Much like a fine wine, the Bomberman franchise has aged well over the years due to having a solid gameplay base that each iteration adds some extra spice to.
The SUPER BOMBERMAN COLLECTION serves as a platter of classic titles that showcase why this franchise has been a staple in the industry for so long.
Blast From The Past
The collection includes Super Bomberman 1-5, with this being the first time Super Bomberman 4 and 5 have been available outside of Japan. Each game has its own story mode which can be played solo or in co-op. Alternatively, you can choose to compete and battle against your friends in the battle modes that come with each game as well.
Lastly, each game also has its own boss rush mode as well with three difficulties allowing you to fight the bosses again with a timer and a set amount of upgrades.
Roots of the Franchise
For Bomberman enthusiasts who want to experience the roots of the franchise, the original Bomberman and Bomberman 2 are included as well. Despite not having the ‘Super’ in the title, the gameplay is much the same. However these both lack cooperative play and only Bomberman 2 has battle mode.
There are also a couple extras: a gallery and radio. However these only showcase from Super Bomberman 1-5, leaving out the original Bomberman and Bomberman 2. Furthermore, there is no interactivity with these two functions outside of their setting. You can’t apply the images to anything and the radio tunes stop once you exit. Especially with the radio, this feels like a missed opportunity as it would have been great to be able to jam to your favourite tunes while deciding what game to play or checking out the gallery.
Core Mechanics
Diving into the history of the Bomberman franchise is interesting. For as many games as there are, the core has changed very little over the years and iterations. While graphics, designs, and power ups are updated, those are all peripheral to the core gameplay which has remained the same since the original Bomberman.
You move on a grid, placing bombs to blow up obstacles and enemies while collecting various upgrades that range from being able to drop more bombs, to movement speed, to even a rideable mount; a Louie. These upgrades mostly stay the same throughout the games with more being added with each newer edition.
In this regard, Super Bomberman 4 stands out the most as the game that gives the largest variation in gameplay mechanics from other Super Bomberman titles and even between the stages of the game itself. In general though, the biggest difference between the games are the enemies and progression. While there is some carryover of enemies, there is often little difference in the enemy behaviour. However, the bosses tend to have the biggest jumps between games. While you still only have your bombs to defeat them, the bosses utilize different tactics than just moving around, forcing you to play more tactically.
Likewise, while you make progress in most Super Bomberman games by defeating all the enemies, some do change up this formula by having enemy spawners which must be destroyed first or switches that have to be activated via the bomb blasts to open the door. While these differences seem novel at first, they do not evolve over time and do not really involve using the gameplay mechanics in any new ways.
Bombed Out or Booming Success?
Having not played any of the games in The SUPER BOMBERMAN COLLECTION when they originally came out, I can’t speak to how accurate they are. However, for the most part, the games in the collection play well. The only problem I ran into was sometimes, particularly in Super Bomberman 3-5 when riding the Louie, it was occasionally finicky to be in behind cover. While Bomberman himself was able to fit behind the blocks well with some room for error, the Louie seemed to make the hitbox larger so that if you were not perfectly behind you would get hit by the explosion.
As finicky as this is, it is mitigated by some modern benefits, such as a very gracious rewind feature that you can use as much as you want with no penalty. There is also a save and load feature independent for each game which both make them easier but more accessible and time-friendly.
Presentation and Nostalgia
The presentation of the SUPER BOMBERMAN COLLECTION is great, both in the menu and in the games. Bright visuals blast you from the beginning alongside upbeat music and persist into the games which run smoothly. The games themselves also have a variety of visual settings such as different aspect ratios and a CRT filter. While these do not affect the gameplay, they can give a little nostalgia for those who have memories of a certain aesthetic to the games when they originally came out.
Another very cool feature is being able to “unbox” the original regional game boxes, including complete recreations of the box, cartridge inside and instruction manual. These can be rotated and zoomed in on to see little details and variations between the regions. One nuisance with this was when zooming in on the instruction manuals to try and read them. As soon as you do this the camera controls become inverted. There are no alerts nor options to change this. While it doesn’t make it impossible to navigate, it does certainly make it less comfortable.
Localisation Hurdles
Furthermore, while it’s great that Super Bomberman 4 and 5 are available outside of Japan for the first time, there is no translation for the controls. While this isn’t that big of a deal due to the basic gameplay mechanics being the same throughout all the games, you do lose some context for those who are interested in plot or more in depth mechanics. This proved particularly annoying in Super Bomberman 5 which changes up the level select, although I cannot really say what was happening due to no in-game explanation and no translation leaving me staring at the end, having beat the game with the bad ending at 24% complete with no idea how I got there or what to do differently to get the good ending.
These problems highlight the general lack of settings, particularly in the main menu. While there are plenty of visual and control settings in the games themselves, the main menu lacks all of those and there are no audio settings at all.
A Well-Packaged Love Letter to the Franchise
The SUPER BOMBERMAN COLLECTION provides a well packaged love letter to the history of the franchise for longtime fans. It also creates a welcoming entry point for beginners. Despite lacking some conveniences and accessibility, it delivers plenty of well-aged gameplay to savour.
Important Links
EXPLOSIVE! – SUPER BOMBERMAN COLLECTION Blasts Onto Consoles And PC – https://www.thexboxhub.com/explosive-super-bomberman-collection-blasts-onto-consoles-and-pc/
Buy from the Xbox Store – https://www.xbox.com/en-gb/games/store/super-bomberman-collection/9n7cnzt58pcv
