Bomberman Hero (N64)

by Piyoz on Sep 24th, 2014

Retro reviews is something that I’ve normally steered away from on Rare Gamer. Everyone knows how great Banjo-Kazooie is. You don’t need me to tell you that. I find that retro reviews are written either to affirm gamers’ collective opinion on a title or to offer a controversial opinion for the sake of gaining clicks. So when I write a review of this little-known N64 platformer, I’m not doing it for the views. I’m not doing it to stroke my ego. I write this because Bomberman Hero struck a chord with me in 1998 that still resonates now.

What’s so special about Bomberman Hero, you ask? Nothing, really. I mean, this game deviates from Bomberman’s old habit for dropping black bombs on the floor and running. This time, you can run. And jump. And THROW bombs! Actually throw them! At enemies that move vertically as well as horizontally. I know. Truly the zenith of the medium, right?

The premise here is that a noble princess absconds with a secret disc that contains information vital to an invading empire vying to dethrone her. She is captured by said empire, but not before entrusting her robot companion with the digital intelligence. This little robot goes to find our main hero in training. Together, they go on a quest across different planets to defeat the bad guys and topple the evil empire.

What? No! No, I wasn’t reading a synopsis of Star Wars! That’s no joke the premise of Bomberman Hero. And it’s not like we learn any background behind the Garaden Empire or their motivations. It’s just that we meet more of this very diverse cast. Like a furry with a whip. A giant stone lion. Max. And Robot Captain Crunch. Also, those inflatable chickens from Subspace Emissary are in this game. Inflatable chickens with smaller chickens inside must be a trope in Japan.

The quest in question here involved Bomberman and PiBot traveling from Planet Bomber to Primus Star (home planet of Princess Millian), Kanatia Star (mostly desert), Mazone Star (obligatory ice world), and then to the enemy base of Garaden Star. And if you find all of the Adok Bombs scattered across all these worlds, the final final planet will unlock: Gossick Star, where you fight the Evil Bomber.

The game play here involves running at a Banjo the Bear speed through linear maps lined with enemies, platforms, and occasional puzzles involving switches, teleporters, and precise timing. The design of the levels is pretty tight. The camera either pans from left to right as Bomberman progresses, or it sits behind him, allowing the player to see the whole stage ahead of him. Each stage is totally unique, too. So when you complete each one, you feel like you’re actually progressing through increasingly difficult worlds. And that feels good.

This game even has the gall to include multiple paths leading to optional levels. Turns out you’ll have to play them a couple times to unlock every stage.

The boss battles from Nitros to Endol to Bolban to Cronus all require thinking and precision. Some of them require a surprising amount of coordination to complete. Worse yet, there are scores at the end of each level. Those of you out there who obsess with earning perfect ratings in games will probably get an ulcer from Bomberman Hero. So there’s your replay value.

Where this game truly lacks is in the production values. The soundtrack, while solid, consists of eighteen songs (outside of menus and cut scenes) that repeat over several dozen stages. The graphics are sub-par even by N64 standards. Despite fun designs, most just bore the eyes. And oh god the sound effects. Bomberman Hero is the only game that I can think of with bad sound effects as its worst trait. Most audio reactions to explosions or cut scenes sounds so out of place and poorly timed. Environments look empty and animations are often non-existent. Clearly more effort was put into the level design than the art direction.

The presentation here looks lazy. Not rushed, mind you, thanks to the memorable and engaging level layouts. It seems like the creators didn’t care about how the game looked/sounded or didn’t even know how to fix it. Games like Majora’s Mask and Conker’s Bad Fur Day look far more professional on the same hardware. N64 tech is no excuse.

At the end of the day, it’s more about content than flair, isn’t it? Bomberman Hero gives us something new for the series. More freedom of movement and more environment to explore. It may lack polish, sure. It’s a unique puzzle platformer from the dawn of 3D gaming that has some fun worlds hidden behind the lackluster facade.

3/5

Pretty Good

Categories: Reviews