Since I revisited Super Bomberman R last week, this week I'll be replaying the story-mode of Super Bomberman R 2 (Proton) for the first time since the game's release six months ago.

With a wait of 15 months from reveal to release (plus one extra if you want to count the fact that a sequel to Super Bomberman R was pretty obvious from the closure announcement for Super Bomberman R Online), this is the current record-holder for my most-anticipated game of my entire career, and considering that the previous one (for the UK release of Kirby Super Deluxe/Kirby Super Star/Kirby's Fun Pak, with a wait of 10 months) had held that record for 26 years, I can't imagine another game topping this - unless the next Bomberman game should happen to be revealed and released with a similar timeframe.

Anyway, though I've played the battle-mode regularly since release, I haven't replayed the story-mode since then, so that's what I'll be revisiting this weekend.


Super Bomberman R 2's story-mode is quite an experimental affair - where R 1 was structured much like the SNES titles that it was a follow-up to, with seven worlds each containing several stages and a couple of boss-fights, R 2 instead features three very large worlds (where each "screen" is usually larger than the stages in its predecessor) that include tower-defense and invasion sections and occasional puzzles to break up the exploring and collecting of Ellons (little helper creatures who end up being the lynchpin of the story). It draws quite a bit from the Bomber King spin-off branch of the Bomberman series (1, 2 ), but without inheriting the flaws of those titles. The cutscenes, though every bit as charming as in R 1 (and sometimes even more so, particularly in terms of character-interactions, as the Bomberman family feels even closer here than before), take slightly more of a serious tone here; Where R 1 feels like a Saturday-morning cartoon (which has always been the Bomberman series' general tone), R 2 could fairly be said to feel more like an animated movie, and though the series' trademark gentle humour is there, it feels like it has a little bit less of it overall.


Ironically, when R 1 was released there were people complaining that it should've been more experimental, and then when R 2 was released those same people went on to complain that it wasn't enough like the traditional entires in the series! Poor Bomberman just can't please some people, and unfortunately that's led to some unfairly harsh reviews, considering how responsive the developers at Hexa Drive have actually been. I'm hoping that this won't negatively affect its sales and the series' future too much - after all, with no promotion and the same complaining, R 1 sold 3 to 4 million copies, and the short-lived free-to-play R Online racked up around 7 million downloads in the year-and-a-bit that it was available for, so clearly people actually do want these games and the positivity is just being drowned out by loudmouths. I guess the rest of us are just too busy playing and having fun.

Super Bomberman R 2 gripped me completely upon release, and I fully expect this weekend's revisit to do the same - I really do adore the game and all that it contributes to the series, and it was super-refreshing to see Konami's continued committment to continuing the series and doing new things with it, rather than just leaning on nostalgia like some other companies do. However, once I'm done with this playthrough, I'll be retiring the game from its regular appearances in my weekly other-stuff list for a while due to my only quibble with it: Though it's been well-supported so far, they have yet to fix the AIs, which are still as dumb as a stump, which unfortunately undermines playing the battle-mode solo because the AIs barely do anything and the only way to lose is through making mistakes - and since some unlockables were stupidly tied to online-play and they obviously want to push that, I'm not entirely sure whether this element will be fixed, either. Of course, Bomberman won't be absent from my posts by any means - he's practically like my sidekick around here, at this point, and there are plenty of other Bomberman games for me to play, which I will most certainly be doing!

[+..••] Other stuff that I played this week;


Blast Corps (N64)


FUR Squadron (Proton)


GB Rober (Proton)


Orebody: Binder's Tale (Proton)


Rivals of Aether (Proton)


Spelunky (Proton)


Star Fox Super Weekend Competition (SNES)


Star Soldier: Vanishing Earth (N64)


Super Bomberman R (Proton)


SuperTux (Native Linux)


Waku Waku 7 (Arcade)


Yoshi's Story (N64)

I also updated my profile-page hardware photo earlier in the week;



It's similar to the previous one, but it has a bit of a stronger theme: All of the characters in it have appeared in native Linux games. Yes, even Bomberman! The short-lived free-to-play Super Bomberman R Online was a Stadia-exclusive for its first few months, so although it was never available to the public, a native Linux build did exist.

It was just as well that I dealt with that while I could, because shortly after that the previous repair from two or three years back finally gave way and the power-switch on my phone failed completely (don't buy Motorola phones, guys, they're built to break), and unfortunately a repair would've cost as much as a new phone or more, and would've failed again due to Motorola's poor design standards, so I had to buy a replacement on very short notice. And though said replacement (a budget Nokia, since this was unexpected and I don't need a ton out of a smartphone) is really well-built and has the lovely feature of an easily-user-replaceable battery (YAY! ), it has a pretty awful camera (note that this had to be sharpened afterwards - it looks even worse as-it-comes);



I'll have to deal with that issue some other time.

