Approved Bomberman 64 – Neglected Nirvana

Bomberman

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Bomberman 64 – Neglected Nirvana

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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.
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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.
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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)!
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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.
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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.

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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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This was my second N64 game (first being extreme-G) and it holds a very special place for me. I loved everything about it. I loved the Bomberman characters, the music, the boss fights, the hunt for secrets and of course the multiplayer mode. I can't believe I was able to get to the secret world back then. I remember spending hours and hours lining up the damn bombs to be able to bounce over hard to reach areas in order to get those golden cards. No way I would have the patience to do that anymore lol

Plus this song is just pure joy.
 
This was my second N64 game (first being extreme-G) and it holds a very special place for me. I loved everything about it. I loved the Bomberman characters, the music, the boss fights, the hunt for secrets and of course the multiplayer mode. I can't believe I was able to get to the secret world back then. I remember spending hours and hours lining up the damn bombs to be able to bounce over hard to reach areas in order to get those golden cards. No way I would have the patience to do that anymore lol

Plus this song is just pure joy.
I happened by rainbow palace accidentally. The cart we had the game on was gamesharked or something. So each stage completed all the gold cards were automatically dispensed.

I needed to look up how to beat rainbow palace stage 3 on gamefaqs. Some day I want to legit beat the game on hard mode with all 120 gold cards under 3 hours to unlock the custom gold set.

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I happened by rainbow palace accidentally. The cart we had the game on was gamesharked or something. So each stage completed all the gold cards were automatically dispensed.

I needed to look up how to beat rainbow palace stage 3 on gamefaqs. Some day I want to legit beat the game on hard mode with all 120 gold cards under 3 hours to unlock the custom gold set.

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I didn't realize what this post was under. I think your article was good overall. I'm trying to think of something more constructive to say but its late and I have a headache that isn't letting up. I was just happy to meet someone who also thought Bomberman 64 was a special game that I replied immediately lol.

That said, I would not encourage anyone to try and get all the gold cards these days, it may sour your opinion on the game as the fun fades and the frustration begins. I know personally I wouldn't revisit that attempt, the memories only contain pain lol but it was cool getting to the secret world and even then I wasn't able to get all the gold cards from that world. I made peace with that and moved on 🙃
 
I remember enjoying all the n64 bomberman games when I was young. I thought Hero had a better single player mode but Bomberman 64's multiplayer mode was great and we played it a lot. I didn't really know much about the bomberman series. I had bomberman on the nes and my cousin had super bomberman 2. I didn't really know about any of the other ones until later so when the N64 games game out they seemed like the next step. I didn't even realize they weren't well liked until I read about it years later on the internet because I always thought they were fun.

Nice write up by the way and thanks for bringing back some memories. Good luck with your application.
 
I had a really great time renting this one a million years ago. Nice job!

Small note, I don't know if it's expected for the draft applications, but reviews should be at least 500 words. Maybe add another section?
Yeah, drafts don’t typically reflect the final article and usually don’t require to be as lengthy. I’d simply add a note that the final product should probably be longer.
 
This game is VERY special to me. The whole secret world and final boss makes it even more.

Some day I want to legit beat the game on hard mode with all 120 gold cards under 3 hours to unlock the custom gold set.

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I have to do that too.

Imagine going to a friend's house to play VS and bringing a memory pak with a legitimately acquired golden set... it would be such a power move.
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That said, I would not encourage anyone to try and get all the gold cards these days, it may sour your opinion on the game as the fun fades and the frustration begins. I know personally I wouldn't revisit that attempt, the memories only contain pain lol but it was cool getting to the secret world and even then I wasn't able to get all the gold cards from that world. I made peace with that and moved on 🙃
It was a fun experience to me. I did use a walkthrough, but still had to play the game myself so I consider it valid. Getting the golden cards from the bosses can be challenging, specially the jester from rainbow palace, but finally managing to do it was very rewarding me.

I remember getting the cards from the first rainbow level being frustrating though.

I wouldn't consider it mandatory nor recommend to collect everything upon your first playthrough, but if you really felt in love with the game, then I say go for it.
 
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Welcome!

I had a really great time renting this one a million years ago. Nice job!

Small note, I don't know if it's expected for the draft applications, but reviews should be at least 500 words. Maybe add another section?
+1 could be a tad longer.
 

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