Raise your hand if you play Bomberman games for the one-player
Adventure mode. Since there are so few of you, why does Hudson
always seem to put more emphasis on the adventure portion than
the Battle Mode? With that in mind, this review will mostly
concentrate on the multi-player Battle Mode, though there will
be a passing mention of the Adventure mode.
Bomberman 64 is the first version of the popular series for the
Nintendo 64. The game has appeared on virtually every system,
from the NES to the Super NES to the PC to the Saturn to other
systems. This version, however, marks the first time the game
is using three-dimensional, polygon graphics. In addition, Hudson
also decided to put a heavy emphasis on the Adventure mode.
First, we'll discuss the control. The Control Stick is used for
moving, but, unfortunately, the Control Pad cannot be used. The
A button is used to set a bomb. It can also be used to kick a bomb, or
after you pick up a bomb, press it rapidly to pump up your bomb.
Pumped-up bombs are twice as strong. The B button is used to pick
up bombs or enemies, throw bombs or enemies, catch objects being
thrown at you, or talking to people. The R button is used to stop
bombs after you kick them. The Z button is used to detonate remote
bombs (requires you to pick up the appropriate icon). Finally, the
C buttons are used to control the camera angles in the Adventure mode.
In the Adventure mode, your task is to get Bomberman to the end of
each level. There are five different worlds in the game (not
including the hidden one), each with four stages. Along the way,
you must defeat enemies with bombs, collect items, and figure out
various puzzles. You get three continues to begin with, but you can
pick up 50 gems for an additional one. There are also five gold cards
hidden in every stage. Finding them all will reward you with a secret.
I don't know if it's just me or what, but I just couldn't get into the
Adventure mode at all. Changing the camera angle on your own the
whole way through is completely annoying. I don't mind doing it some
of the time, but you're required to do it all the time. But more
importantly, I just didn't have any fun with it. I found the majority
of the levels boring and uninteresting. About the only challenge is to
figure out the puzzles. Unfortunately, the thing that would help this
mode the most is not included: two-player simultaneous play. The
original Super Bomberman for the Super NES had two-player
simultaneous play in its Adventure mode, but all subsequent games
do not have it. Why?
Now let's talk about the Battle Mode. As with any Bomberman game,
this is the reason you buy it, this is the reason you play it. This time
around Hudson decided to change it quite a bit.
Once you pick Battle Mode from the title screen, you're presented with
three options: Single Battle, Team Battle and Options. Single Battle
is the old mode you're used to. Team Battle introduces the concept
of teams, with a little twist. And in the Options you can change how many
wins it takes to be crowned champion, how many minutes there are
to battle before the match is over, if you want Sudden Death on or
off, and if you want Ghosts on or off.
I'll talk about Team Battle first. In Team Battle, the object is to
destroy all five gems of the other team. You do this by blowing them
up. Of course, you can divide up the two teams however you want. Unlike
Single Battle, though, if you die, you can rejoin as many times as you
want. You can play this mode on any of the levels. And since this is
team, you can have yourself protecting your own gems and have your
teammate go after the other team's gems. While it sounds nice in
theory, the mode really isn't that fun. I'll probably never play it again.
The Single Battle is the classic "every man for himself" mode you're
used to. Like before, if you don't have three other people to play
with, then you can play with the computer. The computer difficulty
level can be set anywhere from one ("weak") to three ("strong"). And,
yes, the computer is actually pretty good on level three.
Since you're probably wondering, turning Sudden Death ON means
that when there's one minute remaining, then something will happen
to the stage that might kill you. For example, water might rise to
the top, the side walls might start to close in on the center, or
meteors might come crashing in from the sky. That last Sudden
Death "rule" is really stupid and unfair, though. Also, turning Ghosts
ON means that after a person dies in the Single Battle, then they
can return as a "Ghost." A Ghost can do the same thing as a normal
person, except it cannot use bombs. But that means you can throw
or kick bombs that are already dropped (but not pump them up). You
can also pick up other Bombermen and try to throw them out of the
level to kill them. Ghosts disappear when the time remaining hits
one minute. I personally think this is a great addition to the series.
For either the Single Battle or Team Battle modes, there are six
initially available stages to choose from. But if you keep pressing
start as fast as you can at the title screen (you'll hear a chime if
it's done correctly), then that will open up four more stages for
a total of 10 in all. Unfortunately, you have to do this little code
every time you turn on the power.
There are three main differences to the Battle Mode: Ghosts,
power-ups/blocks, and level design. I've already talked about
the Ghosts, so let's talk about the other changes.
