Bomberman Generation was developed and published by Hudson Soft – exclusively for the GameCube – in Japan in 2002. Vivendi/Majesco took care of publishing in the West.

The story in Bomberman Generation is both funny, and maybe even a little insane… The “HIGE HIGE Bandits” have raided a spaceship and stolen the elements needed to make bombs. You have to fight off the bandits, and their mysterious backers, and recover the elements as quickly as possible. And – yes – you do have to say the word “HIGE HIGE“…

A variety of monsters block your way and will hurt you if they touch you, but you can drop, throw and kick bombs, so you’re not completely powerless!

Bomberman Generation takes features from Bomberman 64 and its predecessors and sequels (in particular, pumped bombs, which are key in this game), and many other features from the Bomberman series, to make a wonderful 3D adventure for both children and adults alike.

There are six levels per world (the final one of each being a boss fight), and you can also collect and use “Charabom” (cute animals that help you out), and level them up as you progress.

The game features cel-shaded character graphics (which work great), and nice, spherical explosions. The boss fights are fun, without being too annoying. Overall, Bomberman Generation is challenging in places, but not stupidly hard. It’s fun to play through, and I enjoyed it – as a Bomberman fan.

There’s also a multiplayer Battle Mode option, which is so good that I’ve given it a separate set of screenshots, here.

More: Bomberman Generation on Wikipedia