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Bomberman (1985 video game)

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Bomberman
Refer to caption
North American NES box art
DeveloperHudson Soft
PublisherHudson Soft[a]
ProgrammerShinichi Nakamoto
ComposerJun Chikuma
SeriesBomberman
Platforms
Release
December 20, 1985
  • NES
    • JP: December 20, 1985
    • NA: January 1989
    MSX
    Famicom Disk System
    • JP: April 24, 1990
    Palm
    • WW: 2001
    Game Boy Advance
    • JP: February 14, 2004
    • NA: June 7, 2004
    • EU: July 9, 2004
GenresAction, maze
ModeSingle-player

Bomberman[b] is an action game developed and published by Hudson Soft for the Nintendo Entertainment System. It was first released in Japan on December 20, 1985, and published in North America in January 1989. The player controls the titular character through maze-like levels. The objective is to reach the exit while fighting enemies and destroying blockade with bombs.

Bomberman is an enhanced port of an earlier computer game Bakudan Otoko (1983). Both Bakudan Otoko and Bomberman were programmed by Hudson director Shinichi Nakamoto, who saw potential in the former and wanted to expand its formula for the console video game market. Bomberman retains the basic gameplay of its predecessor, but has many new elements not found in the original version, including a power-up system that allows the player to accumulate firepower by collecting items and a soundtrack composed by Jun Chikuma.

Bomberman sold approximately a million copies by 1989; contemporary reviews praised the game for its engaging gameplay. Nakamoto declared the console port to be the definite version of his game. It was re-released for numerous platforms such as MSX, Famicom Disk System, and Game Boy Advance. Retrospective reviews commended the game for spawning the Bomberman series with many installments building on its gameplay, but were divided on its simplicity, particularly the lack of multiplayer mode popularized by later Bomberman games. A direct sequel, Bomberman II, was released in 1991.

Gameplay

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Refer to adjacent text
Bomberman in action, defeating several enemies with his bombs

Bomberman is an action and maze game where the player controls the eponymous character through maze levels with a top-down perspective.[1][2][3] A bomb production robot working in an underground complex, Bomberman's mission is to escape from the facility, surmount the evil forces attempting to capture him, and reach the surface, upon which he will become a human.[4][5] Each level contains enemies and randomly generated destructible blocks.[1] Bomberman's primary weapons are his bombs, which are able to take out enemies and demolish blocks.[6] Whenever he sets down a bomb, it explodes after a short delay and shoots jets of fire in all four directions.[1] The main objective is to defeat all enemies in the level and locate the exit concealed under a block.[1][7]

Hidden inside blocks are an assortment of power-up panels that can boost Bomberman's bombing abilities and grant extra perks.[6] There are two types of power-ups: permanent power-ups, which indefinitely increase Bomberman's blast radius and the number of bombs he can carry; and temporary power-ups, which give him special advantages, such as the ability to walk through blocks or the remote detonator that gives him complete control over when his bombs explode, but only last until he dies.[1]

There are a total of 50 levels to complete.[2] As Bomberman proceeds toward the surface, the levels become more complex and send out more advanced foes.[1] There are eight different enemy types in the game that act in various ways, with certain adversaries capable of moving through blocks, and reward different score points upon defeat.[8] Bonus stages infrequently appear between the levels, allowing the player to earn additional points.[7]

Bomberman has several elements which can impede the player. The levels operate under a timer that, if it runs out, will summon additional foes.[9] If a bomb blast strikes an exit, more enemies will spawn, which must also be defeated before the player can progress.[7] When Bomberman is in contact with an enemy or caught in his bomb's explosion, he is killed and loses a life.[2] Bomberman starts with three lives, and earns one for every level cleared out. When all lives are lost, the game declares game over.[8] A password can be used to save and resume the player's progress.[6][8]

Development

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Bomberman is based on Hudson Soft's Bakudan Otoko (1983), also known as Bomber Man, which was originally made for personal computers and created with the BASIC programming language. Shortly after releasing Bakudan Otoko, Hudson entered the console video game market, publishing Lode Runner (1984) and Star Force (1985) for the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES). The company decided to port over its old computer games to the NES, and Bakudan Otoko was selected as its next idea for a new release. Both Bakudan Otoko and the NES Bomberman were created by Shinichi Nakamoto, a programmer and research and development director at Hudson Soft.[10][11]

