Hello again and welcome to Lost Gems, the feature series where I discuss titles that have been forgotten, abandoned or pulled from circulation. This week is a follow-up to a previous feature from last year, covering another title from explosive puzzle series Hudson Soft for the NEC PC-Engine. So let us take a look at Bomberman ’94, the sequel that was released in 1993 and ported as Mega Bomberman the following year.
Disclaimer: while the game discussed here is no longer officially on sale, there are ways to obtain the game. This can be either through the second hand market, or via unofficial digital roms/rips. I do not condone or promote piracy, so there won’t be any links to roms or rips of the game being covered.
So with the introductions out of the way, let’s get started. I will be discussing the general game experience, then give my personal thoughts on the title. As this is a sequel feature, you can find my piece on the previous game (HERE).
About the game
Just like the other titles in the Bomberman series, this title is a maze based puzzle action game, where the player controls White Bomberman. This time, there has been a catastrophic event which has caused Planet Bomber to break apart, splitting into 5 different zones. The Bomberman must now collect the pieces of artifacts known as the Spirit Pictures, which have been fractured by the villain Buglear. Only after they are restored can Planet Bomber be restored.
This game takes place across six zones, with the first 5 making up Planet Bomber with the final zone being the villain’s lair. The areas of Planet Bomber are split into different themes, including a Forest, a volcanic mountain and the bottom of the sea. Each of the areas are split into stages, with the player having a single objective, collect the fragment of the Spirit Picture. This is achieved by blowing up the shield beacons, that keep it locked up.
In the stages, the player must navigate the each of the maze like grids, where soft blocks must be destroyed to open up the paths. At the start of the game, or after continuing from a game over, the player has only one bomb and level of fire. By blowing up the soft blocks, the player can also uncover items, which can improve the abilities of Bomberman. The most common are bomb and fire upgrades, increasing the number and length of the flames.
As the player progresses through the game, more unique items can be found, like the boot that lets players kick bombs and the remote to manually detonate bombs. Many of the items will be carried over between stages, but some are only temporary, like the fire vest that grants limited invulnerability to flames. If the player dies, they will lose the special power-ups, aside from the bomb quantity and fire power upgrades.
Introduced in this game, eggs appear in set stages which hatch into kangaroo-like animals called Rooi (called Louie in English). These adorable companions act as an extra life, as well as a special partner that provides a skill for bomber man. There are five colors of Rooi in this game, with Green, Pink, Blue, Yellow and Purple. The color determines the skill of the Rooi, which include the ability to kick bombs, jump blocks and the best skill of all, a cute dance.
The Rooi that appears is randomised each time, and will last for the duration of the area, or until they are blown up. But if the player does lose their companion, it is likely that it won’t be long before they will get another as the. The stages in a world are replayable, so if the player knows a stage in the current world where a Rooi appears, they can take the risk to get another one. Sadly, the Rooi cannot be carried between the worlds.
During the early portion of the game, the player will learn the ins and outs of play, starting with a single screen before expanding in two different ways. There will be expanded stages, where the player needs to travel horizontally or vertically to reach the other side. Then there are the multi-section stages, where each segment must be cleared before progressing to the next. Most of the stages will have some form of vertical or horizontal scrolling.
Each of the worlds after the first has unique gimmicks tied to the theme, like the mine cart in the volcano zone, which lets the player travel across the stage. But it doesn’t just apply to the stage, as enemies will have their own distinct mechanics, like the submarine in the Sea zone that can go under the sand. These different elements make each of the zones and the stages within feel unique, as they offer distinct challenges for the player.
Once all of the fragments for a Spirit Picture have been collected, the player will face off with the Boss for the stage. These will lock the player into a single screen arena, where the opponent must be hit a set number of times to defeat them. Each of the big bosses have a gimmick that is tied to their theme, like a giant Crab in the Sea zone and a stone golem in the mountain zone. Once the boss has been defeated, the player will be able to move to the next Area.
Cleared stages and areas can be revisited, allowing the player to recollect power-ups if a stage is too tough. If the player gets a game over, they will be able to continue the game, but they will lose the power-ups that were collected, being reset to a single bomb and the lowest fire power. There is also a password system, that lets players continue their progress, passwords are given after getting a game over using a four digit number system.
Alongside the single player mode, the battle game is present again, with the option for up to five players to battle it out. There is the option for human and CPU players, allowing players to enjoy the mode alone or with others. This mode has been updated from the previous release, with this version having 9 versions for each Bomberman. The characters have no unique effect for human players, but as CPU enemies, they will have their own unique behaviours.
Just like the previous game, the player can battle it out in matches needing 1-5 wins to be declared the victor. The classic grey and green stage is here, which is included in most Bomberman games, but this game also includes some unique gimmick based stages. The gimmicks include conveyor belts, trap doors and Snow domes that extend the blasts. This time there are 10 stages, further expanding on the previous release.
Most of the items from the normal mode also appear in this release, with the bomb upgrades, kick boot and Rooi eggs popping up during the chaos. There will also be the exclusive Curse item, which appears as a skull icon when uncovered. If the player makes contact with a skull, they will be infected for a limited time giving a range of effects to them. These negatives are also contagious, meaning they can be passed on if contact is made with another player.
Personal Thoughts
As mentioned in the previous feature, I have a deep appreciation for the Bomberman series, with more features planned in the future. I didn’t get to play this game during the era it was released, but I did manage to get some hands-on experience with the Virtual Console release on Wii. Compared to the previous release, this is a big leap in terms of gameplay and scope, with the expanded mechanics alongside the inclusion of the popular Rooi companions.
It is one of the better games that weren’t under the Super Bomberman name, alongside Saturn Bomberman which was another standout title (keep an eye out for that feature). The fact that players could challenge the stages or a Zone in any order was a great choice, making it distinct from the others. The premise of having to locate the Spirit Picture fragments is also a nice touch, as the game loop for most of the games is to just defeat all the enemies.
Then there are the visuals really pop off the screen, with special techniques used that pushed the limits of the PC-Engine hardware. There is a lot of depth to the content for this release, offering a fun experience either in single player or in the multiplayer mode. I have spent a lot of time playing this game, coming back to it when the itch hits for an explosive adventure. This title is another reason why the PC-Engine was such a special little machine.
This game was released on the PC-Engine exclusively in Japan, but it was ported to the SEGA Mega Drive/Genesis as the aptly titled Mega Bomberman. The game was dormant for many years, but it was eventually brought back to the Wii and PlayStation. Konami also released the game on the PC-Engine Mini in 2020, but it was eventually discontinued becoming lost again. Luckily, the game is pretty affordable on the secondary markets.
I mentioned previously that the franchise had hit a rough patch, due to Konami not doing much of anything with the series. This statement appears to have aged poorly, as the Super Bomberman Collection was announced and released digitally recently. Due to this, there has been a renewed interest in the older titles of the series and I plan to cover this collection in the future. With this resurgence, I hope that the other games get a second chance at life.
If you have enjoyed this feature, then please stick around and see what else catches your eye. I cover a wide range of games in reviews, get special previews and put out regular features. I have Lost Gems, Retro Revival where I discuss re-releases and the occasional Gaming Oddities piece, where I cover weird and wacky titles. So stay a while and have a look around.
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