Bombs Away!
Super Bomberman is a game that I could not get away from during my childhood. I absolutely loved playing it along with friends. Causing havoc in those mazes with bombs was a gaming memory that’ll stay with me always. It’s hard to think that Bomberman is actually older than myself, being in my late twenties, staggering towards that big 3… nope, we’ll forget about that. Regardless, Nintendo brought out their new console, the new Nintendo Switch. Yeah, nice I thought. Konami then announced their intention to bring a fully-fledged Bomberman for the system’s launch line-up. I just had to have it and you know what, it’s pretty damn brilliant.
Straight off the bat, and throughout my time with Super Bomberman R, the nostalgia attached to it was fantastic. I thought I was a little kid once again. It looks absolutely gorgeous on the Switch, whether that is playing it in the TV mode or a few hours in bed each night in the portable mode. What stood out for me was the cut scenes, they were a joy to watch to be frank, it was like watching a cartoon. The game just is perfect for the switch and visually, you can’t really complain at all.
Super Bomberman R isn’t just about having fun with your friends or online. Konami have also built in to it a story mode. Yes, it can be completed in a few hours sitting, but it’s the fun and havoc you have it with that kept me going back for more. There are 50 stages for you to complete overall, with bosses added in to the mix to spice things up a bit. The stages could probably have been more varied in terms of their design, but like I keep saying, you have to appreciate it for what it is.
If you’ve not played a Bomberman game before (Seriously, WHY?!?!), Konami ease you in to the control scheme and your objectives of what you have to do on each map. However, even if they didn’t, it’s pretty easy to get used to and within 5 or 10 minutes, you’ll soon be disposing of enemies and navigating your way round the maps easier than anything. Each map will consist of either destroying all of your enemies or activating all of the switches for you to progress. Of course, it’s not just bombs that you will have to help you in your quest. Super Bomberman R also gives you a variety of different power-ups, such as extra speed or the good old Kick power up (remember that!!) in order to help you on your way. It’s a simple procedure and one that doesn’t really require much thought in the single-player mode, but it’s fun, addictive and perfect if you are looking to purchase a Nintendo Switch anytime soon.
Of course, everybody knows that the most fun you’re going to get with Super Bomberman R is in the multiplayer aspect of it. This is where hours of your time will leave your life due to the addicting nature of trying to blow up your friends. Quite impressively, you can play with up to 7 players, whether that be online or via local multiplayer. Sadly, I don’t have 7 friends who have a Nintendo Switch but even with 2 players holding a JoyCon each, it was so good and fun to play. Online play was a little hit and miss for me. Although most of the games I played were fine, there were a couple that seemed to have a very bad connection. I do expect Konami to work on that side of things even more and release a patch in the near future.
What is good is that Konami also introduced a ‘shop’ in Super Bomberman R. Before you ask, I am not a fan of micro-transactions at all in any game but this works a little different. The items you ‘buy’ in Super Bomberman R, such as extra maps for the multiplayer aspect, are all purchased using gems that you earn throughout your game, whether that be in the single or multiplayer parts in the game.
Before writing this review and getting a review code to play, I did read up some reviews that hit and it did get me worried due to the average scores it was getting. However, I am all about reviewing games on their own merit and I really would recommend you giving Super Bomberman R a purchase. You’ll have hours and hours of fun, whether it is at home or on the go with friends.
Super Bomberman R is now available to purchase on the Nintendo Switch
A review code was provided by Konami
