Genre: Action
Developer: HexaDrive
Publisher: Konami

As has been a trend in the game industry over the past decade or so, Super Bomberman R adopts the LittleBigPlanet approach of contrasting real world materials-- glass, wood, metal-- with the surreal which is, in this case, the Bombers! The various enemy characters are so high polygon count that they look as razer sharp as sprites! The dynamic, zooming camera in the single player mode can be a bit distracting, and some of the tile sets-- like in the "brainwave" world-- and multi-tiered stages can be functionally disorienting. But the cool bosses and hip animated sequences more than make up for the deficiencies.

From the Sonic Adventure-like hopeful, melodic riffs of the first world song to the tense, pulsating riffs of the dastardly boss song, Seima Iwahashi and Daisuke Kikuta's soundtrack transports the player straight back to the 90s, when video games actually had real music! While the songs nail things stylistically, on their own merits they are only so-so, lacking in the "memorable" department. The game's voice acting, especially during the animated cut-scenes, is excellent, with the fellow who plays the permanently-sleepy "blue" putting in an especially strong shift.

From the basic approach of the Famicom and PC Engine originals, to the 32-bit iterations, which saw crazy elements like minecarts, Super Bomberman R falls somewhere in the middle in terms of complexity; there are very few dynamic elements to the stages save the occasional moving platform-- but many of the boards have ramps and multiple levels. The player input isn't quite as crisp as the classic Bomberman titles, unfortunately. There are, however, a slew of unlockable "boss" bombers that can drop special types of bombs, which are unique to their character.

Super Bomberman R's single player mode-- which can be enjoyed with a second player via co-op-- is surprisingly attractive, because the player earns coins for each successful world completion, which can be ground in order to purchase special stages, plus the aforementioned boss bombers. The multiplayer is as excellent as it's ever been, and this rendition of the game supports a full eight players, across two separate systems! On the balance, Super Bomberman R does nothing to move the series forward, and it doesn't have as many options as the 16-bit era entries-- but considering how long Hudson's classic has been dormant, the Switch provides an ideal avenue for the Bombers to make their pleasantly unexpected resurrection.