Bomberman
Phantasy Race |
| Sony
Playstation |
Japan |
1-2
Players |
Expected
on August 06, 1998 |
| In
the beginning, there was a maze. Inside this maze, there lived four men. These men had
bombs and their goals were simple. |
| That was then. Hudson made history
in those early years of the PC-Engine with their world beating Bomberman game. Since the
simple days, Hudson has added features and extensions to the popular license. Floater
bombs, land mines, the ability to pick up bombs, etc were all added in later Bomberman
games. In the past year, Hudson has decided to take their fabled Bomberman to brave new
worlds. While not all variants of the license have succeeded, they have set BMan as a
versatile character in the lines of Sonic and Mario who transcends the years and comes up
fresh. The latest direction that Bomberman goes into is a 3-D racing game in the style of
Mario Kart that takes the characters, atop their familiar kangaroos and dragons as they
race down tracks. Like the characters from Mario Kart, these Bomberman come equipped with
their special items and attacks. In this case, an unending arsenal of bombs that they can
lay down, throw, and kick as they speed down tracks in pursuit of the finish line. In our
first two pictures to the right, our white Bomberman rides Fatty Roo, the jolly green
kangaroo that rolls through races with a steady gait. Just make sure that you don't hit
anything if you don't want Fatty Roo to collapse. Other kangaroos such as Soccer Roo and
Bouncer Roo return as well five dragons (blue, yellow, purple, pink and green) and are
selectable as your mounted steeds. Sadly, Boxer Roo, the punching kangaroo nuisance, will
not return in this racing game. In all, six core Bomberman characters are selectable and
ten riding 'roos and dragons are mountable. |
| The tracks in Phantasy Race consist
of straightaways, winding highway roads and expansive locales with simple background
scenery. The race is the heart of the game but the ability to bomb your opponent out of
contention is a savory twist that should appeal to Bomberman fans who now get the chance
to engage in a racing variant. In the photo to the right, a mini-field of landmines with
the potential to roast and toast awaits the careless rider. |
| In addition to the standard 1
player screen, Phantasy Race also features a horizontal split screen where 2 players can
ride at the same time. The quality of the split screen is good with little character
distortion or scrunching up of each player's portion of the screen. The speed of the
overall game is retained in the split screen mode with no performance issues. NCS was
disappointed with the last Bomberman venture, Bomberman Wars, but looks at Phantasy Race
with renewed hope that Hudson can win back fans and support in their new excursions into
the Bomberman world. We just hope that we haven't seen the last of good, plain, 2-D style
Bomberman action. The Saturn version still sells very well and we occasionally receive
e-mail from satisfied survivors of 10 player Bomberman bouts. National Console expects
delivery of Bomberman Phantasy Race on August 06 and pre-orders are now welcome. |
| NCS'
thoughts and views of Bomberman Phantasy Race are based on a preview demo disc of the
game. The final retail version may differ. NCS will update this information in our Daily
Journals as the release date nears. |
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