Delayed Release
A whopping 78% of games released on the Switch have received some sort of update, whether it added content or addressed performance issues. Keen readers will know I pulled that statistic out of my ass, but that doesn’t matter. If this review ever becomes popular, I can always fix that statistic and make a better opening. Until then, I don’t need to. That’s the magic of post-launch updates: you can release a half-baked product and fix it later if people end up caring about it. With this, you never have to submit a final draft.
Konami has milked this concept for Super Bomberman R. The series’ revival was a barebones package when it first released in 2017. Over the past two years, it has sold rather well which likely incentivized Konami to produce more content. To the publisher’s credit, every update has improved Super Bomberman R, adding maps, unique characters (like Simon Belmont and Pyramid Head), and a new game mode. However, unlike Splatoon 2 or Arms, Super Bomberman R’s online component wasn’t strong enough to keep gamers playing, and the updates weren’t enough to pull them back. The updates did save Super Bomberman R from being a bad Bomberman game, but they didn’t necessarily make it a good one.
What is it?
Bomberman’s general gameplay tasks you with blowing up all other enemies in a maze-like arena. Instead of attacking others directly, you must strategically lay bombs to ambush or trap opponents. A bomb will explode a few seconds after you place it, sending fire in the cardinal directions which can kill both you and others. “Soft blocks” can be destroyed, opening new paths and potentially revealing power-ups. These power-ups give you new abilities/bombs or increase your speed, the spread of your bombs, and how many bombs you can plant at one time.
Matches play out quickly as you to race for power-ups, dodge opponents, and lay down your attacks. Bomberman has always thrived in multiplayer environments, and Super Bomberman R allows you wage battle against up to seven other players/computers. In the standard Battle Mode, your goal is to outlast everyone else for a set number of rounds. In the Grand Prix modes (added post-launch), it’s 3v3 to reach a specific goal (get the most kills, capture the flag, secure the zones, snag the most crystals), and your characters respawn if eliminated. Both Battle Mode and Grand Prix allow for local, wireless, and online multiplayer, although you’ll be hard-pressed to find another player online.
For its single-player campaign, Super Bomberman R offers a cartoony story in which the Bomberman Brothers must prevent a dastardly evil plot. Captured in still shots and laughably bad dialogue, the story does little more than justify why you must tackle 50 stages across five worlds. Each world ends with two boss encounters, and most missions task you will blowing up all enemies (although you have survival and escort variants here and there). The campaign can be played cooperatively with another person, doubling the chances that one of you will die to your own bombs.
What’s good?
- The core Bomberman gameplay remains solid, barring some looser controls compared to previous games. Newcomers will blow themselves up a few times before adjusting to the gameplay, but they can eventually keep up with the explosive experts. When eight people come together, the gameplay is chaotic enough to get the room laughing yet still strategic enough to keep games competitive.
- Grand Prix offers an innovative alternative to the typical “last man standing” formula. Bomberman has rarely challenged players to work as a team. Even in the traditional team battle, your allies operate more as extra lives than parts of a cohesive unit. In Grand Prix, you will lose unless your team all cooperates to reach the objective. Each character also has their own stats and abilities, bringing a level of complexity absent in other entries. Matches could be improved by shortening them by a minute, and the modes could be more original, but any Bomberman innovation is a welcome one.
- Although often simplistic and tedious, the Story Mode can be entertaining. The environments are colorful, and the music is pleasant (even if it loops incessantly). You’ll encounter a variety of enemies with unique patterns, and the stages feature some interesting layouts. Co-op tends to try your patience with your partner more than it offers a new experience, but the option, itself, is still appreciated.
What’s bad?
- An expensive shop prevents you from accessing a good chunk of content. Although updates have made it easier to acquire in-game currency, grinding for a single character or map can still take an hour, especially now that online matches are almost nonexistent. Super Bomberman R may award players who invest considerable time in the game, but it pays minimum wage when its shop prices ask for human sacrifices.
- Super Bomberman R may be a reboot of the series, but this doesn’t justify less content and customization options. Unique modes from previous entities, like Air Drop (Dodge Battle) or Panel Paint (Reversi), are absent, and the same goes with power-ups (with several bomb variations excluded). You can’t randomize the stages or modes, make power-ups inflammable, include or exclude certain power-ups, or set handicaps. Now that indie developers are allowing us to finetune every aspect of local multiplayer (see Towerfall and Treadnauts), Bomberman feels out-of-touch with the current gaming world.
- Apart from Grand Prix, Super Bomberman R does little to change or improve the series. Bomberman still can’t make its single-player mode anything more than a side dish. Battle Mode is virtually unchanged from previous installments, and its stages are recycled from previous entries. If Super Bomberman R was released during the series’ heyday, it would be considered another mediocre sequel, nothing more.
What’s the verdict?
After nine years since the last Bomberman entry on a Nintendo home console, I’m glad to see the series return and perform so well financially. It’s just disappointing to see it return so meekly. In its efforts to reboot the IP for a new audience, Super Bomberman R has sacrificed innovation for familiar territory, despite the fact that this territory has been ravaged by mortars for decades. New characters and modes show Konami is interested in straying off the beaten path, but after sitting on the franchise for nearly a decade, you would have hoped they had forged a new path during that time. We never demanded a perfect Bomberman, Konami, but these anemic blasts do little to blow our socks off.
Arbitrary Statistics:
- Score: 6
- Time Played: Over 15 hours
- Number of Players: 1-8
- Games Like It on Switch: Flip Wars, Towerfall Ascension