System: GameCube
Rating: E
Release Date: Well duh, 2002.

All fields are ranked on a scale of 10, 10 being best.

Story: 6

Thingies called the Bomb Elements have been discovered at the far ends of the universe. These crystals hold great power and destruction in the wrong hands, so the guys who discovered them were taking them to Planet Bomber for more observations when their ship was attacked by the HIGE HIGE Bandits. The Bomb Elements, however, landed on the nearby uncivillized planet Tentacalls. And that's where the great race for the Bomb Elements begins between Bomberman (yourself) and the HIGE HIGE Bandits.

You start out with three worlds on Planet Tentacalls, called Tentasia, Octo Ocean, and Tako Desert. In order to get to the other three, you must complete these. Tentasia is the first and easiest part with lots of greenery. There are rivers, forests, lakes, and these octopus-like thingies (now we know why the planet is called Tentacalls), with a village and a king.

The Octo Ocean is the next world. The first part is in a nice ocean (kinda reminds me of stuff I've seen on the show Spongebob Squarepants) and the second part is a glacier. It's harder then Tentasia but easier then Tako Desert.

Tako Desert is the hardest of the three. As the name suggests, it's a giant desert with ruins and a storm. It's full of many interesting sites to see and puzzels to solve. It's actually quite fun since you should be pretty familiar with the controls by then.

But there's a catch to all this. The HIGE HIGE Bandits have enlisted the help of the Crush Bombers to get the Bomb Elements too. The Crush Bombers are the rivals of the Bombers and are robot-like, unlike Bombers. They're always mid-world bosses and aren't too hard to figure out though each one has tricks tougher then the last.

But never fear the bad guys, you got friends called Charaboms! Charaboms have special powers to help you. They might help you through bombs or make bombs follow enemies. Or, you might get bombs to control or have them become landmines and even decide when they explode or use them to jump. And then there's Max. Max looks like a Bomber version of Darth Vader without that voice of his. Collect ALL these things called Lightning Cards in every level in that world and he'll help you fight a boss. Lastly there's Professor Ein. This guy is in charge of mining the Bomb Elements and will give you a call and help you fight bosses.

Now that you know what the game is about, I can go on with this Review!

Graphics: 10

Pretty graphics and colors. Everything clashes well. You definitely gotta think Bomberman looks tough and cool too. A lot of the Charaboms look adorable, but they're tough too with their powers.

Controls: 8

They're a bit confusing at first. Press A to make a bomb appear and press A again right after to pick it up. While your holding a bomb it won't explode, so don't worry. Continue to hold it until it reaches it's full
size and is a Giant Bomb, which is the only way to damage bosses and move boulders and stuff around. L and R rotate the screen to help out in the level. The harder you press them, the faster the screen rotates. Start pauses the game. The Control Stick moves you around, and that's it.

Music: 7

There isn't a whole lot of veriety in the levels, but the music is ADDICTING!  I like 'em a lot but like I said, there isn't much variety between levels in the worlds.

Characters: 8

18 Charaboms, Max, some bad guys, Ein, Bomberman, and tha'ts all. I wanted past enemies and friends to appear... and there isn't a whole lot of information behind the Charaboms.

Size: 8 1/2

Big game. Tentasia, Octo Ocean, and Tako Desert each have six levels, the two after them have four, and I can't say any more. Plus, with all the puzzles and stuff, one level can take twenty minutes! Some bosses I've fought take fifteen and one level took me thirty-three minutes.

Secrets: 9

There's a whole lot of secrets to the Charaboms, that's for sure. Beating mini-games gives you items to make new bombs with special powers you need when you enter merging portals. The same goes for Charaboms!

Replay Value: 10

You'll soo wanna get all the Lightning Cards and Charaboms.

Overall: 9 1/2

What's preventing this from getting 10? The small lack of music and lack of characters. I want to know more about the Charaboms and have more of them, and maybe have a small cameo from Princess Millian and other Bombers cheering Bomberman. But oh well.

Recommendation: If you LOVE Bomberman and his series, or wanna try something new, get this. It's quite good, but if you aren't such a big fan of Pokemon, the Charaboms might remind you of them.

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