Bomberman Jetters is the 2002 video game adaptation of the Bomberman Jetters anime, which is in itself an adaptation of the video game franchise. In the game, the Hige Hige Bandits send the Dark Star, a planet-sized rocket, hurtling towards Planet Bomber. White Bomber is sent by the Jetters to the Dark Star to deactivate the rocket's engines and foil the Hige Hige Bandits' plot. White Bomber is joined by occasional rival MAX and the Pokémon-like Charaboms.
This game is literally all of Bomberman Jetters that Western audiences got to see, which no-doubt confused many a Bomberman fan (who's Shaut/Birdie/Bongo/Gungu…?). Anyone who was familiar with the anime before the game would have been confused as well: The localized game follows its own plot, makes no reference to the series, and changes MAX's role back from villain to hero, to say nothing about the dialogue and voice acting.
Gameplay-wise, Bomberman Jetters plays like a watered-down Bomberman Generation. The controls are the same, the difficulty is mostly scaled back, you hold less power-ups (one less each for bombs and speed), you find most Charaboms just standing around and only use them for one specific function, there are no Charabom battles and almost no minigames, and there's noticeably less graphical power in the game's engine. However, if you enjoyed Generation's gameplay but not so much its difficulty, you'll probably get some fun out of Jetters. Same if you found some humor in Generation's silly voice acting: Jetters has that in spades (assuming you can put up with your teammates).
This game provides examples of:
- Adaptational Heroism: An odd example. MAX was a villain in the anime, but he was always a good guy in the non-Jetters continuity.
- Artistic License – Physics: When an engine is deactivated, the Dark Star doesn't shift course away from Planet Bomber. Also, when all four engines are off, it doesn't continue moving towards Planet Bomber due to being in space, and thus having no resistance but plenty of momentum.
- Awesome, but Impractical: MAX's Hyper Plasma Bomb can hurt everything in your camera's sight, but it takes a long time to charge up, and it only has the attack power of a single bomb. If the game didn't try to shoehorn MAX in with the barriers that only the Hyper Plasma Bomb could destroy, its only practical use would be for clearing out groups of Hige Hige Bandits or picking off hard-to-hit enemies.
- Calling Your Attacks:
- MAX's "Hyperrrr… PLASMA BOMB!"
- All of the bomber bosses.
- Cel Shading: Oddly enough, the GameCube version has cartoon-esque shading (like its predecessor Bomberman Generation) while the PS2 version does not.
- Dub Name Change: Momo is known in the English translation as Grandma Bomber.
- Elemental Powers:
- Playing with Fire: The basic Fire Bombs, Flame Bomber, the Vermillion Phoenix.
- Blow You Away: Hurricane Bombs.
- Dishing Out Dirt: Grand Bomber, the White Tiger.
- Making a Splash: Aqua Bombs, Mermaid Bomber, the Black Tortoise.
- An Ice Person: Ice Bombs.
- Shock and Awe: Thunder Bombs, Thunder Bomber, the Azure Dragon, MAX's Hyper Plasma Bombs.
- The Four Gods: This is the theme of the major boss battles. In order, you face the Black Tortoise (Genbu), the Azure Dragon (Seiryu), the Vermillion Pheonix (Suzaku), the White Tiger (Byakko), and finally the Golden Kirin (War Horse/Ouryu).
- Fusion Dance: Both of the major opponents in Hige Heaven are introduced this way, being formed from the essences of the previous bosses you defeated; Dark Force Bomber is the fusion of the Elemental Bombers, while War Horse is the fusion of the Four Guardians.
- Heart Container: One of the collectibles aside from the cards. Most are just Heart Pieces, but there is one full Heart Container in the elevator level before the final boss(es).
- Large Ham:
- Thunder Bomber.
- Despite having only one line, the Charabom "POOOOOOX!"
- Mujoe, as usual.
- Byakko, the White Tiger, is the only one of the Four Guardians to have any voiced lines outside of animalistic grunts, groans, roars, and screams. He makes up for this by constantly Chewing the Scenery while you fight him, and when you beat him, lets out a strong contender for the hammiest This Cannot Be! line in the game.
"I, Byakko, losing? IMPOSSIBLE!!!!!!!!" - Lethal Lava Land: Hot World.
- Mission-Pack Sequel: Jetters was obviously built using Generation's engine and released a mere six months after its predecessor in Japan. Combined with its rather dubious status as an anime adaptation (with inconsistencies such as MAX becoming a hero again), you'd be forgiven for thinking that they cobbled together a game from leftover Generation ideas and loaded it with Jetters aesthetics.
- Mon: The Charaboms. They even say their names when you select them.
- No Mouth: None of the Bombers have mouths.
- Oh, Crap!: In the multiplayer mode, the characters will say some things when they realize they're stuck between bombs, like:Oh no!!!AAAAHHHHHH!!!
- Old Master: Momo in the Bomber Mansion.
- Pickup Hierarchy:
- Primary: None. The game does not revolve around any Plot Coupons, though all Lightning Cards are needed to unlock the final level.
- Secondary: Charaboms, Bomb Merge items/bombs.
- Tertiary: Powerups, Charabom food.
- Extra: Jetters cards, Hige Hige cards, Lightning Cards, Heart Pieces/Containers
- Puzzle Boss: Both the Final Boss and the True Final Boss will take some clever usage of your Charaboms to open up to attack. The True Final Boss will require you to use all of your elemental bombs as well.
- Quirky Miniboss Squad: Mermaid Bomber, Thunder Bomber, Flame Bomber, Grand Bomber, and Dark Force Bomber fulfill the Bomberman series' Recurring Element of villainous Bombers that work with the primary antagonist.
- Ridiculously Human Robots: The Bandits. Some levels feature them hard at work gardening, mining, doing scientific studies, or just lounging around in public baths.
- Spell My Name With An S: Compared to the anime's popular Fan Sub, Shout is known here as Shaut, Birdy is known here as Birdie, and Gangu is known here as Gungu, among others.
- This Cannot Be!: A few of the bosses react this way to being defeated, but Byakko and Mujoe especially stand out.
- The Unfought: Bagura, the true leader of the Hige Hige Bandits, does not appear anywhere in the game apart from the intro.
- True Final Boss: Dr. Mechard. Lampshaded by the level title: "The True Mastermind".
- Un Evil Laugh: Thunder Bomber's "Ha-ha-haaaah!"
- Wutai: Hot World.
