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A cartoony bomb filled maze game with a single-player story-mode and explosive multiplayer battles, Super Bomberman R 2 has now been given a Steam Deck Playable rating.

Released on September 13th, 2023 to mark the series' 40th anniversary, the game's story-mode sees Bomberman and his quirky siblings return to do battle with intergalactic eviltons, and the famous multiplayer battle-mode from previous games is back as well. There's also a new addition, Castle, where one player guards and a team of other players attempt to plunder the castle's treasures, which plays out like the classic Japanese comedy game-show Takeshi's Castle, but with added bombs! This mode also features a level-editor and the ability to share your creations online.

The Playable status is due to incorrect controller glyphs being displayed, and the correct resolution for the Steam Deck not being set out of the box. Proton 8 has been selected for the game, which is the same version which finally made the first Super Bomberman R properly playable on Linux back in July. As with many titles nowadays, it worked perfectly at launch prior to getting an official Steam Deck rating, though!

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The main game offers a single-player adventure to teach you the ropes before you take your skills to the battlefield, and the battle mode has a selection of offline and online multiplayer games with cross-platform play - and with no anti-cheat or anti-tamper to cause trouble for Linux players. The myriad of options for local play are a fun use for the Steam Deck dock, too!

Features;

• Battle Mode
Enjoy 4 battle modes, including the new "Castle"!
“Castle”: Asymmetrical battle between the Castle side, which protects the treasure chest, and the Attack side, which aims to win the treasure chest!
“Standard”: The classic battle mode loved by fans!
“Grand Prix”: Battle of two teams! Work with your allies to defeat the opposing team!
“Battle 64”: Battle for survival with up to 64 players! Aim for Bomber One!

• Grade Match
Battles between users with similar abilities!
Fight online with players from all over the world!

• Room Match
Set freely battle modes and rules!
Get your friends together online and have a good time!

• Offline Battle
With one console you can enjoy Bomberman!
Connect additional controllers and play with family and friends!
*Controllers for the number of persons are required.

• Stage Editor
Customized stages with blocks and gimmicks can be shared online!
Create, play, share, and explore various stages with the Stage Editor!

• Story Mode
Enjoy the Story Mode that has been enhanced!
Visit new planets with Bombermans new friends “Ellons” and face the threat of the universe!

Super Bomberman R 2 is available to buy now from Steam, Fanatical, and Humble Store.

Article taken from GamingOnLinux.com.
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About the author -
author picture
I'm Lady Pengling of the Principality of Sealand - a Linux user since 2007, and a full-time Linux-gamer since 2021. I'm a portables enthusiast, a big fan of the Bomberman series, and a lover of retro-gaming and classic action genres such as platformers and maze-chase games.
See more from me
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11 comments

WorMzy Oct 24, 2023
In before Pengli-

QuoteAbout the author - Pengling

Never mind.
Grogan Oct 24, 2023
When I saw the headline, I thought "Pengling is going to like this" then... "oh wait!" :-)

Nice write-up, it seems that game is a little more involved than I thought it would be.
StoneColdSpider Oct 24, 2023
So Pengling blows the doors up to the new servers........ And then gets an article published a few days later???.......
theres no justice in this world......

GOD DAMMIT PENGLING!!!!!
jams3223 Oct 24, 2023
Waiting for my favorite Bomberman fan to comment here.
Purple Library Guy Oct 25, 2023
Quoting: jams3223Waiting for my favorite Bomberman fan to comment here.
You . . . might want to have a quick look at the previous comments.
hardpenguin Oct 25, 2023
I'll just say it... Ahem... STADIA
Pengling Oct 25, 2023
Quoting: WorMzyIn before Pengli-

QuoteAbout the author - Pengling

Never mind.
Hehehe!

And as I've said a few times in the Weekend Players' Club threads over on the forum, if any fellow GOL'ers have the game (doesn't matter which platform, since it has crossplay), please do PM me if you want to set up a match.

Quoting: GroganWhen I saw the headline, I thought "Pengling is going to like this" then... "oh wait!" :-)
I couldn't let the game getting a Steam Deck rating go by without submitting an article! (And goodness, it's not like Konami have marketed it much, which is utterly crazy given how marketable the game's cast are.)

Quoting: GroganNice write-up, it seems that game is a little more involved than I thought it would be.
Thankyou very much!

It's still got the series' trademark pick-up-and-play arcade-style* gameplay at its core, and multiplayer matches are correctly kept fairly brief (a few minutes each, generally, so good for slotting into get-togethers - though you can change that for certain modes, if you want), but the story-mode is a lot more experimental and exploratory than I expected (in a good way, though), and it still keeps the Saturday-morning-cartoon/animated-movie feel for the cutscenes (which I'm a big fan of - and I really do hope that the trademark coverage for a streaming-show amounts to something, like it did with the Castlevania shows on Netflix). I thoroughly enjoyed every minute of it - even the somewhat-harsh final-boss gauntlet!

