Video Game / Bomberman Tower

Rogue-lite platformer Bomberman fangame!

"Late one night, a cloud of fog descended upon the land."

"On the Outskirts of Peace Town, an ominous tower appeared, emitting a vast aura of darkness."

"Suddenly, the voice of Bombpire boomed from the top of the tower:"

"Halloween is our night... we'll show you how to celebrate it! If you don't like it, challenge our tower of terror and face us - the Midnight Bombers! Ha ha ha ha!"

"With this, a horde of monsters and undead beings erupted from the base of the tower, flooding the streets and tormenting the citizens."

"Many challenges lie ahead. Monsters, traps and old rivals are ready to stop your ascent."

"Can Bomberman and his friends make it to the top?"

— Instruction Booklet

Bomberman Tower is a roguelike platformer fangame for the Bomberman series, with the gameplay being modeled on Pocket Bomberman. The player, playing as any of a wide variety of characters from the series, must ascend a tower that appeared on the outskirts of Peace Town to challenge the Midnight Bombers.

A total of 20 floors are present to explore, spread across 4 different biomes, each with their own menacing array of Waddling Heads and other creatures vaguely resembling everyday objects to deal with. Every fifth floor will pit you against a member of Midnight Bombers, where you will have to use your best bombs to defeat them. Should you win, you will make it closer to the Big Bad Count himself, but should you fail, you will go down a couple of floors or more.

A sizable roster of quirky characters belonging to the franchise can be unlocked as you go along, from collecting coins, defeating enemies or even by special Gachabom capsules. Each belong to four different character classes: Bomber-types that use special bombs to do most of the work, Attack-types that shred their enemies with unique weapons, Defence-types that use special skills to avoid harm, and Speed-types that are specialized to swiftly clear each floor. Unique costumes can also be unlocked by clearing runs and playing the occasional limited time event stage.

Due to being based on the aforementioned Game Boy game, Bomberman Tower sets itself apart from the usual Bomberman fare by being a platformer. Bomberman and co. are able to jump, and although the common franchise-wide elements such as powerups and bombs are still present, the side view provides a twist on how the player would usually approach a stage. You won't be using your bombs just to blow up the enviroment and defend yourself; you will use them to move around, as the new rules and space makes the usual tight corridors harder to navigate otherwise. Coupled with smarter, deadlier mooks and an elaborate room generator, and you have one of the more challenging Bomberman experiences.

The game is still in development. You can find the game on carrd here.

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Tropes contained in Bomberman Tower include:

