I am so stoked, you guys, you don't even realize. I had bought the two PAL PS2 bomberman games available and had been unable to do more than look at the manuals, and play them at 1/2 the speed in the emulator. I researched the various methods of playing the games on my fat body PS2, and finally decided on a flip top. Last week it arrived, I installed the top, and have been busy over the weekend getting everything ship shape. The noise/vibration of the disc spinning without the normal parts keeping it in check was a bit much before I figured out that the fliptop's door was not weighed down enough, and putting something light on it such as a box of tissue works great. The only downside was I somehow jammed my reset button but I never use reset anyways.

Thanks to the magic of the Swap Magic discs, emulators for the PS2, and some burning, I have an amazing Bomberman machine ready to play and take wherever I need. The most important thing was getting my original discs of the PAL games to play. To do this I ripped ISOs from my own games, and patched them to convert to NTSC and fix the Y position so less of the screen was cut off on the bottom. I am trying out games I could not play before, which is making me want to buy them even more than before. Now that I know what they play like, dropping $50 on them or whatever is not so lame.



Bomberman Hardball is better than I hoped it would be. Baseball is really entertaining to play with someone else, and it was actually the first thing my wife and I played after I forced BattleMode on her. lol She beat me by a few runs, and two strokes in golf the first time we played it together last night. I am seriously slow to run after the ball in Tennis, though it could be the traits of my character. I need another memory card so I can start saving all the points I earn for buying items out of the gumball machine in Life Mode though.  



I appreciate Bomberman Kart a lot, as I am a sucker for kart racers. It looks and plays much like a hybrid cross between Mario Kart, Diddy Kong Racing, misc Rare platformers, and SNES Street Racers. The colors are just amazing, and the courses are actually fun to drive on. For me anyways.


Bomberman Kart DX is pretty cool overall. My wife managed to blow her kart up at one point due to engine issues, and I cannot help but send the car over the edge of cliffs.


DreamMix TV World Fighters is more fun than I imagined it would be, seeing as I never got into Smash Bros. big time, just never did.



The content between menus and such is as good as the gameplay to me. Who wouldn't enjoy hilarious little things like this? Mujoe tying up the gal MC in Japanese bondage ropes. A+ for adult humor in a children friendly game. :) I zoomed in on a TV behind the MCs as they ramble, as you see.



Sega Genesis games are available with PGEN at the very least, the first emu I have tried to play on it. Both Mega Bomberman and the 8 player demo from Factor 5 work. Of course the glitches in their playable demo are present, as they are in PC emus. I expect multiple controllers to work as well, at least two, despite only trying that in the SNES emu so far. Four player would be nice. :)


Last, but not least, I also gave the SNES/SFC emulator SNES Station a go. I tried all of the Bomberman roms and they all ran properly. Only slight hitching in the audio and video are present, whereas some PC emus will not run all of the roms without worse issues. Two players worked, so now I need to find my multiplayer adapter and try four.

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Anything noteworthy about battle mode?


Rare platformers? How so?


Oh God the horror!  

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Metroid: Other M - As in "There's the good Metroid games... we chose to do one of some Other Make altogether."

Edit Do you mean battlemode racing or battlemode tossing bombs at each other? This has both and I am guessing you mean the bomb tossing. I at first misread that, so will keep what I originally typed here as well. It is pretty similar to the Gamecube versions. Nice range of powerups, normal options to be turned on or left off, and a look sort of toned down washed out like look the GameCube ones have (I use component for my PS2 so you can see a visual detail difference between its battlemode and that of Bomberman Hardball which is really polished and render heavy). Mind you, I like the washed out basic look. There are blue toned power down icons like in other titles. There are several modes of battlemode, of which I have not tried at all, save for the normal mode. It's not overly shiny and gaudy, and gets the job done, you know? Flashy is sometimes blah. Oh, the tile sets are big enough but not overly big so your screen doesn't feel tight and closed in like some other battle modes that people love, but I don't much care for. Big tiles and boards that feel smaller just don't do it for me. Give me more visual space to blow up bricks in, and I'm happy. Even if the alley counts are the same versus another game, and it just feels different. I don't think that makes any sense, but I'm fickle on some types of graphics.