Nakamoto thought Bakudan Otoko had a simple yet compelling formula, but was not expansive enough for the console market, which led to adding many game mechanics to Bomberman not present in the original computer game.[10] He came up with a power-up system, inspired by space-themed shoot 'em ups at the time, so that the player could amass more firepower throughout the game by collecting items.[10][11] Once the game's basic framework was established, Hudson wanted to redesign the player character of Bakudan Otoko, an "old man in a hat", who the developer thought would not attract the console gaming userbase. Nakamoto ultimately decided on replacing him with the robot character from Hudson's NES port of Lode Runner; his reasoning was that, if the protagonist were a robot, he would not feel too sorry seeing the character blown apart by a bomb.[10] Corroborating this change, Bomberman's ending sees the player character transform into the protagonist of Hudson's Lode Runner, establishing itself as a prequel.[4][12]

Bomberman was Hudson's first game to use sampled sound effects, utilized for bomb's exploding sound. Nakamoto received recordings of numerous explosions and compared them all until he chose the one that he felt was the most satisfying.[10] The game's soundtrack, a first in the series, was composed by Jun Chikuma.[13][9] Feeling the chiptune generated by the NES' sound processor was suitable for techno, she tried to mix various genres based on techno and electronic music.[13]

Release

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Bomberman was first released in Japan on December 20, 1985.[8][14] It was published in North America in January 1989.[15][16] The game was re-released for the Famicom Disk System on April 27, 1990.[17]

In 1986, Hudson published an MSX port as Bomberman Special.[18] Bomberman is included as a bonus mode in Atomic Punk (1990) for the Game Boy.[19] A port for Palm mobile devices was released in 2001.[9] The NES Bomberman was re-released in 2004 for the Game Boy Advance as part of Nintendo's Classic NES Series line on February 14 in Japan, June 7 in North America, and July 9 in Europe.[20][21][22] This version has a save ability for the most recent level password.[2][6] The NES version was released for the Game Boy Advance again in 2005 via Hudson Best Collection Vol. 1: Bomberman Collection, a dual release also featuring Bomberman II.[23] The NES version was also one of the games included in the 2026 compilation Super Bomberman Collection.[24]

Reception and legacy

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Upon release, three critics from MSX Magazine, reviewing the MSX version, praised the gameplay mechanics that are easy to understand and progressively upgrade the player character. The password feature was also well received. The character designs and enemy variety drew mixed reactions, with one reviewer calling them charming while the other two were unimpressed.[25] Bomberman sold approximately a million copies in Japan by the time the NES version was published in North America in 1989.[9] Reviewing the NES version, a reviewer in Computer Entertainer found that despite avoiding the trap that turns maze games into memory tests, it was only "mildly addictive at first, but we soon became bored with it."[3] They also found found the graphics to be "extremely simple" and had "little visual appeal."[3] Leslie Mizell of Game Player's recommended it for audiences new to the NES, saying it had several drawbacks, namely that it was too easy to complete and as the basic level arrangements and visuals stay the same, gameplay became monotonous.[26]

In retrospect, Bomberman is considered a notable release by both the developer and reviewers. Nakamoto declared the NES port of Bomberman to be the definite version of his game, saying in 1995, "I personally believe that the Famicom version of Bomberman is the one and only version of the game."[11] Reviewers regarded the NES Bomberman as the starting point of the Bomberman franchise and the one that helped establish its fundamental gameplay.[2][9][27] However, the absence of multiplayer mode was noted, a feature popularized by future Bomberman games.[2][6][7][9][28] Critics of the Classic NES Series re-issue were divided over whether the game was still worth playing in spite of its simplicity in comparison to more recent Bomberman games. Nintendojo, Play, and GamePro found it enjoyable and recommended the game.[1][28][29] By contrast, 1UP.com, GameSpot, and IGN cited the lack of multiplayer as why the re-release was disappointing and did not justify its $20 price.[2][6][7] A direct sequel, Bomberman II, was released in 1991 for the NES.[30]

Notes

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  1. ↑ Nintendo published the Classic NES Series re-release.
  2. ↑ Japanese: ボンバーマン, Hepburn: Bonbāman

