Bomberman Generation

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Bomberman Generation
Bomberman Generation box.jpg
North American cover art
Developer(s) Game Arts
Publisher(s)
Director(s) Kotaro Hayashida
Producer(s) Hidetoshi Endo
Yoichi Miyaji
Artist(s) Shoji Mizuno
Kozue Narai
Composer(s) Shohei Bando
Series Bomberman
Platform(s) GameCube
Release
  • NA: June 4, 2002 [1]
  • JP: June 27, 2002
  • PAL: December 6, 2002
Genre(s) Action-adventure
Mode(s) Single-player, multiplayer

Bomberman Generation [2] is a 2002 video game released for the GameCube. It was followed up by Bomberman Jetters .

Contents

Gameplay

Bomberman Generation consists of six worlds consisting of about five levels each. The levels involve puzzles, mini games, Pokémon-like battles using Charaboms who get befriended by Bomberman once defeated, and Charabom or bomb merge areas where a merge item and a bomb get fused or a Charabom and another Charabom get fused resulting in a stronger bomb or Charabom. Pommy (Pomyu) from Bomberman 64: The Second Attack and a few of his variations make appearances as Charaboms. The worlds have unique bosses each with a different strategy of defeating them. All of the worlds have puzzles that the player has to solve with bombs or Charaboms. Bomberman can acquire various power-ups which can increase his speed and his bomb power.

Bomberman Generation was one of the first titles to employ the style of cel-shading for the GameCube, a style utilized again in the follow-up game Bomberman Jetters.

The multiplayer mode resembles that of the classic games in that the players can no longer utilize full three-dimensional movement. The battles can consist of up to four human or computer characters. There are five different modes from which to choose:

Plot

According to the game's opening scene, stories of the origin of the universe's power have circulated for years, but it was not until recently that the source of the power has been found. Six crystals, named the "Bomb Elements," are said to contain unfathomable, though unknown, powers. So Professor Ein sends a space freighter to retrieve them and return to Planet Bomber for analysis.

However, en route to Planet Bomber, the freighter is attacked by a hired gun and is destroyed. The Bomb Elements fall out but are sucked in by the gravitational pull of the nearby planet Tentacalls. Professor Ein receives word that the Hige Hige Bandits, led by Bomberman's arch-enemy Mujoe, are making large-scale moves towards Tentacalls, and it turns out that they were the ones responsible for the freighter attack. Not only that, but the Bandits have allied themselves with Bomberman's rivals, the Crush Bombers, who are also on the move to get the Elements for Mujoe.

Professor Ein orders Bomberman to Tentacalls to defeat the Crush Bombers and the Hige Hige Bandits, and to get the Bomb Elements before they do, for if even one element falls into their hands, then the universe would be as Mujoe pleases. Thus begins Bomberman's latest chapter to restore peace and order to the galaxy.

Reception

Bomberman Generation received "favorable" reviews according to the review aggregation website Metacritic. [3] In Japan, Famitsu gave it a score of 27 out of 40. [7] GamePro said that the game "delivers decent solo fun, but this game is best played with four friends hunched around the television, bent on trying to blow each other to smithereens." [16] [lower-alpha 1]

The game was nominated for "Best Platformer on GameCube" and "Best Game No One Played on GameCube" at GameSpot 's Best and Worst of 2002 Awards, both of which went to Super Mario Sunshine and Sega Soccer Slam , respectively. [17] [18]

Notes

  1. GamePro gave the game 4/5 for graphics, 3.5/5 for sound, and two 4.5/5 scores for control and fun factor.

Related Research Articles

<i>Bomberman</i> Video game series

Bomberman is a video game franchise created by Shinichi Nakamoto and Shigeki Fujiwara, originally developed by Hudson Soft and currently owned by Konami. The original game, also known as Bakudan Otoko (爆弾男), was released in Japan in July 1983 and has since spawned multiple sequels and spin-offs released on numerous platforms, as well as several anime and manga adaptations.

<i>Bomberman Jetters</i> Japanese anime television series

Bomberman Jetters is a 2002 Japanese anime television series produced by NAS and TV Tokyo and animated by Studio Deen. It has also spawned two manga series and three video games, one of which was also localized and given an English dub. It is based on the popular Bomberman video game series created by Hudson Soft.

<i>Bomberman II</i> 1991 video game

Bomberman II, released in Europe and Australia as Dynablaster, is a maze video game developed and published by Hudson Soft for the Nintendo Entertainment System originally in Japan and Europe in 1991 and later in North America in February 1993.

<i>Bomberman 64</i> (1997 video game) 1997 video game

Bomberman 64 is a video game developed and published by Hudson Soft in Japan, and published by Nintendo in North America and Europe for the Nintendo 64. The game was released in Europe and North America in November and December 1997, respectively. While the game never saw a release on the Wii's Virtual Console service, it was released on the Wii U Virtual Console in both Europe and North America in March 2017 followed by Japan in June 2017.

<i>Bomberman Hero</i> 1998 video game

Bomberman Hero is a platforming video game and the second Bomberman game for the Nintendo 64. A further departure from the 16-bit Bomberman titles after Bomberman 64, it gives Bomberman more character moves, and features additional levels, bosses, and weapons. However, in a break from the Bomberman series formula, it lacks a multiplayer mode. This game was released on the Wii Virtual Console service in 2011.

<i>Bomberman Max</i> 1999 video game

Bomberman Max: Blue Champion and Bomberman Max: Red Challenger are video games released for the Game Boy Color on May 9, 2000. The game was followed by Bomberman Max 2 which was released for the Game Boy Advance on June 4, 2002. There are two versions called Bomberman Max: Blue Champion and Bomberman Max: Red Challenger. In Blue Champion the playable character is Bomberman where in Red Challenger the playable character is Max.

