Software:Bomberman '94

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Bomberman '94
European Mega Drive cover art
Developer(s)Hudson Soft
Westone (MD/GEN)
Publisher(s)Hudson Soft
Sega (MD/GEN)
Konami (Wii U)
Director(s)Yoshiyuki Kawaguchi
Producer(s)Hiroki Shimada
Designer(s)Shinichi Nakamoto
Artist(s)Shoji Mizuno
Composer(s)Jun Chikuma
SeriesBomberman
Platform(s)PC Engine, Sega Mega Drive/Genesis, mobile phone
ReleasePC Engine
  • JP: December 10, 1993
Mega Drive/Genesis
Mobile Phone
Genre(s)Action, maze
Mode(s)Single-player, multiplayer

Bomberman '94 (ボンバーマン'94, Bonbāman Nintī Fō) is a video game from the Bomberman series which was developed and published by Hudson Soft for the PC Engine and released on December 10, 1993, in Japan. It was later re-developed by Westone and re-published by Sega as Mega Bomberman on the Sega Mega Drive/Genesis in 1994 in other areas. The PC Engine Bomberman '94 was later released outside Japan through the Virtual Console and the PlayStation Network.

The game supports single-player and multi-player modes. In single player, the player navigates several levels of mazes, destroying creatures with bombs. In multiplayer mode, players defeat each other with bombs.

The Mega Drive/Genesis port had some differences, such as fewer options in multi-player, and some different music (for example, Jammin' Jungle's music in the original version was reused as the first level in Super Bomberman 4, but is entirely different in the other version).

The original Bomberman '94 was released for the Wii Virtual Console on December 2, 2006, in Japan, and was first made available outside Japan on March 23, 2009, in North America[4] and March 23, 2009, in Europe. Bomberman '94 was released for the Wii U Virtual Console on November 19, 2014, in Japan, and on February 2, 2017, in North America and Europe.[5] A port for mobile phones was released in 2008 (renamed Bomberman '08). The previous game, Bomberman '93, was made available instead when Bomberman '94 was released in Japan's Virtual Console.[6]

Bomberman '94 was released on the Japanese PlayStation Network on July 15, 2009, for play on the PlayStation 3 and PlayStation Portable.[7] It was later released in North America on June 2, 2011.

Plot

The inhabitants of Planet Bomber lived in peace, protected by five spirits, until the evil Bagular and his Robot Army invaded. The Spirit Pictures, the source of the spirits' magical power, were destroyed, splitting Planet Bomber into five pieces. Bomberman arrives to restore the Spirit Pictures and reassemble Planet Bomber.

Gameplay

The game is set in six areas: Jammin' Jungle, Vexin' Volcano, Slammin' Sea, Crankin' Castle, Thrashin' Tundra, and the artificial comet of Bagular. Due to the Mega Drive's and Genesis's lack of a fifth controller port, Mega Bomberman only supports four players instead of five. This is the first game in the series that uses the modern design of White Bomberman. Bomberman '94 also introduces Louies to the series. Also, Bomberman '94 introduced several recurring characters, such as female and child Bombers (which were multiplayer skins), red/green/blue bombers and secondary villains, possibly originated from combining a "normal" skin with corresponding colors.

Demos

Before the Mega Bomberman project was targeted as a Mega Drive/Genesis port of Bomberman '94, Factor 5 was asked by Hudson to develop what would be the first installment of the Bomberman series for the Mega Drive/Genesis, already codenamed as Mega Bomberman. As a proof of concept, Factor 5 presented a tech demo that allowed eight players to play and fight at the same time by using two Sega Team Player Adaptors. Hudson was impressed with the job, but in the end they reconsidered the task and licensed the Mega Bomberman project to Westone Co., the creators of the Wonder Boy series, to do a direct Mega Drive/Genesis conversion of the PC-Engine game Bomberman '94 to be published by Sega.[8]

The PC Engine version of Bomberman '94 was used as the basis for Tengai Makyō: Deden no Den, a promotional game featuring characters from the RPG franchise Tengai Makyō and only one arena available by default.[9]

Reception

Reception
Review scores
PublicationScore
EGM6.5/10 (GEN)[10]
Next GenerationStarStarStar (GEN)[11]

GamePro gave the Genesis version a positive review, summarizing that "New levels, new enemies, and plenty of other new touches make this game one of the best bombers ever." They particularly approved of the new levels and the animal powerups.[12] Electronic Gaming Monthly's reviewers were divided; while Ed Semrad and Sushi-X echoed GamePro in saying that the new levels and animal powerups made it a strong new installment of Bomberman, Danyon Carpenter and Al Manuel both felt that it was not different enough from the Super NES version to be worth getting.[10] A reviewer for Next Generation, in contrast, argued that the game was too different from the Super NES version, and that the new powerups and animals took away "the beautiful simplicity of the original". He nonetheless recommended it to "any Genesis owner with three friends and a multitap".[11]

