Did you know that one of gaming's icons turned 30 this year? Which one you may ask?
This dude right here:
Yep, starting from Eric and the Floaters on the MSX/ZX Spectrum in 1983, Bomberman has lasted 30 years. Younger than Pac-Man and that one Italian guy, but still older than most of the "Classic" series people cherish today. Yet there were no bells or whistles. No game released, no merchandise, nothing. This is a series that has had two animes, mangas up the Wazoo, helped start a toy franchise that's still in the US today (B-Daman. Seriously, the series has origins in Bomberman) and so many games it puts various other game series to shame. So it isn't like this is some obscure backwater series here, this is the mascot for a former console maker (Hudson Soft). So why is it that no one noticed until now?
Well, I have a theory. One that doesn't boil down to Konami being a dick. Without looking, name me a Bomberman character other than the one I just posted. Can't do it?
Here's some of the recurring characters in the series:
Mujoe on the left is a 45-year old professional Wrestler. Mechadoc (imaginative name, huh?) is on the right. They're obscuring the HigeHige bandits, a lackey group of robot frog... things.
Honey and Kotetsu. Two of Bomberman's friends. They have a master/disciple thing going on and show up from time to time.
The Rooies. Your mounts in many games and cameo fodder in many others. And many, many more.
So what's the theory? Bomberman is one of the only franchises where the gameplay is more popular than the characters. This basically is a ticket to laziness on a devs part, as you can just put some clothes on a basic model, stick them in a top-down view and off you go. You barely need any effort, yet even with this helpful shortcut, games haven't gotten made in this series for 3+ years. There have been canceled attempts at games, and increasingly bizarre mobile crossovers, but nothing truly substantial. It's sort of disappointing that not even Konami's janitorial staff can whip up a Bomberman anniversary title for Steam/PS4/X1/WiiU, especially with the fact that series hates moving forward.
But perhaps I'm overthinking it. But when the entire fanbase can be condensed to their own little corner, it's hard not to wonder if Konami is wrong for not letting it grow, or right for preventing it from being ruined by mainstream fanbase mentality.
This dude right here:
Yep, starting from Eric and the Floaters on the MSX/ZX Spectrum in 1983, Bomberman has lasted 30 years. Younger than Pac-Man and that one Italian guy, but still older than most of the "Classic" series people cherish today. Yet there were no bells or whistles. No game released, no merchandise, nothing. This is a series that has had two animes, mangas up the Wazoo, helped start a toy franchise that's still in the US today (B-Daman. Seriously, the series has origins in Bomberman) and so many games it puts various other game series to shame. So it isn't like this is some obscure backwater series here, this is the mascot for a former console maker (Hudson Soft). So why is it that no one noticed until now?
Well, I have a theory. One that doesn't boil down to Konami being a dick. Without looking, name me a Bomberman character other than the one I just posted. Can't do it?
Here's some of the recurring characters in the series:
Mujoe on the left is a 45-year old professional Wrestler. Mechadoc (imaginative name, huh?) is on the right. They're obscuring the HigeHige bandits, a lackey group of robot frog... things.
So what's the theory? Bomberman is one of the only franchises where the gameplay is more popular than the characters. This basically is a ticket to laziness on a devs part, as you can just put some clothes on a basic model, stick them in a top-down view and off you go. You barely need any effort, yet even with this helpful shortcut, games haven't gotten made in this series for 3+ years. There have been canceled attempts at games, and increasingly bizarre mobile crossovers, but nothing truly substantial. It's sort of disappointing that not even Konami's janitorial staff can whip up a Bomberman anniversary title for Steam/PS4/X1/WiiU, especially with the fact that series hates moving forward.
But perhaps I'm overthinking it. But when the entire fanbase can be condensed to their own little corner, it's hard not to wonder if Konami is wrong for not letting it grow, or right for preventing it from being ruined by mainstream fanbase mentality.
