bit-tech Shopping: Nintendo Classic NES Series: Bomberman (GBA)

Rating: 4

Time with product:

Strengths: relatively cheap

Weaknesses: no multiplayer, game feels dated

Summary: While it's fun to see how the first Bomberman game started, this GBA re-release is pure nostalgia that doesn't stand the test of time too well. The game mechanics are pretty much the same--you have a bird's eye view of Bomberman as he plants bombs to blow up enemies. Unfortunately, there was no multiplayer yet which has always been the best part of Bomberman. Also, the more recognizable cartoony Bomberman character wasn't introduced until later games. While this shouldn't make a difference, it does seem to make the game less endearing.

Rating: 6

Time with product: 5

Strengths: -Pretty much how you remembered it

Weaknesses: -If you don't remember it, then this game might be outdated for you.

Summary: This game was awsome back in the day. However, it may be a bit underwhelming by today's standards. I think if you've never played this before, then you might not appreciate this game. However, if you have, then this is a nice pickup.

Rating: 6

Time with product: 2

Strengths: Easy to pick up and play.

Weaknesses: Boring gameplay

Summary: Classic NES Bomberman was considered a pretty good game when it was released nearly 20 years ago. Since then, countless Bomberman sequels have been released which have tweaked the formula as well as adding fun multiplayer options. Because of this, Classic NES Bomberman does not hold up as well, with tedious gameplay consisting of set bombs, destroy enemies, and find exit. For Bomberman fans, it may be rewarding to see how it all began, but the rest may prefer to dive into a more modern and developed Bomberman game.

Rating: 6

Time with product: 3 Months

Strengths: Portable form of a classic NES game

Weaknesses: These games can show their age

Summary: This is a perfect port of the 1986 NES game Bomberman. While that game was fun for its time, it is showing its age here. This is not the multi-player Bomberman we have come to know more recently. Of course, one huge improvement over the original is a save slot for high score and the annoying password that served as a way of continuing games back in the early NES era. However, the passwords are still there and you can find lists of passwords on the Internet and enter them into the game to access advanced levels. This might be a fun diversion as you can jump right into the more difficult levels without playing through all the ones before.

Rating: 4

Time with product: 2 Months

Strengths: easy to learn

Weaknesses: no multiplayer madness yet in this bomberman

Summary: Bomberman is a game that is popular more so for it's multiplayer bombing madness then it's single player adventure. You could just ask anyone who has played Saturn Bomberman on the Sega Saturn on the big board which can have up to 10 human players all playing at once! Now go back in time to the first Bomberman on the NES which was a decent single player game for it's time but didn't actually have a multiplayer mode yet. The general idea is pretty much the same as other single player bomberman games as your goal is to lay bombs to kill all the enemies on a grid board while bombing blocks to clear them out and progress though each level and find the hidden exit. The game and it's power-ups are fairly tame & simple compared to Bomberman games of today making it not as fun since the outrageous line bombs & other power-ups are what make bomberman so much fun, especially in multiplayer. I would recommend Bomberman to big time fans of the single player Bomberman just as long as they know that being the first it's fairly simple and can still see themselves having some fun even so.