Super Bomberman R 2 from Konami is a sequel to 2018’s franchise revival. This time around the Bomberman Brothers must protect the home planets of the squishy creatures known as Ellons from being destroyed by the evil mastermind Fusel.
As with most Bomberman titles, you have the option to play both online and offline in either 4 vs. 4 Standard free-for-all or 2 vs. 2 Grand Prix battles. What differentiates this game from its predecessor is the addition of a fully-fledged 10-to-12-hour campaign, a level editor, and a new mode called Castle. The new story has you exploring three free roam planets; Fulvita, Aquastar, and Unknown Star; solving simple environmental puzzles, eliminating enemies, and rescuing Ellons to unlock barriers. After several repetitive areas of this you’ll stumble upon an enemy castle, or your base will be attacked, initiating the new game mode.
Castle is an asymmetric battle with two teams, one protecting the treasure from the other. The defending team is tasked with building up their defences in the somewhat clunky level editor by placing various blockades and gadgets, laser turrets, bomb cannons, springboards, and so on to fend off the intruders. The battle then proceeds with the attackers collecting keys to unlock treasure chests while avoiding being blown up by the defenders. It’s a neat additional mode that keeps the gameplay feeling fresh.
R 2 isn’t without its flaws, though, as we often found it visually cluttered with an assortment of visuals, shields, lasers, explosions, and other players making it difficult to see bombs you are supposed to avoid. There’s also the occasional drop in frame rate during most matches, and some inexcusably lengthy load times.
Super Bomberman R 2 is a step in the right direction for the series with the addition of a lengthy campaign, a level editor, and a whole new game mode. With more puzzles to mix up the repetitive gameplay and a little more polish to iron out the visual clutter, frame rate drops, and long load times, Bomberman could be super yet again.
