Editing Wario Blast: Featuring Bomberman!

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|image=[[File:WarioB_Cover.jpg|250px]]<br>North American box art

|developer=[[Hudson Soft]]

|publisher=[[Nintendo]]

|release={{flag list|Japan|August 10, 1994|USA|November 1994<ref>{{cite|deadlink=y|format=PDF|archive=web.archive.org/web/20081003181232/http://www.nintendo.com/consumer/gameslist/manuals/dmg_games.pdf|title=Game Boy (original) Games|publisher=Nintendo of America|language=en-us|accessdate=June 27, 2024}}</ref> or December 1994<ref>{{cite|date=December 1994|language=en-us|publisher=Nintendo of America|title=''Nintendo Power'' Volume 67|page=106}}</ref>|Europe|June 29, 1995|Australia|June 29, 1995}}

|languages={{languages|en_us=y}}

|genre=Action

|modes=Single player, 1-4 players simultaneous ([[Super Game Boy]] only)

|ratings={{ratings|esrb=K-A|acb=G}}

|platforms=[[Game Boy]]

'''''Wario Blast: Featuring Bomberman!''''' is a crossover game between the [[Wario (franchise)|''Wario'' franchise]] and [[Hudson Soft]]'s ''{{iw|wikipedia|Bomberman}}'' series that was released in 1994 and 1995 in North America and Europe, respectively. The game is a reskinned version of ''{{iw|nwiki|Bomberman GB}}'', which was released in Japan in August 1994. The ''Wario'' franchise theme was exclusively added to Western releases. Aside from Wario's presence, the game is mostly unchanged and plays like other ''Bomberman'' titles. The ''Bomberman GB'' released in the West is actually the Japanese ''Bomberman GB 2''.

'''Story from the instruction booklet'''<ref>{{cite|title=''Wario Blast: Featuring Bomberman!'' instruction booklet|page=4|date=1994|publisher=Nintendo of America|language=en-us}}</ref>

:'''''WARIO INVADES THE LAND OF THE MADBOMBERS!'''<br><br>Wario, in his constant search for new lands to conquer and trea-<br>sures to gain, has found the extra-dimensional portal<br>that links his world with the one that Bomberman<br>inhabits. Thinking that the Madbombers will make a<br>nice addition to his legions of mindless minions (as<br>well as a new source of funds for his nefarious<br>schemes), Wario steps through the gate... and soon<br>finds that the Madbombers are not quite the dim-wit-<br>ted flunkies he originally thought them to be!

 

[[File:Planetbomber.png|thumb|left|The ending cutscene]]

After completing the game, regardless of which character the player chose, Bomberman rides a [[moto]]rcycle across a canyon. Wario appears, also on a motorcycle, and the two chase each other back and forth indefinitely until the player resets the game.

The player can choose to play as either [[Wario]] or [[Bomberman]], but this does not change any aspects of gameplay, other than reversing the passwords for each level. There are eight rounds in total, including three regular levels and one boss level per round.

 

The game shares its objective with other ''Bomberman'' games. The player has to blow up between one to three opponent(s) via the use of bombs to advance, while they try to do the same to the player. The entire game is played from a top-down perspective. The player maneuvers around a grid-like playing field, setting off bombs to blow up unsuspecting enemies, and destroy [[block (Wario Blast: Featuring Bomberman!)|block]]s to clear the way and to reveal occasional [[Normal Item]]s. The player wins by defeating the enemy [[Madbomber]]s (which take on the appearance of the character not chosen). Every level is played with a best-of-3 rule. If the player wins two times, they gain access to the next level. Failure to do so results in a [[Game Over]].

When playing the game on the [[Super Nintendo Entertainment System]] with a [[Super Game Boy]], an additional multiplayer mode for up to four players is available, known as the Battle Mode.<ref>{{cite|date=1994|publisher=Nintendo of America|quote=Of course, what would a Bomberman game be without a Battle Mode?|title=''Wario Blast: Featuring Bomberman!'' instruction booklet|language=en-us|page=4-5}}</ref> In this mode, two or more players are able to play against each other, with up to four players being supported using the [[Super Nintendo Entertainment System#Super Multitap|Super Multitap]].

The game also contains a secret game mode called "[[The Battle]]" (not to be confused with the Battle Mode), available by entering the password 5656 on the title screen to play as Bomberman, or 6565 to play as Wario. In this mode, the player starts with all power-ups, and the goal is to defeat endless waves of opponents to obtain a high score.

At the end of each round, the player faces a boss that requires a strategy. The first five bosses drop a [[Special Item (Wario Blast: Featuring Bomberman!)|Special Item]] upon defeat.

