Bomberman has been around for decades and its latest release proves that the franchise can still hang around in today’s latest console platforms. While there has been minor changes and adjustments with the installments, overall the series continues to follow the same tried-and-true gameplay. Players are tossed into a maze-like map and must lay down bombs to clear pathways along with destroying enemies that are within the blast range.
As mentioned, the Bomberman franchise has been around for decades with its debut title, Bomberman, launching in 1983. However, until recently, the last installment to the series, Bomberman Live: Battlefest released a number of years ago in 2010.
Thankfully Konami decided to publish a new installment in 2017 known as Super Bomberman R that originally released as a Nintendo Switch exclusive. Now, the game is available on the PlayStation 4, Xbox One and PC platforms which you may have missed due to the E3 expo showcase.
Super Bomberman R is still very much that maze-like game where players are laying down bombs in hopes of eliminating the opposing players and enemies. However, there is a bit more to the game with a campaign and battle modes for players to enjoy.
This campaign isn’t the most thrilling story ever told but enough to offer unique settings as you progress through the narrative. Essentially this campaign follows the Bomberman team, a group of eight, who must stop an evil foe known as Emperor Buggler who is attempting to reign over the universe with the help of his thugs known as the Five Dastardly Bombers.
With this narrative, players are transported to different planets which hosts as a new gameplay mechanic such as a world that features snow leaving ice to slide. Throughout these worlds, players generally have an assortment of tasks to complete. Instead of clearing the levels of all foes you may need to locate hidden switches.
At the end of the world, you’ll be greeted with one of the Five Dastardly Bombers to defeat leaving you to move on to the next world. Of course, you’ll have a limited number of lives, the amount depends on your difficulty level selected. However, the game doesn’t punish players for losing as you’ll generally be able to keep moving on regardless of lives lost, though you may have to spend the in-game currency that can be earned through the game.
Outside of the campaign, there are multiplayer vs modes in which a group of players can enjoy the battles offline or online. Likewise, they range in map types and mechanics such as falling spikes which slowly decrease the map size. Additionally, players that find themselves out of the game early can have a chance in returning as they will be on the outskirts dropping down bombs into the battlefield. When they manage to get a kill they are able to return until the final minute countdown which prohibits defeated players to lay down bombs
Power-ups are still a big part in Super Bomberman R which includes a variety of abilities such as speeding your character up, increase how many bombs you can place, letting you pick up a bomb and throw it or even increasing your explosion range.
One of the other additions in Super Bomberman R that you’ll likely want to spend some time on is the fact that there is a slew of characters to unlock. They even range from other franchises such as Silent Hill and Castlevania.
These characters are well worth unlocking for the mere fact that they of their own unique attribute that can help during game matches such as Pyramid Head from Silent Hill who will instantly kill players that touches him.
All-in-all, Super Bomberman R looks to be a rather solid title. It could use a bit of a difficulty spike for the campaign in my opinion but the game really shines for its multiplayer component. This franchise continues to be a great title to pull out for when you gather a group of friends for a hangout.
Full Disclosure: A copy of the game was provided for review purposes.
