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Bomberman 64 – Neglected Nirvana
From the first visage the game seems like just another three-dimensional platformer to ride the wave of Super Mario 64’s popularity. Bomberman’s foray into a new style of gameplay is perhaps one of the most underrated transitions. Bomberman 64 has a delightful multiplayer as expected from the franchise. The real treasure amongst this suite of gaming bliss is the lavishly crafted campaign. The soundtrack is a symphony of glorious upbeat techno. The visuals are surreal, charming, and vibrant.
The multiplayer of Bomberman 64 supports up to four players and whilst eclipsed by the more popular Saturn Bomberman in player size it is a vastly different experience. While the high player counts of Saturn Bomberman or even Bomberman Party Edition are at home with the two-dimensional grid-based multiplayer it would be too chaotic to an already hectic experience to have over four Bomberman 64 players on the same screen. Ergo the four dreaded four player limit from a Bomberman purist’s point of view.
Some argue that Bomberman’s venture into the third dimension harmed the jovial and competitive nature of the multiplayer. This is a sentiment I profusely rebuke as there is still quite a bit to enjoy here and the added axis of movement gives quite a bit of freedom. You can also pick up and throw people off maps after knocking them out with Bomb-kicks. You can sabotage your opponents with your ghost to make sure they do not achieve the required number of wins for the ultimate victory. Succinctly put Bomberman 64 is a blast (yes pun intended)!
This single-player journey Bomberman 64 places you on is one of intrigue, awe, and discovery. The game puts you in the comfy pink shoes of our beloved Bomberman as he tries to break the chains to confront Altair. I will not spoil the end or the true ending of the games elaborately crafted puzzles and stages. I will tell you along the way you will acquire various costume pieces that you can use to deck out your multiplayer character (with a memory card unfortunately for OEM purists but luckily emulation tears down this barrier to entry). The vistas you will encounter, and the epic scale of the boss fights will have you longing for more Bomberman 64. Luckily if you collect enough gold cards through the challenging battles and stages you will get a sliver more of gaming nirvana.
The soundtrack of Bomberman 64 while upbeat and catchy. The serene sound effects juxtapose with many games of the era that had a grating cacophony of noises. The visuals have a simplistic charm to them and are adorable. The visuals are also very cohesive in that nothing seems out of place and everything including the giant bosses fit the overall aesthetic.
Critics lambasted Bomberman 64 with mediocre reviews upon release, but many fans hoist up their freak flag and defy the mainstream. Gamespot declared the game's single player "passably entertaining", the multiplayer to have lost its "addictive charm", and it was "clearly no Mario" condemning it to the abysmal review score of a 4.6/10. This is obviously complete hogwash as my paragraphs briefly explained. Other review sites like IGN would grant the game more generous scores ranging from 6-7 typically (in IGN's case a 7.6) but even these middling review scores do not do the game justice. Bomberman 64 is in my opinion the best game to grace the N64 as it may not dazzle in every area presentation wise it is the best all-around game for the platform.
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