''Bomb Jack'' is a

platform game A platformer (also called a platform game, and sometimes a jump 'n' run game) is a subgenre of action game in which the core objective is to move the player character between points in an environment. Platform games are characterized by levels wi ...

published by

Tehkan was a Japanese video game company founded in 1967. It had its headquarters in the Kudankita district of Tokyo. Its subsidiary, Tecmo Inc, was located in Torrance, California. Prior to 1986, Tecmo was formerly known as Tehkan. Tecmo is known for ...

for arcades and later ported to home systems. The game was a commercial success for arcades and

home computers Home computers were a class of microcomputers that entered the market in 1977 and became common during the 1980s. They were marketed to consumers as affordable and accessible computers that, for the first time, were intended for the use of a s ...

. It was followed by several sequels: the console and computer game ''

Mighty Bomb Jack is a 1986 platform video game developed and published by Tecmo for the Nintendo Entertainment System. It was later ported to the Amiga, Atari ST and Commodore 64. ''Mighty Bomb Jack'' is a sequel to Tecmo's 1984 arcade game '' Bomb Jack''. W ...

'', the arcade game ''

Bomb Jack Twin ''Bomb Jack'' is a platform game published by Tehkan for arcades and later ported to home systems. The game was a commercial success for arcades and home computers. It was followed by several sequels: the console and computer game ''Mighty Bomb J ...

'', and ''Bomb Jack II'' which was licensed for home computers only.

Gameplay

Bomb Jack is a hero who can perform high jumps and float in the air. His goal is to collect all 24 red bombs on the screen. The game's antagonists are enemies such as birds and mummies which, once they drop in the bottom of the screen, can morph into enemies such as flying saucers and orbs that float around the screen, making Jack lose a life if he touches them. Once one bomb is collected, bombs will light up in sequence; if one lit bomb is collected, another will light up. Collecting bombs will increase the bonus meter at the top of the screen (lit bombs increase it more). When the meter is completely filled up, a circular bouncing "P" appears, and when collected, it will turn all the enemies into bonus coins for a short period during which Jack may collect them. Other similar bonuses are the ''B'' (Bonus) which increases the score multiplier (up to 5x), the ''E'' (

Extra Extra, Xtra, or The Extra may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Film * The Extra (1962 film), ''The Extra'' (1962 film), a Mexican film * The Extra (2005 film), ''The Extra'' (2005 film), an Australian film Literature * Extra (newspaper), ...

) which gives an extra life, and the rare ''S'' (Special), which awards a free game. There are five different screens in the game, each featuring a distinct background and set of platforms (the fifth has no platforms at all). There is a special bonus for collecting 20, 21, 22, or 23 lit bombs at the end of a round.

Ports

* 1985:

SG-1000 The is a home video game console manufactured by Sega. It was Sega's first entry into the home video game hardware business. Developed in response to a downturn in arcades starting in 1982, the SG-1000 was created on the advice of Hayao Nak ...

PC-88 The , commonly shortened to PC-88, are a brand of Zilog Z80-based 8-bit home computers released by Nippon Electric Company (NEC) in 1981 and primarily sold in Japan. The PC-8800 series sold extremely well and became one of the four major Japane ...

* 1986:

Amstrad CPC The Amstrad CPC (short for "Colour Personal Computer") is a series of 8-bit home computers produced by Amstrad between 1984 and 1990. It was designed to compete in the mid-1980s home computer market dominated by the Commodore 64 and the ZX Spec ...

Commodore 64 The Commodore 64, also known as the C64, is an 8-bit computing, 8-bit home computer introduced in January 1982 by Commodore International (first shown at the Consumer Electronics Show, January 7–10, 1982, in Las Vegas). It has been listed in ...

ZX Spectrum The ZX Spectrum () is an 8-bit computing, 8-bit home computer developed and marketed by Sinclair Research. One of the most influential computers ever made and one of the all-time bestselling British computers, over five million units were sold. ...

Commodore 16 The Commodore 16 is a home computer made by Commodore International with a 6502-compatible 7501 or 8501 CPU, released in 1984 and intended to be an entry-level computer to replace the VIC-20. A cost-reduced version, the Commodore 116, was ...

* 1988:

Atari ST Atari ST is a line of personal computers from Atari Corporation and the successor to the company's Atari 8-bit computers, 8-bit computers. The initial model, the Atari 520ST, had limited release in April–June 1985, and was widely available i ...

Amiga Amiga is a family of personal computers produced by Commodore International, Commodore from 1985 until the company's bankruptcy in 1994, with production by others afterward. The original model is one of a number of mid-1980s computers with 16-b ...

* 1992:

Game Boy The is a handheld game console developed by Nintendo, launched in the Japanese home market on April 21, 1989, followed by North America later that year and other territories from 1990 onwards. Following the success of the Game & Watch single-ga ...

* 1997:

Windows Windows is a Product lining, product line of Proprietary software, proprietary graphical user interface, graphical operating systems developed and marketed by Microsoft. It is grouped into families and subfamilies that cater to particular sec ...

* 2003:

Java ME Java Platform, Micro Edition or Java ME is a computing platform for development and deployment of porting, portable code for embedded system, embedded and mobile devices (micro-controllers, sensors, gateways, mobile phones, personal digita ...

* 2015:

PlayStation 4 The PlayStation 4 (PS4) is a home video game console developed by Sony Interactive Entertainment. Announced as the successor to the PlayStation 3 in February 2013, it was launched on November 15, 2013, in North America, November 29, 2013, in ...

The Commodore 64 version uses

Jean-Michel Jarre Jean-Michel André Jarre (; born 24 August 1948) is a French composer, performer and record producer. He is a pioneer in the Electronic music, electronic, Ambient music, ambient and New-age music, new-age genres, and is known for organising out ...

