0 to Z of Playstation 1 Games - Bomberman Fantasy Race

     

Bomberman Fantasy Race is a racing game and a spin off of the Bomberman series of strategy maze series created by Hudson Soft. The game was developed by Graphic Research Inc and published by Hudson Soft for its initial Japanese release on the 6^th of August 1998.

The game would also be released in North America with a 31^st of March 1999 release date, this release was published by Atlus. In addition the game also released in PAL regions the following year in July of 2000, this release was published by Virgin Interactive.

Notable people who worked on this game, Haruko Ōyama who worked as a designer on Bomberman Fantasy Race, in 2008 he worked on Sonic Unleashed working as an Effects Artist on the game, his most recent credit was for the 2010 release Xenoblade Chronicles where he worked on the games Visual Effects.

Bomberman Fantasy Race is a 3D racing game that allows the player to choose from two single player modes as well as a two player split screen mode in this Bomberman inspired racer, the game features a total of six Bomberman characters to choose from.

White Bomber who is the hero of the Bomberman series decided to participate when his long standing enemy Bagular a reoccurring villan in the Bomberman series enters the race, in an attempt to fund his evil plants. Also entering the races is Black Bomber who is White Bomber’s ally and rival, Black Bomber is hoping to become rich from the races.

 

Pretty Bomber the sly female bomber from the Five Dastardly Bombers also enters the races along with a mysterious entrant only known as Mechbomber 015, this mysterious entrant is here to prove how good he is to everyone else. A new character is another mysterious character in Mach Bomber, who always says he was born to run.

The six entrants that are racing don’t race In karts that you would expect instead they ride creatures, these being either a Louie, which first appeared in Bomberman 94 or the Tirra which debuted  in Saturn Bomberman, these creatures act as the vehicles for the Bombermen.

 

The two types of creatures available each have specific strengths, the Louie has better handling than the Tirra, while the Tirra has a better speed than the Louie. During the course of the game the player will earn coins, these coins can be used to purchase better versions of the creatures.

Each of the two types of creatures have four additional types that can be unlocked by using earned coins, once the four of each type of creature an additional Louie and Tirra  the Black Louie, and the King Tirra.will be unlocked for purchase. The game features seven courses to race on with an addition

The main single player mode sees the player racing against five other computer controlled rivals, with the aim being to reach at least the top three in the race, third place will reward the player with coins for finishing in this position. Finishing in first place will reward the player with an increased amount of coins for finishing first.

 

In addition to receiving more coins for finishing in first place, the player will also have the chance to race on the bonus course, if they are once again successful and win this bonus race they will unlock a mirrored version of that course to race on.

Players can look and exchange coins in the bank, the bank has 10 boxes with a blue light signifying if they contain coins and a red light if the box is full, players can exchange 100 copper for one silver coin and ten silver coins for one gold coins, when a safe in the bank is full the coins are automatically exchanged. Coins can be used to buy new creatures at the stable, items and courses.

Time Attack mode, has the players racing against the clock in the attempt to set their best lap time and course records, players are able to save ghost data in this mode to allow you to hone and improve your skills and study their runs or exchange it with friends. The ranking screen posts the player's name, creature, and best time.

The two player mode, which is a split screen mode, allows players to wager in game money on the race, the winner of the race getting all the money that their opponent wagered on the race, the player with the least amount of money is the one who decides if a wager can be placed on the race.

 

Basic controls for the game, the D-Pad is used to move your character, the X button is used to make your character and their mount run, this was an issue for some reviewers with the X button needing repeated presses to make your mount move or move quicker and maintain speed.

Your character and their mounts can jump using the Circle button, the triangle button allows the player to change the camera view, while the L1 shoulder button brings up the map, items can be used by hitting the R1 Shoulder button.

This being a Bomberman game you have access to weaponry, the Square button allows your character to deploy bombs, by either throwing them or dropping them, the bombs can also be used for a bomb dash to give your character a boost of speed.

Creatures can dash using their stamina for a limited amount of time, as mentioned before your are able to jump, you are also able to jump off of the walls of the track. The various tracks also have panels on the track, these panels will give the player different items that can be used to help them progress or hinder their opponents.

Eggs can also be found while racing around the tracks, each creature can hold a maximum of three of these eggs, the eggs have different affects depending on the creature you are using. If you are using a Louie, then these eggs will give you a speed boost, while a Tirra will gain a barrier that will protect them from bomb explosions.

Critically the game was not very well received by critics, while the game did receive a few decent review scores it also had a good chunk of reviews scores that rated below average or worse. As usual though we will start with the best of them which comes from French publication Consoles Plus.

The reviewer for Consoles Plus rated Bomberman Fantasy Race at a respectable 75. The review finding the game to be pretty fun, with a neat technical accomplishment, with races having plenty of speed and twists, they concluded by saying if you like the style, the get started.

Just behind this with a respectable 75 rated review from intensepsx.com. The reviewer found Bomberman Fantasy Race falls behind both Mario Kart and Rockman Battle and Chase, however at the same time he review still had quite a good time with the game, and should not be overlooked due to its few ugly points.

