Bomberman GB

Bomberman GB[lower-alpha 1] is a series of three Bomberman games for the Game Boy created by Hudson Soft. The first game was released on August 10, 1994 in Japan and in other countries later in 1994 or 1995 under the name Wario Blast: Featuring Bomberman!

Bomberman GB
Japanese cover art
Developer(s)Hudson Soft
Publisher(s)
Director(s)Norio Ohkubo
Producer(s)Norihito Miyamoto
Designer(s)Norio Ohkubo
Katsuhiko Urabe
Hiroji Kiyotake
Yoshimitsu Chokki
Programmer(s)Kenji Ogata
Artist(s)Shoji Mizuno
Composer(s)Yasuhiko Fukuda
SeriesBomberman
Wario
Platform(s)Game Boy
Release
  • JP: August 10, 1994
  • NA: November 1994
  • PAL: June 29, 1995
Genre(s)Action, maze
Mode(s)Single-player

Gameplay

In Bomberman GB, White Bomberman is out riding on his motorcycle, when he is suddenly ambushed by Black Bomberman and his gang, who rough him up and steal all of his power-up items. Now White Bomberman must chase them down to get them back!

In Wario Blast, Wario one day stumbles upon Bomberman's world, and, being the greedy sort he is, decides to loot it for his own gain. Bomberman is the only one that stands between Wario and the complete decimation of his world.

Every stage is viewed from an overhead perspective. The objective of the game is to blow up enemies to move on to the next stage. Gray walls can be blown up as well. Certain gray walls contain power-ups (which increase the power of explosions, or the number of bombs that can be set) and locate enemies. In Wario Blast, the player can play as either Wario or Bomberman, but this only changes the enemies from Black Bombermen to Wario clones, and back.

The game was enhanced for play on the SNES through the Super Game Boy device. The enhanced game offered color graphics, custom explosion sounds, a multiplayer mode which allowed for simultaneous gameplay between up to four opponents, and in Wario Blast a special Wario & Bomberman frame around the TV screen. The game uses a password system to save progress, where the passwords for Wario are the same as for Bomberman, but written backwards.

Reception

GamePro criticized the game's graphics and difficult controls, but judged the game overall enjoyable due to its classic Bomberman elements, summarizing that "A legendary concept gets a great Nintendo treatment."[1] Nintendo Power commented that the game was "great multi-player action." with "good use of Super Game Boy colors and music." and that the game had "larger areas than in previous Bomberman games."[2] The reviews commented on the graphics stating it was "difficult to recognize your character" and that more characters would have helped.[2]

Bomberman GB 2
Bomberman GB 2
North American cover art
Developer(s)A.I Co., Ltd.
Publisher(s)
Director(s)Tomohisa Goi
Producer(s)Norihito Miyamoto
Designer(s)Yuko Chikuda
Programmer(s)Tomonari Ikeda
Artist(s)Shoji Mizuno
Naoto Yoshimi
Composer(s)Yasuhiko Fukuda
SeriesBomberman
Platform(s)Game Boy
Release
Genre(s)Action
Mode(s)Single-player

Bomberman GB 2[lower-alpha 2] is the second Bomberman GB game. It was released in Japan in 1995. It was released in North America and Europe in 1998 by Nintendo as Bomberman GB due to the previous game being released under the title Wario Blast: Featuring Bomberman!.

A Bomberman named Indy Bomber sets out on a long journey to uncover a legendary treasure called the Ring of Wishes. He discovers a scripture and begins reading it, but soon falls into a trap in the floor and ends up in a cave. Now he must find hs way out of the cave and find the Ring of Wishes!

In single player, the main objective is to defeat the enemies that lurk in the cave and find the exit when done. There are two modes that can be selected before each new stage; Mode A, which requires the player to simply destroy all the enemies, and Mode B, which requires the player to defeat the enemies in a certain order. When an area is cleared, the player earns a new ability to help them in later levels.

The game supports up to four players through use of the Game Link Cable and Super Multitap (if used on a Super Game Boy).[4]

Bomberman GB 3
Bomberman GB 3
Cover art
Developer(s)A.I Co., Ltd.
Publisher(s)
Director(s)Norio Ohkubo
Noriyuki Nakagami
Producer(s)Norihito Miyamoto
Designer(s)Norio Ohkubo
Artist(s)Shoji Mizuno
Naoto Yoshimi
Kozue Satoh
Composer(s)Yasuhiko Fukuda
SeriesBomberman
Platform(s)Game Boy
ReleaseGame Boy
  • JP: December 20, 1996
Genre(s)Action
Mode(s)Single-player

Bomberman GB 3[lower-alpha 3] is the third Bomberman GB game. It was released in Japan only in 1996.

The 11th planet of Bomber Nebula, named Owen, faces a sudden earthquake. Deep within its underground, the terrible Evil Bomber[5], who had been trapped for ages, finally rises to power and steals the Bomber Capsules from Bomberman. Bomberman and his friends must now take back the Capsules and defeat Evil Bomber[5]!

The game retains its original maze-like gameplay. However, at the beginning of each stage, an objective is displayed that must be completed to clear it. Every fifth level involves collecting gems on the map, and if the player collects enough, two bell items will appear near the exit. These two items will offer the player help during the boss fight. After defeating a boss, it will leave behind Bomb Capsules that can be used in the shop to purchase extra abilities.

Notes
  1. Japanese: ボンバーマンGB Hepburn: Bonbāman Gēmu Bōi
  2. Japanese: ボンバーマンGB2 Hepburn: Bonbāman Gēmu Bōi Tsū
  3. Japanese: ボンバーマンGB3 Hepburn: Bonbāman Gēmu Bōi Surī

References
  1. "Wario Blast". GamePro. IDG (68): 122. March 1995.
  2. "Now Playing". Nintendo Power. Nintendo of America Inc. 67: 106. December 1994.
  3. http://www.gamefaqs.com/gameboy/564352-bomberman-gb/data
  4. "GB Bomberman 2". Electronic Gaming Monthly. Ziff Davis (72): 84. July 1995.
  5. He is called "デビルボンバー (Devil Bomber)" in Japan.
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