster movement for Bomberman. Other items are only active for one level, such as remote-controlled bombs that explode with a press of a button or being able to walk through soft blocks. Then there are items that are just temporary like the ability to weather bomb explosions or granting Bomberman an extra hit from an enemy or bomb that would otherwise be a loss of life.

Whereas with Classic Mode, you have a set amount of lives to get through all 50 levels, and the items you collect are instantly bestowed onto Bomberman. Unlike Normal Mode, when you die, the effects of your collected items aren't removed, so it's very RPG-like in building Bomberman's stats.

The first nine levels of each world in Normal Mode are typical "destroy-all-enemies" affairs, while the tenth level pits you and Bomberman against a boss of some variety, These encounters are generally enjoyable with patterns you need to watch out for, and show a lot of creativity. These boss battles mix things up greatly as otherwise the PSP version of Bomberman might feel a bit too repetitive, despite the game changing up the obstacles and gimmicks with each new world you visit.

This spider boss spins webs of the explosive kind.

In each fifth level of a world, you have the optional task (well, it's mandatory if you want to reach the tenth world) of collecting a key. This spawns from doing a variety of tasks that is dependent on the world: defeating all enemies, blowing up all soft blocks, or bombing the goal (something I didn't pick up on in the ninth world, wondering where the heck that blasted key was!). Collecting all of the keys in the first nine worlds unlocks the final series of ten levels.

Carefully take down all targets and reach the goal to clear each level.

Any Bomberman game worth its weight in bombs has to have a compelling multiplayer piece to it. After all, that's what this franchise is most known for, it's extensive and explosive multiplayer. In this PSP version, you have the ability to play with up to four PSP systems either with multiple copies of the game or through game sharing. It's important to note that this multiplayer is only available via Ad Hoc mode.

Regardless, the battle mode in this PSP version is robust and quite customizable, to say the least. You can set the AI difficulty (for if you are just by your lonesome), how many rounds, whether revenge mode and sudden death are on, which items are to be included, and whether you wish to play in teams or not. The amount of arenas is sizable, though many feature the same environments. Still, if you're looking for an excellent on-the-go multiplayer Bomberman, you'll get that and more with Bomberman on PSP.

With four players (either human, AI, or a combination of both), Bomberman's multiplayer is a blast.

Bomberman's PSP game uses competent 3D models for its characters, enemies, and environments. It all looks rather nice, and I have no complaints. The game also runs at a smooth clip, so there's never any case of accidentally blowing yourself up due to any frame-rate hitching. The music featured in Bomberman fits each world it's played in, and many times it got me to bop my head along to it.

Overall, Bomberman on PSP delights with its single player modes, though limited in replay value. Its multiplayer is where the game truly shines in its longevity, offering a multitude of modes and options to customize your multiplayer matches however you see fit. For its cheap price nowadays, Bomberman is an excellent, explosive romp that is ultimately a blast. That concludes not only my judgment of Bomberman, but also the bomb pun portion of this review.

[SPC Says: B-]

Bomberman Tournament (GBA) Retro Review

As we approach Christmas, SuperPhillip Central is filling your stocking with a bunch of new reviews! Last night we took a look at the lightning quick FAST Racing Neo. Today, it seems this month of Game Boy Advance retro reviews continues with a fallen gaming icon, Bomberman. Here's my review of the retro wonder, Bomberman Tournament.

A short fuse, but a satisfying blast

It's a common saying and sentiment that you don't know what you've got until it's gone. That's no truer than with Hudson Soft and its Bomberman franchise. Many of us certainly took for granted the series and how it might not always be there for us to enjoy. I mean, the series saw regular releases on a variety of platforms, often with more than one game on a given console or handheld. Now, Konami owns Bomberman, and the publisher has not done much to bring the White Bomber back into the gaming sphere. Thus, the only recourse is to play past Bomberman games, and that's exactly why I took my Game Boy Advance out of storage and played the very first Bomberman game to hit the system, Bomberman Tournament. Not just offering the traditional bomb-and-get-blasted multiplayer mayhem the series is well known for, but also a single player quest mode, Bomberman Tournament delivers explosive action in portable form.

