Bomberman 64: The Second Attack! is the third game in the Bomberman franchise for the Nintendo 64 , released in 1999 as a sequel to Bomberman 64.
While celebrating his victory over the invaders in the previous game on the hot springs planet Ksa2, Bomberman finds a mysterious egg and decides to take it with him. On his way home, however, Bomberman's ship gets sucked into a black hole, and he wakes up to find himself in jail with the aforementioned egg, which suddenly hatches into a tiny creature named Pommy.
Bomberman and Pommy soon learn that the evil Rukifellth and his BHB Army have been collecting powerful artifacts known as the Elemental Stones. The only one they're missing now is the Fire Stone — the very one that Bomberman uses to create his bombs. With no other choice left to them, Bomberman and Pommy set out to fight the BHB Army's Astral Knights, taking their Elemental Stones so they can't be used for evil and destroying the Gravity Generators that power the black hole that trapped Bomberman in the first place.
The game plays largely like Bomberman 64, with several additions/upgrades:
- Six different types of elemental bombs aside from the standard fire
- The return of the grid-shaped explosion (although certain bombs retain a spherical blast radius)
- Four pieces of special armor that can be collected, each of which permanently improves one of Bomberman's abilities
- A shop where Bomberman can purchase health upgrades, multiplayer stages, multiplayer costumes, and hints on how to defeat the Astral Knights
- Pommy, who can be controlled by either the AI or by a second player
Pommy also marks the introduction of the Charabom/Karabon mechanic to the series. Feeding him different types of food will improve his abilities, eventually resulting in him changing into a new form. This would be expanded upon in later games, particularly in Bomberman Tournament and Bomberman Generation in the form of Charabom battles and Charabom fusion, and Bomberman Jetters in the form of Charaboms evolving as they level up.
This game provides examples of:
- Apocalypse How: It's rather telling how dark the game is that the results of letting either Mihaele, Sthertoth, or the Angel run free with their plans would have all caused a Universal Class 6 Apocalypse.
- Awesome, but Impractical: Gravity/Shadow Bombs have the cool ability of pulling enemies to nonexistence, but there's a lot of caveats that make this element not as overpowered as it sounds. It also sucks and deletes power-ups that you may need, and Bomberman is not immune to the explosion. If he blows himself up with one, then you instantly kill yourself. Handle these bombs with care.
- Back from the Dead: In the Good Ending, the knights plus Rukifellth and Lilith all come back.
- Beam Spam: One of the final bosses uses this. You dodge it by standing still.
- Believing Their Own Lies: It's either this or Wrong Genre Savvy with Pommy. Despite constantly cowering from every single boss battle and every time a Gravity Generator room is visited, Pommy insists to the very end that he's the hero of the story (and moreover that he's the one looking out for Bomberman).
- Big Bad: Rukifellth. Who was possessed by the demon god Sthertoth.
- Bad Guys Do the Dirty Work: Regulus/Bulzeeb. Zoniha is about to kamikaze Bomberman after losing when he shows up and cancels her attack. Then he loudly declares that he's the only one that gets to defeat Bomberman right before making her one with a black hole.
- BFB: As if Bomberman's bombs weren't big enough, he can pump them up to jumbo size while holding them. This is actually required to kill some enemies - not from the bigger explosion, but by crushing them with the Pumped-Up Bomb.
- Blood Knight: Bulzeeb has more than a few shades of this. In fact, the entire reason he pretended to be under Rukifellth's control is so he can fight and get stronger fighting worthy opponents.
- Captain Ersatz: Pommy is an expy to both Kirby and Pikachu.
- Char Clone: Regulus/Bulzeeb plays this to the hilt in this game. A Cool Mask, Red Baron title that references his colour ("The Black Breath"), status as The Rival, and a Hidden Agenda Villain with a tendency to switch sides make him a Mobile Suit Gundam-style Char Clone.
- Chekhov's Gun: When Regulus/Bulzeeb saves Bomberman by cancelling out Zoniha's light attack with his dark bombs. During the true final battle, The Angel of Light and Shadow uses a similar attack as she did, and using the dark bombs cancels it out.
- Continuing is Painful: The Second Attack! gives you three continues that preserve your powerups, averting this trope nicely.
- In a more traditional way, dying will put you back at either the start of the level or the room you killed that world Astral Knight in, forcing you to backtrack. Thankfully the puzzles stay solved, but the game only saves after you complete the entire world, meaning that if for any reason the system has to be turned off, you better be ready to do everything over again.
- Convection, Schmonvection: Nature Planet Neverland.
- Co-Op Multiplayer: Player 2 can take control of Pommy and help out, though Bomberman is still on his own in boss fights and reactor areas.