References

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  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Griffiths, Ed. "Reviews: Bomberman". Nintendojo. Archived from the original on October 27, 2004. Retrieved August 14, 2026.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Parish, Jeremy (April 2, 2004). "Bomberman (Famicom Mini) (GBA)". 1UP.com. Archived from the original on June 2, 2004. Retrieved August 14, 2026.
  3. 1 2 3 "Nintendo Software". Computer Entertainer. Vol. 7, no. 12. March 1989. p. 11. ISSN 0890-2143. Retrieved August 20, 2026 – via Video Game History Foundation.
  4. 1 2 Houghton, David (November 23, 2012). "Seemingly unrelated games you probably didn't know were set in the same universe". GamesRadar+. Retrieved August 9, 2026.
  5. ↑ Bomberman Operation Manual. Hudson Soft. January 1989. p. 2. Retrieved August 10, 2026.
  6. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Gerstmann, Jeff (June 8, 2004). "Classic NES Series: Bomberman Review". GameSpot. Retrieved August 4, 2026.
  7. 1 2 3 4 5 Harris, Craig (June 4, 2004). "Classic NES Series: Bomberman". IGN. Retrieved August 7, 2026.
  8. 1 2 3 4 "ドカアーンとそう決ゲーム ボンバーマン" [A Game That Goes Boom, Bomberman]. Famicom Tsūshin (in Japanese). No. 6. ASCII Corporation. January 1986. pp. 174–176.
  9. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Barbato, Stephen (March 12, 2022). "Bomberman (1985)". Hardcore Gaming 101. Retrieved June 20, 2026.
  10. 1 2 3 4 5 Nagasawa, Yuugo, ed. (May 20, 1993). "ボンバーマン誕生の瞬間" [The Moment of Bomberman's Birth]. スーパーボンバーマンハドソン公式ガイドブック [Super Bomberman Hudson Official Guide Book] (in Japanese). Shogakukan. pp. 104–107. ISBN 978-4091024787. Retrieved August 1, 2026.
  11. 1 2 3 "Hudson Soft". Next Generation (3). Imagine Media: 78–81. March 1995.
  12. ↑ Fisher, Maddie (September 16, 2023). "10 Game Franchises That Have Dabbled In A Shared Universe". GameRant. Retrieved August 15, 2026.
  13. 1 2 Tieryas, Peter (December 25, 2021). "The Unique Artist Behind Bomberman's Catchy Beats". Kotaku. Retrieved August 1, 2026.
  14. ↑ "Bomberman". Hudson Game Navi (in Japanese). Hudson Soft. Archived from the original on August 4, 2004. Retrieved August 1, 2026.
  15. ↑ "Availability Update". Computer Entertainer. Vol. 7, no. 10. Marylou Badeaux. January 1989. p. 14. Retrieved August 1, 2026.
  16. ↑ "NES Games" (PDF) (Press release). Nintendo. Archived from the original (PDF) on December 21, 2010. Retrieved August 1, 2026.
  17. ↑ "Super Soft Hot Information". Micom BASIC Magazine. Dempa Shinbunsha. June 1990. p. 241. Retrieved August 1, 2026.
  18. ↑ "Soft Information" (PDF). MSX Magazine. No. 31. ASCII Corporation. June 1986. p. 157. Retrieved August 1, 2026.
  19. ↑ "Bomber Boy". Game Boy Tsūshin. No. 8. ASCII Corporation. 1990. p. 15. Retrieved August 14, 2026.
  20. ↑ Harris, Craig (January 14, 2004). "GBA SP Goes Back in Time". IGN. Archived from the original on October 15, 2025. Retrieved October 15, 2025.
  21. ↑ "Nintendo Announces NES GBA SP, Plus Retro Games". Nintendo World Report (Press release). March 29, 2004. Archived from the original on September 3, 2023. Retrieved August 8, 2025.
  22. ↑ Reed, Kristan (June 18, 2004). "Which NES classic do you want released on GBA?". Eurogamer. Archived from the original on February 16, 2025. Retrieved August 8, 2025.
  23. ↑ Gantayat, Anoop (September 30, 2005). "Hudson Revives Classics for GBA". IGN. Archived from the original on April 11, 2025. Retrieved August 6, 2025.
  24. ↑ Romano, Sal (February 5, 2026). "Super Bomberman Collection announced for PS5, Xbox Series, Switch 2, Switch, and PC; now available". Gematsu. Retrieved February 6, 2026.
  25. ↑ "MSX Soft Review Part 1". MSX Magazine. No. 32. ASCII Corporation. July 1986. pp. 74–75. Retrieved August 9, 2026.
  26. ↑ Mizell, Leslie (June–July 1989). "Bomberman". Game Player's. Vol. 1, no. 2. Greensboro, NC: Signal Research. p. 75.
  27. ↑ "Now Playing: Power Guide to the Latest Releases". Nintendo Power. No. 181. Nintendo of America. July 2004. p. 120.
  28. 1 2 Hoffman, Chris (August 2004). "Reviews: Play Mobile". Play. No. 32. Fusion Publishing. p. 61. Retrieved August 3, 2026.
  29. ↑ Burner, Rice (September 2004). "Reviews: Games to Go". GamePro. No. 192. IDG. p. 93.
  30. ↑ "Bomberman II". Nintendo Power. No. 45. Nintendo of America. February 1993. pp. 86–89.
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