• And Your Reward Is Clothes: Every character has a variety of skins that can be unlocked by performing tasks like beating the Normal Game, Boss Rush, and the Bonus Dungeon with them and collecting special capsules during exclusive holiday events.
• Anti-Frustration Features:
  • There is no time limit on each floor, allowing you to move at your own pace.
  • When you deal the final blow to a boss, enemies are destroyed, stage hazards disappear and you become invincible up until the "Level Clear" screen.
  • You don't need to get all 25 Gold Cards in a single run to unlock Bomber Hero and the Underground Factory; you only need to achieve a 5-card victory for each boss once for it to count, regardless of difficulty.
    • Each of the cards also has hints you can check; the same applies to the non-event Gachaboms in Normal Game and unlockable characters shown on the selection screen.
  • You can check a diagram showcasing each character's abilites and items by pressing the Special button at the character select.
  • Gachabom capsules will emit gold sparkles when hidden, allowing you to easily find one.
  • On lower difficulties, each floor has a chance of having a Heart you can collect (each floor is guaranteed to have a Heart on Easy). When playing on Easy, you will respawn back at the floor boss if you happen to die there.
    • The game will also be a lot more lenient on what items it spawns, often giving exactly what your character needs.
  • Enemies spawning from generators will not be able to harm you until they stop flashing. Similiarly, stunned enemies cannot harm you.
• Anti-Villain: It's implied that the Midnight Bombers only erected the tower and challenged Bomberman to a fight to amuse themselves and celebrate Halloween. Once they're beaten (along with Devil Bomber), Bombpire rescues the player from the crumbling tower and all of the Midnight Bombers happily celebrate the player's victory.
• Attack Its Weak Point: Devil Bomber's second phase can only be damaged by targeting the shiny blue orb on his forehead.
• Big Boo's Haunt: While the whole game technically qualifies, the standout example is Terror Tower, the final stage of the game where Bompire resides.
• Blackout Basement: Terror Tower's "Find All Keys" objective has the entire floor in darkness, the player's only source of light is a spotlight and several oil drums that can be lit on fire temporary.
• Bleak Level: Terror Tower plays with the spookier aspects of Halloween compared to previous levels. The enviroment clearly takes place inside a tower, the color palette is more subdued, the music is a menacing remix of the Bomberman stage theme lifted almost directly from Pocket Bomberman, the enemies include spiders, disembodied skulls, wraiths, and knights, and several stages are shrouded in darkness.
• Bonus Dungeon: Underground Factory, unlocked after collecting all Gold Cards.
• Boring, but Practical: White Bomber and Black Bomber do not seem like much due to their lack of special abilities, until you realize that besides being one of the few characters to start the game with two fire-ups, they are able to use every ability in the game without restriction and start each playthrough at a respectable 4 Hearts, giving you a very reliable and forgiving character off the bat to learn the basics with.
• Boss-Only Level: Every fifth floor is a single room featuring a Midnight Bomber to fight. Floor 21 features the Final Boss.
• Bottomless Pit: Several of Terror Tower's stages and the roof of the tower have one, and they give out a game over immediately if you fall in.
• Bull Fight Boss: Devil Bomber will attempt to ram you off the tower during his first phase, only stopping to throw spikes and his scythe at you, at which point he is fully vulnerable until hit.
• The Bus Came Back: For several of the characters:
  • Though three of their members made cameos in Bomberman Jetters, the Midnight Bombers' last game appearance was in Pocket Bomberman.
  • Devil Bomber's last appearance was in Bomberman Hero.
  • Baron Bombano and Bomberwan last appeared in Super Bomberman 5.
• Dance Party Ending: Happens after safely getting off the tower, you're joined by the Midnight Bombers and a group of zombies.
• Defeat Means Friendship: Not that they were genuinely malicious in the first place, but Bombpire saves the player as the Tower collapses and the rest of the Midnight Bombers and several zombies join them on a celebration.
• Difficult, but Awesome: Mummy Bomber has a playstyle that relies on you knowing how to improvise based on what skills his Random Number God gives you and a bomb that is able to curse both himself and his enemies; master both and you got a character who can speed up through floors like nothing.
• Dub Name Change: This was actually undone for Evil Bomber from Bomberman GB 3 and Bomberman Hero, who goes by their original name of Devil Bomber in this game.