The main attraction to Bomberman games is the multiplayer mode, and it is present and accounted for in Bomberman Tournament. If you possess a series of link cables, you can link up to four Game Boy Advances together to play Bomberman Tournament's bounty of multiplayer goodness. With eight arenas to choose from, you can bomb one another in an arena infested with killer landmines, an arena set on the moon containing portals that warp players across the map, or take one another out in a standard arena with no frills. You can play with just one cartridge between all players, but it's recommended that everyone involved in your bombing bonanza has a cartridge because of the otherwise nasty load times.

This moon map is full of portals to warp players around its reaches.

For those who don't know of the entertainment that the multiplayer of the Bomberman series delivers, it's all in how simple it is. You have four combatants on opposite corners of a small arena. Through planting bombs and destroying objects, you gain power-ups like being able to set more than one bomb at a time, extra firepower, or the ability to kick or throw bombs. The goal of a multiplayer match is to trap your opponent so they have no choice but to be obliterated by the blast radius of a given bomb. The last player standing wins the round.

Of course, if you lack multiple friends who own Game Boy Advances and link cables, you can always play Battle Mode with computer opponents, selecting one of three difficulty levels for them. The choices don't end there with rounds either, offering the ability to choose how long each round is, if there is a tiebreak rule involved, whether bombed players can seek revenge on living ones, and much more.

If the Battle Mode doesn't appeal to you as a solo player, you can always try out the Quest Mode, a single player excursion lasting about a dozen hours or so. What you get is a nice combination of Legend of Zelda field, dungeon, and town exploration, as well as some Pokemon-inspired monster collecting and battling.

Occasionally, Bomberman enjoys the country life.

The story is as follows: Bomberman is sent to planet Phantarion with information that it is under attack by the nefarious Brain Bomber. Along the way he'll encounter enemies both large and small, friendly faces, new power-ups to claim, dungeons rife with peril and puzzles, and multiple bosses to defeat.

Quest Mode's real drawback is something that is mitigated after the first couple of hours. You see, at the beginning of the mode, you have but three hearts to work with and an unimpressive number of bombs and firepower. This makes dying very easy, and since there is no auto-save feature in Bomberman Tournament, if you aren't saving every couple of minutes, you can lose a lot of progress. This is because losing all your health results in a game over, forcing you to restart from the last point you saved at.

Furthermore, enemies move around a lot. When you have just one bomb you can place on the map at a given time with such a low blast radius, it can be hard to take them out quickly. In fact, it can be maddening trying to defeat the simplest of foes at the beginning of the game.

Taking care of weeds can be a menial job, but someone's got to do it.

Still, Quest Mode is an engaging experience. You get items and ability-granting karabon monsters to make progress on planet Phantarion. The latter not only allows you to do things like dive underwater, cross small gaps, and see in the dark, but karabons can also be used in battle. While these battles are nowhere near as deep as what you'd find in Pokemon (you select a karabon and three attack strategies before the battle even begins, and luck needs to be on your side), they are an enjoyable part of the Bomberman Tournament experience. Collecting all 25 is a fun task, as not all of the karabons are necessary to beat the game.

The main event: Pommy versus Dorako!
Let's get ready to RUMMMBBLLE!

When you're not traveling around the fields of Bomberman Tournament's Quest Mode, you'll be entering one of many puzzle-filled dungeons. These feel very much like The Legend of Zelda, complete with one screen-wide rooms, simple puzzles to solve such as hitting or bombing buttons to open locked doors, acquiring maps, finding treasure, and beating the boss at the end of the dungeon to acquire a heart to add to Bomberman's health.

Bomberman Tournament is a vibrant game with impressive character sprites and pleasant looking environments and objects. The amount of detail in the sprites is quite good, delivering a nice game to the eyes. The music is generally bright and cheery when you'd expect it to be, and suitably foreboding for boss fights and dungeons. What you have with Bomberman Tournament is a pleasing presentation package that does the Game Boy Advance hardware well.

Bomberman Tournament is a pleasure to look at as it's easy on the eyes.

If you're looking for a lesser-known Bomberman game that released close to the Game Boy Advance's launch, then Bomberman Tournament is a good pick. While the Quest Mode is slow to start off before things pick up, it's well worth trying out. The multiplayer mode is as big of a blast as any other in a Bomberman game. While Bomberman Tournament won't blow your mind, this game is certainly no dud.

[SPC Says: B-]