Super Bomberman 3

Super Bomberman 3

SNES - Europe - 1st edition.

Developer Hudson Soft Publisher Hudson Soft, Virgin Interactive Entertainment Published 1995-04-28 Platforms SNES Genres Action, Maze Themes Action, Cartoon Series Bomberman Multiplayer Simultaneous versus Distribution Commercial

Super Bomberman 3 is an action strategy maze game developed and published by Hudson Soft for the SNES on 1995-04-28. Strangely, the game was only released in Japan and Europe, not the USA. It is the sequel to Super Bomberman 2, was followed up by Super Bomberman 4, and is the nineteenth game in the Bomberman series. This game keeps the theme from the previous Super Bomberman titles, but adds a new set of environments and a character named Louie which you can ride.

After White Bomberman saved the world by defeating the Five Bad Bombers in the previous game, Professor Bugler found their shattered remains and rebuilt them. With their help, he intends to takeover the home of the bomber men.

Personal

Own?	No.
Won?	Yes. Story mode.
Finished	2024-05-17.

Having become a fan of so many other Bomberman games, particular the Super Bomberman titles, I was eager to play the third game in the series. I beat the story mode on 2024-05-17. I have yet to beat the AI in all battle modes.

Review

7	7	7	6	9

Best Version: SNES

Good

• The introduction of the Louies, kangaroo-like animals you can ride which give you additional abilities, was a great idea. They perfectly fit the game's cuteness vibe.
• I like how each stage in the story mode is partially randomized, but still has various unique features in each section.
• Like with Super Bomberman 2, you don't lose your basic power-ups when you die (speed, bomb count, and flame length), only the more interesting ones. It's only when you get a game over do you go back to nothing, but you still get a password after each level, so it's not that bad of a setback.
• The graphics are even better than before with more detailed monster animations, unique bomberman character sprites in battle mode, and various backgrounds.
• Jun Chikuma has once again composed a very fitting soundtrack. I love how some of the previous Bomberman songs have been reworked into different musical genres to fit the new levels. Keita Hoshi added some new boss music.
• The wide variety in battle maps gives the game a lot of multiplayer enjoyment. The game also introduces the ability for fallen players to throw bombs in from the sidelines.
• Although the game is largely the same as the previous titles, there is enough new content to keep it fresh.

Bad

• The game lets you return to easier levels at any time to grind power-ups (which is almost necessary after getting a game over), however, this is a pretty boring prospect.
• Strangely, the game removes scrolling levels and now each stage is a single screen. However, many levels are now broken into a multiple rooms which must be cleared in order to finish the level. While this doesn't really hurt the game play, it does make the game's tech feel a little weaker.
• Having to rewatch the boss intro every time one kills you is annoying. It should be skippable.

Ugly

• The last segment of the game is obnoxiously difficult. Unlike the rest of the game, where you get a password after each level you complete, in the final world, you have to go through six rooms, each filled with the game's most dangerous monsters, where a bad random placement can result in near certain death, then face a much harder two-tiered boss, and, if you get a game over anywhere during the process, you have to start the whole thing over again without any power-ups. This means you'll probably need to grind on the easier levels to get decent power-ups and more lives before trying the last world again, a process which is so repetitive it's dreadfully dull.

Media

Box Art

• 

  Japan. A cartoon collage featuring the white and black bomber men riding Louies while the bosses loom in the background. I prefer this cover.

• 

  Europe. Crops and compacts the original art and removes the final boss to better fit a landscape box.

Documentation

• 

  Manual - Japan.

• 

  Manual - Europe.

Graphics

• spriters-resource.com/snes/sbomber3

Videos

Longplay - Story mode.

Longplay - Battle mode - All maps, hard difficulty.

Play Online

SNES (Europe), Super Famicom

Representation

Strong female character?	Fail	The game brings back Pretty Bomber, but there isn't anything special about her.
Bechdel test?	Fail	There is no dialogue.
Strong person of color character?	Fail	The Bomber Men don't really have a clear race.
Queer character?	Fail	There are no queer characters.

Titles

Language	Native	Transliteration	Translation
English	Super Bomberman 3
Japanese	スーパーボンバーマン2	Supa Bonbaman 3	Super Bomberman 3

Links