Super Bomberman R
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 While still better than the atrocious Act Zero game, this is still not the way to reboot a franchise in a good way.
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Super Bomberman R (スーパーボンバーマン Ｒ; Sūpā Bonbāman Āru) is an action-maze game developed by Konami and HexaDrive and published by Konami.
Plot
In a robot scrapyard on Planet Scrapheap, Emperor Buggler resurrects five robots to be his new henchmen, the Five Dastardly Bombers. Meanwhile, on Planet Bomber, White, the eldest and most disciplined of the eight heroic Bomberman Brothers of Planet Bomber, tries getting his younger siblings to train his siblings to no avail. Black is lazy and egocentric, Pink is more concerned about fashion and gossip, Blue sleeps all day, Red is hot-tempered, Yellow is overly naïve and innocent, Aqua has anger management, and Green is a manipulative sneak who deceives everyone. Just then, their television begins broadcasting a signal from Buggler, who proclaims his goal to conquer the universe and his army has already conquered five planets (Brainwave, Lalaland, Scrapheap, Technopolis, and Timbertree) of the Starry Sky Nebula, swearing that all other planets will soon follow. He offers a challenge to anyone who would defy him to fight his generals. White immediately takes up the challenge and forces his siblings to come with him as he heads to the Starry Sky Nebula to face the Buggler army.
Bad Qualities
- One of the main problems with this game is that, despite not being completely bad, it lacks the charm of the previous Bomberman games, especially because it got a 3D camera in a 2D Bomberman game, among other reasons that will be explained.
- Poor camera that is extremely troublesome and feels like it's came from a 2005 GameCube game since the angle placements aren't the best and the camera at times makes your character difficult to see, while Bomberman 64 and Bomberman Generation cameras aren't the best, but they still aren't that bad and show your character perfectly, or the camera wasn't as weird as this game, and they came out in 1997 and 2002, respectively.
- Not to mention that this can make the game unintentionally harder than it is supposed to be, especially with the main levels that are the worst offenders.
- While really good, the graphics are somewhat outdated and feels like a late Xbox 360 game rather than a 2017 Nintendo Switch game since the lightning is poor and some of the stage design ranges from decent to downright terrible, either due to the poor color palette or because of the awful design of the environments.
- Bland and generic soundtrack, which is quite rare that a Bomberman game has a poor or bland soundtrack, since here the soundtrack is repetitive and some of the music doesn't even fit some levels, but there's still some decent music, unlike Act Zero.
- The story is pretty poor and feels more like it could have come from a Power Rangers show than a Bomberman game. Also, there are some plot holes in some parts, despite not really being noticeable.
- Repetitive gameplay that shockingly is boring after a few minutes, not to mention that there is no variation in the gameplay, which makes the gameplay even more repetitive than it already is.
- Also, another problem with the gameplay is that it is also slow-paced compared to the previous games that had faster gameplay (excluding Act Zero). If you prefer the Bomberman games with fast-paced gameplay, that is going to be a huge problem.
- It also feels outdated, especially when compared to other Bomberman games such as The Second Attack!, but it isn't the worst part of it since the gameplay can still be enjoyable, despite that problem.
- Although despite being boring, the gameplay is still more fun than the atrocious game that was Bomberman: Act Zero, which was much more repetitive due to the horrible level design and even slower-paced gameplay than this.
- The boss battle is unbalanced, some bosses are really easy, other bosses are either easy or extremely hard. It doesn't help either, most of them are terribly bland and stupid.
- The game is extremely short; you can finish it in either 3 or 4 hours, and even Bomberman 64 is longer than this.
- While still good, the characters' redesign can be a turn-off to some fans, especially because they aren't as detailed as the old games, although they are really good, despite being less detailed.
- While you can select the planets you want to visit, you can't select a specific level, meaning that you will need to do the game all over the beginning just to play the level you want to replay.
- Customizing the bombers is mostly unnecessary and is a big downgrade from Bomberman 64, because the custom shop is somewhat limited and is less fun to do than in the old games, such as the Bomberman 64 games.
- The level design is quite a downgrade from the adventure Bomberman games, since there are many levels that are empty and some that are very frustrating due to either the awful wall placements or the poorly placed enemies, making the game even more boring and easy.
- The game for the most part is easy compared to the old games; you will barely get any game over too.
- There are barely any replay value in the story mode; BQ#11 doesn't help either; however, there are still some replay value due to the multiplayer.
- A couple of characters may come off as unlikable, annoying, stereotypical or even extremely meanspirited.
- Black Bomber is a one-note narcissist as he claims that he doesn't need training since, in his eyes, he's already perfect.
- Red Bomber is very hotheaded since he often acts before he thinks just to get justice by his own hands which only gets him in trouble, much to White's annoyance.
- Magnet Bomber is an extremely arrogant character but he can often come off as mean-spirited, especially towards White Bomber, Red Bomber and especially Aqua Bomber.
