Bomberman (1983 video game)

Bomberman
Developer(s)	Hudson Soft
Publisher(s)	Hudson Soft , Sinclair Research Ltd (Spectrum, UK) , Paraninfo Soft (Spectrum, Spain), Nintendo (Game Boy Advance)
Platform(s)	MSX, ZX Spectrum, NEC PC-6001, NEC PC-8801,Sharp MZ-700, FM-7, Famicom/NES, TurboGrafx, Game Boy Advance
Release	1983 (MSX, ZX Spectrum, FM-7, PC-6001/8801, Sharp MZ-700) December 20, 1985 (JA, Famicom) 1987 (US, NES) 1990 (TurboGrafx) 2004 (Game Boy Advance)
Genre(s)	Arcade/Maze/Strategy
Mode(s)	Single player

Bomberman is an arcade-style maze-based video game developed by Hudson Soft. It was first released in 1983 for the MSX, NEC PC-8801, NEC PC-6001, Sharp MZ-700 and FM-7 in Japan, and for the ZX Spectrum in Europe (under the English language title Eric and the Floaters, Spanish Don Pepe Y Los Globos). In the game, a character named Bomberman wandered around a maze with enemies scattered around it, and in order to get to the next maze, he had to find a door concealed under a block, which must be blasted away with a bomb. At the same time, he has to avoid the enemies.

There are items that can help improve Bomberman's bombs, such as the Fire ability, which improves the blast range of his bombs. The game was the first in the Bomberman franchise and is considered the origin of the series.

The game was subsequently ported to the Famicom and released in Japan on December 20, 1985, arriving for the U.S. Nintendo Entertainment System in 1987. This version would later define Bomberman's more famous design, a robotic anime-like character with a pink antenna. In 2004, this version of Bomberman was re-released for the Game Boy Advance, part of the Classic NES Series.

Screenshots

• ZX Spectrum (as Eric and the Floaters)
  ZX Spectrum (as Eric and the Floaters)
• NES
  NES

External links

• Bomber Man entry at Generation-MSX
• Eric and the Floaters at SpectrumComputing.co.uk
• Eric and the Floaters review by Sinclair User
• Bomberman at MobyGames

References

• Top Secret Passwords Nintendo Player's Guide.
• Bomberman Operation Manual, NES-BM-USA, Hudson Soft USA.