's '' Magnetic Fields Part II''.

Reception

In Japan, ''Game Machine'' listed ''Bomb Jack'' on their May 15, 1984 issue as being the third most-successful table arcade unit of the month. The game topped the UK all-formats software sales chart in April 1986. On the machine-specific charts the C64 version reached number 1, while the Spectrum version was kept off the top of the Spectrum charts by ''

Green Beret The green beret was the official headdress of the British Commandos, a special-forces unit active during World War II. It is still worn by members of the Royal Marines after passing the Commando Course, and personnel from other units of the Roy ...

''. Two years later, ''Bomb Jack'' returned to the top of the UK all-formats sales chart when it was re-released on the ''Encore'' budget label. '' Crash'' magazine gave the ZX Spectrum version a 92% rating with the comment "a great arcade conversion, don't miss it", while ''

Zzap!64 ''Zzap!64'' is a computer games magazine covering games for computers manufactured by Commodore International, especially the Commodore 64 (C64). It was published in the UK by Newsfield Publications Ltd and later by Europress Impact. The magazi ...

'' was less enthusiastic for the

version giving it 47%. ''

Commodore User ''Commodore User'', (also referred to as ''CU'') later renamed to ''CU Amiga'', is a British magazine initially published by Paradox Group before being acquired by EMAP. Timeline ''Commodore User'' was launched in October 1983 with an initial pr ...

'' gave the

version 6 out of 10 citing that the Amiga should be well capable of doing better on a then four-year-old arcade game.

Legacy

Sequels

''Bomb Jack II'' is a licensed follow-up developed for 8-bit home computers by the British games publisher

Elite Systems Elite Systems is a British video game developer and publisher established in 1984 as Richard Wilcox Software. It is known for producing home computer conversions of popular arcade games. Elite also published compilations of games on the Hit-Pak ...

in 1986. The game went to number 1 in the UK sales charts, before being replaced by ''

Feud A feud , also known in more extreme cases as a blood feud, vendetta, faida, clan war, gang war, private war, or mob war, is a long-running argument or fight, often between social groups of people, especially family, families or clans. Feuds begin ...

''. ''

'' was released in

1986 The year 1986 was designated as the International Year of Peace by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** Aruba gains increased autonomy from the Netherlands by separating from the Netherlands Antilles. ** Spain and Portugal en ...

. The game was largely identical to the original game in almost all factors, except that the same screen layouts from the first game in the same sequence were now linked in a map-like continuous form by scrolling passages. ''Mighty Bomb Jack'' got less favorable reviews than the original game. ''Bomb Jack Twin'' was released in

1993 The United Nations General Assembly, General Assembly of the United Nations designated 1993 as: * International Year for the World's Indigenous People The year 1993 in the Kwajalein Atoll in the Marshall Islands had only 364 days, since its ...

by NMK. In this version, two players could play simultaneously.

Re-releases

* 2004:

PlayStation 2 The PlayStation 2 (PS2) is a home video game console developed and marketed by Sony Interactive Entertainment, Sony Computer Entertainment. It was first released in Japan on 4 March 2000, in North America on 26 October, in Europe on 24 Novembe ...

(''Tecmo Hit Parade'') * 2005:

Xbox Xbox is a video gaming brand that consists of four main home video game console lines, as well as application software, applications (games), the streaming media, streaming service Xbox Cloud Gaming, and online services such as the Xbox networ ...

(''

Tecmo Classic Arcade ''Tecmo Classic Arcade'' is a collection of classic Tecmo arcade games for the Xbox (console), Xbox. This collection was released on September 13, 2005 in the U.S., October 21, 2005 in Europe and October 27, 2005 in Japan, and contains all of th ...

'') * 2007:

Wii Virtual Console The Virtual Console was a line of downloadable retro video games for Nintendo's Wii and Wii U home video game consoles and the Nintendo 3DS family of handheld systems. The Virtual Console lineup consisted of titles originally released on past ...

(NES version) * 2009: Wii Virtual Console (Arcade version) * 2012:

3DS Virtual Console The Virtual Console was a line of downloadable retro video games for Nintendo's Wii and Wii U home video game consoles and the Nintendo 3DS family of handheld systems. The Virtual Console lineup consisted of titles originally released on past ...

(NES version) * 2014:

(''

Arcade Archives is a series of emulated arcade games from the late 1970s, 1980s, 1990s and early 2000s developed and published by Hamster Corporation. A sub-series called focuses on re-releasing Neo Geo titles in their original arcade format, unlike many s ...

''),

Wii U Virtual Console The Virtual Console was a line of downloadable retro video games for Nintendo's Wii and Wii U home video game consoles and the Nintendo 3DS family of handheld systems. The Virtual Console lineup consisted of titles originally released on past ...

(NES version) * 2019:

Nintendo Switch The is a video game console developed by Nintendo and released worldwide in most regions on March 3, 2017. Released in the middle of the Eighth generation of video game consoles, eighth generation of home consoles, the Switch succeeded the ...

Arcade Archives

References

External links

* * * * * {{mobygames, /9617 1984 video games Amiga games Amstrad CPC games Arcade video games Atari ST games Commodore 16 and Plus/4 games Commodore 64 games Game Boy games J2ME games NEC PC-8801 games Nintendo Switch games Platformers PlayStation 4 games SG-1000 games Koei Tecmo franchises Tecmo games Virtual Console games Windows games ZX Spectrum games Video games about bomb disposal Video games developed in Japan Video games scored by Alberto Jose González Video games scored by Mark Cooksey Video games set in Greece Video games set in Egypt Video games set in Miami Video games set in Germany Video games set in California Java platform games Arcade Archives games Hamster Corporation games Multiplayer and single-player video games