Bomber Boy, known as Atomic Punk in North America, and as Dynablaster in Europe and Australia, was the first Bomberman game for the Game Boy. It also included a conversion of Bomberman for the Famicom with the mazes adjusted to fit the smaller screen.
It has sixty places to traverse split up in between eight stages with five to ten levels. There are no boss fights at the end of the stages. The stages are layed out by difficulty and they are more than just themed in this game, they have unique mechanics. For instance, in the ice-themed area, ice blocks have to be blown up twice. Here, the penguin enemy can freeze bombs into blocks and an enemy can destroy blocks. In the cavernous area, rocks open up cave entrances allowing access to other areas of the map in a similar fashion to various warp mechanics in other games in the series. Enemies sometimes are destroyed by these caves if the entrance closes on them. The desert area has shifting sands that move Bomber Boy along with them. In the forest area, Bomber Boy and enemies can walk through grass and some enemies hide inside of it. There is a stage with fire in place of blocks that will destroy Bomber Boy if he goes inside of it. These unique aspects help to give the game a bit of variety.
Most pickups are different than expected, with the exception of pickups that give bonus points. Other than that, which acts as usual by giving points automatically, unlike other games in the series, the powerups are not automatically set to be used as they are selected at the beginning of a stage. Some pickups are available in levels, such as extra bombs and time freezing powerups.
However, most of the time, a stage has to be completely completed to unlock a powerup. The powerup to be unlocked shows at the beginning of a stage. This will allow it to be aquired in the store, as the option for that powerup and other unlocked powerups only show as question blocks before hand. The store is the biggest departure from other games in the series.
Currency is collected while completing stages, and will be shown in the heads-up display at the bottom of the pause screen. At the store, Bomber Boy can purchase powerups. When choosing powerups other than bombs, roller skates, or range increase for fire blasts, which are available from the start, the powerups will become used up and unavailable to use in further stages unless multiples of them had been purchased beforehand. The store is only accessible after completing the full eight levels in a stage, so it is necessary to purchase a load of them in order to use them in multiple levels of any given area. There are some interestimg powerups available.. The fire resistant powerup protects Bomber Boy from bomb blasts as well as fire blocks.
Bomber Boy is a great start to the Game Boy series of Bomberman games. The graphics and music are improved upon compared to the Famicom Bomberman game so that they more closely resemble their 16-bit counterparts. The lack of bosses is a shame, but the uniqueness of the game mechanics and areas makes up for it. It was included in compilations twice. The first was in Bomberman Collection for the Game Boy in Japan in 1996, which included Bomberman GB and Bomberman GB 2. The second compilation was a South Korean exclusive, Bomberman Selection, which was released for the Game Boy Color late in its lifespan in 2003. This second version is the best way to play the game, as the color really enhances the game, especially the water and fire effects. Unfortunately, it is extrodinarily rare. I have stripped out Bomber Boy from the color compilation and have created IPS patches for all three versions of the Game Boy title (not including Bomberman Collection), which you can download here. I highly recommend playing the color version of the game. It is a very unique Bomberman title and is well worth playing.
Final Verdict:
4½ out of 5
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