Bomberman Hardball uses a 3D rendered shine design, as in there are reflections and a textured lighting feel to the bombers. They have depth and bulk to their bodies, real weight. The bomb blasts have more vivid colors, the bricks are more detailed, and so forth. It's not so ugly or shiny that I get a headache though. Good graphics and not an overpolished look, though it's distinctive in its design from other battle modes of other games. For example, Bomberman Party Edition for PS1 to me is too shiny/polished visually and it actually makes my head hurt after a while. My eyes strain to discern too much detail and reflections on the surfaces, or something else like that. Sprite size wise, Bomberman Hardball is slightly bigger than Kart but not so big it bothers me, like I am bothered by some games with huge blocks and fewer alleyways/rows of action.

Mind you, this could all be some odd fantasy world delusion I live in where only I see it, and no one else is insane enough to care. I need to visually compare screenshots and count the pixel sizes, rows and columns of play, and so forth. Only then will my madness abate.End Edit

Well, there are 5 variations on BattleMode's settings, and it takes place in an open arena with ramps, hills, and a lot of weapons waiting to recycle in their containers. You play first to 5 kills. It's ok. You mostly get the green rockets to chuck at one another, tho bombs, invisibility, and all that are also around. I have played much worse. The big red arrow over the players would be fun to turn off since it's too easy to see that and then lob rockets in that general direction hoping for rebound and the distance they cover to bring the target in your shot path. It may be on a radar as well, but I forget now.

Some of the minigames are enjoyable distractions from cup races, time races, and battle races. Battle race not to be confused with battle mode. I will mention those more below. It would be nice to have more than the maybe 6 racers you have to choose and 1 left to open up/unless that's a random pick. Maybe others add themselves and their empty boxes are not shown. I don't have the manual here at work and did not play enough to find out yet. I need another save card honestly before I can save any of my progress in these games. :/


It is more a visual comparison really. The textures used, coloring, and tone of the level design reminds me slightly of stuff like Banjo Kazooie, Conker's Bad Fur Day, and so forth. When I try to compare one game to other games, it often is easiest using this method of blended description.


That game overall wasn't bad, as long as you got it for a mere $20 like I did. Street Racers has its charm. Bomberman Kart and it both have soccer, though it's better on Kart to be honest. You have better control and chance to get the ball in this one. You can play with or without computer controlled players like other game modes, can play on a half or full sized field, can elect to have computer controlled goalies or not, etc. Another reason I think I compared this to Street Racers is that Street Racers had some hectic to drive courses turn wise, and this one does as well, depending on what mode you're in. Another comparison to Street Racers is the sumo minigame, where you're on a pedestal and have to muscle the other one off the top. It is MUCH better on Kart though, and my wife loved it.

Other minigames include a sort of target practice where you have to clear progressively more and more total target shots, a braking minigame where you have to be good with braking on command/as needed or you fall off the end of a road, and other games as well. Some are only 2-4 player and you cannot play alone, and others can be played alone.

My brother and I used to do sumo battling in the pools on the SNES beach board, with one of us waiting until the other grabbed a feather. First one that was pushed out or couldn't stay inside the pool on their own volition if they improperly steered, had to pull over and allow the other to shoot them for one balloon kill. We also had what we called Shell City, where we put a ban on red shells, stars, and the idea what to fill the boards with as much green shells (both stationary and moving), and bananas as humanly possible. If you were a good driver or lucky, you made it out alive. If you were not, you either got hit somewhere or found yourself shot by the other person with the safe powerups. Breaking the red shell rule brought you a loss of one balloon. We played for hours and hours every day (both n64 and SNES versions), so had to make up fun games like this to keep it fresh. Friends and I did something similar on Halo and banned bullets. You could use grenades and the butt of your rifle to kill people, but that was it.

