Super Bomberman R Nintendo Switch Review

After having spent some time playing around with the new Nintendo Switch console, there isn’t much to choose from as far as launch titles. However, one thing I can say is although Nintendo may be lacking in quantity of titles, they never lack in quality. Nevertheless, the addicting style of play is a much welcome addition and is a match-made-in-heaven title for the Switch.

There are many ways to play and that is partially what makes this game so appealing. It can be played while portable or while docked and supports up to four players locally and eight players online. There’s so much to love about Super Bomberman R and it continues to stick to a simple, yet fun, formula.

If you’ve never played a Bomberman title, you are in for a treat, especially for noobs or casual gamers that loved Pac-Man. Instead of munching down dots, your character runs around an arena-like maze placing bombs throughout levels to defeat pesky foes. In the process, you will come to find that blowing up walls will reveal hidden power-ups that one can use to become faster, make bomb explosions bigger and eventually discover all kinds of gems that will allow you to decimate the competition. I can’t reiterate enough that this game is extremely simple and easy to pick up and once you do, you may have discovered the ultimate party game.

With its tight corners, exasperating enemies and narrow escapes, Super Bomberman R is a game that no matter how hard you try, is extremely difficult to put down. It contains over 50 stages with a fun storyline and cartoon-ish cutscenes. Although the cutscenes were fun to watch at first, I was glad to find out after pressing the “plus” or “minus” button on your Joy-Con, you can skip them to get straight to the action. As you play through each level, after every ten, you’ll be faced with a major boss fight. The fights aren’t too daunting, but they can get annoying after being owned by the same cheap moves each boss dishes out.

The visuals were somewhat a disappointment considering the fact that I just completed Zelda: Breath of the Wild. It’s nowhere comparable, but that isn’t the end all, be all. However, it is kind of weird to see a new title on a respectfully powerful Nintendo console sport pixelated power-up icons, dated CGI cutscenes and average character models. The voice acting was like watching an episode of Blaze and the Monster Machines, which needless to say, is not a compliment if you've ever watched one. I felt like there were a few missed opportunities for Konami to really put some love into a game that deserves a much-needed upgrade.

Multiplayer battle-mode is where this game shines the most. It caters to every gamers style and is an absolute blast to play. There is such an ungodly amount of ways to play, one can only imagine the possibilities for future Switch titles. There are two ways to play: on the tablet or Television. You can play two players in co-op story mode on the tablet using the left and right Joy-Cons or Pro Controllers. Even though it might be cramped for visual space, the game can support up to four players on a single tablet and eight while docked (yes, eight controllers). If you just so happen to partner up with seven other players that have a Switch, you can even play up to eight players online via Wi-Fi. While playing online, (if you can find a match) there were a few issues with lag. There are eight maps available from the jump, unless you unlock more (variants) using the wonky credits system which was my only complaint.

Super Bomberman R is easily one of the most addicting games on the Nintendo Switch, especially considering its versatility, but it’s hard to justify its price point at $49.99. In retrospect, it just seems a little steep for an arcade-style game, when just last year Bomberman Live became available on the Xbox One via backwards compatibility for merely $9.99. Ouch. That hurts Konami.

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Tao Dawkins, NoobFeed
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