Bomberman '94

Bomberman '94, known in Japan as ボンバーマン'94, hit the PC Engine on December 10, 1993, courtesy of Hudson Soft. A year later, Westone handled a port for the Sega Mega Drive and Genesis, rebranded as Mega Bomberman and published by Sega. This entry in the series marked the debut of White Bomberman’s modern look, introduced the rideable Louie creatures, and added recurring multiplayer skins like female and child Bombers.

The single-player campaign sends Bomberman through six areas—Jammin' Jungle, Vexin' Volcano, Slammin' Sea, Crankin' Castle, Thrashin' Tundra, and Bagular’s artificial comet—blasting enemies with bombs to restore the Spirit Pictures and reunite Planet Bomber. Multiplayer pits players against each other in bomb-based combat. The Mega Drive version cut support from five players to four, since the console lacked a fifth controller port, and swapped some music tracks (Jammin' Jungle’s theme, for instance, later appeared in Super Bomberman 4, but the Genesis version used a different tune).

The original PC Engine release reached the Wii Virtual Console in Japan on December 2, 2006, and internationally on March 23, 2009. It later appeared on the Wii U Virtual Console in Japan on November 19, 2014, and in North America and Europe on February 2, 2017. The Japanese PlayStation Network got it on July 15, 2009, with a North American release following on June 2, 2011. Notably, when Bomberman '94 launched on Japan’s Virtual Console, the previous game, Bomberman '93, was offered instead.

Before Westone took over, Hudson asked Factor 5 to develop a proof-of-concept for a Mega Drive Bomberman, codenamed Mega Bomberman. Factor 5’s tech demo allowed eight players using two Sega Team Player adaptors, but Hudson ultimately passed the project to Westone for a direct conversion. The PC Engine version also served as the basis for Tengai Makyō: Deden no Den, a promotional crossover with only one default arena.

Reviews for the Genesis version were mixed. GamePro praised the new levels and animal power-ups, calling it one of the best Bomberman games. Electronic Gaming Monthly’s critics split: some liked the additions, while others found it too similar to the Super NES version. A Next Generation reviewer argued it strayed too far from the original’s simplicity, but still recommended it for multiplayer. Retro Gamer included it in their top ten PC Engine games, Complex ran