• Earn Your Fun: Only White Bomber and Black Bomber are available at first, and they're just Palette Swaps of each other as usual. You'll have to achieve various goals in the game to play as anyone else.
• Excuse Plot: An evil tower has appeared, go in and stop the monsters.
  • Someone dressed as Santa Claus has been menacing christmas, stop them.
• Foreshadowing:
  • One of the switches from the first floor objective in the Underground Factory does not belong to a Dastardly Bomber, but instead to Machine Bomber from Panic Bomber Virtual Boy. Said character ends up appearing as the level boss.
  • During the briefing screen for the Christmas Event, Dr. Ein wonders if the evil Santa shenanigans are related to a recent breakthrough at Bomber Penitentiary. As it turns out, the holiday hooligans are indeed the same criminals that just escaped prison.
• Forest of Perpetual Autumn: Artificial Forest, a sea of trees located just beyond Symbol Ruins, rightfully so considering it's Halloween.
• Flunky Boss: Each of the Midnight Bombers will summon enemies to aid them at certain points of their fights, usually near their second phases. Bomber Wolf, in particular, has Star Mask and Zombies up his sleeve.
  • Machine Bomber from the Underground Factory makes a legion of Parabombs rain during his later phases, the number itself increasing depending on difficulty.
• Giant Space Flea from Nowhere: Devil Bomber is revealed to be the mastermind behind the Normal Game's events, having used the Midnight Bombers to spread chaos across the land under the guise of Halloween fun. His presence is not foreshadowed at all.
• Harder Than Hard: Devil Mode, unlocked by clearing a Normal Game run on Hard without dying.
• Hitbox Dissonance: Devil Bomber's blue orb has a hitbox that only covers its top half. This is specifically done to prevent players from cheesing the fight, as the spot is close enough to the ground for some characters to reach it without needing to use the hands for more height.
• Hoist by His Own Petard: Expect Monster Bomber to be hurt by his own bombs a lot, to the point you might as well not do anything during the second phase besides dodging.
  • A downplayed example happens on Bombpire's boss fight, where you can set a bomb off just as he starts placing his, leading to a trail of explosions on his part. However, depending on your timing, he might have his guard up when you try.
• Holiday Mode: The developers run events during major holiday periods like Halloween and Christmas, during which special GachaBom capsule skins are made available. Some of these events also feature new bonus levels and character unlocks.
• It's All Upstairs From Here: Uniquely, Normal Game takes place inside the titular tower. The rooms inside besides the upper floors are varied enough to make you think you are elsewhere.
• Load-Bearing Boss: The tower collapses once Devil Bomber is defeated. Luckily, you're saved from falling by Bombpire.
• Magikarp Power: White Bomber and Black Bomber don't have any special built-in abilities, but they're the only characters who can use all of the power-ups, including the almighty Remote Control Bomb. Downplayed since power-ups other than bomb, fire, and speed upgrades can only be carried over between levels in easy mode, but White Bomber and Black Bomber's stat caps are among the highest in the cast (with those who have higher stat caps either being highly specialized in one stat or saddled with weird gimmicks).
• Mechanically Unusual Fighter: Quite a few of the secret characters qualify:
  • Mummy Bomber has bare-minimum raw stat caps, but can toggle between having an effective bomb power of 5 or an effective fire power of 5. They also can't hurt themselves with their own bombs; getting caught in their own blasts curses them instead.
  • Devil Bomber has the strongest stats in the game, but they can't actually place bombs at all, having to make do with a napalm drop and a small AOE fire scythe.
  • Bomberwan places landmines on the ground (bombs placed in the air will be normal). Landmines can either be manually detonated or set off by being stepped on, though in either case, there's a short delay before the explosion.
• Mythology Gag:
  • The appearance of the characters during the selection screen are based off their artwork from the late 90s.
    • Furthermore, several of their alts make references to game-specific color palettes, promotional artworks, and even beta designs.
  • The instruction manual establishes that the tower appeared on the outskirts of Peace Town, which was Bomberman's home in Super Bomberman 1.
  • The special bombs of characters such as Pretty Bomber and MAX are the exact same they possess in their main series appearances.
    • The same thing happens with special abilities; for example, Honey and Kotetsu use their pistol and katana, respectively.
  • Many of the items hail from Pocket Bomberman and Bomberman Quest, functioning the exact same way as they did in their respective games.
