Bomber Man was originally released for Japanese computers as well as for the MSX and ZX Spectrum in the United Kingdom as Eric and the Floaters to disassociate it from the car bombs of the Troubles on the border of Northern Ireland and Ireland that were commonly broadcast on the news across the UK at the time. However, it was the console version of Bomber Man, or Bomberman as it was known internationally, for the Family Computer and its international counterpart the Nintendo Entertainment System that set the stage for the popularity that the series would come to attract throughout the late 1980s and early 1990s.
The Japanese Famicom and international versions for the NES are identical, save for a reference to Hudson Soft's NES conversion of Lode Runner, which used its title directly in the Japanese version and was only hinted toward in the NES version.
The computer version of Bomber Man, or Eric in the UK version, was a human that set off bombs in catacombs searching for treasure. This version is a robot that bombs through fifty mazes in a quest to become human. Compared to later Bomberman games, the art style is not as defined at this point. However, the art of the enemies and their animatons are still lively and fun, if a bit stilted.
Each level also uses the same music track. It is pretty catchy and really isn't annoying at all, however, so it doesn't overstay its welcome too much. It also serves as a series melody of sorts, being remixed in later games through the stage intro music as well as in proper stage music in some instances.
Bomberman also moves slower than later games at first and the footfalls are pretty loud, considering the hardware it runs on. The levels are also repetitive as there are only plain grey blocks on each stage. With fifty stages, this can get repetitve fast. The new enemies that appear in later stages with their abilities such as faster moving speed and walking through walls helps with this a bit, especially since some of the animation on some of these creatures can get quire entertaining and even cute at times, if a bit primitive in comparison to later games in the series.
Bombing a door releases a whole horde of enemies, so much so that there is noticeable slowdown. Later games will only give a penalty of one released enemy at a bombed door rather than a horde, and even stop releasing enemies at a certain point, removing any possibility of slowdown issues If you bomb a powerup item, a horde of enemies will spawn. Most games in the series just disintigrate the item without the penalty Bombs with a timer will simply keep pulsing. Most of the later games had a turn-key animation to better illustrate that it was on a timer.
Stages only have one powerup. The music will change when the powerup is collected. When the last enemy is defeated, the jingle that plays when the pause button is pressed will play to indicate that the stage is clear.
Bonus stages will appear after every five stags. They have Bomberman defeat as many enemies of a certain type as possible within the time limit. Invincibility is active during this, so it is possible to continuously spam the bomb in order to blow up enemies. This will later be a useful skill in Super Bomberman, as invincibilty is active for a short amount of time when a stage starts. This is phased out in later games in the series. Bonus stages have their own music, and the music that plays when Bomberman picks up an invincibility powerup is different from that tune.
The English and Japanese versions are identical save for one part that references Lode Runner, which was converted to the Nintendo Family Computer and its interrnational Nintendo Entertainment System counterpart by Hudson Soft. The Japanese version uses the name of the game, whereas the English version merely hints towards it. The version included in the Super Bomberman Collection is the English version.
Once the game is completed, there is a short ending, after which it starts at level one with the score in-tact, allowing score hunters to get an even higher score through subsequent runs.
Bomberman is, without a doubt, an influential title. It doesn't hold up as well as later games in the series, however, as it lacks the features that make those titles universally enjoyable. The art style is a lot more simplified than other games in the series, but most importantly it lacks the diversity of maze styles that come from the zones that appear in later games. This game, like the original computer game that came before it, only had grey blocks. After playing fifty levels to reach the ending, it becomes quite repetitive. On the positive side, however, the music is really catchy, which helps alleviate things somewhat. This game is still fun, but it is one that I can only recomend to those that are already fans of the Bomberman series and wish to see the original console version.
Final Verdict:4½ out of 5
