Bomberman is a staple character on most videogame platforms. In every case, the Bomberman battle mode varied in power-ups and gameplay. While some battle modes have proven to be better than others, Bomberman Tournament for the Game Boy Advance definitely high with one of the best battle modes – not to mention a nifty one-player quest mode.
Bomberman Tournament excels in its Battle Mode by keeping it simple. All the basic power-ups are here – extra bombs, added fire, speed, kick bombs, and throw bombs. The arenas are some of the best thanks to some re-used concepts from Super Bomberman for the SNES. The full-powered bomb arena is back, along with arenas with conveyer belts and warps. Everything is classic Bomberman battle action. Four players can link up with one game pack, and as always the defeated Bombermen can take revenge into their hands by tossing bombs into the arena.
There are loading times within the multi-link set up process in the Battle Mode, but nothing too extreme. Still it’s something players could do without. Fortunately, there’s absolutely no lag during gameplay, so bombing friends is every bit as fast as before.
Players who win a battle will get to fish for items in a fishing game. If an item is fished out, the player will be equipped with it in the next battle.
The Quest Mode is a Bomberman RPG/adventure. Bomberman will have to speak with townspeople to find out what they need, and find it by bombing through an accompanying area. Bomberman will need medicine and armor upgrades, just like a traditional RPG. Bomberman can also pick up Karabons, creatures with Fire, Water, Earth, and Electric capabilities. Karabons can aid you with a special attack in Quest Mode, or they can be used in Colleseum battles to earn gold. All Karabons have different attributes and two can be fused together to form one with all attributes.
The sights and sounds in Bomberman are pretty standard. Bomberman was never a series to “wow” with graphics, but the Bomberman Tournament does a decent job of making everything colorful and bright. The sprites animate well and all the tunes are pretty catchy.
Bomberman Tournament is an excellent multiplayer and single player experience. Fans looking for either won’t be disappointed.