The natural comparison is to say, Mario Kart or Diddy Kong Racing, and it fits. But there is more to it than that and that's when I have to try to fit other titles in to figure out what that comparison is missing. You cannot say it's just a Mario Kart ripoff, because it isn't. It has a lot more in some modes, that even Mario Kart has never and may never have. There are cues it could have taken from MK to make it better as well, I imagine. Grabbing a powerup when you have one already (except when for example it's a green rocket, and you have a green rocket so you just get more green rockets) usually means you lose your other one. I have not yet found out how to shoot anything backwards besides items that are meant to be dropped. Minor points.

I hope some of that makes sense. The game is well worth checking out if you like Kart racers.


Post 2

Here is an idea of how the non-racing battle modes compare that were mentioned above in my prior comment. I had photos but did not want to link too much and bore people. I took a lot of photos. I took the effort of verifying how many rows and columns each title has to see why I am so daft on the subject of visual space in battlemode.  


Bomberman Kart DX normal battlemode. You will notice the bomber design is similar to Bomberman Land, which is not surprising considering when the game came out AND due to the fact that it has a story mode where you have to wander around getting licenses to be able to drive. I have to explore this much more when I get a spare memory card. (17 wide by 11 high)



Bomberman Kart normal battlemode. The bombers in battlemode here are more like Super Famicom/SNES, PCEngine/TurboGrafx16/Genesis/Megadrive, or GameCube ones, with only a hint of the Bomberman Land era character design. The blue louey shown is the only one I have seen as of yet, though he has no special tricks and merely serves as a free hit. (17 wide by 11 high)


Bomberman Hardball normal battlemode. The visual look here is something less detailed and heavy visually than Bomberman Live, with smaller sprite weight (to me at least). It is more developed than PS1 Bomberman World or PC Atomic Bomberman. For me it melts the line between having detail without being too fancy. It has structure and options and visual space, but it doesn't jam it down my throat with it. The bombers here are almost too big for my liking compared to the sprite sizes used for the bricks and hard barriers. :/ Almost but not quite. The joy of playing it outweighs my issues with their size thankfully, since the board does not retract me from the gameplay by admiring it. I guess too much detail distracts me. This game also has a Tandem Battle (unless I'm thinking of Kart) where one player controls the bomb dropping and one controls the movement. It switches controls somehow so you have to stay on your toes or you get blown up, since you have to move just enough to keep your player behind a brick and their player out of harm's way without going too far to push you into harm's way. (13 high by 13 wide)


classic normal

lost world normal

Both Live boards are 9 columns wide by 6 rows high open (17 wide by 11 high total including barriers) and look more spacious than I recalled while playing the game before. This is the same as two of the three prior games. The only difference is space around the board between the like board sizes. Kart DX has a square rather than a rectangle, and its bottom outer edge surrounding the board is cut off due to the PAL to NTSC conversion and Y fix.

After looking at photos of Bomberman Live boards I wonder if the resolution mode my friend had on his TV is the reason why the game screen and sprites used had such a "big" feeling. He only just now went back to HD cables, and had been using component before that. Plus his TV is 50" and everything just feels bigger. Not sure for my dislike of the look of Live. I think I am totally spazzing out and finding reasons not to like it because it [b]is[/i] flashier than I usually like and I do get distracted by the visual data. Maybe the extra space around the game board, filled with whatever that board's theme is, bothers me more than anything. I don't even know anymore.  

Maybe I just and training myself not to like the game because I like simpler versions sometimes, with lower end graphics despite a lot of powerup options and creatures being favs. I do have a history of hating on a console or telling myself I didn't like it, mainly because I couldn't yet enjoy it for my own.   I think I solved the mystery. lol

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Thanks for the info, that was a very interesting read... and yes, I meant bomb tossing  

Does any of your screenshots show these guys more clearly? Like seen up front, perhaps in the victory sequence?

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Metroid: Other M - As in "There's the good Metroid games... we chose to do one of some Other Make altogether."

I didn't have any taken so I popped the game in and took some. It's hard to get good shots and play, not to mention catch anything before it's off the screen again. However, I managed a few decent examples.


Ivory, Star, Blue, and Jade.


Gold, Racer, and Pretty.

The following are either during celebration video segments or replay.


Pretty Bomber near detonator.


One of Pretty Bomber's victory screen stills.


