''Bomberman Blast'' is an action game developed and published by Hudson Soft for the Wii and

WiiWare WiiWare was a service that allowed Wii users to download games and applications specifically designed and developed for the Wii video game console made by Nintendo. These games and applications could only be purchased and downloaded from the Wii ...

as part of the ''Bomberman'' franchise. The game was released as two versions: a fully featured retail release and a WiiWare version known as . The retail version was released in Japan on September 25, 2008, while the WiiWare version was released on September 30, 2008. The WiiWare version was released in Europe on September 12, 2008, and in North America on September 29, 2008.

Overview

The WiiWare version of ''Bomberman Blast'' only contains the traditional battle mode, while the retail release also includes a story mode and other additional features. The plot of the story mode revolves around

Bomberman is a video game franchise originally developed by Hudson Soft and currently owned by Konami. The original game, also known as ''Bakudan Otoko'' (''爆弾男''), was released in Japan in July 1983 and has since spawned multiple sequels and sp ...

saving the player's

Mii A Mii ( ) is a customizable avatar used on several Nintendo video game consoles and mobile apps. Miis were first introduced on the Wii console in 2006 and later appeared on the 3DS, Wii U, the Switch, and various apps for smart devices. Miis c ...

s by defeating five bosses who have kidnapped them. The story mode covers 39 stages across 5 worlds, featuring 31 different unique enemies. The game features new items, such as a rocket that enables the player to fly, and a shield. A number of items are activated by shaking the Wii Remote. In the retail version, players are also able to purchase upgrades and power-ups by cashing in gems collected during play, such as Hearts, Fire Ups, Bomb Ups and Speed Ups. In addition, players are also able to use their Miis during play, and the retail version features a mode called ''Bomberman for Beginners'' which teaches novice players the basics of the game. The game is primarily controlled with the Wii Remote held on its side

NES The Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) is an 8-bit third-generation home video game console produced by Nintendo. It was first released in Japan in 1983 as the commonly known as the The NES, a redesigned version, was released in American ...

gamepad-style. It also supports GameCube controllers but not

Classic Controller The is a game controller produced by Nintendo for the Wii home video game console. While it later featured some compatibility with the Wii U console, the controller was ultimately succeeded by the Wii U Pro Controller. In April 2014, Nintendo ...

s; and supports

480p 480p is the shorthand name for a family of video display resolutions. The p stands for progressive scan, i.e. non-interlaced. The ''480'' denotes a vertical resolution of 480 pixels, usually with a horizontal resolution of 640 pixels and 4:3 ...

and 16:9

widescreen Widescreen images are displayed within a set of aspect ratios (relationship of image width to height) used in film, television and computer screens. In film, a widescreen film is any film image with a width-to-height aspect ratio greater than t ...

display modes, but does not output in

Dolby Pro Logic II Dolby Pro Logic is a surround sound processing technology developed by Dolby Laboratories, designed to decode soundtracks encoded with Dolby Surround. Dolby Stereo (also known as ''Dolby MP'' or ''Dolby SVA'') was developed by Dolby in 1976 f ...

. When four Wii remotes and four GameCube controllers are used in conjunction, this game can support 8-player offline play.

Battle mode

The game's battle mode features eight-player, worldwide online play with rankings, and players with the retail and WiiWare versions of the game are able to compete against each other. 10 battle stages are included with the WiiWare version, while the retail release includes an extra 2 stages, for a total of 12. Eight-player battle mode is supported by having four players using GameCube controllers and four players using Wii remotes. Battle mode also introduces "appeal motions", an

emote An emote is an entry in a text-based chat client that indicates an action taking place. Unlike emoticons, they are not text art, and instead describe the action using words or images (similar to emoji). Emotes were created by Shigetaka Kurita ...

players can perform. WiiWare players have access to 10 motions, while retail players have access to 20 in total.

Development and release

2008, the year ''Bomberman Blast'' was released, was the 25th anniversary of the ''Bomberman'' franchise. The game is developed in-house by Hudson, unlike ''

Bomberman Live ''Bomberman Live'' is a downloadable video game for the Xbox Live Arcade, developed by Backbone Entertainment as part of the Bomberman, ''Bomberman'' franchise. The game was announced on May 16, 2007 and released later that year. It would later se ...

