The original Bomberman was so simple that anyone could play, yet complex enough that each and every multi-player bout was unique and exciting. Bomberman 64 leaves this kind of gameplay behind. The block-filled square arenas of the original have been thrown out in favor of more spacious, multi-level arenas that take away everything that made the gameplay of the original so great.

Instead of picking up icons to gain special abilities from scratch, all Bombermen begin with the ability to lay bombs, kick bombs and throw bombs. This fact, along with the lack of blocks in each level, makes it next to impossible to corner opponents. The developers at Hudson Soft must have realized this, because they have included the ability to stun opponents by throwing or kicking bombs into them. While stunned, your opponent is left helpless, giving you the chance to move in for the kill. Unfortunately, this new feature makes the gameplay rather unfair. Where I would lose a match in the original because I moved somewhere unwise, leaving myself vulnerable to attack, in Bomberman 64 I found that I lost without really knowing what happened to me. I would suddenly be stunned, and boom, it was all over.

Neither my friends nor I liked this new gameplay one bit. It just felt too haphazard. The new stun feature, the ability to pick up bombs and press A to make them bigger, as well as the 3D-ness of everything made the gameplay too complicated. The matches lasted too long, were confusing, and were often unfair as well. By the end of the night, my friends and I had given up on Bomberman 64, and we were spending our time playing the 16-bit original.

As for the one-player mode, Hudson seems to have spent a lot of effort on making it an actual game. This is a change from the one-player modes of earlier Bomberman titles, which were basically practice for the multi-player mode. In truth, it’s an OK game, but it’s certainly not anything I’d pay $50 for. The game’s puzzle-solving by explosion is fun for a while, but I lost interest quickly. The major reason for this was the poor control. If you want to pick up a bomb, you must stand next to it and press B before it explodes. If, however, you even slightly touch the Control Stick while doing so, you’ll kick the bomb away. This made the gameplay very tedious, as I kept laying bombs only to inadvertently kick them away, or worse, become their unwitting victim.

In the end, Bomberman 64’s 3D graphics are nice, but they don’t create a worthwhile gaming experience. The new style of gameplay added to accommodate the flashy visuals just isn't as compelling as the gameplay of the 16-bit original. Overall, this game was a major disappointment.

Update: 2/10/98:
I have received several e-mails informing me that there is a less complicated method of picking up bombs that doesn't require placing them on the ground first. This method simply involves holding B while pressing A. While this definitely makes the game’s control a little better, the fundamental gameplay is still the same. In other words, I still stand by my review. Additionally, since neither myself nor my friends discovered this method during play (nor did we find the method to be explained clearly in the manual), I will not be raising the game’s Play Control score.

I would like to thank all of you who sent an e-mail to notify me of this important element! You have helped me to make this review more complete and accurate.