Tournament succeeds by combining traditional Bomberman gameplay with elements of the Zelda series.
User Rating: 8.8 | Bomberman Story GBA
The first Bomberman game on the GBA and a launch title for the new handheld, Tournament succeeds by offering a combination of traditional 2D gameplay and RPG elements. Styled as an adventure game in the vein of Zelda, the single-player mode improves greatly on previous games without sacrificing the multiplayer mode. You only need a couple of buttons to play, so the control is solid. All of your adventuring is also accompanied by a surprisingly catchy soundtrack. A wide variety of areas, enemies, and dungeons await you as you travel between towns and dungeons. Scattered throughout the game are caves where you can play a mini-game based on the original Bomberman game for NES. Dungeons consist of a series of rooms much like a typical Zelda dungeon; inside you’ll find locked doors, treasure, and a boss. And, much like previous Bomberman games, each room is filled with destructible blocks and enemies. Power-ups are hidden in each dungeon, and must be found by using a Charabom’s abilities or through some other means. Most bosses aren’t terribly unbalanced or unfair, but are difficult enough to give you a challenge. Creatures called Charaboms can be found at various points in the game, and can be trained as you find upgrades on the world map and in dungeons, raising their stats. There are several locations where you can send your Charaboms into battle against others in what can only be described as "rock-paper-scissors" matches, except with stats factored in. Winning these battles may yield new items or a new Charabom. Each Charabom also has a unique ability that can be used for puzzles or just because it's handy. At several points in the game, you will fuse Charaboms together to form new ones with new abilities. Fortunately, you still get to use the two monsters you just fused. Oh, and one more thing: you don’t need two versions of the game to collect ‘em all. And now, the part that must be mentioned in any review of a Bomberman game: the multiplayer, which is present in all of its 2D glory. It plays identically to older 16-bit versions (with Bomberman Tournament graphics, of course) and allows you to link up with a friend or three for some 4-player fun. For those unfamiliar with the series, multiplayer pits you and three other Bomberman against each other on a square map filled with destructible blocks, some of which contain useful power-ups (or even power-downs!). Amidst the frenzy, your goal is to blast the other players into oblivion while dodging the explosions as bombs go off everywhere. In conclusion, Bomberman Tournament comes highly recommended for any GBA owner or Bomberman fan. While it can't match Zelda, it's guaranteed to keep you entertained for 10-15 hours or even more. Best of all, you’ll never lose any of it because Tournament lets you save anytime. Don’t let the apparent simplicity of its gameplay or its “kiddie” look turn you away; Tournament is top-notch.
