Nerdicus NES Review #94 : Bomberman II

Title : Bomberman 2

Publisher : Hudson Soft

Genre : Arcade / Puzzle Maze / Strategy

Players : 1 / 2 / 3 Player

Release Date : 1993

Estimated Value (as of today's date) : $75-$100

Looks like Bomberman went through a little bit of design change. Gone are his stormtrooper ways and we welcome the style we know and love to this day. Just look at that cute little face. Who would have ever though he was a vicious bomb slinging devil. I mean, just think about it. This guy goes around blowing up bricks that were placed with delicate love, and then he goes on to kill the monsters that probably helped create it.

What a villain. Shame on you Bomberman.

In all honesty, this game took awhile to come out in the US considering when the original came out. I mean that's almost a five year lag time between games. Some consider this a bit of a re-imagining of the original. Design elements remain the same, but it's been pumped up quite a bit in the graphics and gameplay department.

And need I stress the importance of multiplayer? Oh yes, this is where things become fantabulous. So get your bomb bags ready, and let's play some BOMBERMAN 2.

This time, we're presented a little bit of a comedic story line. Rather than breaking free from the confines of a factory prison where you are forced to create bombs all your life, you are literally breaking free from prison. OH THE IRONY!! The vile, black bomberman has framed you for robbing a bank, and he has done so by placing a bag of money next to you in the opening cut scene.

So that's how the justice system works, eh? I can rob someone, and just put the money down next to someone and they get arrested. Good to know. It's now up to you, the ultimate bomberman, to break free from your shackles and bring justice to the world!

Yawn - let's get to the blowing crap up part.

Gameplay remains pretty much the same from the first game. You're trapped in a room filled with bomb-able bricks, while at the same time you are being assaulted by vicious little critters that crawl around the room and attempt to eat your pleasant, little face. The goal, of course, is to blow up as many bricks as possible until you discover the exit to the next level.

As you continue on your reign of destruction, you'll acquire power-ups that do things such as increase your bomb range, bomb capacity, and bomb strength, so you can pretty much early on wreak havoc on the world. Actually, the game becomes quite easy once you get enough power ups. Easy to the point where you'll just challenge yourself to see how quickly you could blow everything up on a stage.

The real fun in this game? MULTIPLAYER!

This is where it's at folks. The creme de la creme. The ultimate multi-player satisfaction.The best mode of course being the battle mode. If you REALLY wanted to, you can play a sort of co-op, but what's the fun in that? You know you want to blow your friends up.

In multi-player battle, you'll beset up in a room, filled with bricks with the goal of blowing up your opponent. This is extremely nail biting, and I'm not being sarcastic at all. My friends and I still scream to this day when we're playing bomberman games when there are close call explosions right in our faces. Not to mention the extreme satisfaction when you end up trapping your friend in a corner, only to set up a dozen bombs in every path which ends up blowing you BOTH up.

Oh, the humanity. Oh, the destruction. Oh, the ENTERTAINMENT!

From the first game, the huge improvement lies with the multi-player functionality. Without it, the Bomberman series wouldn't be where it is day. Visually it's a lot more appealing as well. It's funny what a few years, and a few additional color palettes can do to a game.

Good luck finding this game however, it's a pretty rare find. The copy I own is on it's last leg and each time I pop that sucker into the NES, it takes a good whacking to get it up and running. Still, if you can find it, pick it up. It's one of the best games for the NES, strictly for the fun you are guaranteed to have while playing the multi-player.

Final Score (out of 5) :

Until next time. Keep on gaming!