Bomberman Tournament GBA

Bomberman has been blowing stuff up for well over a decade, and now the seasoned pyrotechnics expert brings his explosive brand of action to Game Boy Advance.

This time around, the volatile veteran finds himself in the middle of an adventure which leads him through five maze-like worlds filled with bizarre little creatures called Karabons. There are 25 of these characters in all, each of which can help Bomberman in a unique way.

Bomberman can build up the strengths of his Karabons, and use them to battle the Karabons of other characters during the game. It's impossible not to compare Karabons with Pokémon, but the similarities don't run very deep. Karabon battles are far less complicated than Pokémon battles. Each owner only uses one Karabon at a time, and all battle strategies are picked before the match begins. You pick three techniques, then sit back and watch as your Karabon dukes it out.

Despite all of this, the bulk of Bomberman Tournament is based on tried and true Bomberman gameplay. Even in the Quest Mode, Bomberman uses various types of bombs to blow up enemies and obstacles. As usual, the challenge lies in carefully blowing up enemies without catching any of the blast yourself.

By far, the best aspect of Bomberman Tournament is its Multiplayer Mode. This is classic Bomberman action at its best, featuring eight battlefields and simultaneous four-player action via the Game Boy Advance Game Link Cable. Bomberman Tournament will be one of the first Game Boy Advance Game Paks to offer a complete multiplayer mode which requires the use of only one Game Pak.

For even more information on Bomberman Tournament, read our interview with the Project Manager of Bomberman Tournament, Hudson Soft's Naoki Nishiya. Go there now by clicking on Developer Info in the upper-right corner of this page.

Last updated on 10 December 2007