Bomberman World is one of two arcade games developed by Irem. It features a single and multiplayer mode that can each support up to four players, and is the first named appearance of the Bomberman Brothers. It is a sequel to the original Bomberman Arcade game.
Story[]
As taken from the game:
Normal Game mode
"KingBomber tried to reform himself but has reverted to his evil ways. He issued orders to his robot armies throughout the world. This time he created chaos by taking control of the UN building. The Bomberman Brothers thus began their ultimate battle to save the world from an evil take over."
Vs Super Game mode
"In the year 2092, the robot battle matches continued to be a popular event. The robots will fight fiercely when matched in hopes of winning the World Championship 2."
Normal Mode[]
It can be played by 1 to 4 players. There are six worlds with six stages each. They are based on different real-world national cultures or geography (i.e. volcanoes), with the first stage representing Japan. The player(s) must defeat all enemies on screen and then they proceed to the next level. Unlike traditional Bomberman gameplay, you do not have to find an exit to advance, speeding the pace of the game for an arcade setting. Another key difference is that after each stage, the player(s) loses all their Power-Ups and must start off with one bomb and two fire again, preventing players from gaining a persistent advantage. Also, enemies are often more cunning and quick to react to the player than in other Bomberman games.
Throughout the first five levels in a world are 5 Bonus Letters hidden in the Soft Blocks that spell out the word BONUS. If the player take at least one of the letters, they will be taken to a Bonus Stage available after the fifth stage in each world. Each Bonus Stage is filled with candy shaped Soft Blocks and they contain either power-ups or items that offer points to collect. Additionally, if the player collect more Bonus Letters during the stages, it increases the total amount of time in the bonus stage allowing the player(s) to collect more items.
There are a few unique items in this game, like the Super Invincible item, which enables the player to kill their foes by simply touching them for a short time.
Worlds[]
Versus Mode[]
It can be played by 1 to 4 players. If the other players didn't enter the game, the characters will be controlled by the computer instead. Here the goal is to blow other players under a 120 seconds time limit, and to be the last player standing in order to win. Like usual, Powerups can be found inside Soft Block for the players to gather. Every 3 victories, the player will be greeted by a congratulation screen.
Power-Ups/Items[]
- See: List of Power-Ups.
Regional Differences[]
The game goes by a different name in each region it was released in:
- Japan - Bomberman World
- Europe - New Dynablaster - Global Quest (can be toggled back to Bomberman World via DIP Switch)
- USA - New Atomic Punk - Global Quest (aka Atomic Punk 2 or Atomic Punk II in promotional material)
Additionally, the World Map was offset, recolored and rearranged for the USA version, apparently to place more focus on the United States.
This game was created during a time when the series' identity wasn't established globally. Early games were typically referred to as Dynablaster in PAL territories, while it was somewhat common to see Atomic Punk as the North American title. Japan consistently used Bomberman, which caught on for the rest of the world after this game.
Interestingly, in the Japanese versions, the ending images are completely different than the ones from the USA and European versions.
Trivia[]
- Both the Irem Bomberman games have a slightly more "adult" tone, with more tough-looking and less cutesy Bombermen, a setting and story-line somewhat more grounded in reality, and suggestively drawn human women appearing to congratulate the winner in the battle mode results screens.
Gallery[]
