Bomberman '94 is a 1993 installment in the Bomberman franchise for the PC Engine, the follow-up to Bomberman '93 and a predecessor to Super Bomberman 3. The game introduced series mainstays Rooi the kangaroo-like creature, and Buggler/Bagular/Buglear, the franchise's primary Big Bad.
The inhabitants of Planet Bomber lived in peace, protected by five spirits, until the evil Buglear and his robot army invaded. The Spirit Pictures, the source of the spirits' magical power, were destroyed, splitting Planet Bomber into five pieces. Bomberman must restore the Spirit Pictures in each area, reassemble Planet Bomber, and defeat Buglear and his army.
In 1994, the game was ported and localized as Mega Bomberman for the Sega Genesis / Mega Drive. Despite being on a more powerful console, the port had inferior graphics, and multiplayer only supported up to four players instead of five even though the console was capable of five players with the right MultiTap. Due to these flaws, it is passed up in favor of the original Japanese version for worldwide re-releases, including the Wii Virtual Console, PlayStation Network, Windows 8.1 via the Windows Store, the Wii U Virtual Console and the PC Engine Mini / TurboGrafx-16 Mini.
Then in 2008, Bomberman '08, a mobile remake of '94, was released which had completely redone graphics in the style of modern Bomberman games. The remake was once thought to be lost to time until a Bomberman Board member found the files for a Windows Mobile port (renamed Bomberman) and released them in 2017.
This game provides examples of:
- "Blind Idiot" Translation: While truer to the PC Engine original over the Mega Drive port, Bomberman '08, a mobile phone version, suffered from this. Just check out the Game Overview as soon as you select "Help" on the main menu..."Bagura has destroyed “Spirit’s Portrait” the energy source for Bomba Planet’s spirit, and the planet has been shattered!! Collect the scattered pieces of the portrait, restore Bomba Planet, and defeat Bagura!!"
- Construction Is Awesome: Genbāman / Construction Bomber averts this; despite being dressed as a construction worker, his priority as a COM is block destruction.
- Dub Name Change: Mega Bomberman changes many names, including Planet Bomber to Bomber Planet, Rooi to Louie, Bomber Family to Bomberman Team, Buglear to Bagulaa, and localizing the Japanese Onomatopoeia as Alliterative Names for the five areas. However, all re-releases revert them.
- Hoist by His Own Petard: You can actually get hurt by your own bombs if you aren't careful.
- I Choose to Stay: If Bomberman defeats Buglear with a Rooi, the Rooi will refuse to join Bomberman in escaping the comet (likely because he cannot fit in the escape ship). Despite Bomberman's desperation, the Rooi stomps him, as he escapes alone in defeat.
- Jack of All Stats: Plain Bomberman as a COM in the Battle Game is a balanced opponent.
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Nintendo Hard: You'll find yourself in a lot of tight spots as the game progresses. - One-Hit-Point Wonder: If Bomberman is hit even once, he'll lose a life.
- Sequential Boss: In the Final Area, Buglear is fought with four rotating orbs, then in the Dragoon, and finally in "Bomberman" form.
- Space Zone: Bomberman uses his spacecraft to traverse between the fragments of the planet — and finally to the artificial comet.
- Spell My Name With An S: The hidden Sound Room spells Buglear's robot as both Doragoon and Dragoon; Buglear himself is actually spelled consistently, but he gets a ton of these in later games.
- Squashed Flat: In the castle area, Bomberman can use his bombs to remove the supports from giant barrels, which can roll over any enemies who may happen to be in their path.
- Marilyn Maneuver: Queen Oyobee when hit by a Bomb.
- Tertiary Sexual Characteristics: Bomber Lady's appearance is literally just Bomberman with a bow.
- Time-Limit Boss: Every boss has a five minute time limit to defeat it. Even Buglear.
- Timed Mission: Every stage is given a timer proportional to its size. In the Final Area, the player has ten minutes to reach Buglear.
- The Very Definitely Final Dungeon: The Final Area is Buglear's artificial comet.