  • Pocket Bomberman's Jump Game also featured Bomberman climbing a tower. Coincidentally, three of the Midnight Bombers appeared as bosses and several enemies present in Tower appeared there first.
  • Symbol Ruins and Drifting Desert are the original japanese name of two levels from Panic Bomber Virtual Boy, the debut game of the Midnight Bombers.
    • The placement and order of the Midnight Bombers is also 1:1 with that game. Bomber Wolf is found in a ruins stage, Monster is in a forest, Mummy is in a desert, and Bombpire is encountered in an ominous castle location.
    • Mummy Bomber's stage, the Drifting Desert, uses a remixed version of his theme from the same game.
  • The Gold Card system first appeared in Bomberman 64, where hitting bosses a certain way rewarded you with collectibles.
  • Mummy Bomber's second phase where he flies freely and shoots projectiles in a clock pattern at certain intervals works similarly to the bosses from Pocket Bomberman, a big inspiration for Tower's gameplay.
  • During levels where the screen is covered in darkness, you are surrounded by a spotlight and the only thing you are able to see about enemies in the dark are their eyes, a gimmick present in the interior sections of Crankin' Castle from Bomberman '94.
    • Bombpire has a similar attack that is used by Count Komori, the boss of said level; he will hide among several bats, and the only way you can tell which is the real one is by their angry expression.
  • Devil Bomber's first phase is based off his fast-paced fight in Bomberman Hero, while his second phase is directly inspired by the one in Bomberman GB 3 where he grows to massive size and attacks you with his fists.
  • The Underground Factory is a love letter to Bomberman on the NES, featuring a visual remake of its stages and enemies.
    • Two of the symbols you have to match to the exit are specifically Pretty and Plasma Bomber's crests, with a third one based off Machine Bomber's crest from Panic Bomber Virtual Boy.
    • The "Destroy Core Mechas" objective is the exact same one employed in most Bomberman adventure games, starting from Bomberman '94.
    • Machine Bomber attacks with a machine gun, just like when he is summoned in Panic Bomber Virtual Boy.
  • Baron Bombano being disguised as one of the four enemies that drop out of the Jolly Rocket ties into his backstory as a serial fraudster.
• No Plot? No Problem!: Underground Factory lacks any sort of explanation on why the Bombermen would go there, merely serving as a bonus for dedicated players. It is not even known if it is inside the tower.
• Noob Cave: Symbol Ruins, the first five floors. The enemies don't take long to defeat, the objectives are simple and its only hazard merely slows you down slightly.
• Nostalgia Level: Underground Factory, inspired by the levels in the first NES Bomberman game, down to having the same enemies.
• One-Hit-Point Wonder: Averted. You start with a certain number of hit points (depending on your character, but no less than two) and get more every time you beat a boss. Depending on your difficulty level, you may or may not be able to find more in the levels.
  • Played straight with the Christmas Event. Playing on Devil Mode will start you with minus one heart, making several characters die on any contact.
• Rooftop Confrontation: Level 5 takes place at the very top of the tower; you have a climatic bout with Devil Bomber, the real mastermind, there.
• Shifting Sand Land: Drifting Desert, an Egyptian maze featuring creatures such as fire-breathing pharaohs and sneaky antlions. Several sandholes allow you to receive temporary invincibility and some even warp you around the map.
• Stationary Boss: Mummy Bomber stays still near the center of the screen until you hit him enough times.
• The Very Definitely Final Dungeon: Terror Tower, where Bombpire resides.
• Unique Enemy:
  • Zombies can only spawn during Bomber Wolf's fight, though they appear in the ending.
  • Mechabombs are only present during Monster Bomber's fight, where they are thrown by him.
  • Brown Bats only appear after Bombpire gets hurt enough times during his boss fight and disappear when the player finds him hidden among them.
  • Gacha from Bomberman '91 can rarely appear on one of the floors, and chances are you will only see them once.
  • Parabombs only spawn during Machine Bomber's second and third phases, where they rain constantly.
• Wake-Up Call Boss: Bomber Wolf will give a lot of trouble to newcomers due to being considerably more mobile than any of the enemies encountered up to that point, having a dangerous line bomb attack with explosions that can follow the terrain, being protected by a shield at certain moments, and having flunkies that take a good bit of space on the field.
• Wham Line: After defeating Bombpire, the following happens:
  LEVEL CLEAR. ♡+3.

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