Back in the middle ages of gaming when Sega Saturn was still visible in the market, there was an underdog title among us called Saturn Bomberman. Extremely addictive, simplistic design and gameplay, and an out of this world multiplayer experience stole the heart of myself and many who played the game. Since then, many new Bomberman titles have hit the market, but none have been able to compare to the standards set by Saturn Bomberman…until now. Bomberman Generations, only for Nintendo GameCube, is perhaps the most complete and fulfilling Bomberman title yet, even surpassing Saturn Bomberman in terms of both lasting appeal and flat out addictive gameplay. Yes my friends, Bomberman is back.

The game begins with an opening cut scene that obviously tells the background story, and sets the basic idea of your overall mission. In brief, a ship containing six crystals of immense power has been attacked, scattering the crystals throughout on a nearby planet. Bomberman's mission, if he chooses to accept, will be to recover the six crystals before all of the evil goons can get their hands on them. The opening cut scene is a corny Japanese translation that makes your bones shutter every time you hear the word "unfathomable," but it doesn't ruin your impression of the game, and of course, it doesn't effect the gameplay. You start off by being given the option to begin in either one of three worlds the game offers (desert, ocean, and forest) on the main planet. You also have the option of switching from world to world on the options screen. This handy little feature will allow you to take a break from levels that you are stuck in, or just flat out don't feel like playing at the moment. Each of the three worlds is broken up into different stages that you must individually beat. You can expect to face a boss every three stages, and about two bosses per world. Through out each stage, your friend the professor will help guide you through tough situations via a fancy watch that Bomberman carries.

Controlling Bomberman is very easy and straightforward. You move him around with the analog stick and lay bombs down with the A-button. Other than these two, there are other odd end commands that are performed by pressing different buttons, but the main premise of the game is with the A-button and analog stick. Bomberman Generations offers a full 360-degree rotating camera system that is controlled using the two shoulder buttons. The camera can get confusing at times though, especially since the game takes place in a 3D overhead view. What adds on to the wonderful world of Bomberman Generations is the ability to perform several other functions with the continued use of the analog stick and A-button; such as kicking a bomb, picking up a bomb, throwing a bomb, and charging up a bomb for maximum destruction. It really shows that Hudson tried to make the game simple yet not to simplistic at the same time to attract older gamers.

The puzzles elements in the game will seem very uncomplicated at first, but will of course pick up in both difficulty and size. They will start off as simple as placing a bomb next to a boulder so the explosion will roll the boulder into a stream creating a water block. A more difficult puzzle would be blowing up ten key stones to reveal a key that will unlock a door that leads to a button that opens a passage that leads to another key…etc, etc. There are new bomb powers at your disposal as well. Placed in different stages, gamers will find portals that lead to mini-games, and if you conquer the game, you get the element of the world that you can merge separately with your bombs to create new bombs. Though the mini-games are pretty simplistic, you still have to search the world for a bomb merging station where you can properly create your fancy new fire bomb or ice bomb.

Hudson took yet another step in making Bomberman Generations an excellent title by introducing Charaboms. Charaboms are Pokemon like creatures that help individual attributes of your bombs. A certain Charabom for instance, will allow you to kick your bomb really far, while a different Charabom will allow you to throw your bomb much further than normal. Through out the worlds, you will find food and power-ups for your Charabom that makes them stronger for the always welcomed Charabom battles. In order to gain a new Charabom, you must beat that specific Charabom you are trying to capture in battle. You choose three strategies such as defensive or attack, and then the battle begins. The Charabom with the least amount HP or no HP at all looses, but be ready because the further into the game you are, the stronger the Charabom get.