Bomberman (series)

For other uses, see Bomberman (disambiguation).

Bomberman (series)

Developer

Hudson Soft, Konami

Publisher

Various

Genre

Maze, action, puzzle, party

Platform(s)

Various

Mode(s)

Single-player, multiplayer

Release date(s)

1983-present

Bomberman is a strategic, maze-based computer and video game franchise originally developed by Hudson Soft. The original game was published in 1983 and new games in the series are still being published to this day. Today, the Bomberman character is featured in over 60 different games. Being commercially successful, with over 10 million units of games sold, the series “has since become known as the first name in multiplayer games”.

Occasionally, Bomberman games feature the grid-base action. Players are put in a stage where they have to destroy soft blocks, possibly uncovering items. New items have been created for different games, while some have been a permanent power-up. Items may be necessary to defeat opponents. When one is bombed, the player is “dead”.

Player capacity has risen from two players to ten players. Online play is also available.

Games

Main series

Portable games

Spin-offs

Coin operated

Title

Year

Platform

Notes

Bomber Man
1991
Arcade
Known as Dyna Blaster and Atomic Punk in Western regions

Bomber Man World
1992
Arcade
Known as Dyna Blaster Global Quest and Atomic Punk Global Quest/Atomic Punk 2 in Western regions

Bomberman: Panic Bomber
1994
2017
2017
Neo Geo MVS (Arcade)

Neo Bomberman
1997
Neo Geo MVS (Arcade)

Bombergirl
2018
Arcade

Bombergirl Pachislot
2022
Arcade, PC

Knock-offs

Bomberman is one of the most frequently plagiarized video games in history, partly due to the ease of programming simple clones. These are only a small selection of the many unauthorized Bomberman knock-offs that have appeared over the years, and still continue to be made. Most are designed for personal computers and mobile devices, but a few have been released for consoles and arcade hardware.

Title

Year

Platform

Notes

Bomb Buddies
2012
PC (Windows), Facebook
A Bomberman style game with 8-player simultaneous multiplayer sessions across 120 levels and 8 game modes.

PopTag!
2001
PC (Windows)
Released in South Korea as Crazy Arcade. Nexon America formerly ran a global version. Almost exactly the same as Bomberman, except as an MMO. Likely the most popular and successful Bomberman ripoff ever, PopTag! may be more well known than Bomberman itself in its home country of Korea.

About Bombs and Explosives
2009
PC (Windows)
A classic-style arcade game; main goal is to place bombs and blow up anything in users way; in single player mode, one must find the way through about 100 levels by eliminating monsters and searching for exit; in battle mode, one must destroy other players; standard last man standing type of game, or team play; freeware

Bakudanjin
1999
Apple Macintosh
An arcade-style game with the same game mechanic as Bomberman but with different game modes and original characters

Bomb Mania
1997
Commodore 64
4-player support (4-player adapter needed)

Bomberland
2013
Commodore 64
5-player support (keyboard and 4-player adapter needed)

Bomboy [轟炸小子 – Explosion Kid]
1993
Sega Genesis
Released by Gamtec of Taiwan, it was designed similar to Super Bomberman, but with no Battle Mode and the level layout omits the grid-based design common in most Bomberman games; has 10 worlds with 5 levels each and supports 2-Players simultaneously like Super Bomberman

XBlast
1993
PC (Windows) and Linux
XBlast is a multiplayer version released under the GNU General Public License by Marc Oliver Vogel for Microsoft Windows and X11R5/R6.

Cheeky Twins II
1994
Commodore 64
2-player support, released on Magic Disk

BomberMan
2014
Windows Phone
Bomberman-inspired game by independent developer

Spark World

1995

Super Nintendo

Knock-off of Super Bomberman with sentient cartoon cars as playable characters. Bombs are batteries that explode with electric charges. Sometimes referred to as “Bombercar.” Only released in Japan.

Bombing Bastards

2014

Wii U, Xbox One, PS4, Vita, PC (Windows), Mac, Linux

A Bomberman clone with relatively high production values, 5-player support, and boss battles. The title is censored as Bombing Busters on all platforms other than Wii U and PC.

Teslatron

Unknown

PC (Windows)

A simplistic 5-player Bomberman clone, and a defunct web browser game that featured online multiplayer and chat. Player characters were scientists piloting robots that dropped electric charges. No longer playable.

Fireball

1992

Arcade

Basic 4-player Bomberman clone made in South Korea. Uses stolen bomb and explosion sprites. The main character’s design is a rip-off of Joe Shimomura from the Cyborg 009 anime/manga franchise.

Power-Ups

Power-Ups are the basic items to help Bomberman defeat opponents. Power-Ups come in different abilities, such as the ability to carry more bombs or faster movement.

Gallery