Ludography
62/100
Players30 ratings
64/100
Critics15 reviews
More scores
Metacritic63 critic reviews
62/100
Metacritic usersuser score
66/100
GameFAQsJust Right
3.25/5
Player reviews
57% positive428 reviews
Steam Deck
Verified
Runs on
Windows
Price
US$39.99

Where to get it

Super Bomberman R cover

2017 · Konami Digital Entertainment · Action · Arcade

Super Bomberman R

Timed Nintendo exclusive

"Since its release in 1985, Bomberman has been a familiar party-battle game for many years. Now, Bomberman is coming back as "SUPER BOMBERMAN R" to Nintendo Switch.

Released
3 March 2017
Platforms
Nintendo SwitchPlayStation 4PlayStation 5StadiaWindowsXbox OneXbox Series X/S
Genres
ActionArcadeMazePuzzleStrategy
Developers
Konami Digital EntertainmentHexaDrive
Publishers
Konami
Modes
Co-opMultiplayerSingle-player
Perspective
Bird view / Isometric
Themes
ActionParty
Country
Japan
Age ratings
PEGI 7ESRB E10+CERO AGRAC ALLACB G
Languages
Chinese (Simplified), Chinese (Traditional), Dutch, English, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese (Brazil), Portuguese (Portugal), Russian and 1 more
Copies sold
500,000 as of 2017-03-31
Time to beat
4hmain story12hcompletionist

About

Super Bomberman R is an action-maze game developed by Konami and HexaDrive and published by Konami for the Nintendo Switch. The game was first released worldwide as a launch title for the console in March 2017, before releasing for PlayStation 4, Windows and Xbox One in June 2018. Part of the Bomberman franchise, it is the sixth installment of the Super Bomberman series and the first game in the series to be released in twenty years (following 1997's Super Bomberman 5). It is also the first Bomberman entry in the franchise to be developed for consoles following the dissolution of original series developer Hudson Soft in 2012.

The game received mixed reviews. As of March 2021, the game has sold over 2 million copies worldwide. A sequel, Super Bomberman R 2, was released for Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Windows, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S in September 2023 as part of the Bomberman franchise's 40th anniversary.

Players say

Media

The articlegameplay, story, development, reception

Gameplay

Players move through a two-dimensional grid environment and must trap and drop bombs to defeat their opponents. The game features story mode spanning 50 stages and supports cooperative gameplay for two players. The game also features an eight-player competitive multiplayer mode. The online mode contains a league system (Baby A/B, Novice A/B, Amateur A/B, Pro A/B, Champ A/B and God A/B). Starting in Baby league B the player has to win matches to gather and earn points for advancement.

Battle mode includes 19 battlegrounds in total. Besides the classic arena, it also offers a multi-level arena with springboards, ice-patterns, moveable blocks, etc., each with a unique style. In addition to the eight Bomberman Bros. and the Five Dastardly Bombers, Super Bomberman R also features a selection of new characters based on Konami Originals, such as Dracula Bomber, Vic Viper Bomber, Goemon Bomber and more. In total, there are 27 characters, each with special abilities.

Story

In a robot scrapyard on Planet Scrapheap, Emperor Buggler resurrects five robots to be his new henchmen, the Five Dastardly Bombers. Meanwhile, on Planet Bomber, White, the eldest and most disciplined of the eight heroic Bomberman Brothers of Planet Bomber, tries getting his younger siblings to train his siblings to no avail. Black is lazy and egocentric, Pink is more concerned about fashion and gossip, Blue sleeps all day, Red is hot-tempered and reckless, Yellow is overly naïve and innocent, Aqua has anger management issues, and Green is a manipulative sneak who deceives everyone. Just then, their television begins broadcasting a signal from Buggler, who proclaims his goal to conquer the universe and his army has already conquered five planets (Brainwave, Lalaland, Scrapheap, Technopolis, and Timbertree) of the Starry Sky Nebula, swearing that all other planets will soon follow.

He offers a challenge to anyone who would defy him to fight his generals. White immediately takes up the challenge and forces his siblings to come with him as he heads to the Starry Sky Nebula to face the Buggler army.

Reception

Nintendo Life's preview stated that "Super Bomberman R isn't going to break any ground with its familiar explosions and mayhem, but it doesn't have to; sometimes, colourful old-school gaming is refreshing in this era of progressively darker and more complex titles." This was reiterated in their review, with Steve Bowling describing it as "no-frills", but "the go-to multiplayer launch title" for the Switch.

Super Bomberman R received "generally mixed reviews", according to review aggregator website Metacritic. The main point of criticism from critics was the game's lack of innovation from previous Bomberman titles. Ryan McCaffrey, in a mixed review for IGN, said its multiplayer options were "classic Bomberman rules [...] but not much else" and overall found its overall content to be "disappointing".

Releases by platformdates and regions as published

PlatformReleasedRegions
Nintendo Switch3 March 2017Worldwide
Xbox One12 June 2018North America · Worldwide 14 June 2018
Windows12 June 2018Worldwide
PlayStation 412 June 2018North America · Worldwide 14 June 2018

Editions and related releases

Followed by
Super Bomberman R 2
Editions
Super Bomberman R: Shiny Edition

Games like this

Collections14 collections

Years

Series and characters

Licensing

Description adapted from its source, CC BY-SA 4.0.