Ivory Bomber just hanging out.


Gold Bomber getting blown to kingdom come.


Ivory Bomber's favorite part of the battle.


It almost looks like Pretty Bomber is praying for the bomb to not go off in her face. :)

Hope that answers some of your questions. The replays can be saved for later viewing, so despite the game being in more normal classic graphics while you play, those who like the ultra shiny rendered bombers can have their fill as well.

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I agree, I think. At least, I never liked huge boards where the sprites are smaller, I'd rather have a scrolling screen. And Bomberman 64.... you can barely see the details on your custom Bombermen, just the colors. Things like that, I guess.

Anyway, I really like those Bomberman Kart graphics, and that Louie is pretty cute.  

And yeah, the Hardball characters do seem a little too big for the arena. I also wish you could see their faces more, maybe if they had been tilted a little bit so it appeared like they do in the 2D games? Not sure how that would look in 3D, but it's always been something I've thought about.

That's interesting that they changed the four colored Bombers' names, but why Star for Kuro? And why did Aoi just get.... Blue? Lol. Also seems strange they left out Aka/Red, as Midori/Green is usually the fifth player reserve. Although, I've never played any Land-style Bomberman games.

I would rather have the gamefield take up more of the board, without a huge visually distracting border around it. With those sprites used not being HUGE and there being plenty of game area for bombing without touching your neighbor immediately. That's what I like. There is an extreme however...

I figured I would show the most potent example of small sprites used in BattleMode, even if it is a result of resolution mode. The following photos are of a playfield 21 columns tall by 37 columns wide, with only half of that being alleys you can walk down of course. There is only one game that can produce that number that I know of, and it is Saturn Bomberman. I took photos of the Japanese version running in Wide Mode with 10 players going at it on our 32" Westinghouse HDTV. Myself and 9 drones.


Shirobon just dancing away as I'm not even trying to drop any bombs at this point.


Just look at the size of the bomb blasts that are possible...

Yeah, as for the Bomberman Land characters, it seems that the new crew of Bombers that backup Shiro are all from that era of the plotline, even when it's not a Bomberman Land game. You may see Red Bombers, and Yellow Bombers, and misc color Bombers around, but they are never usually playable much or even named. The name changes are always funny because it's never consistent. They had Ivory Bomber, but did they have Ebony Bomber? No...that would not be politically correct. Do they have Light Bomber and Dark Bomber? Not much. They barely even use Black Bomber anymore in naming in Europe and North America, and if they do use names like Cheerful White, you will never see Grumpy Black, or Determined Black, or Reliable Black, to complete the idea started with "Cheerful". It's rather amusing to dissect the names, knowing it will never be completely what you expect before you crack open the manual, or load the game up for the first time.

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As we were talking about the colored bombers missing in misc games, I figured I would add this to the pot. A buddy came by and we played Bomberman Kart, DreamMix TV World Fighters, and a few others, and while doing so I noticed which bombers were default open options.

In DreamMix TV World Fighters you have Shirobon as your main character under Bomberman, but as the alternate costumes you can also select Kurobon, Akabon, and Aobon. I don't recall if the text is listed for their name or what, as I did not pay attention, but they are there all the same. Much like alternate colored figure types are available for Optimus Prime and Simon Belmont, etc. Of course, your loaded icon during battle and on misc menus and screen is still Shirobon, but your character at least looks different.

In Bomberman Kart, your options are White, Black, Red, Gold, and Pink. European bland names. No "bomber" added to the name, just their colors.  

I also don't recall offhand who was listed initially in Bomberman Kart DX, but I will edit this later if need be to supply that data.

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In the Land series Aka got axed after a brief appearence as "Baby Red" (literally a baby with pacifier).
The standard translations now seem to be Cheerful White, Cool Black, Kid Blue, Bookworm Green, Giant Gold and... Cute Pink (sic).


Perhaps Hi-Ten Bomberman could. As far as I know it was released only as an arcade game... or maybe there was a port for the NEC FX, I'm not sure.

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Metroid: Other M - As in "There's the good Metroid games... we chose to do one of some Other Make altogether."

