The Gritty Bomberman Reboot Nobody Wanted And Everybody Hated
You can't beat a bit of Bomberman. Hudson Soft's explosive arcade game was a smash hit when it launched for the NES in 1985, and went on to spawn an irresponsible number of sequels, spin-offs, ports, and remakes. Every game is slightly different in some way, but in the best ones the core concept always remains the same. You and up to three friends are trapped in a maze together and you have to bomb the shit out of everyone until you're the last one standing. It's one of the best local multiplayer games ever, and has been charming people for decades with its deliciously simple gameplay and bold cartoon art style.
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But in 2006, something happened to Bomberman. Something bad. This was a dark period for the games industry, when publishers were obsessed with things being edgy, cool, and angsty. This spawned games like Shadow the Hedgehog and Jak X, which took established series and tonally shifted them to appeal to nu metal-loving Hot Topic teens. In this cursed era, Fred Durst from Limp Bizkit appeared in multiple games—including a baffling adaptation of Fight Club. It was a strange time, and a cultural wave that has aged poorly. But so powerful was its influence that even Bomberman was swept up in the tsunami.
Bomberman: Act Zero is one of the most misguided reboots in the history of the medium. Hudson Soft decided that its iconic Bomberman character and enemy designs—timeless classics beloved by millions—were no longer good enough. It dramatically redesigned its most successful game to appeal to an emerging audience who seemingly wanted all games to be dark and moody. I don't know if these people actually existed, or they were just a fantasy of coked-up
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