*It feels a bit weird to say "arcade-style" here, as the series actually originated with "Bomber Man"/"Bakudan Otoko", a 1983 title for various Japanese home-computers and also the British ZX Spectrum (published by the official Sinclair label under the unfortunate name of "Eric and the Floaters" ), and it didn't get any arcade adaptations until later. Moreover, once the multiplayer mode was added, it became the first big multiplayer phenomenon to spawn from home-gaming instead of from the arcades.

Quoting: StoneColdSpiderSo Pengling blows the doors up to the new servers........ And then gets an article published a few days later???.......
theres no justice in this world......

GOD DAMMIT PENGLING!!!!!
Hahahahahahahaha!

Well, how do you think the door got blown up, exactly?

Quoting: jams3223Waiting for my favorite Bomberman fan to comment here.
Aww, thanks very much. Though, does the article itself count?

Quoting: Purple Library GuyYou . . . might want to have a quick look at the previous comments.
On that note, thanks very much for the nice comments, all of you.

Looks like the game's got another update in the works, already - hopefully they'll get it bumped up to Verified at some point, as well as restore the unlockable content from previous titles that's inexplicably missing from this one. Hopefully I can post an update or another article then.

Quoting: hardpenguinI'll just say it... Ahem... STADIA
You're thinking of a different game - the now-delisted Super Bomberman R Online*, the second of the three modern titles, and the greatest free-to-play game there ever was and ever will be. That game was partly a feature-test for the online component in Super Bomberman R 2, and its content lives on there.

*Not to be confused with Super Bomberman R.

Super Bomberman R Online being Stadia-exclusive for its first few months means that it would've been the first Bomberman game to have a native Linux build (which I think might make Bomberman the very first of the classic Japanese gaming icons to get that for something that wasn't an emulated retro re-release?*) - though sadly the slightly-later multi-platform release of SBRO didn't make that build available to the public. It was perfect under Proton, though. I'm curious to see what developer HexaDrive (a Japanese indie outfit that Konami has handling the modern Bomberman games) will do in the future, in that regard.

*EDIT: My bad, Pac-Man was the first! The two have had a Japan-only official crossover in the past, though.


Last edited by Pengling on 27 October 2023 at 3:58 pm UTC
Grogan Oct 25, 2023
Quoting: PenglingIt's still got the series' trademark pick-up-and-play arcade-style* gameplay at its core, and multiplayer matches are correctly kept fairly brief (a few minutes each, generally, so good for slotting into get-togethers - but you can change that for certain modes

I don't like multiplayer anything anymore, but short matches are best. We used to do 10 minute matches on our game servers, for FPS gameplay. I sometimes play bot matches in games, but that too... a few 10 minute map rotations and I'm tired of it.
Pengling Oct 25, 2023
Quoting: GroganI don't like multiplayer anything anymore, but short matches are best.
I only play with friends and family, these days, and that's the way I like it - it's always a good laugh. Totally agreed on short matches - and that tends to lend itself to good game-balance, as well.

I did my time in competitive with another game, years ago, and that experience (including using online-play for practise and having to deal with endless cheaters and false-flags from bad losers, some of them also being cheaters who did not get banned themselves - I got wrongfully banned by a badly-designed automated system 14 times, back then) rather soured me on playing with randoms.

Quoting: GroganWe used to do 10 minute matches on our game servers, for FPS gameplay.
10 minutes! Yikes! I get motion-sickness from first-person stuff, so I'm not sure how well I'd fare, there.

Quoting: GroganI sometimes play bot matches in games, but that too... a few 10 minute map rotations and I'm tired of it.
I'd be doing more offline matches in Super Bomberman R 2, but right now the AI (in the old gaming sense, not the modern one) is as dumb as a stump! I'm sure it'll be patched, though - they did the same with the first Super Bomberman R, except back then the AI had to be toned down over the course of several patches because it was far too harsh. It's definitely better for them to have approached it from the opposite side this time around!
StoneColdSpider Oct 25, 2023
Quoting: PenglingHahahahahahahaha!

Well, how do you think the door got blown up, exactly?
You admitted you blew them up...... Are you saying you used terrorist tactics to force Liam to post your news article???.........
Pengling Oct 25, 2023
Quoting: StoneColdSpiderYou admitted you blew them up...... Are you saying you used terrorist tactics to force Liam to post your news article???.........


HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA, NO!


Last edited by Pengling on 25 October 2023 at 8:48 pm UTC
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