Information AboutBomberman |
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''Bomberman'' is a Strategic , Maze -based computer and Video Game Franchise originally developed by Hudson Soft . GAMEPLAY The general goal throughout the series is to complete the levels by strategically placing Bombs to kill enemies and destroy obstacles. Although most games in the ''Bomberman'' series use the same type of Maze -based levels established by the original game, some are Zelda -like adventure games, Mario -like Platformers , Tetris -like Puzzle Games , and Kart Racers . It is considered to be a Classic Franchise by many video game players. The term Bomberman also refers to the actual "species" of the series's Protagonist and titular character. A "Bomberman" is a little robotic man with a flat computer screen face (they have eyes, but no visible mouth,) long arms and legs, and a circular helmet. Although the series first began with Bombermen being robots, this has not been used again in the more recent games, and it is now thought that Bombermen are in fact organic. (However, it should be noted that Dr. Ein has been identified as being Bomberman's creator, which would mean that Bombermen are actually robotic after all.) LEGACY Hudson Soft's 1983 ZX Spectrum and MSX title '' Eric And The Floaters '' (''Bomberman'' for the Japanese MSX release), later adapted to the NES in 1985 as '' Bomberman '' is the first in the series and considered the origin of the ''Bomberman'' concept. Following that, ports and retoolings of the game have been released on virtually all major video game systems, including the Arcade , NES , Super NES , N64 , Sega Saturn , PlayStation , and others. Because of its simplistic gameplay, the ''Bomberman'' series has been widely copied through knock-offs and copycat titles. There are dozens of unofficial ports of the game for Graphing Calculator s; it is a favorite among TI-89 gamers. Versions of ''Bomberman'' released by Ubisoft for home computer systems in Europe were re-titled ''Dynablaster''. POWERUPS The ''Bomberman'' games usually include many powerups that are found beneath destructible blocks. These include: Player powerups
Life powerups
Infection powerups
CHARACTERS Though usually light on story, there have been several recurring characters that often appear in the Story Mode of the various games. White Bomberman Although he is also referred to as "White Bomber", "Shirobon", or "Shiro Bomb" occasionally, the hero of the series is usually simply called "Bomberman". In the standard games, he is the star and is always controlled by the player in the single player modes. He is portrayed as the heroic type, often saving his home planet from disaster. In the earlier titles he battles his rival, a black version of himself called "Kurobon", and would later become friends and allies. In later games, such as Bomberman Max and Bomberman Tournament, he is shown to be part of an interplanetary police force. In the " Bomberman Jetters " anime, he is often very clumsy and is quite dense. He wrecks things by accident, in sharp contrast to his older brother Mighty. His little accidents tend to make a critical situation worse, much to Shaut's frustration. Bomberman has a huge variety of expressions (despite his lack of a mouth,) making him one of the most expressive of video game characters. Black Bomberman Also known in some games as "Kurobon", Black Bomberman (AKA Black Bomb or Black Bomber) looks identical to Bomberman, only colored black. In many of his first appearances, he was shown to be the main rival to Bomberman. His activities have included robbing banks (Bomberman 2), kidnapping (PC Engine Bomberman) and destroying cities (Bomberman '93). However, with the Super Bomberman series on the SNES, he was changed to being a gradual friend of Bomberman. In many games since then he is controlled by the second player in the two-player story modes. Hudson has given him a cool and collected personality in the later games. Pretty Bomber A female bomber who is distinguished from her male counterparts by her pink skirt, yellow handkerchief/ Neckerchief , and the large heart attached to her helmet, she is also known as "Beauty Bomber". In her first appearance, Super Bomberman 2, she was an enemy and one of the Five Bad Bombers. She reprised her role as villainess in Bomberman Tournament. However, she has also been portrayed as a close friend, or possibly love interest, to Bomberman in several games. In Super Bomberman 3 it was revealed that without her helmet she looks very much like a human girl. She has made a short cameo in the Bomberman Jetters anime. Magnet Bomber Also one of the Five Bad Bombers, Magnet Bomber's true personality has yet to be revealed as he is always the first of the group to be defeated. Magnet Bomber sports a scarf-like cape and has a magnet shape attached to his helmet that has the apparent ability of magnetism, shown in several images. "Magnet" refers to Magnet Bomber's bombs (and possible ability), which are attracted to Shiro and can put him in sticky situations. Golem Bomber Golem Bomber is intriguing because