Quoting: StoneColdSpiderAs you might have been able to tell from the icon next to my name..... Ive made the switch from EndeavourOS to Linux Mint...... Spent a lot of time this week backing up data and getting ready to make the switch........

How're you liking it so far? I find Mint Xfce to be faultlessly fuss-free, myself.

Quoting: StoneColdSpiderIts been rather smooth besides a few hiccups the main one was in RetroArch but it turns out it wasnt just me and seems to be a core issue with the MAME 2003-Plus core....... (Thanks for the help Pengling)........

Glad to help! I'm glad that it wasn't a hard-drive problem or something!

Quoting: StoneColdSpiderResident Evil 2…...

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Resident Evil on the Nintendo 64???…… Almost a scarier idea than the games premise itself…...

The graphics….. The graphics are great….. The N64 slightly blurry backgrounds are of course here…… BUT Capcom updated the player models to have more polygons and smoother animations than the PlayStation version……

The use of colour is very good as is again the use of the fixed camera angles……. The whole game looks exceptional on the N64…...

The sounds……. The sounds are good….. The music is good and again it is used sparingly….. Voice acting is ok and even with the lower bit late thanks to cartridge space limitations its still easy to listen too……

Gun shots sound really nice as do the sounds of the enemies…… The ambient sound is also nice and atmospheric…….

The controls……... Tank controls….. Need I say more???…….

The storyline.......

Play as either Leon Kennedy is a cop who on his first shift at Racoon City after being transferred there…… Or……. Clair Redfield the sister of Chris Redfield who has come to Racoon City in search of her missing brother…….
Around two months has passed since the Spencer Mansion incident the residents of Racoon City have turned into flesh eating zombies thanks to the Umbrella Corporation…….

Survive Racoon City and Get out anyway than you can…….


The gameplay…… Very similar to the first game…… Wonder around very nicely detailed areas searching for quest items and solving puzzles to unlock more rooms to do the same in…..

All while avoiding the hoard of undead…….

If you have played the first then expect this to be very similar just in a different environment…… One that is much better land marked and you wont get lost in as easily…...

Overall…… This game is better than the first game in almost every way……. The atmosphere is outstanding and the better voice work really shows…… Combined with puzzles that arnt all that difficult and you end up with an excellent gaming experience…….

And that is why my final score for Resident Evil 2 is a annoying girl out of 10……...

It really is truly amazing how they crunched a two-disc CD-ROM game into a 64MB cartridge, and managed to improve certain aspects and add features that don't appear in any other version! It should be a required study in optimisation skills.

Quoting: StoneColdSpider

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MR BEAN….. NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!……...
Resident Evil 2……...

Behold the Man who is a Bean.

Quoting: StoneColdSpiderThe Road To PES Penguin 6

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The road to unlock the PES Penguin in Pro Evolution Soccer 6 is at 3600 PES points out of 5000……….

Only 1400 to go!

Quoting: StoneColdSpider

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NBA Courtside 2 Featuring Kobe Bryant (1999 Nintendo) - Nintendo 64 - Sports (Basketball)

This has that truly uncanny look that's totally unique to that era of gaming.

Quoting: StoneColdSpider

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Super Street Fighter II Turbo (1994 Capcom) - Fighting

Quoting: StoneColdSpiderNow for my bad joke of the week……
Q: What do you call a cow with a twitch????........
A: Beef jerkey.......
*ba dum.... tssssh…...*

Hahahaha!

Last edited by Pengling on 9 March 2024 at 1:44 pm UTC

Quoting: Pengling

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Since I revisited Super Bomberman R last week, this week I'll be replaying the story-mode of Super Bomberman R 2 (Proton) for the first time since the game's release six months ago.

GOD DAMMIT PENGLING.......

Quoting: PenglingWith a wait of 15 months from reveal to release

The longest 15 months of your life.....

Quoting: PenglingSuper Bomberman R 2 gripped me completely upon release

Oh dont remind me...... I heard ALLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL about it......
I even had to watch a live stream about it in a language I dont understand......

Quoting: Pengling

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Blast Corps (N64)

That is a game I do need to play...... Ive heard a lot of good things about it.......

Quoting: Pengling

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FUR Squadron (Proton)

That image totally reminds me of this scene from the Transformers movie........

Quoting: Pengling

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GB Rober (Proton)

Looks like a robot bomb...... No wonder you like it.......

Quoting: Pengling

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Rivals of Aether (Proton)

Very Trash Ultimate Billboard looking......

Quoting: Pengling

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Spelunky (Proton)

That throwing stick stunt of yours has boomeranged on us.......

Quoting: Pengling

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Star Fox Super Weekend Competition (SNES)

Have you done a barrel roll yet???........

Quoting: Pengling

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Star Soldier: Vanishing Earth (N64)

Better or worse than Star Parodia???......

