Bomberman: Panic Bomber

Bomberman: Panic Bomber is a "falling blocks" puzzle game based on the Bomberman franchise. The goal of the game is to make the opponent lose by causing their field to fill to the top with objects. This is done by causing chains of bombs to explode, sending useless rubble over to the opponent's field. Bombs are earned by causing chains of three identical blocks to disappear.

Bombs can only be blown up with an explosion from a lit bomb, which falls from the top of the screen every so often. If the player causes enough damage, they can eventually earn a giant bomb, which will remove a large amount of debris from the playing field, and cause their opponent a good deal of trouble.

The Neo Geo version of Panic Bomber was a moderate success in Japan. The four reviewers of Electronic Gaming Monthly gave the Neo Geo version a 7 out of 10, describing it as a decent if unexceptional Tetris clone, with one reviewer commenting "This genre is so flooded that it's hard to come up with a unique angle, and there isn't one for Panic Bomber". The other three argued that the game "has enough originality to make it stand on its own." GamePro remarked the gameplay and graphics are too simple to justify the game's appearance on the powerful Neo Geo, but praised its play mechanics and addictive nature and concluded, "For a system renowned for fighting games, Panic is a refreshing presence."

Reviewing the Virtual Boy version, a Next Generation critic said that while the game itself is "decent" and "addictive", it is poorly suited for the Virtual Boy, since it does not use the console's 3D capabilities and is less fun to play without colors to distinguish the different pieces. He gave it two out of five stars. GamePro, in contrast, said the game "pushes the Virtual Boy engine to its max", while admitting the 3D effects are "a little timid". The reviewer hailed the gameplay as being "as addictive as Zoop or Tetris."