The thing is, is that battle field just looks too big to me.... I guess as long as you cram it with more players, but still. Everything's just a little too small. From a gameplay perspective, though, it looks interesting. I know that's not the only mode you can play in that game, so it's fine. What I'm mostly talking about is how 3D games make the players look too big, or hide their faces because of the angle, or make them too small and lose detail.

That DreamMix game sounds pretty cool...

Yeah, in one of the Kart games she appears as a Baby with pacifier also. I don't think it's the first one, but rather Bomberman Kart DX, but it could be both of them. Brain is dead right now.


I know it was a roving demonstration game played during events and people had hoped it would be released. It ran on basically PCFX hardware in some people's opinion, and on custom hardware on other people's minds. There is info about it on a YouTube clip about it by some guy that has a ton of such promo video clips, plus the Super Famicom Strategy Guides mention it briefly as well in the chronology section at the back. The overall game itself is what seems to have become Saturn Bomberman, according to several entries about the interwebs, and the look of the game itself.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ijWXi-vUzrM

At 12-16 seconds, and again at 26-32 seconds, you will notice the game board looks to be pretty close to what I showed above of Wide Mode Battle in Bomberman. A basic green grass and gray block board stuffed to the brim with space and super tiny for most people, with a ton of people blowing each other up. I so want the custom multitap of Bomberman heads at 16-22 seconds. The controllers themselves look like PCEngine pads a lot, or maybe PCFX pads, not sure what the difference is myself since the PCFX was just the PCEngine's bigger stronger brother.

If only there was a higher quality video available of this clip you might be able to tell what is on that table in front of the TV at the start, as it looks like there is something there. It's too blurry to make out much, and since I am not too familiar with those consoles I wouldn't pick out key features anyways.

It would be nice to get a promotional proto ripped in for people like us to analyze, enjoy, and spread. It could probably be modified to run on an emulator (in this case MagicEngine would likely work well) though I would wager it might not be leaked anytime soon or has been and I just missed it. Someone outside Hudson has to have access to it for sure.



Post 2



I understand your sentiments well. I like to see the faces also, partly for capturing every aspect of the fine detail touches put into the games, and partly just to feel more connected to my player. Would rather him or her not be faceless, which ends up happening. On many of the games you have little body animations and facial changes when misc things happen, such as a successful frag, being captured in the can, being hit with a bomb, being thrown, and so forth. Those little touches add a lot to the immersion factor for me, what they call suspension of belief in media studies. We all might think Bomberman's battle mode is unpossible [sic] but the little details weave a cartooney reality that we can believe, if even for a few minutes while we drop bombs in our friend's faces. Being more drawn in with details helps override our natural instinct to get stuck on the idea that "that shit ain't real" as a friend of a friend exclaims jokingly during martial arts films, knowing full well some of it is possible since he trains in martial arts. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Suspension_of_disbelief

At least, that is one benefit of details such as this. :) Another is your just have more colorful entertaining data to process and keep busy with as you play, improving the overall gaming experience. immersion again, but not always so cut and dry. I would imagine some people may get stuck on the "I can't see their faces!" thing and be unable to play the game though. lol

So far I have enjoyed DreamMix. I need to grab another memory card to play through it some, but the mode I was in seems simple enough. You and another player are battling to be the one left with heart energy. At the start of a battle there is a shitton of hearts shot around for you to bulk up on. You can eventually get so weak you lose your own heart, and if the other player captures it, you lose. At this point you are a mini character. If you capture it you return to normal size, and get some chance to fight on, but you're still low in health and prone to be beaten about. I think Smash Brothers has some mini fighter aspect like this when you suck as a player, but it's been ages since I played Brawl. The boards have fewer powerups than Brawl and all, though it could be in a different mode or with an option turned on. You get throwable items on some boards such as buckets, and teddy bears on Licca-chan's board (the fashion doll).

