The enthusiasm of the fans that we are was immediately showered by this initial camera whose positioning harms the readability of the action. There's simply no control in the outlook, and it's not uncommon for one to get cheated by an enemy stashed behind a block. Better, it is difficult to differentiate the ground floor from the platforms located in height; in tense moments when you find yourself surrounded by a horde of enemies, it is clearly misery. In short, even fans will find it difficult to find their marks, and everything that makes the salt of the license evaporates over the misplaced bombs, misjudged distances, and uncertain movements. Moreover, concerning this last point, we advise you to opt for the directional cross of the Pro controller, if only to gain precision, even if the thumb is off-center. Character control is far too hazardous with the Joy-Con stick. Enough to increase the amount of the bill, it's true, but when you put the technical faults of this Bomberman Super R end to end, all means are good to make the experience more pleasant. Anyway, it's certainly not the graphics that will allow the game to get its head above water. In addition to not being sharp, the production displays bland colors and textures that border on non-existence, whether on the living room screen or on the tablet. We will avoid dwelling too much on the quickdraw of enemies who have no pace, and on the effects could not be more laughable. If it was to do that, it would have been better for the developers to settle for clean and efficient 2D. There, the picture is really not terrible, knowing that even with such minimal visual quality, Super Bomberman R offers some pretty mind-blowing framerate drops at this level.
If Bomberman has often commanded respect at the time of the Super Nintendo, we cannot say that Super Bomberman R is a real success on Switch. Graphically limited – to be polite – the game is also a disappointment when you dig into the gameplay a bit.
However, some ingredients that have made the series famous are there, like the bonuses that allow you to shake things up a bit.. We think of skates that allow you to move faster, flames that increase the range of bombs, Spike Bombs whose explosion pierces the blocks, or even boxing gloves to straighten the bombs and clear them from our path. As we keep the benefit of the items as long as we haven't put a knee on the ground, it is still useful to scrutinize the levels in order to recover the maximum bonus. With such a vicious – not to say chewy – AI and bosses who seem to read us like an open book, it's more than appreciable. About the bosses precisely, the second phase during which we have to fight them in an arena is quite disturbing in the sense that we can move freely, while the bombs continue to explode “in the old fashioned way”. You have to take the fold, and finding the right timing is not necessarily easy. Since we have to talk about the content of the game, we note the presence of a “Story” mode in which it is a question of overcoming the Emperor Buggler and the Bomber-Villains. These are five in number, so many planets to explore alone or in cooperation. Without forcing his talent, we torch everything in just a few hours, but we must admit that some levels give some cold sweats, to the point of having to draw from the 7 lives available to the start of each run. To resume a game where it left off, you will have to spend a handful of gems – 300 generally; otherwise, you will have to start again at the first level of the planet concerned. To pass to the next level, it will be a question of respecting certain conditions like eliminating all the enemies, recovering keys, still activating switches, escorting characters, or even surviving during the allotted time. These objectives make it possible to break the rhythm at times soporific of the “Story” mode, despite the cutscenes whose humor failed to wring a single smile from us.
EXPLODES IN FLIGHT
There is therefore only the multiplayer mode left to save what can still be saved. With a camera that is placed as in historical episodes, it is immediately less laborious. Bomberman has always been fun for many and Super Bomberman R is no exception to the rule, even if it remains below the episodes of the great era. Up to 8 players can compete locally or online, knowing that there is a way to take part in ranked matches (League Battle) as well as friendly games (Free Battle). You can create your own salon – and define the rules – before inviting your friends, of course, but that doesn't make it possible to hide certain shortcomings when you've spent sleepless nights when you had class the next day. The bonuses aren't plentiful enough to set up the worst traps, which makes the backstabs quite predictable, in fact. We end up belly dancing to celebrate a victory, but deep down we know that this Super Bomberman R will not be a date.