'' for

Xbox Live Arcade Xbox Live Arcade (XBLA) is a digital video game download service available through the Xbox Games Store, Microsoft's digital distribution network for the Xbox 360. It focuses on smaller downloadable games from both major publishers and independent ...

which was outsourced to

Backbone Entertainment Backbone Entertainment was an American video game developer based in Emeryville, California. The company was formed in 2003 as the result of a merger between developers Digital Eclipse and ImaginEngine. In 2005, Backbone merged with The Collec ...

. The game was originally scheduled to be released in June 2008, but was later delayed to September 2008 due to Hudson wanting to make sure the online mode was top-notch. The official website initially opened on March 28, 2008, and fully opened on July 11, 2008. The final name was revealed through the game's rating by the German

USK Usk ( cy, Brynbuga) is a town and community in Monmouthshire, Wales, northeast of Newport. It is located on the River Usk, which is spanned by an arched stone bridge at the western entrance to the town. Usk Castle, above the town, overlooks th ...

on July 9, 2008. To celebrate the release of ''Bomberman Blast'', Hudson held a ''Bomberman Blast'' tournament called "Bomb It Up".

Reception

The game received "favorable" reviews according to the

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website

Metacritic Metacritic is a website that aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created by Jason Dietz, Marc ...

. In Japan, however, ''

Famitsu formerly ''Famicom Tsūshin'', is a line of Japanese video game magazines published by Kadokawa Game Linkage (previously known as Gzbrain), a subsidiary of Kadokawa. ''Famitsu'' is published in both weekly and monthly formats as well as in the f ...

'' gave the retail version a score of one seven, one five, and two sixes for a total of 24 out of 40. ''

Eurogamer ''Eurogamer'' is a British video game journalism website launched in 1999 and owned by alongside formed company Gamer Network. Its editor-in-chief is Martin Robinson. Since 2008, it is known for the formerly eponymous games trade fair EG ...

'' was impressed by the many game modes and options available., although they believed the game was "a tad pricey" at 1000 Wii Points, but otherwise felt that "it's hard to quibble over such a dependable game". ''

Official Nintendo Magazine ''Official Nintendo Magazine'', or ''ONM'', was a British video game magazine that ran from 2006 to 2014 that covered the Nintendo DS, Nintendo 3DS, Wii, and Wii U video game consoles released by Nintendo. Originally published by EMAP as '' ...

'' called it a "brilliant version" of ''Bomberman'' and recommended it over '' Bomberman '93'' on the

Virtual Console A virtual console (VC) – also known as a virtual terminal (VT) – is a conceptual combination of the keyboard and display for a computer user interface. It is a feature of some Unix-like operating systems such as Linux, BSD, illumos, Uni ...

. However, despite the general praise of the online play, they did voice some minor concern about "a few instances" of lag, and also believed some players may be put off by the WiiWare version's focus on multiplayer battling. The magazine also ranked it the 98th best game available on Nintendo platforms. '' IGN'' claimed that despite the lack of innovation and some minor interface hiccups, the game is "a blast to play" and maintains "that classic, addictive quality" from past ''Bomberman'' games.

Sequel

A sequel was announced by Hudson titled '' Bomberman Live: Battlefest'' on WiiWare in 2009. However, the release was cancelled for WiiWare, and released only on Xbox 360 Arcade in 2010.

References

External links

Official Bomberman Blast Website (Japanese)Official Bomberman Blast Website (English)Hudson Entertainment Bomberman Blast Tournament Page (English)Hudson Soft's Bomberman Blast (Wii) Page (Japanese)Hudson Soft's Bomberman Blast (WiiWare) Page (Japanese)
* {{Bomberman 2008 video games Action video games

Blast Blast or The Blast may refer to: *Explosion, a rapid increase in volume and release of energy in an extreme manner *Detonation, an exothermic front accelerating through a medium that eventually drives a shock front Film * ''Blast'' (1997 film), ...

Hudson Soft games Multiplayer and single-player video games Video games developed in Japan Wii-only games Wii Wi-Fi games WiiWare games