A cute idea for a game that isn't implemented well. This game should have stayed in my nostalgia.
I owned this as a kid. I loved it. But it is such a rough experience. It's not a bad game. Just very tedious and infuriating.
Let's talk about the good stuff first. The general idea of giving Bomberman a story is cute. There is a decent amount of variety. Character designs are neat.
But by far the best thing about this game, is it's music. OMG the music. By far one of the best OSTs on the N64. So many certified bangers.
Now for the bad. The game sure runs at like 10-20 fps tops. Some of those slow downs are brutal. It's nearly as bad as DK64 fps.
Level design can range from decent to bland. Sometimes you do get a terrible one as well. There is nothing really special about the levels.
There is a variety of playstyles. Some better than others. You have you basic platforming. Feels pretty good. You ride of a furry friend on rare occasions. It's okay until you realize they do not explain how to wall jump. But once you figure it out, it's okay.
There are 4 different vehicle attachments. The submarine levels absolutely suck. The snowboard is fun. The helicopter is neat. And the Jet? is super fun.
There are some gimmicks too. Different types of bombs to kill different enemies. It's a cute idea. Some powerups are not helpful and actually hinder you like the glove. Yes, you can throw multiple bombs, but you range is super high.
Aiming your bombs can be infuriating. Bomberman does not throw straight. He actually throws a bit right of where you are looking. It's infuriating. Especially during boss fights.
OMFG the boss fights. Most of them suck. They are just cruel. Like, I genuinely don't know how I did it as a kid. They are so punishing. They ruin the experience to be honest. What is a pretty chill game turns into a nightmare.
Each level has ranks. You get higher ranks by collecting everything and killing all enemies. Hope you enjoy perfecting things. This game demands it if you want the post game content. I don't know why those chose to make this version harder than the JP version but it seriously was a bad choice.
Something that was cool is that there are multiple exits to some stages. Thus unlocking extra stages. Kind of like Super Mario World. But at a certain point, I stopped caring just so I could finish the game.
Enemy design is neat. Some can be a bit tanky. Others can kill the fps. A few can and will piss you off.
For some stupid reason there are game overs. Dying means barely anything in the game as it is. Although there is a piece of voice acting when you game over.
Also for some dumb reason your health resets if you turn the game off or game over. You start with 4 health. You randomly get more. But you can lose the extras. So many stupid design decisions.
As I said, aiming you bombs can be infuriating. But what is also very annoying is that you can hurt yourself with your own bombs. The submarine levels are especially bad with this. Like I understand that it's Bomberman. He can hurt himself. He always has. But what sucks, is that there are times where no matter what, you will either take contact damage from an enemy, or hurt yourself to kill that enemy. Those are your choices. It's super unfair.
Some stages require different things in order to beat it. Sometimes it's beat the mini boss. Other times it's, collect the keycard. Sometimes it's collect 4 keys to open 1 door. On rare occasions it's very level specific, for example, destroy 10 subs. Or simple get to the exit.
Most stages can last from 2 minutes to 10 minutes depending on your objective. If you are like me, and just want to end your suffering, you run straight to the exit and ignore everything when you can. Only stopping when the game forces it on you.
This is an oddly charming yet mediocre at best game. The cutscenes are fun. The very little voice acting is cute as hell. It's just very let down by some of the worst boss fights, horrible fps, and lackluster environmental design and bad controls. Besides the bosses, it's easy enough to beat. Only took me 7ish hours.
I would never recommend trying to earn the post game content. You will not have fun. It will be a grind. It will be tedious. It will be infuriating. The scoring system is inconsistent. They either want perfection or barely any effort to get the highest ranks. There was no reason to make the game harder in this regard.
This is one of those games that is a unique experience. There is nothing else like it. I don't think I could recommend playing it though. It just is not worth it. If you must play it, use save states. Especially for the bosses.
I owned this as a kid. I loved it. But it is such a rough experience. It's not a bad game. Just very tedious and infuriating.
Let's talk about the good stuff first. The general idea of giving Bomberman a story is cute. There is a decent amount of variety. Character designs are neat.
But by far the best thing about this game, is it's music. OMG the music. By far one of the best OSTs on the N64. So many certified bangers.
Now for the bad. The game sure runs at like 10-20 fps tops. Some of those slow downs are brutal. It's nearly as bad as DK64 fps.
Level design can range from decent to bland. Sometimes you do get a terrible one as well. There is nothing really special about the levels.
There is a variety of playstyles. Some better than others. You have you basic platforming. Feels pretty good. You ride of a furry friend on rare occasions. It's okay until you realize they do not explain how to wall jump. But once you figure it out, it's okay.
There are 4 different vehicle attachments. The submarine levels absolutely suck. The snowboard is fun. The helicopter is neat. And the Jet? is super fun.
There are some gimmicks too. Different types of bombs to kill different enemies. It's a cute idea. Some powerups are not helpful and actually hinder you like the glove. Yes, you can throw multiple bombs, but you range is super high.
Aiming your bombs can be infuriating. Bomberman does not throw straight. He actually throws a bit right of where you are looking. It's infuriating. Especially during boss fights.
OMFG the boss fights. Most of them suck. They are just cruel. Like, I genuinely don't know how I did it as a kid. They are so punishing. They ruin the experience to be honest. What is a pretty chill game turns into a nightmare.
Each level has ranks. You get higher ranks by collecting everything and killing all enemies. Hope you enjoy perfecting things. This game demands it if you want the post game content. I don't know why those chose to make this version harder than the JP version but it seriously was a bad choice.
Something that was cool is that there are multiple exits to some stages. Thus unlocking extra stages. Kind of like Super Mario World. But at a certain point, I stopped caring just so I could finish the game.
Enemy design is neat. Some can be a bit tanky. Others can kill the fps. A few can and will piss you off.
For some stupid reason there are game overs. Dying means barely anything in the game as it is. Although there is a piece of voice acting when you game over.
Also for some dumb reason your health resets if you turn the game off or game over. You start with 4 health. You randomly get more. But you can lose the extras. So many stupid design decisions.
As I said, aiming you bombs can be infuriating. But what is also very annoying is that you can hurt yourself with your own bombs. The submarine levels are especially bad with this. Like I understand that it's Bomberman. He can hurt himself. He always has. But what sucks, is that there are times where no matter what, you will either take contact damage from an enemy, or hurt yourself to kill that enemy. Those are your choices. It's super unfair.
Some stages require different things in order to beat it. Sometimes it's beat the mini boss. Other times it's, collect the keycard. Sometimes it's collect 4 keys to open 1 door. On rare occasions it's very level specific, for example, destroy 10 subs. Or simple get to the exit.
Most stages can last from 2 minutes to 10 minutes depending on your objective. If you are like me, and just want to end your suffering, you run straight to the exit and ignore everything when you can. Only stopping when the game forces it on you.
This is an oddly charming yet mediocre at best game. The cutscenes are fun. The very little voice acting is cute as hell. It's just very let down by some of the worst boss fights, horrible fps, and lackluster environmental design and bad controls. Besides the bosses, it's easy enough to beat. Only took me 7ish hours.
I would never recommend trying to earn the post game content. You will not have fun. It will be a grind. It will be tedious. It will be infuriating. The scoring system is inconsistent. They either want perfection or barely any effort to get the highest ranks. There was no reason to make the game harder in this regard.
This is one of those games that is a unique experience. There is nothing else like it. I don't think I could recommend playing it though. It just is not worth it. If you must play it, use save states. Especially for the bosses.