Ah, Bomberman! This one is a bit tough to rate, just because (as nat said) this game is the pioneer for the great Bomberman series, and as such, it's not as polished as later incarnations. I still had a fun time playing the multi-player battle mode and beating the story mode. (Even though, if you're going to play multi-player Bomberman, you might as well play the newer versions (Bomberman '93 and/or Bomberman '94 if you have them available.) I do wish that the story mode had the option of 2-player simultaneous gameplay, like some of the newer versions, but for a first try, this game really is pretty good. I rated it as a very solid 9 out of 10, of which 1-2 points are simply for it having some multi-player capability.
The original Bomberman! This game gets most of it's points for pioneering a fantastic series and setting the gameplay standard for all entries to come. What this game lacks is variety between levels (8 stages, each with 8 boards that are only barely different from each other), big & interesting bosses, and multiple battlefield boards. The one battlefield board provided is incredibly boring and plain. What this game boasts is great music, colorful well-shaded graphics, smooth buttery gameplay, and two save methods (battery RAM or password). Since this game is basically useless for multiplayer battles, it's only worth owning to complete the set and play through the single player story mode. Hudson wised up for later entries by cutting the number of boards per stage in half (4 instead of 8) and offering varied battlefield boards. Newcomers to the series are better off starting with Bomberman '94 which offers the best overall package and picking this one up later if you like the gameplay. A classic game for sure, but nowadays just doesn't hold up against the later entries in all practical regards. 6/10.