- Cowardly Sidekick: Played with concerning Pommy. On one hand he will run into a corner and hide when a boss appears, but in the other hand he otherwise is at Bomberman’s side constantly.
- Darker and Edgier: Probably the most serious Bomberman game. You are trying to prevent the end the entire universe, several characters are killed off, and has one of the most wicked and dangerous villains in the franchise.
- Dark Is Evil: Sthertoth definitely plays this straight. Bulzeeb (a.k.a. Regulus from Bomberman 64) is probably technically more Chaotic Neutral: he was badass enough to resist Sthertoth's brainwashing of the Elemental Knights into the Astral Knights, and he claims that the only reason he was pretending to be under Sthertoth's control was because it would have allowed him to fight "worthy opponents," which would have made him stronger.
- Damn You, Muscle Memory!: The bombs return to the grid-like style of classic Bomberman, though charged and specific bomb types still have a hemisphere effect, and the physics have also completely changed as well. Every boss fight and Gravity Generator room also disables the Remote Bomb ability; considering how differently Bomberman 64 played compared to anything prior in the series, this means a player fresh off of the heels of prequel will have to completely relearn how to play more traditionally.
- Deadpan Snarker: Bomberman is revealed to be this in the Good Ending."Um, I'm the one who has to blow it up, you know..."
- Defeat Equals Explosion: Most of the Astral Knights go out this way, in an explosion of their own element, though there are a few exceptions.
- Demonic Possession: Rukifellth. Lilith gets possessed late in the game as well by the goddess Mihaele.
- Did Not Get the Girl: Bomberman does not get anywhere with Lilith.
- Did You Just Punch Out Cthulhu?: Played straight with Sthertoth, but Subverted with the Angel of Light and Shadow. Bomberman doesn't succeed in blowing the Angel to smithereens, but instead fights it to more of a standstill and convinces it not to destroy the universe.
- Difficulty by Region: In the Japanese version of the game, Baelfael, Behemos, and Ashtarth all had Instant KO moves. These were removed in the North American version.
- Downer Ending: The Bad Ending more or less implies that the universe and all life will be destroyed by the God of Chaos. To say nothing of how the Astral Knights stay dead, Rukifellth is engulfed by Sthertoth, and Lilith stays behind on the Warship Noah to be with Rukifellth just as it's being destroyed, leaving Bomberman, Pommy, and Sthertoth as the only surviving characters.
- Do Not Call Me "Paul": Regulus wishes to be called Bulzeeb after Bomberman defeated him in 64. In the Good Ending, he's okay with being Regulus again.
- Dub Name Change: Epikyur and Thantos were called Happyland and Death Star in the Japanese version. Epikyur likely references Epicureanism
, while Thantos references Thanatos.- A lot of the characters' Religious and Mythological Theme Naming was more obvious in Japanese (see below); however, Lilith seemed to have gained an overt reference, as her name was originally Lily!
- Elemental Powers: The whole shtick of the Astral Knights.
- Playing with Fire: Baelfael, Bomberman's bombs' basic element, the Napalm/Navarm Bombs obtained from Molok.
- An Ice Person: Behemos and the Ice Bombs.
- Blow You Away: Ashtarth and the Hurricane Bombs.
- Dishing Out Dirt: Molok.
- Shock and Awe: Zhael and the Lightning Bombs.
- Magma Man: Molok and the Navarm Bombs.
- Holy Hand Grenade: Zoniha, the Mute/Light Bombs, and Mihaele!Lilith and The Angel of Light and Shadow.
- Casting a Shadow: Regulus/Bulzeeb uses both solidified shadows and the Gravity Bombs.
- Power of the Void: Rukifellth.
- Enemy Mine: Bomberman and Regulus partner against Rukifellth/Sthertoth almost like they did Sirius, except Regulus dies before the Final Boss fight.
- Evil Gloating: Rukifellth loves doing this. Even if there's no one around to listen to him (see also Just Between You and Me further down the page).
- Evil Laugh: Rukifellth and Zoniha.
- Female Angel, Male Demon: The goddess Mihaele and the demon Sthertoth.
- Fission Mailed: Dying to Mihaele!Lilith's One Hit KO Attack results in a cutscene where the elemental stones have their energy drained, but the stones somehow revive bomberman and allow him to continue the mission. However, this locks you into the bad/neutral ending, because Mihaele loses to Rukifellth and allows Sthertoth to revive at his full power using the crystal energy she steals from you.