Retro Gamer placed the game on their "Top Ten PC Engine Games" list.[13] Complex ranked the game number 91 on their "The 100 Best Sega Genesis Games."[14] Time Extension placed the game on their Best PC Engine / TurboGrafx-16 Games list.[15]

Notes

  1. ↑ Reported release date varies; sources suggest either February 1995[1] or March 1995.[2]

References

  1. ↑ Mega Bomberman. 8. Electronic Gaming Monthly. January 1995. p. 222. 
  2. ↑ InfoTrak. 8. Game Players. February 1995. p. 11. 
  3. ↑ Mega Drive Review: Mega Bomberman. Sega Magazine. November 1994. p. 84. 
  4. ↑ "Nintendo - Official Site - Video Game Consoles, Games - Nintendo - Official Site". https://www.nintendo.com/games/detail/5ThImP7HNFIA52nXVv-oHilDHEJ0HevU. 
  5. ↑ "BOMBERMAN '94 for Wii U - Nintendo Game Details". https://www.nintendo.com/games/detail/bomberman-94-wii-u. 
  6. ↑ Miller, Ross (2006-11-01). "Comparing the Virtual Console launch by region". Joystiq. https://www.engadget.com/2006/11/01/comparing-the-virtual-console-launch-by-region/. 
  7. ↑ Fletcher, JC (2009-07-15). "Japan's PlayStation Network Offering PC Engine Games". Joystiq. https://www.engadget.com/2009/07/15/japans-playstation-network-offering-pc-engine-games/. 
  8. ↑ McFerran, Damien (July 21, 2017). "Factor 5 Almost Ported Super Castlevania IV To The Sega Mega Drive" (in en-GB). Nintendo Life. Nlife Media. http://www.nintendolife.com/news/2017/07/factor_5_almost_ported_super_castlevania_iv_to_the_sega_mega_drive. 
  9. ↑ "TENGAI MAKYŌ DEDEN NO DEN". http://www.videogameden.com/cdrom.htm?bde. 
  10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 "Review Crew: Mega Bomberman". Electronic Gaming Monthly (Ziff Davis) (67): 32. February 1995. 
  11. ↑ 11.0 11.1 "Mega Bomberman". Next Generation (3): 98–101. March 1995. 
  12. ↑ "ProReview: Mega Bomberman". GamePro (IDG) (67): 38. February 1995. 
  13. ↑ "Top Ten PC Engine Games". 14 July 2014. https://www.retrogamer.net/top_10/top-ten-pc-engine-games/. 
  14. ↑ Concepcion, Miguel (April 11, 2018). "The 100 Best Sega Genesis Games" (in en). https://www.complex.com/pop-culture/the-100-best-sega-genesis-games/. 
  15. ↑ McFerran, Damien (17 January 2023). "Best PC Engine / TurboGrafx-16 Games". Hookshot Media. https://www.timeextension.com/guides/best-pc-engine-turbografx-16-games. 
  • MobyGames is a commercial database website that catalogs information on video games and the people and companies behind them via crowdsourcing. This includes over 300,000 games for hundreds of platforms.[1] Founded in 1999, ownership of the site has changed hands several times. It has been owned by Atari SA since 2022.

Features

Edits and submissions to the site (including screenshots, box art, developer information, game summaries, and more) go through a verification process of fact-checking by volunteer "approvers".[2] This lengthy approval process after submission can range from minutes to days or months.[3] The most commonly used sources are the video game's website, packaging, and credit screens. There is a published standard for game information and copy-editing.[4] A ranking system allows users to earn points for contributing accurate information.[5]

Registered users can rate and review games. Users can create private or public "have" and "want" lists, which can generate a list of games available for trade with other registered users. The site contains an integrated forum. Each listed game can have its own sub-forum.