 

 

''Bomberman GB'' was originally known as ''{{fandom|Bomberman|Bomber Boy}} 2'' during development.<ref name=bomber>{{cite|language=ja|author=nori_bomber|date=November 20, 2021|url=x.com/nori_bomber/status/1462247400672690176|title=元々はボンバーボーイ2でした。　#ボンバーマンGB　のGBはゲームボーイの略称とグレイトバトル(Great Battle)の略称のダブルミーニングです。私が描いたラフ画を元にゲーム内画像の原画として、水野さんにリライトしてもらいました。|publisher=Twitter|accessdate=June 27, 2024}}</ref> It was demonstrated at Summer {{wp|Consumer Electronics Show|CES}} 94 as ''Bomberman'', and reportedly involved the title character stopping a new enemy named Mad Bomber from causing destruction in a location called Big City.<ref>{{cite|title=''Club Nintendo'' (Chile) Año 3 No. 10|url=archive.org/details/ClubNintendo26Ano03N10Chile/page/n21/mode/2up|page=20}}</ref>

 

While ''Bomberman GB'' was getting ready for a {{wp|Western word|Western}} release, [[Nintendo]] approached [[Hudson Soft|Hudson]] about doing a [[Mario]] collaboration.<ref name=ohbuko>{{cite|author=nori_bomber|date=August 18, 2023|publisher=X|url=x.com/nori_bomber/status/1692744409488765431|title=ボンバーマンGBを海外展開させようとした時に任天堂さんからマリオとコラボできないか、との打診。マリオに爆弾持たせるのはイメージ的にどうなの?ってことになり、当時売出し中のワリオならOKでしょ。で、本来主役のボンバーマンも登場させなきゃってことでのクロスオーバー作品。|accessdate=June 27, 2024|language=ja}}</ref> Concerns about [[Bomberman]]'s overseas popularity prompted the idea to replace the main character.<ref>{{cite|author=nori_bomber|language=ja|date=March 21, 2023|url=x.com/nori_bomber/status/1638034407692058624|title=ボンバーマンGBを米国で売ろうとした時にボンバーマンの知名度に不安があったので主役キャラ交代。当初はマリオの名が挙がっていたが、マリオに爆弾テロのイメージ持たせちゃマズイだろ、ということで悪いことしても憎まれないワリオになったの。 #自分が知っている大人の事情を挙げる|accessdate=June 27, 2024}}</ref> Mario was considered as the protagonist at first, but there were concerns that having him use [[bomb]]s to defeat his enemies would be out-of-character and off-brand.<ref name=nori>{{cite|author=nori_bomber|language=ja|date=February 27, 2021|url=x.com/nori_bomber/status/1365848274960146432|title=Tweets by Norio Ohkubo|publisher=Twitter|accessdate=February 28, 2021}}</ref> The development team suggested [[Wario]], who had his own games on the market, and since it was insisted to keep Bomberman, the game became a crossover.<ref name=ohbuko/> Even though Wario was a new character at the time, Nintendo sent the developers a list of approved and forbidden actions for the characters, which designer Norio Ohkubo likened to the approval process for using {{wp|Disney}} characters in term of strictness.<ref name=nori/>

 

''Wario Blast: Featuring Bomberman!'' is not directly referenced in later games, but it began a trend in [[Nintendo]] spin-offs that associates [[Wario]] with [[bomb]]s. Technically, bombs having any relevance to Wario first appeared in ''[[Wario's Woods (Nintendo Entertainment System)|Wario's Woods]]'', but in this game, they are solely used against him. Beginning in ''[[Mario Party]]'', Wario has an association with [[Bob-omb]]s as his home stage, [[Wario's Battle Canyon]], features the landscape of a canyon wrought with explosions from a war between Bob-ombs and [[Bob-omb Buddy|Bob-omb Buddies]], which Wario appears to be manipulating out of greed. In ''[[Mario Party 3]]'', Wario's association with Bob-ombs continues, as one is his default partner in the game's duel mode. In ''[[Mario Tennis (Nintendo 64)|Mario Tennis]]'', Bob-ombs line the walls in Wario's home stage, [[Wario Court]], as well as his joint venture with [[Waluigi]], [[Wario & Waluigi Court]]. In ''[[Mario Kart: Double Dash!!]]'', Wario's special item is the Bob-omb. In ''[[Super Mario 64 DS]]'', Wario is one of the two characters who have a Bob-omb-themed minigame in the [[Rec Room (Super Mario 64 DS)|Rec Room]]. In ''[[Mario Hoops 3-on-3]]'', Wario's home stage [[Wario Factory (Mario Hoops 3-on-3)|Wario Factory]] has several Bob-ombs (ones larger than the Bob-omb one gets as an item) that appear as stage-exclusive hazards for the players. In ''[[Mario Super Sluggers]]'', Wario hits a bomb in addition to a baseball as his special move. In the ''[[Club Nintendo (magazine)|Club Nintendo]]'' comics, Wario is the owner of a bomb shop. Lastly, the timer and logo for the minigames in the ''[[WarioWare (series)|WarioWare]]'' games is a [[bomb (WarioWare series)|bomb]] with Wario's mustache on it.

 

;''Bomberman GB''

Normal Item Bomberman GB.jpg|Bomberman using [[Normal Item]]s

Thunder Cloud Bomberman GB.jpg|[[Thunder Cloud (Wario Blast: Featuring Bomberman!)|Thunder Cloud]]

</gallery>

;''Wario Blast: Featuring Bomberman!''

Dashin Wario Blast.png|[[Dashin]]

 

Teacup'n.png|[[Cup King]]

Komabē.PNG|[[Top Man]]

Fūwan.PNG|[[T-Bear]]

Mad Flower.PNG|[[P-Flower]]

Inapikarin.PNG|[[Thunder Cloud (Wario Blast: Featuring Bomberman!)|Thunder Cloud]]

Pukupuku.PNG|[[Pukupuku (Wario Blast: Featuring Bomberman!)|Pukupuku]]

Gururin Knight.PNG|[[Gururin Knight]]

DeathBomber.png|[[Mad-Bomber]]

 

 

 

 

{{Wario games}}