Super Bomberman R is a multiplayer game in which you lay bombs and try to take out your opponents in a closed arena. The game has had a large multiplayer following for the past 20+ years, but for the Nintendo Switch version, there is a single-player adventure for those gamers who are new to the Bomberman series.
General Gameplay
As with any Bomberman game, winning is all about the multiplayer and how quickly can you “bomb out” your opponents in the level. With Super Bomberman R, The Nintendo Switch version has the multiplayer game play as well a new single player element, plus the local co-op/multiplayer where players can use the Joy Cons to play both the multiplayer and the co-op adventure on the same console. The single player portion is designed to help newer players better understand how to play the game as well what each of the power-ups do. Think of it being a 5-hour long adventure that is also the game’s tutorial.
Audio
The audio cues from the game are done well. From the background music, to explosions and even voice audio acting, the sounds are very clear from both the Switch console, surround sound and television speakers. There is no offensive language, so parents have nothing to worry about in regard to younger gamers playing the game. The game’s audio voice-over work is more of a cartoon-style of audio that you would see on Cartoon Network or the Nickelodeon channel. The in-game voice audio is more comical than anything, so this is a very family-friendly game. When playtesting the game, the sound was clear through headphones from the Switch gaming console. As always, parents, please use caution and monitor your gaming families extended used of headphones.
Visuals
Visuals for the game are colorful and vivid. You can easily see the characters in the multiplayer settings, however, in the single-player setting that is another issue. The single-player view is in somewhat of an isometric viewing angle so it can showcase the level design, however, by using this perspective it does make it more difficult to see objects and items, and even during our playtest where you are moving. Due to the nature of how you play, and having to see where the blast radius will be, it is important to be able to see obstruction-free where you will be moving, and it at times for us was harder to see. In the game, because of the nature of the game’s battle arena, the game literally has to condense itself to accommodate the other players shown on the screen, so this may be an issue for people playing from the Switch screen itself. On a larger screen, such as 42” or larger, this is not an issue. As the colors are vivid in the game, we did notice that some our family gaming members did have a harder time seeing the colors, which made it harder for them to see all of the action. The game does not support a colorblind mode, so parents/gamers, you may want to adjust the settings to match your viewing needs. During our playtest we did not see anything offensive on-screen in the game that would not be appropriate for younger gamers; the only thing that we saw was the blast explosions in the game but that was all that we felt may be a concern.
Controls
Super Bomberman R’s controls are very smooth, both on the Joy Cons and on the Pro Controller. The game has the left stick to move, the “lay bomb” button and an action button to either kick or punch the bomb away. The game’s setup allows gamers to easily grasp the controller and just pick up and play the game. During our playtest we did not see any issues with the controller or even controls of the game. The only thing that we did see is that after a long session with just using one Joy Con, some of our gaming family’s hands got tired. Parents, be aware that in order to play with more than 2 players on Super Bomberman R, that only two-player, local co-op is allowed per console; you can play via local connection up to 8 players (2 per Switch) or two players on the same screen vs online gamers.
“Super Bomberman R is a great return of a great series, the multiplayer is a blast and the couch co-op adventure is a great ride.”
Delivery
If you are into heavy online play, and/or an overall fun party game for 2 or more players, then Super Bomberman R is a great game to have. The game is a fun game to play online, as it was meant to be an 8-person bomb-fest. Because of the limitations, we did not get a chance to play the local, 8-player multiplayer, but in watching others who did, they had no issues with lag or slowdown when playing on a local connection. The single-player mode of the game is a great tool for people new to the series, but for seasoned people looking for a good single-player story, you will not find much in this game. Super Bomberman R it is geared toward those who love multiplayer gaming.
Family Friendly
Super Bomberman R is a family friendly fun game in the multiplayer aspect, however the single player of the game is somewhat repetitive or tedious for those who are already familiar with the original Bomberman. If you’ve never played any Bomberman games before, then you would find the single-player fun, however, what we saw in our playtesting is that the single-player levels are somewhat repetitive after the 2nd world. It’s the same formula of bomb, clear the stage and repeat for several more levels before going into the boss level (which is the only change of pace in the single-player game). Where Bomberman’s strength lies is in its ability to be a great multiplayer game on the console for both local gameplay and online. The truth is that most, if not everyone in our gaming family, loved playing the game in multiplayer mode, and for the single-player saw it as a glorified tutorial to teach you how to play the game. This is not a bad thing, as it will teach new players how to play, but we felt that the time and energy in game development could have been focused solely on online and local co-op multiplayer, rather than introducing the single-player mode. We did like how the single-player story was aimed towards being more family-friendly, but it just did not hold our gaming family’s attention, and most just skipped the story anyway. The game is not a violent game (even the explosions are meant to be done in a comical way to showcase the action) and during our playtest we did not see anything that would be offensive or be questionable for any gaming family member. Parents/Caregivers, this is a great local co-op multiplayer for your family, and we feel that it would be a good game to have in your Nintendo Switch digital library.
Closing
With the same great formula that makes Bomberman, Super Bomberman R is a great game, but don’t expect too many surprises from the single-player mode.
Good
- Multiplayer is a solid fun
- Very easy to introduce new gamers to Bomberman
- Single Player is a great way to learn how to play the game
- The couch co-op mode, for the adventure, is greater than the original Bomberman
Bad
- Some lag when online
- Adventure mode at times can get repetitive
- Some boss modes were either very easy or very hard