- Evolution Power-Up: The food you find aids in Pommy's growth, and depending on what you pick up, he'll evolve in different ways by branching paths. At his initial form, he can only stun enemies, but when he evolves for the first time, he has improved attack animations. Evolving the second time makes him strong enough to hurt enemies. Thematically, Pommy becomes more human-like with a fruit diet, while becoming more beast-like with a meat diet.
- Gallows Humor: Rukifellth engages in this a little during the Good End credits, where he pretends he's still possessed by Sthertoth in front of Lilith. She's not amused.
- Genki Girl: Lilith.
- God and Satan Are Both Jerks: ZigzaggedIt's more like Satan and Michael are both jerks. Sthertoth the demon and Mihaele the goddess are both manipulative and pitiless spirits who treat the characters as pawns in their war, with the latter being a Well-Intentioned Extremist and the former just being a jerk. Mostly subverted with the Angel of Light and Shadow who was also going to destroy the universe, but is so impressed with Bomberman’s heroism it not only agrees the universe is worth sparing but revives everyone who had died up to that point.
- God Is Good:The Angel of Light and Shadow wants to destroy the universe so that it may make a more pure and peaceful universe from the remains. After being beaten by Bomberman, the Angel congratulates and thanks him for showing it that there is still hope and heroism in the universe, deciding to go back to watching it from afar (though warns that it may return someday if things don't get better). It also revives the Astral Knights and Rukifellth due to them being victims of Sthertoth’s corruption and Lilith for being manipulated by Mihaele.
- Gotta Collect Them All: The seven Elemental Stones (technically only six, since Bomberman has the Fire Stone at the start of the game).
- Gravity Is Purple: The Gravity Bomb causes a dark purple "explosion" that sucks everything found within its radius into a black hole, located at its center.
- Gravity Master:
- Bomberman is sucked into a black hole, which is really created by a gravity generator that needs to be destroyed.
- Bulzeeb's bombs create black holes. Defeating him gets you his Shadow Stone, allowing you to make black holes.
- Heel–Face Turn: Regulus/Bulzeeb for a second time, though this latter appearance portrays him more as a neutral rival than an enemy.
- The Astral Knights and Rukifellth recover from Sthertoth's corruption after being revived by the Angel.
- Impaled with Extreme Prejudice: Rukifellth's instant KO – after slicing Bomberman multiple times – involves throwing him in the air to be impaled by three giant conjured swords.
- Just Between You and Me: Parodied in one of the bonus scenes:"It's not much fun making speeches about my plans without an audience..."
- Light Is Not Good: Zoniha controls the element of light and is a maniacal sadist. The goddess Mihaele is even more tied to light and is a cold and detached being who will stop at nothing to beat Sthertoth.
- MacGuffin Delivery Service: At first, Rukifellth wants the Astral Knights to get the Fire Stone from Bomberman. Later, after Bomberman starts taking down the rest of the knights one by one and acquiring their Elemental Stones, Rukifellth finally decides that he's just going to let Bomberman come to him on the Warship Noah with all the stones and take them from him there.
- Market-Based Title: Known in Japanese as Baku Bomberman 2 (Explosive Bomberman 2).
- Metronomic Man Mashing: Molok's instant KO skill starts with him seizing Bomberman and slamming him into the metal grate of his arena multiple times.
- Ms Exposition: Lilith's main role.
- Mythology Gag: Immediately prior to his fight on Thantos, Regulus appears on a sharp pillar overlooking the arena similar to his entrance in the original Bomberman 64. The good ending's credit sequence even replays this scene with the same dynamic camera angles that 64 used for it's scene with Regulus.
- Names to Run Away from Really Fast: Pretty much all of the antagonists have a "title" of sorts aside from their actual names (e.g. Baelfael the Crimson Flame, Molok the Raging Earth). In retrospect, it's kind of a giveaway that you'd end up fighting Lilith at some point, given that she's also known as the Scourge of the Spaceways. Although to be fair, she's possessed by Mihaele when you fight her, and in the original Japanese, she was just referred to as Onna Kishi (Female Knight), which is considerably less threatening-sounding.
- Bomberman sort of gets a title in Japanese too, from Mihaele. She addresses him as Bakuhonoo no Senshi Bonbaaman, or "Explosive Flame Warrior Bomberman," which didn't get rendered in the translation.
- Non-Indicative Name: Neverland, the Nature Planet, which is anything but natural.
- One-Hit Kill: Each of the Astral Knights and Lilith possessed by Mihaele has an instant KO skill where they charge their power and rush Bomberman, triggering it if they make contact. Baelfael, Behemos and Ashtarth only have one in the Japanese version of the game, and Behemos is the only one who doesn't lunge for Bomberman, instead firing a beam from his mechanical arm.
