Bomberman Hero

Did You Know?

• Bomberman Hero was originally planned as an entry in the Bonk/PC Kid series called Ultra Genjin before being cancelled and repurposed as a Bomberman game.
• Its soundtrack, composed by Jun Chikuma, features drum and bass and acid techno; Chikuma later called it the most remarkable title in terms of music among the Bomberman series.

Gameplay

Bomberman Hero differs significantly from Bomberman 64 in its controls: the player character can jump, has a life meter, and can throw bombs farther, creating a platform-oriented experience. The game features 14 areas spread across six planets, including one secret planet, with each area containing five to seven stages. Several "Power Gears" introduce different gameplay styles: the Bomber Marine gear for underwater swimming stages, Bomber Jet for rail shooting, Bomber Copter for flying above the stage, and Bomber Slider for snowboarding sections. Various bomb types are available beyond the standard ones: ice bombs freeze enemies into movable ice blocks used to reach higher areas; salt bombs harm slugs that are otherwise invulnerable; and remote control bombs detonate on command. All bomb types explode automatically upon hitting an enemy or stage object. Most stages contain collectables and enemies that add to the player's score. Each stage has a score target, typically achieved by collecting all items and defeating all enemies, or for boss stages, defeating the boss quickly. After a stage, the player receives one to five stage points based on how close their score was to the target. Medals are awarded per planet based on total stage points, with colors ranging from red, blue, bronze, silver, and gold. Achieving a gold medal on every planet unlocks a short bonus stage for extra power-ups, gems, and lives.

Plot

The Garaden Empire launches an attack on Primus Star. Before she is captured, Princess Millian, the world's leader, takes a secret data disk and gives it to her robot servant Pibot to smuggle out. Pibot's shuttle crash-lands on Planet Bomber near Bomberman's training base. Investigating the crash, Bomberman learns what happened to the princess and decides to rescue her. His journey takes him across four worlds: Planet Bomber, Primus Star, Kanatia Star, and Mazone Star. Along the way, he keeps running into Nitros, a Garaden soldier who looks just like Bomberman. For the first three worlds, Bomberman pursues Princess Millian, but she is always moved to the next world just before he arrives, forcing him to fight one of the Four Devils of Garaden, the empire's top warriors. On Mazone, Bomberman finds Princess Millian safe in a laboratory. She asks him to collect the remaining disks. When he hands them over, she reveals herself as Natia, the final member of the Big Four, and sends the disks to the Garaden base. Bomberman defeats Natia, frees the real Princess Millian, and heads to Garaden Star. There, Nitros uses the disks to bring back Bagular, the empire's leader whose body Bomberman had previously destroyed. Bomberman battles Nitros, who admits he was a brainwashed trainee from Bomber Base, and then defeats Bagular. Bagular triggers Garaden Star's self-destruction, but Bomberman escapes and returns to Primus Star, where Princess Millian rewards him. If a player gets a perfect score on every level and collects all Adok bombs, Evil Bomber appears on a fragment of the planet Owen, now called Gossick Star, wanting revenge for his earlier loss. After Bomberman beats him, Princess Millian and the Black Bombers congratulate him as they all fly home.

Reception

Bomberman Hero received generally mixed reviews. GameSpot described it as a surprising success with new gameplay features that make it a completely new Bomberman game, despite an uninspired plotline. IGN heavily criticized the lack of a multiplayer mode, calling it a decidedly average 3D Bomberman sequel without one. Multiple outlets noted the plot's heavy similarity to Star Wars (1977). Edge criticized the graphics for intrusive distance fog and repetitive textures that hinder depth perception, but concluded the game should not be overlooked as a Japanese platformer, favorably comparing its rewarding exploration to Yoshi's Island. The game was re-released under the Player's Choice label, indicating sales of at least one million units.