he seems to be more robotic than the other five bombers (all of which are cyborgs); this is most notable in his face, but can also be seen in his limbs (the joints) and his finger joints. Golem Bomber is the only member of the Five Bad Bombers who doesn't wear something around his neck. Golem Bomber's helmet has a flame emblem on the forehead. "Golem" refers to Golem Bomber's extreme strength. Brain Bomber Brain Bomber is probably the most wicked Bomberman in the group, although Plasma Bomber is the leader. Brain Bomber somehow became leader of the Five Bad Bombers through the duration of Bomberman Story/Bomberman Tournament, and it is unknown if he is going to stay in this position or not, as the team has yet to make another appearance. Brain Bomber wears a cloak and has the symbol of a crown on his helmet (similar to Golem Bomber's in some games), his arms and legs are not covered (like Pretty Bomber's and Kurobon's); he is shorter than the other characters and sometimes floats above the group. "Brain" refers to the fact that Brain Bomber is the engineer of the group, as shown in Super Bomberman 2 and Bomberman Story/Bomberman Tournament. Plasma Bomber Plasma Bomber is normally the leader of the Five Bad Bombers, who are (to a lesser extent than that of Bagular ) Shirobon's archenemies. Plasma Bomber seemed to want to become friends with Shirobon at the end of Super Bomberman 2 (by his gesture of alighting from his war machine and wanting to shake hands with Shirobon), but after being killed by a bolt emitted from his own war machine which turned rougue and subsequently being revived by Bagular, he seems to have forgotten or regretted this action. Plasma Bomber wears a handkerchief/neckerchief around his neck and has a lightning bolt attached to his helmet which seems to be able to create electric currents. " Plasma " refers to the fourth state of matter, plasma. Bagular/Burglar The main villain in many of the games, also known as Bagura. He looks like a large, elderly man with blue skin and a bushy white beard, and (in some games) appears to be bigger than Bomberman. Bagular's Monocle and cape are also distinguishing features. He first appeared as the main villain of Super Bomberman 3, and went on to appear in Super Bomberman 4, Bomberman Hero, Bomberman Wars, Bomberman World (PSX), and Neo Bomberman, among other games. He appears in the Bomberman Jetters anime as the commander of the Hige-Hige Gang. Another Bagular-type character preceded Bagular, appearing in Bomberman '94. His name and origins are unknown, but he fought in a similar way and also had some sort of spacecraft (a comet-like ship). Mujoe Mujoe is the second-in-command of the Hige-Hige Gang in the Bomberman Jetters anime. He's usually in charge of commanding his troops. He also summons the final boss in Bomberman Generations. Max Bomberman's trusted ally who likes to do things his own way. He is, however, a villan throughout the Bomberman Jetters anime. Max wears a black suit/droid-like armor with a helmet that resembles Ultraman . Max appears in the later Bomberman games. Max is the main character in Bomberman Max Advanced Red for the GBA, and uses his own set of plasma bombs (which are no different from Bomberman's). Max's disappearance is an important part of the plot of Bomberman Story/Bomberman Tournament, which reveals some of Max's backstory. He has also made an appearance in the game ''Bomberman Generation''. When Bomberman is in a boss fight and is low on health, he'll appear and aid Bomberman by taking a chunk of the boss' health (exactly one full heart) if Bomberman has collected enough lightning cards. He is also a playable character in the game ''Bomberman Jetters''. He is similar to Bomberman, but is unable to use charaboms. He can use the ''Hyper Plasma Bomb'' to blow away enemies but this is not effective against bosses. Regulus/Bulzeeb In his first appearance, ''Bomberman 64'', he was the subordinate of the evil emperor, Altair. He has blue armor that slightly resembles a jet. He wears a large visor completely covering his face. With a personality similar to Black Bomber, he seems more intelligent than the other subordinates, Artemis and Orion. After Bomberman's "friend", Sirius, betrays him, Regulus joins him for the secret final battle. In the sequel Bomberman64 - the Second Attack, Regulus changes from blue to black and renames himself Bulzeeb. He also reveals that he is the 7th Astral Knight of Darkness. After Bomberman defeated him in a rematch he reveals that unlike the other 6 Astral Knights, he managed to resist being brainwashed by the god of chaos. He then promises that they will eventually have another rematch. At the end of the game, he gives his life to save Bomberman from a sneak attack by the final boss. Bulzeeb is resurrected and grateful later on, but has not appeared in any game since. The name "Regulus" like the other bosses in Bomberman 64 is derived from star constallations while "Bulzeeb" is probably derived from Beelzebub which in Christian demonology is another name for Lucifer or Satan, and in Jewish demonology is a fly-like