「今日はいたずらなサボテンや害虫からご主人様のお留守をお守りしようと、鉢植えを飛び出して戦い始めました。」
Played during the Backloggd’s Game of the Week (Mar. 14 – Mar. 20, 2023).
The undeniable success of Bubble Bobble (1986) had spawned many sequels and derivatives, both from Taito and other publishers. One such title that proved popular with some audiences in the West was Toaplan's Snow Bros. (1990), in which the objective was to throw snow at enemies to create a large snowball that the player could roll at other opponents. This concept was revisited by NMK in 1992, resulting in Saboten Bombers, which would not be released outside of Japan until the Switch port in 2021. Players assume the role of cacti, Wanpi and Tsupi, protecting their master's mansion from insects and other evil plants. Just like in Snow Bros., players must eliminate all enemies on the screen without attacking them directly, but by throwing bombs at them. These bombs catch the enemies and carry them in their path before exploding after a certain amount of time. The objective is to maximise points by catching as many enemies as possible before the bomb detonates.
While Snow Bros. had the same obsession with scoring, the title allowed for more deliberate positioning and execution, as the trajectory of the snowballs was easier to gauge. They often just rolled across the platforms, following the natural movement of gravity. In Saboten Bombers, the atmosphere is much more chaotic: the bombs bounce around a lot and often stay at the same height, so the player has to be very careful not to get caught in their own explosion. Most of the levels are a cat-and-mouse game where one must quickly determine their angle of attack before avoiding the myriad explosions on the screen. This anarchic frenzy takes a while to get used to, as it relies so heavily on the player's ability to react quickly, but it suits perfectly with the title's gummy-pop flair. There is something charming about seeing plants and insects running around with exaggerated movements and throwing bombs at each other, contrasting with the peacefulness of the environments, which could easily be mistaken for PC-Engine visual novel backgrounds.
Every five stages, the classic levels are interspersed with a battle between the two players – or the player and the CPU if playing alone – or a boss fight. The former work well, as they capitalise on the chaos inherent in the gameplay, but the latter are a little more mixed. While Snow Bros. also struggled slightly with these boss sequences, they were more natural, as they involved figuring out the method to defeat the boss while avoiding being trapped by the enemies. At worst, they were sections that borrowed the traditional grammar of arcade action-platformer bosses, namely painless and forgettable encounters. In Saboten Bombers, the most annoying factor is the awkward trajectory of the bombs, halfway between a high trajectory and a ground shot. The boss fights are thus generally uninteresting, as they do not build on the verticality or the bounce of the bombs. Fortunately, these sequences are relatively rare and thus innocuous.
The main attraction of the title is the scoring system, which can be as subtle as it is esoteric. Aside from the secret tricks and techniques – for example, allowing the timer to run out causes a shower of bombs to explode on the screen; staying alive earns a significant scoring bonus – efficient routing and intelligent use of power-ups make for an exhilarating experience, as the player dodges the many explosions that blossom on the screen. There is an absurd, candy-coated poetry to Saboten Bombers. Why it didn't benefit from a Western localisation, unlike other NMK games, is unclear; perhaps the elimination platformer craze was not yet consolidated enough in the early 1990s. Either way, Saboten Bombers remains a pleasant little curiosity, distinct from the shoot'em ups and adventure games for which the company is generally known.
Played during the Backloggd’s Game of the Week (Mar. 14 – Mar. 20, 2023).
The undeniable success of Bubble Bobble (1986) had spawned many sequels and derivatives, both from Taito and other publishers. One such title that proved popular with some audiences in the West was Toaplan's Snow Bros. (1990), in which the objective was to throw snow at enemies to create a large snowball that the player could roll at other opponents. This concept was revisited by NMK in 1992, resulting in Saboten Bombers, which would not be released outside of Japan until the Switch port in 2021. Players assume the role of cacti, Wanpi and Tsupi, protecting their master's mansion from insects and other evil plants. Just like in Snow Bros., players must eliminate all enemies on the screen without attacking them directly, but by throwing bombs at them. These bombs catch the enemies and carry them in their path before exploding after a certain amount of time. The objective is to maximise points by catching as many enemies as possible before the bomb detonates.
While Snow Bros. had the same obsession with scoring, the title allowed for more deliberate positioning and execution, as the trajectory of the snowballs was easier to gauge. They often just rolled across the platforms, following the natural movement of gravity. In Saboten Bombers, the atmosphere is much more chaotic: the bombs bounce around a lot and often stay at the same height, so the player has to be very careful not to get caught in their own explosion. Most of the levels are a cat-and-mouse game where one must quickly determine their angle of attack before avoiding the myriad explosions on the screen. This anarchic frenzy takes a while to get used to, as it relies so heavily on the player's ability to react quickly, but it suits perfectly with the title's gummy-pop flair. There is something charming about seeing plants and insects running around with exaggerated movements and throwing bombs at each other, contrasting with the peacefulness of the environments, which could easily be mistaken for PC-Engine visual novel backgrounds.
Every five stages, the classic levels are interspersed with a battle between the two players – or the player and the CPU if playing alone – or a boss fight. The former work well, as they capitalise on the chaos inherent in the gameplay, but the latter are a little more mixed. While Snow Bros. also struggled slightly with these boss sequences, they were more natural, as they involved figuring out the method to defeat the boss while avoiding being trapped by the enemies. At worst, they were sections that borrowed the traditional grammar of arcade action-platformer bosses, namely painless and forgettable encounters. In Saboten Bombers, the most annoying factor is the awkward trajectory of the bombs, halfway between a high trajectory and a ground shot. The boss fights are thus generally uninteresting, as they do not build on the verticality or the bounce of the bombs. Fortunately, these sequences are relatively rare and thus innocuous.
The main attraction of the title is the scoring system, which can be as subtle as it is esoteric. Aside from the secret tricks and techniques – for example, allowing the timer to run out causes a shower of bombs to explode on the screen; staying alive earns a significant scoring bonus – efficient routing and intelligent use of power-ups make for an exhilarating experience, as the player dodges the many explosions that blossom on the screen. There is an absurd, candy-coated poetry to Saboten Bombers. Why it didn't benefit from a Western localisation, unlike other NMK games, is unclear; perhaps the elimination platformer craze was not yet consolidated enough in the early 1990s. Either way, Saboten Bombers remains a pleasant little curiosity, distinct from the shoot'em ups and adventure games for which the company is generally known.