Super Bomberman R2 Review

Developed and published by Konami Digital Entertainment Co Ltd Super Bomberman R2 is the latest title in this long-running series keeping the Bomberman story alive. Those familiar with the Bomberman series know all about the Bombermen with their bombs for hands and their desire to blow up blocks to pick up power-ups and destroy their enemies. This keeps all that made Bomberman fun true and has provided a new story to play through. The story carries on with the White Bomber and his siblings who are voice acted very well in what could have been an interesting cartoon.

                As a follow-on from the first Bomberman R game in the series, you play the part of the big brother white Bomberman. He and his siblings who are the other coloured bombermen and bomberwomen have to fight a new threat to the universe but they need the help of their new alien friends called Ellons to be able to do it. These new Ellons are small blue cute creatures who work as a power source during the levels. Their spirit power teleporters and unlock gates to new levels. They have also included some defence-style battles where you deploy special blocks to try and hamper an enemy who is trying to get your treasure chests. This didn’t seem all that fun to me as I just enjoy battling with Bomberman. But there will be some that will enjoy laying traps and tricks to keep enemies from getting your treasure. But there are still boss battles to enjoy and they are still fun to enjoy to learn the patterns of the enemy and know when to strike.

                For those unfamiliar with Bomberman games, you play as a humanoid bomb-laying being. He walks in a 4 directional way and lays bombs to blow up blocks and his enemies. You pick up powerups to lay more bombs, to make the bombs explode bigger, to run faster and to either punch throw or kick the bombs. It’s a test of reflexes and strategy and fun to play with family and friends except if you get too good and they don’t want to play with you anymore. But hey that is what online play is for these days. It has catchy background tracks which increase with tempo as the tension increases and the familiar sound of explosions happening all around keeps you on your toes.

                The controls are pretty much identical to the previous game and have been kept simple. There is no need to fix what isn’t broken. You can move around with either the analogue stick or the d-pad and just the B button to lay a bomb. The are extra controls to punch, kick and throw bombs but they either involve pressing another button or just running into the bomb to kick it.

                The gameplay is exactly what you would expect and even hope for if you are familiar with the series. They have kept the same linear 4 directional traversing of the screen but some areas don’t have the immovable blocks so you can walk a bit more freely. I did panic as I was worried they would change the bomb explosion from the standard cross explosion into a 3D explosion but I was worried for nothing as these didn’t appear. The less said about the more 3D Bomberman games the better in my opinion.

                Those like me who found great joy in the battle mode of Bomberman games will be happy to know they have cut and pasted the battle mode from the separate Bomber R online game. All the characters, outfits and bomb skins are the same but they have been tweaked to add some new game modes. There are 4 game modes to play through and some I found more fun than others. 1 mode is a 1 vs 1 mode with no other blocks and it is just a battle to beat the enemy 5 times. Another mode from the original game is where there are 64 players in 8 different gaming areas and as time progresses the gaming areas are reduced until you get to the last single area and it’s a battle to be the last one standing. The 2 newer gaming modes are both team-style battles. 1 will have you either defending treasure chests from enemies trying to get them or you will be the one scrapping for a key and getting a treasure chest. The last game mode is a 3 vs 3 mode where you have to collect and hold onto crystals whilst trying to kill your enemies and get the crystals they are holding with the winner being the team with the most crystals after 2 rounds.

                It seems the focus was much more on the multiplayer battle mode and probably rightly so as that is where the most fun is to be had. You play ranked matches against similarly skilled players online or on a private server with other friends online. You can also play locally which is a nice option to have these days. They have also included a stage editor mode so you can get your creative juices flowing and create some belting levels of your own which you can play online with others. There is also a shop where you can spend the coins you earn from playing multiplayer games and completing objectives. As I mentioned before you can buy hats, bomb skins and outfits. You can also buy characters, some are characters from other games like Solid Snake or even a Fall Guy.

Conclusion

Super Bomberman R2 Is exactly what you want from a sequel. It kept everything that made the original game fun and added new ideas to try and build on what works. I may not be a big fan of some of the newer battle modes but I am very glad to see the Grand Prix 64 Bomberman battle return. The controls are simple for anyone to pick up and play and I am very happy this gaming series is still going strong.

This game was tested and reviewed on Xbox Series X/S. All of the opinions and insights here are subject to that version. Game provided by publisher.