Product description
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Bomberman's latest adventure takes him across the galaxy!
Princess Millian has been kipped by the evil Garaden Empire
and it's up to Bomberman to save the day. Travel through worlds
of ice, fire and water. Use new abilities and get help from
friends like Louie the rabbit and Pibol the robot. New vehicles
like the Bomber Copter and Bomber Marine will come in handy in
your quest to save the Princess and free the universe once again!
Review
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Let's face it. Hudson Soft's been on a tear recently with its
Bomberman franchise. First it was Saturn Bomberman, then it was
the rendered/isometric Bomberman World on the PlayStation,
followed by Bomberman 64, Bomberman Fight for the Saturn, and
Bomberman Wars for the Saturn and PlayStation. Now, Hudson's back
again with yet another game featuring its explosive mascot, this
one for the N64.
Making its appearance surprisingly soon after the release of
Bomberman 64, Bomberman Hero once again places our bombastic
buddy in the role of platform protagonist. Your duty is to rescue
the Princess So and So (sound familiar?) from the clutches of the
evil blah blah blah and to restore peace to such and such
(actually Queen Millie Ann, Nitoros, and BomberWorld, in that
order). Bomberman Hero spans five distinct worlds, separated into
sections, each designed to test your platforming abilities.
Despite the uninspired plotline, Bomberman Hero is a rather
surprising success. In a departure from Bomberman 64, Bomberman
Hero boasts a number of new gameplay features that make this a
completely new Bomberman game. In a move that will shock and
perhaps even alienate hard-core Bomberman fans, Bomberman Hero
has absolutely no multiplayer feature, and after Bomberman 64's
lackluster attempt, that might not be such a bad thing. For those
not so concerned with Bomberman's legacy, they get a solid, if
unoriginal platformer to wrestle with. If anything, it almost
comes off as a cross between Sonic 3D Blast and C Bandicoot
2. As it turns out, Bomberman Hero is one part platformer and one
part adventure game, and with it comes a host of new moves to
help Bomberman save the Queen. For instance, Bomberman can now
jump. In addition to jumping, he can also grab and hang from
ledges, which comes in handy after a badly timed jump or an
unfortunate fall off a cliff. Bomberman has also inherited a life
bar. No more one-hit deaths. During the course of the game, a
number of levels will appear requiring Bomberman to utilize
special attachments suited to the stage at hand. These devices
include the BomberCopter, BomberJet, BomberMarine, and
BomberSlider as well as an appearance by Lui the Kangaroo. Each
has its own feel and style of control.
Nevertheless, it wouldn't be Bomberman if he wasn't throwing
bombs, and throw he does. All kinds of bombs in fact. In addition
to merely throwing bombs, you can increase the a of bombs
thrown (up to four) as well as the diameter of the explosion. For
the intrepid explorer, various power-ups lie in wait, such as the
remote bomb, freeze bomb, salt bomb (for slugs), and power glove.
Depending on the enemy and its elevation, Bomberman will be
required to either throw or kick the bombs at his foe. In a
situation where more than one enemy approaches, by holding down
the attack button, Bomberman will slowly begin to wind up his arm
until it resembles a windmill at full speed and then release up
to four bombs in one throw. It's this variety of new (for
Bomberman) features that refreshes and invigorates what would
have been overly stale gameplay. How many people wish that Mega
Man could simply duck?
Visually, Bomberman Hero is everything you could expect it to be.
All platformers should look this good. Bomberman himself is fully
rendered in polygons and animated beautifully, as are the
numerous enemies and boss characters. The backgrounds have been
thoughtfully designed and are solidly constructed, glitch-free,
and graphically lush. Even explosions look great as shock waves
litter the screen with each bomb thrown. Hudson Soft has managed
to create a crisp and vibrant world, saturated with detail and
gorgeous effects, all while avoiding the overly blurry look
associated with most N64 games. Cutscenes, which reveal the
storyline, have a hi-res look to them that complements the game
nicely. The expressions on Bomberman's face are worth the price
of admission alone.
Musically, Bomberman Hero's soundtrack is reminiscent of the one
found on Saturn Bomberman, a mix comprising assorted techno and
drum n' bass tracks. Sound effects, while not setting any new
sonic benchmarks, are also well represented.
Unfortunately, even with a game that does as many things right as
Bomberman Hero does, there are still bound to be problems. Camera
control, unlike Bomberman 64, cannot be rotated 360 degrees.
Instead, Bomberman Hero uses a fixed camera position, which can
be tilted slightly. Too slight, regrettably, to be of any use.
The camera angle also presents some mild problems in aligning
platform jumps. This can be especially tricky when jumping onto a
moving platform when coupled with the sensitive analog control.
The game also experiences slowdown, which can lead to awkward
timing during those same tricky jumps. However, most of these are
technical issues that tend to disappear once you learn to
compensate. The thing that won't disappear so easily is the
distinct lack of challenge. Enemies are usually nothing more than
obstacles waiting to be blown up. The only time the game gets
even remotely difficult is when facing the bosses, and even
that's not so difficult. More formality than formidable. Another
sensation that's hard to escape, despite the graphical triumphs
and the ease of the gameplay, is a certain feeling of
pointlessness. The weak premise merely seems like a crappy excuse
to put some levels together and have the gamer go through the
motions. Run through levels, trigger switches, find exit, rescue
Queen. Whatever. Once completed, you'd be hard-pressed to pick up
the game for another go.
In the end, what Hudson Soft has come up with this time is truly
a mixed blessing. If you can get past the fact that Bomberman
Hero is an above average platform game and nothing else, you'll
probably have a pretty good time. It's good looking, easy to
play, and perversely satisfying. Who doesn't get a kick out of
blowing up everything in ? Add to that the fact that
Bomberman just looks so cool in 3D, and you might have a winner.
However, if you're the kind of gamer who wants a little meat with
his potatoes, you might want to pass. Super Mario this is not.
Maybe Hudson Soft should slow down a little. With Bomberman Hero,
it was on to a good thing, but you just can't shake the feeling
that given a little more time, Hudson Soft could have taken
something good and turned it into something great. Maybe next
time. --James Mielke
--Copyright ©1999 GameSpot Inc. All rights reserved. Reproduction
in whole or in part in any form or medium without express written
permission of GameSpot is prohibited. GameSpot and the GameSpot
logo are trademarks of GameSpot Inc. -- GameSpot Review
- Bomberman's latest adventure takes him across the galaxy! Princess Millian has been kipped by the evil Garaden Empire and it's up to Bomberman to save the day. Travel through worlds of ice, fire and water. Use new abilities and get help from friends like Louie the rabbit and Pibol the robot. New vehicles like the Bomber Copter and Bomber Marine will come in handy in your quest to save the Princess and free the universe once again!.