ONM Remembered – #97
“LIGHT THE FUSE AND STAND WELL BACK!”
from N64 Pro issue 4 (February 1998)
What else could it be? This amusing little ad appeared in a couple of mags at the time, spread across two pages, and was probably one of my first experiences with the little white and blue terrorist.
All the Nintendo magazines were sort-of-but-not-really hyped about the upcoming game, which meant lots of previews, in-depth features and other snippets to get me chewing at the bit for it. I’d never even known of the series before, but I was excited like you wouldn’t believe. My brother and I were churning out all sorts of outrageous fanart and fanfiction to tide us over ’til the game’s release, including a lavishly-copied recreation of the first episode of Robotech… with Bombermen. It’s all gratefully lost to time, though.
Being my intro the series, I’ve a big soft spot for Bomberman 64… even though the game is hokey as all hell. It’s got some really lovely sprawling levels, but over half the area space is dedicated solely to bonus items, and there’s little to no direction regarding your objective. There’s some really inventive usage of bombs for exploration and puzzle solving, but the game is way too touchy to pull them off comfortably or consistently. I have warm memories of the game, and respect it in a lot of ways… but holy cow, replaying it can be an ordeal.
It did act as a jumping-on point for myself and a lot of other fans, and while its reception remains a bit iffy, it’s still widely popular in the fanart and fanfiction circles… so mission accomplished, I guess!
