Set us up the Bomberman
Classic game compilations continue to be a hot trend. Konami was pumping out a bunch for a while, then went silent only to return with a nice stealth drop during the most recent Nintendo Direct. The Super Bomberman Collection is a nice collection of everyone’s favorite bomb-dropping menace. This collection focuses on his early days on the NES and SNES with seven titles and a host of bonus features. While some titles are noticeably absent, this is a good start on what I hope becomes a series of collections for the little Bomberman.
Let’s get started with what is in this collection. There are technically seven games in total, but the main course are the five games released for the Super Nintendo/Super Famicom. These are appropriately titled Super Bomberman 1-5, and the cherry on top is that the latter three entries have never been released in the US. So, unless you have imported them, these are technically new games. This is very cool, and I always appreciate when games finally make it stateside. Those days were painful as a ton of games never made it to our shores.
MSRP: $19.99
Platforms: Xbox (reviewed), PlayStation, Switch, PC
Price I’d Pay: $19.99
There are also two bonus games, which are the two original games from the NES. The caveat to these is that they are only playable in Japanese. The other five titles have English, and for the final two titles this is a first. They have been translated just for this collection. Overall, this collection packs a lot of games and content for its $20 price tag. Other collections, take note.
The game play is pretty straightforward, and it is cool to see the origins of the series. Bomberman has always been built with multiplayer in mind, but there are single player campaigns in all of these games. The premise is simple: navigate a maze, drop bombs to destroy enemies, unlock power-ups, and new ways to move. It is simple and somehow extremely deep. Good Bomberman players can manipulate the environment to their advantage, but even casuals can jump in with little effort.
Multiplayer is where it is at though, and this collection does have it. Sadly, it is not online, and I think this is a huge miss. With so many games adding online these days, this is a game that needed it badly. The local stuff is still the best, being in a room with friends when that final bomb goes off is unmatched, but that is not as viable today as it was in the past. So, the omission of online play is disappointing, but that really is the biggest blemish in this package.
The ports are all well done and the quality-of-life additions are appreciated. The standard fare is here with display options, save states, and the ability to rewind the action, but the museum really goes above and beyond. I know it is dumb, but I absolutely love the fact that you can virtually open the box, take out the cart, and read the manual. This is a really cool touch that adds to the nostalgia. The museum is also packed with lots of extras and insights into the series.
The Super Bomberman Collection is a fantastic snapshot of those games from that time period. I would love to see this continue with the really awkward N64 entries, and of course the greatest Bomberman game of all-time, Saturn Bomberman. But, as a starting point, this collection nails what makes these games special and deserves a spot in your collection.
Review copy of game provided by publisher.
