- Not to be confused with the 2001 game Bomberman 64
Bomberman 64, known as Baku Bomberman (爆ボンバーマン) in Japan, is the first game in the Bomberman series to fully utilize 3D graphics, and the first made for Nintendo 64. It is a complete reinvention of the traditional Bomberman formula, eschewing the grid of previous games in favor of open, free-roaming 3D environments and 8-way movement. While this new formula was carried over into a sequel (and the story modes of some other games), it never came to completely redefine the series, which eventually fully reverted to its classic gameplay style.
Perhaps inspired by Super Mario 64, the game is also a collectathon adventure that requires gathering 100 hidden Gold Cards to access the true end of the game. More Gold Cards can be gathered to access other extras, up to a total of 120 (curiously, the number of Power Stars in Super Mario 64).
Nearly twenty years later, Bomberman 64 was re-released for the Wii U Virtual Console by Konami, only a few days after the release of Super Bomberman R, likely to help promote that game.
Story[]
Planet Bomber was a peaceful place until a strange fortress descends upon it. Attached to it are four pieces of planets that were conquered by the Masked Trio, and now they hope to conquer Planet Bomber. Bomberman discovers what's happening and as he's about to depart, a strange new ally named Sirius joins him. The duo set off to stop these new villains, however, Sirius reveals himself to be the true threat and Bomberman and his new frenemy, Regulus, team up to stop him.
Worlds[]
- Green Garden
- Blue Resort
- Red Mountain
- White Glacier
- Black Fortress
- Rainbow Palace (100 gold cards required)
Multiplayer[]
There is a battle mode and a team mode in multiplayer. Up to four people can play. You can use your custom Bombermen in this battle mode, by loading up your costumes from the Nintendo 64 Controller Pak. The differences of custom characters are purely cosmetic with no effect on gameplay.
Four additional multiplayer maps can be unlocked, either by collecting all 120 Gold Cards in the story mode (permanent unlock), or by rapidly pressing the Start button very quickly on the main menu (lasts until the game is turned off). In Japan, this Start button trick was intended to incentivize the purchase of a Hudson-made Joycard 64 controller with a turbo function, but it can be performed without it, or with a different third-party controller.
Battle mode[]
The objective in this is to blow up the other players (or throw them off of the stage) and survive. Once you die you become a ghost and can take control of another player (that isn't already a ghost) for a brief time. Last one standing wins. Up to 4 people can play battle mode. It is very different to most Bomberman multiplayer battle modes in that the arena is quite free-roaming, rather than the usual grid based arenas, and players always have the ability to kick, throw and pump bombs. Also, certain maps have a pronounced third dimension, with stairways and multiple elevations from which bombs can be dropped down. The result of this heavily altered setup is that the game rewards pure aggression and long-distance fighting much more than in traditional Bomberman games, and the pace of battles is very fast. In the end, Hudson favored the original classic style Bomberman battles, and Bomberman 64: The Second Attack! would be the last time this gridless gameplay style was used in multiplayer.
Team Mode[]
The objective of this is to destroy the other team's gem. If you die in this mode however, you simply come back to life, and not as a ghost like in Battle mode. The first team to destroy the other teams gem X number of times wins. Up to 4 people can play team mode.
Battle Stages[]
- Rock Garden
- Up & Down
- Pyramid
- Greedy Trap
- Top Rules
- Field of Grass
- In the Gutter (unlockable)
- Sea Sick (unlockable)
- Blizzard Battle (unlockable)
- Lost at Sea (unlockable)
Hard Mode[]
When starting up a new save file, you have an option of choosing either Normal or Hard Mode (the difficulty cannot be changed later in the game), with the latter implementing changes to bring forth a more difficult challenge:
- Enemies and bosses become much tougher and aggressive; from increased health, to moving and attacking faster.
- Hearts are still dropped by some enemies, but the ones that are knocked out of both Bomberman and rival bosses when hit, disappears entirely.
- Locations for Gold Cards and Custom Parts are rearranged.
- Target Times are shorten down.
The number of starting Lifes (2) and Continues (3) remain the same for both modes.
Regional Differences[]
Bomberman 64 does have a few alterations between the Western and Japanese releases:
- Several of the Japanese Story/Adventure Mode's stage names in their respective worlds, were mostly hints to solving its puzzles, while International versions of the game swapped these out in favor of interesting ones.
- Only a few Battle Mode stage names received changes, while others such as (Up & Down, Pyramid and Blizzard Battle) remained intact.
- White Glacier & Black Fortress were originally called White Ice (ホワイトアイス), and Black City (ブラックシティ) respectfully.
- The European version has optimized Target Times, as this is due to the game running at 83% speed via 50hz PAL format.
Notes[]
- Regulus would make a second appearance in Bomberman 64: The Second Attack! as "Bulzeeb, the Black Breath," fulfilling his promise that he and Bomberman would fight again.
- Interestingly, Bomberman's "face" texture is not attached to his head, and can be seen floating an inch or so off where it should be from certain angles (such as during his victory stance after beating a level or boss).
- This marks one of the first times where Bomberman's bomb blasts are in a circular (or, in this case, octogonal) shape rather than the classic "+" shape, a look that would be seen in other, future Bomberman titles.
- There was a commercial made for the American release of the game, involving innocent people having a bomb pretty much dropped into their laps and exploding. A song is heard in the background to the tune of the old Spider-man cartoon's theme, with rewritten lyrics about Bomberman instead.
- In the game's multiplayer, the "old-school" grid format is not used.
- The speed-up item is a shining, green single rollerblade rather than a blue-hued rollerskate.
- The power-ups, hearts, and other items found in destructable blocks actually slowly move in this game, and can fall off nearby ledges to a lower level or off the stage itself completely, thereby making them impossible to get until exiting and returning to the room. Annoyingly, this includes Gold Cards, which are necessary for reaching the final stage (though they are not permanently lost if they fall off).
- Bomberman starts out with the Bomb Kick and Power Glove abilities already equipped, without needing to find them as power-ups. This is also true for all players in Battle Mode.
- Other Powerups can found in the story mode as you go along.
- All of the stages in this game start with a word associated with a color: Green Garden, Blue Resort, Red Mountain, White Glacier, Black Fortress, and Rainbow Castle.
- Despite the title change from Japan to other regions, the "Baku" kanji character is present on the title screen in all versions of the game. A completely different game titled Bomberman 64 would later release in Japan only.
- Although the cartridge includes a save battery, a Controller Pak is required to save data for customized characters that can be used in Battle Mode. Since the Wii U Virtual Console version doesn't support Controller Pak functions, this feature is unavailable in that version.
- All of the "bomber" bosses are named after celestial bodies. Regulus, Altair, and Sirius are named after stars, Orion is named after a constellation, and Artemis is named after an asteroid.