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Bomberman Story DS: Reviews

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Game Score: 6/10

Bomberman Story DS
Genre: RPG

Premise (8/10)
Gameplay (5/10)
Visual (4/10)
Audio (7/10)
Appeal (6/10)

Overall (6/10)

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Premise (8/10)
I was really pumped when I found out about this RPG-style Bomberman. It reminded me a lot of Bomberman 64, which I enjoyed quite thoroughly. Basically, this is a great idea; it’s new for the series, and if implemented well, could set new standards for future Bomberman games. There’s a story behind this one, and that you’re Cheerful White of the justice department. I wasn’t too sure how I felt about this… I always got the impression that Bomberman was a lone ranger sort of guy, with no other affiliations, but I was willing to accept the backstory for now. Together with a team of five or so other agents, you’re off to recover stolen goodies!

Gameplay (5/10)
I… was less than impressed. This game held so much promise, but fell entirely short. The gameplay itself is incredibly boring and dull, but somehow still playable. That’s a plus, I guess. There are essentially two parts to the gameplay, and those are the main, dungeon-crawling overhead-view of Bomberman roaming about, and the minigames.

The adventure part is rather easy, which makes the game fun to play, but it gets dull quickly. I was about 75% into the game when I was like “I dun wan play no more”, but I pressed on because it’s against my religion not to finish a game I’ve been so involved in. It’s somewhat similar to Legend of Zelda, in that you’re running around, using bombs to destroy obstacles and enemies (basic AI, but sometimes unpredictable), while going into “dungeons” to fight bosses and rescue the other agents. There’s also a crude experience/level up system that allows you to gain the abilities to lay down more bombs and get more firepower, among other things. In addition, you can get up to 8 different kinds of bombs, but they’re all limited in quantity and you can never seem to find any when you want to, but they’re littered everywhere when you don’t. Fun, but lacking in some respects, especially the monotony. There are some interesting puzzles in the dungeon areas, but they get stale and predictable. Even the save points are predictable. That’s another thing that makes this game so easy: everywhere you look, a save point. You can put money on there being one after a “hard” part in a dungeon, and often times, there are numerous save points in any given area, so if you die, it’s really not that big of a deal.

And there’s the minigame aspect, which implements the stylus. It seems that the game’s developers merely used this as a gimmicky way to incorporate the DS’s touchscreen capabilities. Regardless, it’s entertaining, and there’s more variety here than in adventure mode. Still, the same minigames eventually get recycled and seem to take on meaningless roles. For example, the professor has some information for you. So, you go up, and get it from him, right? NO. WRONG. He forces you to complete some mind-numbing minigame for his entertainment before handing over the goods. Some inane minigames, but if you’re here for entertainment, then you’ll be just that—entertained.

Visual (4/10)
Here’s where the game lacks a bit. Of course you have your classic, luscious-colored environments that make this seem like a kid’s game (all Bomberman games are like this), which is good in that it’s easy on the eyes and not too depressing. The actual graphics, on the other hand… meh. Very blocky and unappealing, reminds me of a GBA game. Fortunately, the game is rather expansive, so maybe there’s some leniency with the in-game graphics. Bomberman himself is also like seven feet tall. What the hell? They designed this guy to look like a goofy, full-grown adult with long arms and legs and an awkward-looking helmet on his head. Not the Bomberman we all know and love. Looks way too much like a real-life person, and is rather off-putting, to say the least. Could have been so much more fluid.

Audio (7/10)
Don’t remember too much about the sounds, but I remember there being some damn nice catchy tunes sprinkled throughout. Mostly cheery and engaging, if not a little repetitive, still making for an enjoyable listening experience. The sound effects aren’t too spectacular, but get the job done, and that’s enough for me.

Appeal (6/10)
I liked this game. I found it fun to play, but at the same time, I couldn’t help but notice all the flaws. You can play through this game in 20-30 hours, and still be entertained the entire time. My advice to you if you’re thinking of playing this game is: only play it if you want something easy and not overly involving… sort of an “in between” game that you could use to break up two lengthier and intense games.

Overall (6/10)
A fun and new way to play Bomberman, albeit a bit easy and rough around the edges.