Here's part 4. I still have to work on part 5, so this is all you're gonna get for the time being.
BombermanEU title:
Dyna BlasterSystem: Turbografix-16
JP release date: 1990
US release date: 1991
IntroductionNow
here is where things begin to get interesting. This game is the first in a trilogy of games for the Turbografix-16, and they are regarded by many as true classics. Some even consider them to be the best Bomberman games of all time (mainly the ones that
don’t consider Saturn Bomberman, Super Bomberman, or Bomberman 64 to be the best Bomberman game of all time). Perhaps the main reason this game is so critically acclaimed is because it introduced the one concept that would forever put Bomberman on the map for the rest of eternity:
multiplayer battle mode.ImagesUS BoxartJP BoxartJP titleUS titleGameplay 1 Gameplay 2 Game OverStoryI don‘t own the game (and probably never will), but there happens to be a nifty opening cutscene right at the beginning of the game. First we see a stereotypical-looking laboratory, complete with a dome on top and a white and blue paintjob. Then suddenly, out of the roof bursts the Black Bomberman, holding a girl captive. White Bomberman and some scientist dude rush outside the lab just in time to yell at the Black Bomber as he flies off on a dragon to his castle lair.
The Wikipedia article says that the girl is the scientist’s daughter, and the scientist is the one who created both the White and Black Bombermen. This obviously indicates a brand new world separate from the previous Bomberman titles, but it wouldn’t last for many games. I know this because later games in the series say that Bomberman is a member of an entire race, the Black Bomberman would eventually change to a good guy, and sometimes Bomberman would alternate between being mechanical and organic.
I just wonder if that scientist is supposed to be Dr. Ein or some sort of early version of him. It sure doesn’t look much like him.
Gameplay InfoThe gameplay of the 1P mode is largely unchanged from the original Bomberman. The only real difference is that there are now eight differently themed worlds, some of the stages are only one screen big, and at the end of each world is a large boss enemy that has a unique weak point. Other than that, all the power-ups are the same, the enemies behave the same way as before, there’s still one power-up per stage, and you still have to kill every enemy and find the exit.
Now, the new addition here is really the multiplayer mode. Here, up to five players can duke it out on a stage resembling the original Bomberman maze. This is the first ever appearance of a serious multiplayer mode, so it’s missing some of the features present later on in the series. You only have one stage, there aren’t any unique items, there are actually enemies from the 1P mode roaming around the arena, and there isn’t any “revenge mode” or “gold bomber” or “victor’s mini-game” type thing either. The poisonous
Skull item is here, but it’s only available in a separate “skull mode”.
Otherwise, it’s a pretty solid start for Bomberman on the TG-16. I really dig the graphics and sound, especially that kickin’ 16-bit rendition of the original Bomberman theme song.
Remakes/
Ports-This would later be released as part of
Bomberman Collection Vol.1 for the PC, released only in Japan.
-The game was released in Europe for the PC under the title
Dyna Blaster.
Personal CommentsAgain, I don’t really have much to comment on gameplay-wise other than the fact that this game would basically be re-hashed two more times with more and more extra features tacked on, as typical of Hudson. In fact, I think this series’ success is the whole reason Hudson ever adopted that “technique” in the first place. I actually also think that this game itself looks pretty repetitive with nothing besides graphics to separate the different stages from one another. Even the bosses are
reused, twice each.
I’ve already said what I had to about the story. This might take place on a futuristic Earth, because the next few games that came after it are implied to as well. The scientist dude and his daughter are never referred to again, unless he somehow ended up being a prototype for Dr. Ein (who actually has a few things I’d like to speak about all by himself, but I’ll get to that later on) or something like that.
Otherwise, my personal favorite thing about this game is the Bomberman theme on the title screen. I can’t stop humming it after hearing it… do-do
do do-
do do-do
do do do…
Other-Not only is this Black Bomberman’s first appearance ever, he’s also the game’s villain. Later games would portray him as a good guy, but that’s not the worst inconsistency…
-The US boxart is on a
Mega Man 1 level of creepiness. Seriously, who the hell illustrated these things?
-The first world in this game looks like a graphical update of the original Bomberman maze (which itself appears as the arena for multiplayer mode).
-The only new item added for this game is the Skull. Had to start somewhere, right?
-This game’s graphics look like they were copypasted into the next five Bomberman games. Once I cover them you’ll understand what I mean.
Links[url=http://www.hudson.co.jp/gamenavi/gamedb/index.cgi?mode=info&f=BombermanPC
]Official Hudson page[/url]
Wikipedia pageOfficial page for Bomberman Collection Vol.1Part 1 of a video playthroughMore footageBomberman Users Battle. I’m only posting this because I’m assuming it’s this game’s battle mode. I think it might be being played via the C-Link attachment
