The 10-Best Video-Game Franchises
- July 07, 2006 13:25 PM PST
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We put our collective heads together and decided on the 10 greatest video-game franchises of all time. One rule was made before we chose a series: For a franchise to be considered, it had to have more than one sequel--so don't bother sending hate mail (or other things) in regards to Halo, Half-Life, The Sims, and other omissions--they will be eligible next time.
Bomberman 64 (Nintendo 64) was a misstep for the series, as fans were repelled by the new play perspective and circular bomb blast radii.
10. Bomberman
Developed by Hudson Soft (Japan)
It seems so ridiculously simple: put players in a square arena and let them destroy each other with explosives. But beneath this pristine premise lurked one of the most addictive play engines ever created.
Bomberman became the quintessential "party game" with its multiplayer facet and easy-to-pick-up-and-play controls. Playing as an astronaut (ala Bomberman), you dropped time bombs that upon explosion created a limited-range blast in four directions. Anyone hit by the blast was toast (including the bomb dropper), but you could also destroy certain blocks to reveal power-ups, including the dreaded infectious "disease" that did everything from reversing the controls of the afflicted player to making them drop bombs uncontrollably. If a match exceeded the time limit, bricks dropped from the sky to constrict movement in the arena thus pushing the remaining bombers closer together.
Later versions of Bomberman added new twists to the battle arenas-conveyor belts, pipes, warp zones, mine carts, catapults, kangaroos-and the power-ups also became more plentiful and diverse. The Bomberman character itself is also enduring: with his antenna-capped white helmet, pastel blue vest, black belt, and red hands and feet, he's one of the most recognized video game creations ever. The game's simplistic musical chimes also had a nasty habit of playing through one's head for days.
Mega Bomberman (1994) on the Genesis introduced kangaroo-like animals to the series.
The Bomberman franchise dropped a few duds, too. When the series tried to move its 2D play engine to the realm of 3D with Bomberman 64 (1997), players demanded a return of the old-school top-down play field (the engine worked so well in 2D, but adding a third dimension really added nothing). There were also a few unsuccessful spin-offs-such as the disastrous Bomberman Fantasy Race-that only cemented the game's original multiplayer appeal.
A HDTV, widescreen incarnation, Hi-Ten Bomberman, supported up to 10 players. The game was never released after its first appearance at the Hudson Soft Gaming Caravan in 1993, but a 10-player mode was featured in Saturn Bomberman (1997)-sans hi-definition and widescreen.
Bomberman is still around today (Jetters was released for the GameCube last year), and versions appear in the United States under different publishers. Although the popularity has waned in recent years, the franchise remains an essential multiplayer favorite.--Major Mike
Super Bomberman 2 (1994) for the Super NES. The first Bomberman appeared in 1990 on the TurboGrafix-16 system.
Key Games in the Bomberman Series
- Bomberman (NES/1985)
- Bomberman (TurboGrafx-16/1990)
- Bomberman 2 (NES/1991)
- Bomberman '93 (TurboGrafx-16/1992)
- Bomberman '94 (TurboGrafx-16/1993)
- Super Bomberman (SNES/1993)
- Super Bomberman 2 (SNES/1994)
- Bomberman (Game Boy/1994)
- Wario Blast: Featuring Bomberman! (Game Boy/1994)
- Mega Bomberman (Genesis/1995)
- Super Bomberman 3 (SNES/1995)
- Super Bomberman 5 (SNES/1997)
- Bomberman Hero (Nintendo 64/1998)
- Bomberman Wars (PlayStation/1998)
- Bomberman World (PlayStation/1998)
- Bomberman Fantasy Race (PlayStation/1999)
- Bomberman 64: The Second Attack (Nintendo 64/2000)
- Bomberman Party Edition (PlayStation/2000)
- Bomberman 64 (Nintendo 64/2001)
- Bomberman Generation (GameCube/2001)
- Bomberman Online (Dreamcast/2001)
- Bomberman Jetters (GameCube/2004)
