A Look at Bomberman Hero

Hudson's latest title in their long-running Bomberman series, Bomberman Hero, recently arrived in stores in Japan for the Nintendo 64.

In a departure from Bomberman 64, Bomberman Hero boasts a number of new gameplay features that make this a completely new Bomberman game. In a move that will shock and perhaps even alienate hardcore Bomberman fans, Bomberman Hero has absolutely NO multi-player game, and after Bomberman 64's lackluster attempt, that might not be such a bad thing. For those not so concerned with Bomberman's legacy, they get a solid, if unoriginal platformer to wrestle with. If anything, it almost comes off as a cross between Sonic 3D Blast and Crash Bandicoot 2, and that's about as good company as you're likely to find.

As it turns out, Bomberman Hero is one part platformer and one part adventure game, and with it comes a host of new moves to help Bomberman save the Queen. In a first in this series, Bomberman can now jump. In addition to jumping, he can also grab and hang from ledges, which comes in handy after a badly timed jump or an unfortunate fall off a cliff. Bomberman has also inherited a life-bar - no more one-hit deaths.

During the course of the game, a number of levels will appear requiring Bomberman to utilize special attachments suited to the stage at hand. These devices include the BomberCopter, BomberJet, BomberMarine and BomberSlider as well as an appearance by Lui the Kangaroo. Each with their own feel and style of control.

Nevertheless, it wouldn't be Bomberman if he wasn't throwing bombs, and throw he does. All kinds of bombs in fact. In addition to merely throwing bombs, you can increase the amount of bombs thrown (up to four) as well as the diameter of the explosion.

For the intrepid explorer, various power-ups lie in wait, such as the remote bomb, freeze bomb, salt bomb (for slugs) and power glove. Depending on the enemy and its elevation, Bomberman will be required to either throw or kick the bombs at his foe. In a situation where more than one enemy approaches, by holding down the attack button, Bomberman will slowly begin to wind up his arm until it resembles a windmill at full speed and then release up to four bombs in one throw.

Nintendo plans to release the game for the N64 in the fourth quarter of this year. Look for an import review of the game on videogames.com soon.