Super Bomberman R

Last updated

Super Bomberman R
Super Bomberman R (artwork).jpg
Packaging artwork for the Switch version
Developer(s) Konami
HexaDrive
Publisher(s) Konami
Director(s) Akihiro Mitsuda
Producer(s)
  • Noriaki Okamura
  • Yuji Korekado
Designer(s) Masanori Yasuda
Ryuichiro Taki
Programmer(s) Shunsuke Yamamoto
Artist(s) Junichi Morita
Writer(s)
  • Kaede Ogawa
  • Gol Koganei
  • Moe Yamazaki
Composer(s)
  • Seima Iwahashi
  • Daisuke Kikuta
Series Bomberman
Engine Unity
Platform(s)
Release
  • Nintendo Switch
  • March 3, 2017
  • PS4, Windows, Xbox One
Genre(s) Action, maze
Mode(s) Single-player, multiplayer

Super Bomberman R [a] is an action-maze game developed by Konami and HexaDrive and published by Konami for the Nintendo Switch. The game was first released worldwide as a launch title for the console in March 2017, before releasing for PlayStation 4, Windows and Xbox One in June 2018. [4] 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 (following 1997's Super Bomberman 5 ). It is also the first Bomberman entry in the franchise to be developed for consoles following the dissolution of original series developer Hudson Soft in 2012.

Contents

The game received mixed reviews, though many of the criticisms were addressed with post-release patches. As of March 2021, the game has sold over 2 million copies worldwide. A sequel titled Super Bomberman R 2 was released for Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Windows, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S in September 2023 as part of the Bomberman franchise's 40th anniversary.

Gameplay

Players move through a two-dimensional grid environment and must trap and drop bombs to defeat their opponents. [5] [6] The game features story mode spanning 50 stages and supports cooperative gameplay for two players. [5] The game also features an eight-player competitive multiplayer mode. [6] The online mode contains a league system (Baby A/B, Novice A/B, Amateur A/B, Pro A/B, Champ A/B and God A/B). Starting in Baby league B the player has to win matches to gather and earn points for advancement.[ citation needed ]

Battle mode includes 19 battlegrounds in total. Besides the classic arena, it also offers a multi-level arena with springboards, ice-patterns, moveable blocks, etc., each with a unique style. In addition to the eight Bomberman Bros. and the Five Dastardly Bombers, Super Bomberman R also features a selection of new characters based on Konami Originals, such as Dracula Bomber, Vic Viper Bomber, Goemon Bomber and more. In total, there are 27 characters, each with special abilities.[ citation needed ]

Grand Prix[ clarification needed ] was introduced with an update in November 2017. It contains 3 vs 3 battles in offline or online matches within 3 different arenas. Alongside new characters (with unique abilities) the player's goal is to collect as many gems as possible within the given time. Alternate mode is team fight which counts the total wins (blow-ups).[ citation needed ]

Plot

In a robot scrapyard on Planet Scrapheap, Emperor Buggler resurrects five robots to be his new henchmen, the Five Dastardly Bombers. Meanwhile, on Planet Bomber, White, the eldest and most disciplined of the eight heroic Bomberman Brothers of Planet Bomber, tries getting his younger siblings to train his siblings to no avail. Black is lazy and egocentric, Pink is more concerned about fashion and gossip, Blue sleeps all day, Red is hot-tempered, Yellow is overly naïve and innocent, Aqua has anger management issues, and Green is a manipulative sneak who deceives everyone. Just then, their television begins broadcasting a signal from Buggler, who proclaims his goal to conquer the universe and his army has already conquered five planets (Brainwave, Lalaland, Scrapheap, Technopolis, and Timbertree) of the Starry Sky Nebula, swearing that all other planets will soon follow. He offers a challenge to anyone who would defy him to fight his generals. White immediately takes up the challenge and forces his siblings to come with him as he heads to the Starry Sky Nebula to face the Buggler army.

White and his siblings advance on the five worlds Buggler's henchmen have conquered, solving many issues linked to their conquest and defeating Buggler's army and his henchmen. However, when Buggler dares them to face him in outer space, the Bombermen discover that Buggler has created a black hole to destroy the universe while they were busy freeing the planets under his rule. Buggler summons his defeated henchmen to build a massive robot possessing all of their powers to overpower the Bombermen siblings, but they manage to defeat it. In response, Buggler merges with the robot, enlarging himself in the process. Just then, the Five Dastardly Bombers, now free from Buggler's control, give the siblings energy from Buggler's black hole and assist them in defeating Buggler and destroying the black hole. Despite receiving praise for saving the universe, however, White's siblings still refuse to train with White, to his anger.

