Bomberman Hero

Bomberman Hero controls very differently from Bomberman 64: the titular player character can jump, has a life meter, and has the ability to throw bombs further, thus making it a more platform-oriented experience. There are 14 different areas spread out across six planets (including one secret planet). Each area contains five to seven different stages. Alongside the usual platforming gameplay, Bomberman Hero features multiple "Power Gears" which causes different gameplay styles: the "Bomber Marine" gear features in underwater stages that Bomberman must swim through to the end; "Bomber Jet" features in rail shooting stages; "Bomber Copter" allows Bomberman to fly above the stage; and levels with "Bomber Slider" are snowboarding sections.

There are several different types of bombs in addition to the regular ones. Ice bombs turn enemies into a block of ice that can be moved around and used to jump onto to get to higher places. Salt bombs can harm slugs, which are invulnerable to all other weapons, but cannot harm any other enemy. Remote control bombs explode when remotely detonated. Every bomb type explodes automatically upon collision with an enemy or other stage object.

The world of Primus Star is attacked by the evil Garaden Empire. The world's leader, Princess Millian, steals a secret data disk and safely smuggles it out through her robot servant Pibot before being captured. On Planet Bomber, Bomberman is training in his Bomber Base headquarters when Pibot's shuttle crash-lands outside. Investigating the crash, Bomberman learns from Pibot about the princess's capture, and agrees to rescue her.

Bomberman travels through four worlds: Planet Bomber, Primus Star, Kanatia Star, and Mazone Star. During the journey, Bomberman repeatedly encounters Nitros, a mysterious Garaden soldier resembling Bomberman. For the first three worlds, Bomberman chases after Princess Millian only to find that she has been transported to the next world. Each time, Bomberman is forced to battle one of the Four Devils of Garaden, the Empire's strongest soldiers.

Bomberman Hero was originally planned as an entry in the Bonk/PC Kid series known as Ultra Genjin, before being cancelled and repurposed as a Bomberman game.

It is known for its drum and bass and acid techno soundtrack, composed by Jun Chikuma. She went on to say that Bomberman Hero was "the most remarkable title in terms of music among the Bomberman series".

Bomberman Hero received generally mixed reviews. GameSpot said, "Despite the uninspired plotline, Bomberman Hero is a rather surprising success. In a departure from Bomberman 64, Bomberman Hero boasts a number of new gameplay features that make this a completely new Bomberman game." In a mixed review, IGN heavily criticized the lack of multiplayer mode, stating, "Nintendo and Hudson serve up a decidedly average 3D Bomberman sequel -- without a multiplayer mode." Multiple outlets noted the plot's heavy similarity to that of Star Wars (1977).

Edge criticized the graphics for featuring intrusive distance fog and the same texture pattern, which make it difficult for the player to judge depth. However, the magazine concluded that, as a Japanese platformer, the game should not be overlooked, and favorably compared its rewarding exploration with Yoshi's Island.