Quoting: Pengling

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Super Bomberman R (Proton)

GOD DAMMIT PENGLING....... Part 2.........

Quoting: Pengling

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SuperTux (Native Linux)

Is Super Tux anything like [Super Ted???.....]()

Quoting: Pengling

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Waku Waku 7 (Arcade)

THat game is ALMOST as weird as you..... Almost......

Quoting: Pengling

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Yoshi's Story (N64)

Yoshi Sucks......

Quoting: PenglingI also updated my profile-page hardware photo earlier in the week;

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Did you come onto my farm and steal my Junimo slaves???....... They are meant to be picking cherries right now...... No wonder im not making as much money as I should be.......

Quoting: Pengling

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Why is he looking at the back of the Steam Deck???...... thats not how you play games........

Quoting: PenglingHow're you liking it so far? I find Mint Xfce to be faultlessly fuss-free, myself.

Its been good so far.... I went with the Cinnamon DE in the end..... Working great so far......

Quoting: PenglingIt really is truly amazing how they crunched a two-disc CD-ROM game into a 64MB cartridge, and managed to improve certain aspects and add features that don't appear in any other version! It should be a required study in optimisation skills.

Yeah it is and they did a wonderful job with it....... Back when Capcom was good..... And either did great work themselves or hired the right people to do the ports...... Its a shame what they have turned into now.......

Quoting: PenglingBehold the Man who is a Bean.

Beans beans......

[quote=StoneColdSpider]The Road To PES Penguin 6

Quoting: PenglingOnly 1400 to go!

Dont remind me.... Ive still got ages to go.......

Quoting: PenglingThis has that truly uncanny look that's totally unique to that era of gaming.

The N64 does have a very unique look to its game......

Quoting: Pengling

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Happy happy joy joy......

Quoting: PenglingHahahaha!

I knew you would like that joke.......

Quoting: StoneColdSpiderGOD DAMMIT PENGLING.......

Quoting: StoneColdSpiderThe longest 15 months of your life.....

Though they were pretty awesome.

Quoting: StoneColdSpiderOh dont remind me...... I heard ALLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL about it......
I even had to watch a live stream about it in a language I dont understand......

That was exactly a year before the game was out!

Quoting: StoneColdSpiderThat is a game I do need to play...... Ive heard a lot of good things about it.......

It has some really good ideas, and it works exactly like it should (i.e., like radio-controlled vehicles). That said, I found that it has the same things I feel are problems with a lot of Rare's N64 output (particularly Diddy Kong Racing, which is one of my most-disliked games of all time) - once you're out of the first handful of stages, the game suddenly and immediately expects you to have full mastery of things you haven't even encountered yet, and the difficulty just spikes sky-high. That was enough to put me off - it just confirmed my view on most of Rare's stuff from that era, unfortunately.

Quoting: StoneColdSpiderLooks like a robot bomb...... No wonder you like it.......

He's just a round blobby robot dude.

Quoting: StoneColdSpiderVery Trash Ultimate Billboard looking......

Unfortunately, Rivals of Aether ended up making some of the same mistakes in its updates, too. I only keep it installed for Abyss Endless mode, usually.

Quoting: StoneColdSpiderHave you done a barrel roll yet???........

Quoting: StoneColdSpiderBetter or worse than Star Parodia???......

Star Parodier is still my favourite shmup. Star Soldier: Vanishing Earth is quite different due to how many years are between the two games (and, y'know, Vanishing Earth not being a parody-game ) - it's A LOT more aligned with the style of arcade-games in 1998, owing to the fact that an arcade version was made for a board that was based on the N64.

Quoting: StoneColdSpiderGOD DAMMIT PENGLING....... Part 2.........

(Part 2.)

Quoting: StoneColdSpiderIs Super Tux anything like [Super Ted???.....]()

Haha, no.

Quoting: StoneColdSpiderTHat game is ALMOST as weird as you..... Almost......

Awesome.

Quoting: StoneColdSpiderDid you come onto my farm and steal my Junimo slaves???....... They are meant to be picking cherries right now...... No wonder im not making as much money as I should be.......

Nope, these're my Junimos.

Quoting: StoneColdSpiderWhy is he looking at the back of the Steam Deck???...... thats not how you play games........

He was holding it up so I could take the picture, duh.

Quoting: StoneColdSpiderIts been good so far.... I went with the Cinnamon DE in the end..... Working great so far......

Cool. I quite liked Cinnamon when I tried it out not too long ago, though it doesn't quite suit me. It's definitely what I'd recommend to others, though!

Quoting: StoneColdSpiderYeah it is and they did a wonderful job with it....... Back when Capcom was good..... And either did great work themselves or hired the right people to do the ports...... Its a shame what they have turned into now.......

It really is.

Quoting: StoneColdSpiderI knew you would like that joke.......

Last edited by Pengling on 15 March 2024 at 12:19 am UTC