Release

Super Bomberman R was developed by Konami and HexaDrive, and several people involved in the game are former Hudson Soft staff who had worked in past Bomberman titles. [7] [8] The game was announced on January 12, 2017 and released on March 3, 2017 as a timed exclusive launch title for the Nintendo Switch console. [6] [9] On April 20, 2017, free downloadable content was announced alongside regular updates with various gameplay improvements. The first set includes four new stages and two new accessories. Future updates with various playable characters from other Konami franchises—including Vic Viper from Gradius , Simon Belmont from Castlevania , and Pyramid Head from Silent Hill 2 —were also teased. [10] Further updates with additions of new characters and entirely new gameplay modes are being released by Konami. [11] Ports for PlayStation 4, Windows, and Xbox One were released in June 2018, each featuring a platform-exclusive character: Ratchet from Sony's Ratchet & Clank for the PlayStation 4 version, Master Chief from Microsoft's Halo series for the Xbox One version and P-Body from Valve's Portal 2 for the Windows version. [12] The original Switch version also received its own exclusive character via an update: the Bomberman franchise's own MAX. [13] An update in June 2018 added WWE professional wrestler Xavier Woods as a playable character, along with additional Konami characters such as Solid Snake, Naked Snake and Raiden from the Metal Gear series. [14] [15]

Super Bomberman R Online

A free-to-play, online-only spin-off subtitled Online was released on Stadia on September 1, 2020, and on PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch and Steam on May 27, 2021, [16] [17] and was shut down on December 1, 2022.

Reception

Nintendo Life's preview stated that "Super Bomberman R isn't going to break any ground with its familiar explosions and mayhem, but it doesn't have to; sometimes, colourful old-school gaming is refreshing in this era of progressively darker and more complex titles." [29] This was reiterated in their review, with Steve Bowling describing it as "no-frills", but "the go-to multiplayer launch title" for the Switch. [27]

In Japan, the game's debut week sales reached 39,609 copies sold, marking the highest first-week sales for a Bomberman game since 1998's Bomberman World , which sold 76,801 copies in its first week. [30] By August 2018, the game had sold over a million copies worldwide across all platforms. [31] As of March 2021, the game has sold over 2 million copies worldwide. [32]

Super Bomberman R received "generally mixed reviews", according to review aggregator Metacritic. [20]