Bomberman can drop 3 bombs at a time I believe, and can kick them at people as well. Not found out how to throw them yet. He also can do a power dive thing where little flame cloud fire shadow effect surrounds the impact point, ideally the intent being you are supposed to land on the other player(s) from above.   You can pick up and carry, as well as throw other players, and it looks hilarious. I played as Bomberman and alternate costumes of him with a friend Monday, and he was Optimus Prime. He enjoyed turning into the truck form and driving over/through me, but he was bad about running into my bombs left around and kicked in his face. I will know more if I find a PDF or get the game before long to make my own.

I realize it's a copy clone of sorts, but the format works for me, and why not enjoy it right? There is a Zatch Bell Battle game in this similar vein I have to try out as well, but I am a sucker for having options. This is mainly for my friend's benefit as they love Smash Bros. I love kart racers, so Kart is amazing to me. lol Bomberman Kart DX being as good options wise and better on some levels visually since it has that Gauntlet-like dungeon crawler using misc characters as players. You wander the levels and beat on enemies from the original Bomberman game, but with better graphics and a action quest like feel.

Shirobon with a sword, and he's not a samurai or ninja? Hell yes I'm in. Makes me think of the Bomberman classes in PS1/Saturn Bomberman Wars.   I wish more people lived local to me, as playing with some of you all would rock. Too bad they never made online gameplay for these titles mentioned, though getting the game online and connecting to people who have it would prove tricky.  

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And how's Plasma?


Ah I see, thank you for clearing that up  


Screenie?

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Metroid: Other M - As in "There's the good Metroid games... we chose to do one of some Other Make altogether."

I wouldn't say I cleared anything up. I still am not entirely sure the specifics of the hardware in question.  

I actually took some photos tonight after I got done writing more script data for the Murder Mystery Dinner at my birthday party next month, that is directly followed by a karaoke/gaming event.  

I am going to link to photos tho, since this thread is getting heavy to load for some people I wager. I answer your request for screenies, don't worry.

I have yet to work out trying PS2 Bomberman Jetters despite my best efforts, so that will have to wait until I buy it, or can attempt to load it from an external USB drive. The discs just do not like SM 3.6 I guess. I did work out Bomberman Land 2 and Bomberman Land 3 though. It will have to work until I can afford them properly. I really want these games even more now. It sucks...

I noticed a few interesting things, the first being that Bomberman Land 3 has an almost identical battle mode as Japan's Battles or the European version Hardball, except you see slightly more of their faces. Not much, but a bit more. The helmets and suits are not in mass effect so it gives you a little more face/body coverage, though it's still not everyone's cup of tea obviously.

Bomberman Land 3
===
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3461/3380557499_9b52a36f70.jpg
title screen

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3539/3380558339_c6ec80a91c.jpg
battle mode
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3433/3380559091_f328f21e41.jpg
zoom in on the bomber
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3610/3381381226_52a546841e.jpg
same blast effects and powerup icons

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3663/3380560629_c29a0a4074.jpg
characters available in racing, more than you get to choose in battle mode.  

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3585/3381385194_d2dfeff57c.jpg
All sorts of bombers on the boat heading towards the island where it all becomes nonsense.
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3651/3380566933_995b681730.jpg
This is why they rarely give Bombers proper eyes in sockets. It just does not look right. They are reacting to some bandit looking yellow guy, that the Golden Bomber kid is all happy about. Maybe it's his dad or his hero, I don't know. I need to pay attention to the text better next time I guess.  
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3574/3381389084_29fcfe6b53.jpg
Pretty Bomber is a giant next to short dude.

Bomberman Land 2
===
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3468/3381393452_ddb355d84f.jpg
title screen
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3639/3380575545_f240b6d6ac.jpg
Icon for the Dungeon Crawler mode. I tried it one player, it might be two player co-op also, do not recall. Those little shrimps hanging onto me there follow you all around the place, and are the reason you go down there to begin with I guess.

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3630/3380576695_57fe79ea11.jpg
I must have taken the worst possible photo here, but you can tell I have a boomerang in my hand (primary weapon at the moment), bombs in the middle, and a hammer in the third position. Look in the top left corner.
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3657/3381399422_cb6b8457df.jpg
Not much better shot I am afraid. Sorry. This is all bonus though. You asked for the Dungeon Crawler mode on Bomberman Kart DX.  