History

Logo used until March 2014

MobyGames was founded on March 1, 1999, by Jim Leonard and Brian Hirt, and joined by David Berk 18 months later, the three of which had been friends since high school.[6][7] Leonard had the idea of sharing information about computer games with a larger audience. The database began with information about games for IBM PC compatibles, relying on the founders' personal collections. Eventually, the site was opened up to allow general users to contribute information.[5] In a 2003 interview, Berk emphasized MobyGames' dedication to taking video games more seriously than broader society and to preserving games for their important cultural influence.[5]

In mid-2010, MobyGames was purchased by GameFly for an undisclosed amount.[8] This was announced to the community post factum , and the site's interface was given an unpopular redesign.[7] A few major contributors left, refusing to do volunteer work for a commercial website.{{Citation needed|date=June 2025} On December 18, 2013, MobyGames was acquired by Jeremiah Freyholtz, owner of Blue Flame Labs (a San Francisco-based game and web development company) and VGBoxArt (a site for fan-made video game box art).[9] Blue Flame Labs reverted MobyGames' interface to its pre-overhaul look and feel,[10] and for the next eight years, the site was run by Freyholtz and Independent Games Festival organizer Simon Carless.[7]

On November 24, 2021, Atari SA announced a potential deal with Blue Flame Labs to purchase MobyGames for $1.5 million.[11] The purchase was completed on 8 March 2022, with Freyholtz remaining as general manager.[12][13][14] Over the next year, the financial boost given by Atari led to a rework of the site being built from scratch with a new backend codebase, as well as updates improving the mobile and desktop user interface.[1] This was accomplished by investing in full-time development of the site instead of its previously part-time development.[15]

In 2024, MobyGames began offering a paid "Pro" membership option for the site to generate additional revenue.[16] Previously, the site had generated income exclusively through banner ads and (from March 2014 onward) a small number of patrons via the Patreon website.[17]

See also

  • IGDB – game database used by Twitch for its search and discovery functions

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Sheehan, Gavin (2023-02-22). "Atari Relaunches The Fully Rebuilt & Optimized MobyGames Website". https://bleedingcool.com/games/atari-relaunches-the-fully-rebuilt-optimized-mobygames-website/. 
  2. ↑ Litchfield, Ted (2021-11-26). "Zombie company Atari to devour MobyGames". https://www.pcgamer.com/zombie-company-atari-to-devour-mobygames/. 
  3. ↑ "MobyGames FAQ: Emails Answered § When will my submission be approved?". Blue Flame Labs. 30 March 2014. http://www.mobygames.com/info/faq7#g1. 
  4. ↑ "The MobyGames Standards and Practices". Blue Flame Labs. 6 January 2016. http://www.mobygames.com/info/standards. 
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 Miller, Stanley A. (2003-04-22). "People's choice awards honor favorite Web sites". Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. 
  6. ↑ "20 Years of MobyGames" (in en). 2019-02-28. https://trixter.oldskool.org/2019/02/28/20-years-of-mobygames/. 
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 Plunkett, Luke (2022-03-10). "Atari Buys MobyGames For $1.5 Million". https://kotaku.com/mobygames-retro-credits-database-imdb-atari-freyholtz-b-1848638521. 
  8. ↑ "Report: MobyGames Acquired By GameFly Media". Gamasutra. 2011-02-07. https://www.gamedeveloper.com/game-platforms/report-mobygames-acquired-by-gamefly-media. 
  9. ↑ Corriea, Alexa Ray (December 31, 2013). "MobyGames purchased from GameFly, improvements planned". http://www.polygon.com/2013/12/31/5261414/mobygames-purchased-from-gamefly-improvements-planned. 
  10. ↑ Wawro, Alex (31 December 2013). "Game dev database MobyGames getting some TLC under new owner". Gamasutra. https://www.gamedeveloper.com/business/game-dev-database-mobygames-getting-some-tlc-under-new-owner. 
  11. ↑ "Atari invests in Anstream, may buy MobyGames". November 24, 2021. https://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2021-11-24-atari-invests-in-anstream-may-buy-mobygames. 
  12. ↑ Rousseau, Jeffrey (2022-03-09). "Atari purchases Moby Games". https://www.gamesindustry.biz/atari-purchases-moby-games. 
  13. ↑ "Atari Completes MobyGames Acquisition, Details Plans for the Site's Continued Support". March 8, 2022. https://www.atari.com/atari-completes-mobygames-acquisition-details-plans-for-the-sites-continued-support/. 
  14. ↑ "Atari has acquired game database MobyGames for $1.5 million" (in en-GB). 2022-03-09. https://www.videogameschronicle.com/news/atari-has-acquired-game-database-mobygames-for-1-5-million/. 
  15. ↑ Stanton, Rich (2022-03-10). "Atari buys videogame database MobyGames for $1.5 million". https://www.pcgamer.com/atari-buys-videogame-database-mobygames-for-dollar15-million/. 
  16. ↑ Harris, John (2024-03-09). "MobyGames Offering “Pro” Membership". https://setsideb.com/mobygames-offering-pro-membership/. 
  17. ↑ "MobyGames on Patreon". http://www.patreon.com/mobygames. 
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