So the Nintendo Switch comes out on Friday, and obviously everyone is most excited about Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, since it’s, you know, the most ambitious game Nintendo has ever made and all that. But it’s not the only game coming out for the Nintendo Switch on launch day… nor is it the only on worth getting excited about. I’d say the runner-up award goes to Super Bomberman R—the party game we need right now.
Super Bomberman R: Pretty Much Smash Bros
Super Bomberman R
There isn’t a Super Smash Bros game coming out on launch day on Nintendo Switch. Or is there? If you’re a gamer of a certain age, you may remember the Bomberman series. Once upon a time, in the halcyon days of yore, it was the quintessential local multiplayer party game: incredibly fast paced, balanced between strategy and reflexes, clever and quick, playable by both newcomers and experts. It was Super Smash Bros or Towerfall long before either came out.
That’s why it’s worth getting excited about Super Bomberman R. From what we’ve seen so far (we’ll have preview coverage later this week), the game looks like a return to form for the series, which has hit the doldrums for the last decade or so (did the War on Terror send Bomberman into hiding?).
If Super Bomberman R lives up to its potential—and we’ll know in a day or so—it could be just the party game the Nintendo Switch needs. The system’s portability makes it ideally suited for local multiplayer, and a game centered around that could really, ahem, blow up. And Super Bomberman R is the perfect counterpart to 1-2 Switch: both are fun local multiplayer games, one fast-paced and old-school, the other innovative and designed around a new hardware concept. There’s plenty of room for both.
Super Bomberman R comes out with the Nintendo Switch on March 3. Sooner or later, you’ll have to pry yourself away from Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild and see your friends. May as well have Super Bomberman R ready for when that moment comes.