Nintendo Entertainment System (JP, US)
MSX (JP)
Rupo (JP)
Famicom Disk System (JP)
Game Boy Advance (JP, US, EU, AU)
Traditional (defeat all enemies)
1
Hudson Soft
20 December 1985 (JP)
Apr 1986 (JPN)
Hudson Soft
BC-M7
4,800￥
BeeCard
sleeve case
manual
バクダンをセッ トして風船オバケたちを爆破!!
迷路にかくされた宝物を奪え。
Lay bombs and blow up the balloon ghosts! Plunder the maze's hidden treasure.
This game boasts a different title, as well as differences to its level layouts, bonus items, and other minutiae. However, graphics and sound quality are reduced, and the scrolling camera is replaced with flip-screen scrolling.
An unlicensed port of this version was made for Sega SG-1000 in Taiwan.
1987? (JPN)
Hudson Soft
T-W006
6,000￥
3.5" floppy disc
box
...?
The only known documentation of this game comes from
The game is adapted for the word processor's monochrome widescreen display, able to show the entire 29x11 stage with no camera scrolling, with ample room on the right for the HUD.
Until the game is emulated or further investigated, that's all we know!
Jan 1989 (USA)
Hudson Soft USA
NES-BM-USA
Bomberman is a robot engaged in the production of bombs. Like his fellow robots, he had been put to work in an underground compound at the center of the Earth. Bomberman found it to be an unbearably dreary existence.
One day, he learned that any robot escaping from the centre of the Earth and make it to the surface will become human. Bomberman jumped at the opportunity. Alerted to Bomberman's betrayal, large numbers of enemy characters were sent out in pursuit.
Bomberman can only rely on bombs of his own production for his defense. Will he ever make it up to the surface? Once there, will he really become human?
A game that could be written to a rewritable disk at a Disk Writer kiosk, filling one side of a two-sided Famicom Disk Card.
This version is identical to the Famicom game; no disk swapping or load times required!
2 June 2004 (USA)
Nintendo
AGB-P-FBME
$19.99 [src]
cartridge
box (front / back)
manual
Nintendo VIP flyer
Play the original bomb-droppin' Classic NES game for the Game Boy Advance!
Bomberman's innovative fusion of rapid-fire action and calculating strategy redefined the overhead action genre and made the bomb-making robot a household name. Now you can play the explosively innovative Classic NES game on your Game Boy Advance! Deep below the surface of the earth, Bomberman toiled for years under evil taskmasters, but now he's planning a daring escape! Drop bombs to blow up ruthless enemies, demolish walls, and make a break for freedom!
* src: PLAY issue #118, GameStation advertisement
9 July 2004 (EUR, AUS)
Nintendo
AGB-P-FBMP
£14.99 *
cartridge
box (front / back)
manual
Nintendo VIP.com flyer
Play the original bomb-droppin' Classic NES game for the Game Boy Advance! Bomberman's innovative fusion of rapid-fire action and calculating strategy redefined the overhead action genre! Now you can play the explosively innovative Classic NES game on your Game Boy Advance! Deep underground Bomberman toiled for years under evil taskmasters, but now he's planning to escape! Drop bombs to blow up ruthless enemies, demolish walls, and make a break for freedom!
The first time this game saw an official release in European regions.
The Famicom version was also included in Hudson Best Collection Volume 1: Bomberman Collection and Super Bomberman Collection.
In addition, unique ports were also included as part of
Bomber Boy,
Bomberman (PS1),
Bobobo-bo Bo-bobo Bakutou Hajike Taisen, and
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Where it all began, at least to most people! Before the multi-player and fast-paced battles, this lays out the fundamentals: bombs, bricks, and baddies. Bomb them all to find the exit. Do it again for fifty levels. Sound like a good time?
As a rejuvenation of the original home computer game, this is the source of many of the series' staples in their most recognisable form. This is the debut of Bomberman's iconic character design (albeit lifted from Hudson's port of Lode Runner), the introduction of power-up item panels as a concept, and the debut of Onil, Pontan, and the rest of the legacy enemies that aren't shaped like balloons.
In Japan, the game was among the rush of third-party output released in the Famicom's third year, and seemingly served a happy middle-ground between familiar arcade ports and new ventures. Reported to have sold "nearly 1 million", its penchant for secrets (intentional or otherwise, courtesy of its notorious no-fail-safe password system) made it a staple of reader discussion in magazines for at least a year, and its methodical gameplay earned it fans across all age ranges. Between its original Famicom release, ports to home computers, and a discount reissue on Famicom Disk System, it's a game that clearly benefited from being visible and easily accessible.
In North America, meanwhile, the game would not arrive on shelves until early 1989 (after the release of its quasi-successor Robo-Warrior!), by which point its graphics, gameplay, and overall pacing were seen as a little antiquated. Games on NES were becoming bigger and more dynamic, or at least had some manner of 2-player mode to add value, and those are not qualities you can say of NES Bomberman...! If this game has a reputation in English-speaking circles, it's incredulity that the series once existed without a battle mode.
This entry maintains a legacy in its home country, often cited as the one retro game many people still play to this day. It has been regarded with some reverence within Hudson Soft, everything from its graphics to its soundscape heralded as iconic, with particular accolades given to musician Jun Chikuma (who would serve as the series' staple musician for the next decade-plus) and its single-handed development by programmer Shinichi Nakamoto. For all the series' advancements, there are some who regard this one above the rest, a sentiment expressed by Nakamoto himself: "I personally believe that the Famicom version of Bomberman is the one and only version of the game". [src: Edge Magazine (issue 17)]
The story and ending of this game ties into Lode Runner, another Hudson product. Although not exactly a Bomberman game, it's included on the site for completism regarding the series' history (and for shits and giggles).
Although rarely acknowledged, the very first Bomberman game was actually Bomberman (or Bakudan Otoko), on the MSX and other computers.
There are many, many guidebooks centred on or include Bomberman; if it's released before 1990, it probably mentions this one! Coverage can also be found in Bomberman Big Encyclopedia and Bomberman Maniax.
Multiple manga are based on this game. If it's at the top of the "other manga" list, it's probably about this one!
Notable merchandise related to this game includes more than one keshigomu figurine, BOXLEBEL keychains, ".S" building toys, and more.