Next up is power-ups/blocks. I've lumped these two together because
they go hand-in-hand. Unlike previous Bomberman games, the stages
are now initially much more wide open than before. With the other
games, you had to destroy blocks to get to your opponent. Now you
can just run after them. And there used to be power-ups underneath
those blocks. While there are still some blocks in Bomberman 64 that
give power-ups, they are spread out across the stage and regenerate
after they're blown up. Furthermore, the selection of power-ups is far
fewer. For example, all Bombermen can now kick and punch without a
special icon. That leaves the following icons: Fire (increases bomb
power by one level; regular can go to level 3 and pumped-up can go
to level 6), Bomb (gives you more bombs to use, up to eight), Power (makes
the bombs red and makes them twice as strong), Remote (bombs become
remote bombs; can be detonated at any time with the Z button), and
Heart (lets you take an extra hit). The Skull has also made a return, and
it can now be thrown at an enemy. There's also an Evil icon that affects
everyone for a short period of time.
As far as level design goes, I already mentioned how the levels are
much more wide open. But because of the 3D nature of the game,
some of the levels are also multi-layered now. That means two
things: 1) The bomb explosions are now 360*, and 2) You can throw
stuff from above, from below, or at an angle.
When you mix all of this together, what's the result? Well, it's a
little less like Bomberman and a little more like Konami's Poy Poy.
Because you don't have to blow up blocks to get to your opponent,
you'll just find yourself running around and throwing pumped-up bombs
at someone. You'll probably try blowing up a few blocks, only because
you want to increase your bomb's blast radius. And when you die, you'll
probably go running after someone, trying to throw them out of the
level. If you get hit by a bomb this time around, you will be stunned
for a short time. You can get out of the dizziness quicker by rotating
the Control Stick. However, whenever you're dizzy, you're vulnerable
to be picked up and tossed out of the level. Oh yeah, along the way, someone
will probably pick up a Skull or Evil icon to make it even more hectic.
So how does it turn out? I personally like the change of pace. Part of me
just wanted to see a 64-bit upgrade of the old mode, but I was also
glad to see something different because I could always just pop in the
old game. It's not quite as good overall, but it could potentially lead to
something great. If I were developing the sequel (and I'm obviously not),
then there would be a few changes I would make.
First, I would bring back the population of blocks to blow up (with no
regeneration) -- at least on some of the levels. It was more rewarding
to have to work to get to your opponent. Second, I would bring back the
wraparound of bombs. You know, throw a bomb off one side of the screen
and have it appear on the other as a surprise. Third, I would have the
bombs blow up after a certain amount of time, whether it's being held
or pumped-up or not. Fourth, I would make power-ups more important.
I guess throwing would have to be included from the start since you
need to pick up a bomb to pump it up. But maybe some older ones (like
roller skates) could be brought back or some new ones could be made.
Fifth, I would get rid of the heart and the meteor death. They're both
lame. Sixth, I would try to come up with some more interesting level designs.
You know, bring back different things like conveyor belts and tunnels.
On the other hand, I think there were some good additions. I do like
the multi-layered levels so that you can drop surprises on your
opponents. This would be more interesting with bombs that blew up
after a certain amount of time (i.e., in mid-air), though. I also like
the idea of ghosts because it lets everyone continue to have fun until
there's one minute remaining. Picking up and throwing Bombermen
out of the level is a good thing as is pumping-up the bombs to make them
stronger.
Graphically, Bomberman 64 looks pretty nice. The one-player Adventure
mode is vibrant, sharp and alive. The multi-player mode looks pretty
decent, too, with no problems associated with the graphics. When
it comes to the aural aspects, the music is pretty good, too. There's
a limited amount of voice, and there are quite a few tracks in the
Adventure mode. But there's only one musical track for the Battle
mode, which is kind of annoying, but I think it also gets the blood pumping.
Bomberman 64 is almost a must-have addition to any multi-player
fan's library of games. It doesn't quite have the same edge that
previous Bomberman games had, but it does give you something
somewhat new and different to play. By the same token, it's not
exactly up to par with GoldenEye and its multi-player mode, but it
is one of the better party games for the system. However, like the
previous games in the series, just don't expect much from the game's
one-player Adventure mode.
Graphics: 4.0 out of 5
Sound: 3.7 out of 5
Control: 3.9 out of 5
Gameplay: 3.8 out of 5
Lastability: 4.3 out of 5
Overall: 3.9 out of 5