demon. Strangly, in Bomberman 64 he didn't have any shadow-based powers. Orion Orion is one of the subordinates of the Emperor Altair. His base of operations is an active volcano. He is one of the only bombers in the game that will actively seek to knock Bomberman unconscious, pick up his stunned body, and toss him off the edge. This is dangerous for Bomberman since he has a shield ability which will knock him out if he walks inside the barrier radius. After he defeats him, he does not die, but rather leaves like Regulus. Instead of flying away, though, Orion blows himself up and uses the blast to get away from the fight. (One may belive he blows up but if you look closly you will see him flying up in the air as he starts screaming.) Orion comes back during the boss battle controlling the mobile-suit Hades, but presumeably dies when Hades is defeated and sinks into molten lava with it. Artemis Artemis is the only bomber under Altair's leadership that actually dies the first time she is defeated. Upon being beaten, Artmeis shorts out and blows up. Artemis uses a tri-shot flame technique which is effective at a distance, but useless if Bomberman rushes her. Altair From the beginning, Altair is acknowledged as the main villain, and he keeps that title until the true ending is unlocked. Altair is dressed in purple and black armor. He has a small droid that shoots a laser beam capable of vaporizing any matter it hits. Altair uses the droid as a distraction in the "final" battle and fuses with it once the first stage of the fight is over. After fusion he gains more power and the ability to shoot a slashing energy wave at Bomberman. Sirius At the beginning of Bomberman 64 Sirius confronts Bomberman telling him that Altair killed his family and he wishes to help Bomberman in return for revenge. Sirius tests Bomberman's skills in the second level of the first world. He is the only bomber that will pump up a bomb and toss it at Bomberman. He takes it easy on Bomberman and flies away as soon as he's had enough. Sirius is actually the final boss of the game; in the true ending of the Altair fight, Sirius arrives, blasts Altair, and steals the Omni Cube. Bomberman fights him in a two-part battle, receiving the aid of Regulus in the second part of the fight. After being defeated, Sirius explodes and dies. There are two different endings to Altair's fight. The first is the one where Altair no longer has enough power to fight. Regulus picks him and flies him out of the fortress. The second one is where Sirius ambushes Regulus knocking him into a bottemless pit. Altair drops the Omni Cube and Sirius picks it up, kicks Altair into the air, and vicously vaporizes him with a powerful blast from his shoulder cannons. Mighty Mighty is Bomberman's brother and bears a striking resemblance to Bomberman, he is the main character in Bomberman Jetters for GameBoy Advance. Mighty has a silver visor covering his right eye, wears a red cape and has slightly thicker eyebrows, but those are the only major differences between him and Bomberman. The two also have a very close relationship. He has made few appearances in the games, and died during a mission. Mighty is an unlockable character in Bomberman Jetters; after collecting all cards of a certain color, he can be played in "Versus" mode. Nitros Nitros was a former Bomber Base guard until Bagular brainwashed him so that he would gather the gold disks that could revive Bagular. Nitros attacks using red bombs and special floor panels which can give him the power to use energy strikes. After one battle, Bomberman manages to free Nitros from Bagular's control. Charaboms Charaboms resemble Pokémon , and they often help Bomberman progress in the story. The most famous of these Charaboms is Pommy, who looks like a combination of Kirby and Pikachu . Pommy has been Bomberman's sidekick ever since Bomberman 64: The Second Attack. He is capable of shooting lightning and taking on many different forms, such as Pommy Dragon when merged (or, in the earlier games, fed the right food). Pommy has appeared in every Bomberman game that involved Charaboms. There are a variety of other Charaboms, each classified by element (fire, earth, thunder/lightning, water, etc.). Charaboms fight using a skill set (attack, special, guard) in any order. The battle then plays out as in a Pokémon game, with effective attacks, less effective attacks, Defense, Offense, and HP. Charaboms can be merged (given that they are of different types) into stronger Charaboms with new abilities (combinations of the abilities of the two Charaboms that were merged) that can help Bomberman in the game. In Bomberman Jetters, all of the charaboms can evolve three times, which increases the resemblance to Pokémon. Louie Louie is a green, kangaroo-like animal with rabbit ears who helps Bomberman by letting him ride on his back. Louie ISN'T a Charabom, but a member of his own species. His most recent game appearances were in Hero, Fantasy Race, and the opening scene of Jetters. SEE ALSO List Of Bomberman Games EXTERNAL LINKS |
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