- The Only One Allowed to Defeat You: Bulzeeb goes as far as killing his own teammates to ensure that he would be the one to defeat Bomberman.
- Power-Up Food: Different meats, fruits, vegetables, and sweets to feed Pommy, who will evolve in such a way as to correspond to what he's had.
- Rapid-Fire Fisticuffs: Most of the Astral Knights' instant KO moves begin with this before they use their finisher, though Rukifellth uses his sword for the initial rush of attacks.
- Red Eyes, Take Warning: Later in the game, Rukifellth's normally blue eye flashes red, indicating that something else might be going on...
- Religious and Mythological Theme Naming: Most characters have names derived from ancient Near East mythology and Demonology, some more obvious in Japanese.
- Ridiculously Cute Critter: Pommy.
- The Rival: Regulus/Bulzeeb returns from Bomberman 64, looking to settle the score with White Bomberman.
- Royal "We": The Angel. Granted this might be referring to the fact that the Angel is a fusion of two deities.
- Sealed Evil in a Can: Sthertoth was trapped inside the Celestial Stone thanks to Mihaele and the Elemental Knights until Rukifellth came along and touched it.
- Sequential Boss: Rukifellth → Sthertoth → The Angel. Or the fully released Sthertoth in the Bad Ending.
- Shout-Out: Thantos is named "Prison Planet" and has the appearance of a rundown New York setting. This is likely a reference to Escape from New York, in which the entirety of Manhattan Island is a prison with a similar appearance.
- The Smurfette Principle: One of the first (and so far, few) Bomberman games to actually avert this trope with multiple female characters.
- Spinning Piledriver: Essentially Mihaele!Lilith's Instant KO move.
- Suddenly Voiced: Bomberman's gone from completely mute in 64 to having implied conversations, but we never hear him speak. A bonus reel in the good ending shows several of the above scenes again, with the bonus of Bomberman actually talking, letting us know exactly what he said.
- Super Drowning Skills: This is lampshaded multiple times in the form of Pommy's taunts to the main character for his inability to swim down to noticeable underwater ruins in Aquanet, as well as his fear of crawling through a pipe filled with running water.
- Taking You with Me: Ashtarth, Molok and Zoniha attempt this on Bomberman after their defeats.
- Ashtarth gives Bomberman a fake Wind Stone that turns out to be a high-powered bomb, but Bomberman throws it away towards the Astral Knight's passed out body and gets the real Wind Stone as a result.
- Molok regards this maneuver as how a "true warrior" faces defeat and uses his last bit of strength to wreck the grate they’re both standing on before disappearing in an eruption of magma. Bomberman and Pommy are saved from the lava below the grate by Lilith's intervention carrying them into the next room.
- Zoniha, upon her apparent defeat, readies a massive ball of light in an apparent Suicide Attack. But her light-based energy is negated and absorbed by one of Bulzeeb's Shadow bombs and she's finished off shortly after.
- Third-Person Person: Pommy.
- True Final Boss: The Angel of Light and Shadow, who is Mihaele and Sthertoth (re)merged as one. To be able to fight this boss, you must complete all the worlds, defeat all the bosses, and prevail in the preliminary boss fight with Mihaele in Warship Noah.
- Unrealistic Black Hole: Gravity/Shadow Bombs, which create miniature black hole "explosions." The resulting damage from said bombs is limited to applicable targets (mooks, specially-marked doors, Bomberman himself. Also Pommy, but he comes back if he accidentally gets sucked in). On a more general level: the black hole that the entire game is set within, because everything isn't crushed into a very dense sphere in the middle. Possibly justified considering that the black hole is created/powered by special machines, which may explain why it doesn't act like an actual black hole.
- Verbal Tic:
- Pommy's tendency to add "myu" to sentences.
- Rukifellth's Evil Laugh might also be a Verbal Tic.
- The Very Definitely Final Dungeon: The Warship Noah, the base of the BHB army, the headquarters of Rukifellth and the generator of the black hole, is the final world of the game. It can be accessed without entering two other levels opened alongside it, but the good ending requires completing those levels before going on to Noah.
- Worthy Opponent: Regulus/Bulzeeb, especially in The Second Attack!.
- Yandere: Zhael. It's more obvious if you complete Neverland before Starlight and pay attention to the post-planet cutscene on the Warship Noah."Even if she were not already my enemy, I would destroy that Lilith anyway! I will not permit another woman to attract my Master Rukifellth's attention! . . . I look forward to hearing her beg for mercy — a mercy that shall be denied! I will enjoy crushing the life out of this so-called Scourge of the Spaceways!"