Bomberman Kart DX
===
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3417/3380578621_d8e14dc66f.jpg
title screen
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3476/3380583127_6ca61e4670.jpg
icon for Dungeon Crawler mode. Mind you, I'm just calling it that because I am lazy and have not translated the menus.

You will notice only two icons on the screen this time. You can have all three weapons, 4 if you count the shield, but I tapped the button and did not select my primary weapon. I basically deselected it and started the level. Not noticing I did not have my main weapon until it was too late. You first weapon normally would be a sword, second the bomb, third a hammer, and fourth a shield that you get when you block. Pretty gets a crossbow normally instead of a sword, bomb, scepter, and shield.

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3445/3380579369_a77830d557.jpg
Me playing two player co-op mode and trying to take a photo at the same time. Note Pretty Bomber getting beaten to a pulp.
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3549/3380580155_9d9ab39e4c.jpg
I had my wife take control so we would not die immediately, and she was charging her scepter. You can charge every item (except the shield I think) to increase the attack strength and sometimes create nifty animations. With the hammer, your powered up attack smashes cracks in the ground, and rocks fly all over striking enemies and doing them damage.
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3625/3381402518_d087fbb90c.jpg
Another charged scepter attack. This gives you a better idea what the last dungeon crawler sort of looked like, despite my bad photo. It isn't that much different than this one.
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3546/3381403304_ffa97a1601.jpg
Pretty Bomber holding up her shield. That button in the top left corner on the floor can be good or bad. It really is a crap shoot. Sometimes money pours down, sometimes chests a plenty full of stuff, and other times extra enemies, or bombs.
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3112/3381404104_3ae70b33b0.jpg
What it looks like when you fail. You are nearly absorbed into the ground you are so short, really just a head and hands stuck out from your resting spot.

More info than you needed, but maybe worth your time.

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That Dungeon Crawler mode looks pretty cool. It looks like it plays like an older zelda game from some of the screens I viewed.

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My wife likes playing it with me, though she always seems to forget I'm there when we are near traps or rotating nail boards that come up through the floor. This leaves me unable to move anywhere since I'm cornered on the screen until she moves back or whatever. Somewhat frustrating sometimes but easily navigable with communication. It is well worth investigating if you get the chance. I am going to buy all of the PS2 games for sure now that I have been able to see how awesome they are for my personal tastes.

It plays a bit like Gauntlet, without the enemies being locked up by doors you have to open with found keys and so forth. There is a Gauntlet clone someone made that is Bomberman themed out there, the name escapes but I have the url saved at home. If you like this, you might perhaps also like that.  

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About that Hi-Ten Bomberman.... never seen it before, but it looked awesome. And that's a nice TV there for '93.

Those 3D characters, I don't know, I guess I just like to be able to tell players apart. And I really prefer different characters as well, but when you can't see their faces or they're so small you can just tell the difference by the color, it takes a lot away from it in my opinion.

Not sure what to make of DreamMix, I'll have to look up some videos of it.


Lol XD

As for that dungeon crawler mode.... it looks awesome. And yellow Onils? I'm guessing they take more hits? Reminds me of Zelda.... anyway, looks very cool.

I do enjoy this mode so far. A few of the characters are stronger than others, though you can kill them easier with a charged up bomb, charged up sword/scepter attack, or charged up hammer attack. Normal hammer attack also is good because of the rocks you send flying everywhere that strike them and do damage quickly.

They can kill you quickly if you are not careful. Having one lifebar between two players is a challenge if one of you gets jumped or trapped in a corner being beaten.   I do not know what the story behind it is, though there is one you have to manage to get through if playing one player. If you do that, you have to wander around Bomberman Land wandering style, until you talk to the right people or find the right opening to the caverns below. Bomberman Land 2 is easier to find the opening to the first area, since there is a big room of stairs and manhole like covers within reach. I have not found the right place to start the game in one player mode of it in Bomberman Kart DX, as it throws you into this area and people start chattering immediately and you just mash buttons hoping they will shut up.

Language barrier fail. That and being too lazy to translate the text on the fly with the means I have to. Overall fail, with win coming from the addition of a second player. lol

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