Notes

  1. ↑ Japanese: スーパーボンバーマン Ｒ, Hepburn: Sūpā Bonbāman Āru

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References

  1. ↑ "'PS4®', Xbox One and Steam versions to be released! (The Americas)". Super Bomberman R Official Website. Konami Digital Entertainment. Archived from the original on March 16, 2018. Retrieved March 16, 2018.
  2. ↑ "PS4®、Xbox One、Steam版発売決定！". Super Bomberman R Official Website (in Japanese). Konami Digital Entertainment. Archived from the original on March 17, 2018. Retrieved March 16, 2018.
  3. ↑ "'PS4®', Xbox One and Steam versions to be released! (Europe)". Super Bomberman R Official Website. Konami Digital Entertainment. Archived from the original on March 16, 2018. Retrieved March 16, 2018.
  4. ↑ "Super Bomberman R coming to PS4, Xbox One, and PC in June". Gematsu. Archived from the original on March 16, 2018. Retrieved March 15, 2018.
  5. 1 2 Alexander, Julia (January 13, 2017). "Watch 15 minutes of Super Bomberman R on the Nintendo Switch". Polygon . Archived from the original on June 15, 2020. Retrieved January 13, 2017.
  6. 1 2 3 Marchiafava, Jeff (January 13, 2017). "Super Bomberman R Coming To Nintendo Switch". Game Informer . Archived from the original on January 14, 2017. Retrieved January 13, 2017.
  7. ↑ Williams, Mike (January 13, 2017). "Nintendo Switch Launch Line-up Includes Zelda: Breath of the Wild and 1-2-Switch". USgamer . Archived from the original on January 15, 2020. Retrieved January 13, 2017.
  8. ↑ Hawkins, Matt (January 13, 2017). "Super Bomberman R Is Being Made By Former Bomberman Staff [UPDATE: Impressions]". Siliconera. Archived from the original on January 15, 2017. Retrieved January 14, 2017.
  9. ↑ Schwartz, Terri (January 12, 2017). "Nintendo Announces Super Bomberman R For Switch". IGN . Archived from the original on December 8, 2019. Retrieved January 13, 2017.
  10. ↑ McFerran, Damien (April 21, 2017). "Today's Super Bomberman R Update Includes Four Battle Mode Stages And Two Accessories". Nintendo Life. Gamer Network. Archived from the original on April 21, 2017. Retrieved April 21, 2017.
  11. ↑ "スーパーボンバーマン R 公式サイト". スーパーボンバーマン R 公式サイト (in Japanese). Archived from the original on October 2, 2017. Retrieved October 2, 2017.
  12. ↑ "Super Bomberman R Trailers Highlight Its Platform-Exclusive Characters - Siliconera". www.siliconera.com. Archived from the original on April 15, 2018.
  13. ↑ @Konami (June 7, 2018). "Due to popular demand, MAX will be..." (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  14. ↑ "WWE's Xavier Woods is coming to Super Bomberman R". June 13, 2018. Archived from the original on November 9, 2020. Retrieved June 15, 2018.
  15. ↑ "Super Bomberman R update out now (Version 2.1) - new characters including Solid / Naked Snake and more". June 27, 2018. Archived from the original on June 29, 2018. Retrieved June 29, 2018.
  16. ↑ "Super Bomberman R Online Info". Archived from the original on September 5, 2020. Retrieved September 1, 2020.
  17. ↑ "Super Bomberman R Online is bombing its way to new platforms". Archived from the original on March 16, 2021. Retrieved March 16, 2021.
  18. ↑ "Super Bomberman R for PlayStation 4 Reviews". Metacritic . CBS Interactive. Archived from the original on September 22, 2018. Retrieved September 15, 2018.
  19. ↑ "Super Bomberman R for Xbox One Reviews". Metacritic . CBS Interactive. Archived from the original on September 22, 2018. Retrieved September 15, 2018.
  20. 1 2 "Super Bomberman R for Switch Reviews". Metacritic . CBS Interactive. Archived from the original on August 14, 2017. Retrieved March 9, 2017.
  21. ↑ Carter, Chris (March 2, 2017). "Review: Super Bomberman R". Destructoid. Destructoid. Archived from the original on November 17, 2017. Retrieved March 31, 2018.
  22. ↑ Carsillo, Ray (March 8, 2017). "Super Bomberman R review". EGMNOW. EGM. Archived from the original on April 1, 2018. Retrieved March 31, 2018.
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  26. ↑ McCraffrey, Ryan (March 7, 2017). "Super Bomberman R Review". IGN. IGN. Archived from the original on March 31, 2018. Retrieved March 31, 2018.
  27. 1 2 Bowling, Steve (March 3, 2017). "Review: Super Bomberman R". Nintendo Life. NLife Media. Archived from the original on March 14, 2017. Retrieved March 13, 2017.
  28. ↑ Rose, Bryan. "Super Bomberman R (Switch) Review". Nintendo World Report. Nintendo World Report. Archived from the original on March 31, 2018. Retrieved March 31, 2018.
  29. ↑ Meyer, Lee (January 16, 2017). "First Impressions: Explosive Action in Super Bomberman R". Nintendo Life . NLife Media. Archived from the original on March 9, 2019. Retrieved March 9, 2017.
  30. ↑ "Super Bomberman R Had The Best Opening Week For The Series In The Last 20 Years - Siliconera". www.siliconera.com. Archived from the original on March 15, 2017.
  31. ↑ Craddock, Ryan (August 2, 2018). "Super Bomberman R Hits One Million Worldwide Sales, Konami Celebrates With Bungee Jump". Nintendo Life. Archived from the original on August 3, 2018. Retrieved August 3, 2018.
  32. ↑ Stockdale, Henry (March 17, 2021). "Super Bomberman R Passes Two Million Sales Worldwide". Nintendo Life . Archived from the original on June 9, 2021. Retrieved June 9, 2021.
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