The reviewer continued by saying. It might lack a bit in the graphics and control departments, but it makes up for them with great ideas like the triangle button to jump and dash, as well as the bomb throwing mayhem that comes with the Bomberman name.

Heading over to Sweden for the next review which comes from Super Play, who rated the game at a respectable 72. The reviewer finding that if Hudson had spent some more time trying to combine the racing genre with Bomberman in a more sublime manner, then this could have had a hit, but they burned their chance.

IGN are next up with an above average 68 rated review, the reviewer finding the game doesn’t push technical limits and lacks a speedy adrenaline rush, it is still a good time, with the reviewer find the game enjoyable, although the game does not add much new to the genre, it’s nice to see there are titles out there that are find to play regardless of cuteness or overused characters.

Heading over to the Netherlands for the next review and the publication Power Unlimited, where we find the reviewer was not very exited about the game, with the reviewer finding the games graphics to be not great, and without the bomb violence there is only a second-rate racing game.

GameSpot rated the game at an average 57, the reviewer finding the games visual to be a bit plain for this generation of PlayStation games, with pop-up and build are an issue. They continued by saying it’s not horrible looking game however.

Sound wise the review found the game alternates between sounding like a speeded up tape and an imported electronic toy, ultimately they found the game earns a few points for quirkiness in this category. Overall though the reviewer found the game to be not very long, very good or very bad. Concluding the reviewer found the game maybe worth a rent, but it’s a little too short and the track a little too simple to warrant a more long term relationship.

For the next review we head back over to France and Joypad who rated the game at an average as you can get 50. with the reviewer finding the game to be production light, quickly programmed, it has not major defects but suffers from a lack of depth. Concluding the review said, the game will be fun for one after for two player or a few days alone, but not enough to by for a high price.

Next we head to Germany and the publication Video Games who rated the game at a below average 49, the reviewer finding those damn critters control like stubborn donkeys, with cramping fingers by constantly pressing X and up on the D-Pad for acceleration..

The reviewer was also critical of the low quality character design, the tracks were also an issue for the reviewer with wall clipping being a big issue for them. and the music (once a random key pressed on the synth) all hint at a concoction that has not been shaken by love.

Random Access are next up with their fairly recent review of the game which came in March of 2013, the reviewer rating the game at a poor 20. The reviewer finding that they just paid for a game with one sticking track, one Looie and one Tierra, plus not chance of winning. Concluding they said, If you are the kind of person who enjoys having your eyes jabbed with a hot poker, then this is the game for you.

The penultimate review comes from NowGamer who also rated the game at a poor 20, with the reviewer finding the games controls annoying, with the reviewer questioning why developers thought it was a good idea to make players intermittently hit forward on the D-Pad or duel shock pad to speed up.

The reviewer did praise the split screen option, which has a pretty neat wagering system, but overall they said. but there really is nothing that even vaguely stimulate the senses; there’s more excitement in a morgue. Come back Running Wild, all is forgiven.

Back to Germany for the final review and Mega Fun who rated the game at a very poor 18. The reviewer finding Fantasy Race gives them the same feeling as a new year’s blast that does not explore. The reviewer found the game has weak technical implementation edged game characters, lens flare effects that do not deserve this name, annoying background sounds, spongy controls and unimaginative track design.

This is the part of 0 to Z where is visit four online retailers and see what the availability of the title is, and what price you would be looking at if you wanted to pick this title up, the sites that I will be using for this are Amazon.com, eStarland.com, retrogames.co.uk and Gamedude.com I know the last one is very location specific, but from a podcast I listen to, I’ve heard they have a huge stock of older games, Ebay has now been dropped unless the game is unavailable at other retailers.

So lets get down to business with Gamedude, where we find Bomberman Fantasy race has a decent trade in price of $17 for a copy from Gamedude. If on the other hand you are in the market for a copy of the game from them you will have to pay a significant amount of money for a copy with a price of $34 for a copy from Gamedude.

 

Heading over to Retrogames.co.uk we don’t find the game available or even listed, so we will quickly head over to eStarland.com, here we find both the North American and Japanese imported version listed. First up the North American version of the game which is currently out of stock, when in stock the game has a usual price of between $17.88 and $32.50. A trade in is also offered on this game with up to $16 paid for a complete copy of the game.

The Japanese version of the game is also currently out of stock, this version of the game when In stock has a usual price of between $7.98 and $14.50. Also on offer is a trade in for this version as well, with up to $5.50 being paid for a complete copy of the game.

 

Lastly we have Amazon.com where we find a small number of copies of the North American version on offer, the first few copies are all disc only copies, the first complete copy we find is an acceptable condition copy which is priced up at $37.99.

The next cheapest complete copy is significantly more expensive, this copy is in good condition, this copy will however set you back $88.96. Another good condition and complete copy is available for $89.58 as well. In addition to the used copies there is one new copy of the North American version available, this copy is priced at $103.97.

Written by

P J Gibbon