Virtual Bomberman

Famicom Space World '95 flyer Developer(s): Hudson Soft Publisher(s): Hudson Soft Platform(s): Virtual Boy Release date(s): Unreleased

Planned: February 29, 1996 Genre(s): Action, maze, strategy Mode(s): Single player



Virtual Bomberman (バーチャルボンバーマン bācharu bonbāman) is an unreleased video game developed by Hudson Soft. It was slated for release on the Virtual Boy.

Story

Original Japanese:

突如現われた ゴッドボンバーとは何者! 前作でボンバー星雲を救い、束の間の休息をとろうと していたボンハーマン。しかし、その願いも空しく、 俄に出現した謎の戦士ゴットボンバー。敵か味方か? 究極の機獣神を従えて戦いを挑むゴッドボンバーでは あったが、その瞳はひどく悲しいほど深く,そして何故だかとて も澄んでいた。いくつかの謎を残こしながらも今、またもや戦い の火ぶたは切って落とされた。 [1] の火ぶたは切って落とされた。

Translation:

Who is this God Bomber who suddenly appeared!? After saving Bomber Nebula in the previous game, Bomberman was trying to take a moment of rest. But his hope was in vain, for suddenly the mysterious warrior God Bomber appeared. Is he a friend or a foe? The ultimate beast machine god God Bomber brings a challenge of battle, but with a deep sadness in his eyes for reasons unclear. While some mysteries are left, once again a blazing battle commences.

Screenshots from the game's opening cinema depict God Bomber arriving at Earth.

Cancellation

Virtual Bomberman was originally announced for a December 1995 release on the Virtual Boy console.[2] By the time it was unveiled at Famicom Space World '95, its release date was pushed back to February 29, 1996. Like many other Virtual Boy games at the time, it was quietly shelved when support for the console itself was ended, due to its overall failure in the market.

The only currently known source of information on this game comes from a flyer that was available at Famicom Space World '95.

Gameplay

God Bomber, Bomberman, and the five armours.

As depicted in screenshots, Virtual Bomberman was intended to be a traditional grid-based Bomberman game. Making use of the Virtual Boy's hardware, parallax stages and backgrounds and 3D characters would have appeared. Bomberman himself would have been given more personality, expressing a wide range of emotions to connect with the player.

The game would have featured two modes: the Normal Game and the Challenge Mode. In the Normal Game, each stage would have contained two floors. Bomberman would need to jump up and down between floors in order to pass obstacles such as ravines and possibly drop objects down. Each stage would also contain hidden points that would take Bomberman to a special Battle Game, in which he would fight God Bomber.

There were planned to be at least five stages in the Normal Game. Each stage would have contained an armour: Diibo, Rick, Lock-On Armor, Ninjirou, and Launcher Armor, in order. As detailed in the flyer, each of these armours would have been given a special ability and a charged ability. All of these abilities match the armours' powers as seen in the later game Bomberman World.

In the Challenge Mode, the goal would be to clear a specific stage within a time limit (given a choice between a 2- or 5-minute mode) while getting the highest score possible. Then, the player would be given a rank, from "idiot bomber" to "god bomber". No other details on this mode are given.

Bomberman World Connections

Many elements present in the previews of Virtual Bomberman later made appearances in the PlayStation game Bomberman World.

The Challenge Mode and its time settings appeared as the Challenge Game in Bomberman World .

. The five armours were carried over into the later game. The only notable difference is in the name and appearance of Tiibo, who appears as a white creature named Diibo in the flyer.

God Bomber's name and likeness were carried over into the final boss of Bomberman World , a robot named God Header that transforms into a humanoid robot named God Bomber.

, a robot named God Header that transforms into a humanoid robot named God Bomber. The blue crystal Bomberman is holding as depicted in the flyer bears great resemblance to the blue crystals he must collect in each stage of Bomberman World.

Toys

Although the game was never released, a keshi of God Bomber was released.

Gallery

Planet Virtual Boy - Contains high-quality scans of the Virtual Bomberman flyer.

References

↑ Virtual Bomberman Famicom Space World '95 promotional flyer, Hudson Soft, 1995. ↑ Planet Virtual Boy (2016). Virtual Bomberman. Retrieved 13 November 2016. (2016).. Retrieved 13 November 2016.