<i>Bomberman Jetters</i> (video game) 2002 video game

Bomberman Jetters is an action game for the Game Boy Advance, GameCube and PlayStation 2, and part of Hudson Soft's Bomberman series. The game builds on the gameplay style established in the previous Bomberman series entry, 2002's Bomberman Generation, and features characters and settings from the 2002 anime series Bomberman Jetters. The GameCube version utilizes cel-shaded graphics similar to those of Bomberman Generation, while the PlayStation 2 version does not.

<i>DreamMix TV World Fighters</i> 2003 video game

DreamMix TV World Fighters is a crossover fighting video game developed by Bitstep and published by Hudson for the GameCube and PlayStation 2 in Japan on December 18, 2003. The game features characters from Hudson and Konami's video game series and Takara's toy lines.

<i>Gradius Advance</i> 2001 video game

Gradius Advance is a horizontally scrolling shooter handheld video game developed by Mobile21 and published by Konami in 2001. It was released later in the same month in the United States as Gradius Galaxies and in 2002 in Japan as Gradius Generation. It is the only Gradius title available for the Game Boy Advance. The game's plot is set between Gradius III and Gradius Gaiden. Bacterion was developing a powerful weapon to use against the planet Gradius, but it was destroyed. A few years later it crashed on a planet and the planet gradually changed into a mechanical fortress. The planet Gradius then sent the Vic Viper to stop it.

<i>Bomberman Online</i> 2001 video game

Bomberman Online is a multiplayer video game developed for the Dreamcast console platform. The game is part of the Bomberman franchise and includes various multiplayer game modes. The game's online servers were shut down in 2003, restricting players to offline-only multiplayer modes.

<i>Super Bomberman 2</i> 1994 video game

Super Bomberman 2 is a video game developed by Produce! and Hudson Soft and released on the Super Nintendo Entertainment System. It was released in Japan on April 28, 1994, in North America later the same year, and in Europe on February 23, 1995.

<i>Bomberman Tournament</i> 2001 video game


Bomberman Tournament is a game in the Bomberman series for the GBA. The game contains a multiplayer battle mode between linked Game Boy Advances. The player and up to three others can compete in any of the game's eight multiplayer battle arenas, each of which has its own unique gameplay twist.

<i>Super Bomberman 3</i> 1995 video game

Super Bomberman 3 is a game released for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System in 1995. It is the third installment in the Super Bomberman series, and the third Bomberman game to be released for the system. Up to five players can play at the same time. The game was released in Japan and the PAL region, but not in North America due to the closure of Hudson Soft USA.

<i>Super Bomberman 4</i> 1996 video game

Super Bomberman 4 is a 1 or 2 player action-party video game, developed by Produce and published by Hudson Soft for the Super Famicom, released on April 26, 1996, in Japan. Part of the Bomberman franchise, it is the fourth installment of the Super Bomberman series.

<i>Bomberman Land Touch!</i> 2006 video game

Bomberman Land Touch! is a puzzle video game developed by Hudson Soft for the Nintendo DS. The game was first released in Japan and North America in 2006. Part of the Bomberman franchise, Touch! is the third game in the Bomberman Land series and its first to be released outside Japan.

<i>Bomberman 93</i> 1992 video game

Bomberman '93 is a video game in the Bomberman series. It was released on the PC Engine on December 11, 1992 in Japan, with western TurboGrafx-16 releases following in 1993. The game was also re-released for PCs in 2002 alongside the TurboGrafx-16 version of Bomberman and Bomberman World as part of a compilation disc titled Bomberman Collection. The game was re-released for the Virtual Console, with full multiplayer capability intact, for Wii on November 21, 2006 in North America, December 8, 2006 in Europe, and July 6, 2007 in Australia. The game was re-released for the Wii U on December 28, 2016 in Japan, November 30, 2017 in North America and December 14, 2017 in Europe. Bomberman '93 later spawned a sequel titled Bomberman '94.

<i>Bomberman Land Touch! 2</i> 2007 video game

Bomberman Land Touch! 2 is a puzzle video game for the Nintendo DS released in Japan on July 19, 2007, and in North America, Europe, and Australia in 2008. Part of the Bomberman franchise, it is the sequel to Bomberman Land Touch! and the seventh game in the Bomberman Land series.

<i>Bomberman Blast</i> 2008 video game

Bomberman Blast is an action game developed and published by Hudson Soft for the Wii and WiiWare as part of the Bomberman franchise. The game was released as two versions: a fully featured retail release and a WiiWare version known as Wi-Fi 8-Nin Battle Bomberman. The retail version was released in Japan on September 25, 2008, while the WiiWare version was released on September 30, 2008. The WiiWare version was released in Europe on September 12, 2008, and in North America on September 29, 2008.

Bomberman GB is a sub-series of video games in Hudson Soft's Bomberman series released for the Game Boy. The first entry was Bomberman GB, released as Wario Blast: Featuring Bomberman! in North America and Europe, later succeeded by Bomberman GB 2, under the name Bomberman GB internationally, and Bomberman GB 3, which was only released in Japan.

<i>Super Bomberman R</i> 2017 video game

Super Bomberman R is an action-maze game developed by Konami and HexaDrive and published by Konami. The game was first released worldwide as a launch title for the Nintendo Switch in March 2017, and later for PlayStation 4, Windows, and Xbox One in June 2018. Part of the Bomberman franchise, it is the sixth installment of the Super Bomberman series and the first game in the series to be released in twenty years. It is also the first Bomberman entry in the franchise to be developed for consoles following the dissolution of original series owner Hudson Soft in 2012.

References

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  2. ボンバーマンジェネレーション, Bonbāman Jenerēshon
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