- The worst offender of them all is probably Karaoke Bomber since her singing voice comes off as annoying, especially in her boss battle.
- Overral, this game almost killed the Bomberman franchise until the release of Amazing Bomberman and especially Super Bomberman R2 (which was well received and considered to be an improvement over this game).
Good Qualities
- While a bit outdated and despite having terrible stage design at times, the graphics are still really good and look very detailed, despite the graphics being weaker than some previous games in the franchise.
- Also, the character models are still really great and are some of the best 3D models for the Bomberman franchise, until Super Bomberman R2 came out, which had even better graphics than this game.
- The multiplayer is still fun to play, especially with friends.
- Its sequel, Super Bomberman R2, is a massive improvement over this game, with a better story, better graphics, better gameplay, and longer gameplay, with some interesting elements in it too.
- Despite being bland, there are still some decent and catchy songs at times, even if they are weaker than most Bomberman games.
- Decent controls.
- Despite it's flaws, some people may enjoy it, and the gameplay can still be enjoyable, unlike Act Zero, which was horribly boring and annoying to play.
- The voice acting is amazing and probably the best in the franchise alongside the Bomberman Jetters anime, with voices that fit the characters perfectly.
- The cutscenes are really good since the art style is pleasant to the eyes, and the cutscenes can even be funny at times, such as in the beginning.
- You can play multiplayer in story mode, which is still a decent change.
- Despite being somewhat stereotypical, the characters in this game, especially the Bomberman Bros., are still pretty complex and likable for the most part since they all have different personalities.
- White Bomber is the main character and the oldest of the Bomberman Bros. as well as the hardworking and responsible leader and he's a pretty likable protagonist altogether. Despite his sternness, he's still friendly and excitable since he's often shown to have a kind heart. He also loves and cares for his siblings very much since he's often willing to protect them when he needs to. He's also sympathetic in this game since his siblings often never listen to him and he can be relatable too.
- Black Bomber is the cool and collected second-in-command to his older brother White. While he does have narcissistic traits, he can be serious when necessary.
- Pink Bomber is a very bright and bubbly but gentle, nurturing and mature character since she's often shown to be a big sister mentor to her younger sister Aqua and her reunion with Pretty Bomber is wholesome.
- Blue Bomber is also likable since, despite his sleepy exterior, he's also shown to be very smart in secret.
- Despite what BQ#15 said, Red Bomber is also well-written since he's often shown to be hotblooded and excitable. Although, he can be hardworking, serious and responsible when he needs to.
- Yellow Bomber is one of the most likable characters in this game since he's carefree, cheerful and excitable, and he also managed to redeem Golem Bomber by getting on his good side, which is nice.
- Aqua Bomber is a shy and timid yet kind, gentle and polite pacifist who doesn't like violence and prefers to solve situations peacefully. Although, she can get short-tempered when it comes to people who annoy her.
- Green Bomber is also one of the most well-written characters in this game. Manipulative and scheming personality aside, he's also really cute and is shown to be very smart for his age.
- Plasma Bomber is also likable since, despite being corrupted under Buggler's control, it was revealed that he was made to protect man-kind and during his redemption, he works as a police officer for Planet Scrapheap as well as becoming the civilian child's bodyguard.
Reception
At release, the game received mixed reception by critics and audience, it's criticism was mostly for the repetitive gameplay, wonky camera, and mediocre story, while praised for good graphics and fun multiplayer.
Angry Joe received a number 8 in the Top 10 Worst Games of 2017, making the first Bomberman games to be listed in one of his videos.
Trivia
- This is the first Bomberman title released for the Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, Xbox One and Steam.
- It was also to celebrate the Bomberman series' 35th anniversary.
- For the first time in the series, the game features a vocal song during the credits. While originally sung in Japanese once the player beats World 6, the song was released in English as part of patch 2.0 and can be heard if the player beats World 7. The song title is HERO. It is performed in Japanese by Hitomi Harada, the Japanese voice of Pretty Bomber, and in English by Aimee Blackschleger.
- This game was released to celebrate the Bomberman series' 33rd anniversary and it is the 1st title in the Bomberman series to be published and developed by Konami on console after the merge with Hudson Soft back in March 1, 2012.
- According to the developers, the R in the title stands for "Rangers", referring the name of a team of 8 Bombermen, It is also a throwback to when games could simply have a letter and allow that letter to carry many meanings, such as "Return" or "Reborn". The game is a homage to Super Bomberman 3.
- In 1999, an unrelated Super Bomberman R game appeared as a bootleg game for the Sega Saturn.
- In April 2018, the Konami subsidiary, Konami Cross Media NY Inc. (formerly 4K Media Inc.) licensed the game. Meaning the game will have different media.
- During the story segments, it is revealed that the Bomberman Bros. are based off of the original Bomberman who apparently was known as a hero. This is likely to be the Bomberman featured as the main protagonist for the games in the series released before Super Bomberman R.
Videos
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