Amazing Bomberman

Fans of these games may enjoy this trip down memory lane, but despite the new twist (rhythm/music integration), it's not as great as you might hope. As a result, Amazing Bomberman is a good but not great experience. Sure, it's fun and frantic, but won't likely hold the attention of those without a nostalgic connection to Bomberman in the '90s. While it sounds fairly simple, you'll strategically place down bombs, which explode in multiple directions after a certain amount of time, to destroy obstacles and kill enemies (and you must get out of the way of the blast radius to avoid damage (or out of reach from an enemy's bombs, of course). Players can also pick up various power-ups to grant you enhanced abilities (seemingly, the same ones from previous games).

Multiplayer support adds up to three opponents, but it may take a while to find someone in the matchmaking lobby. The music video-like images around the grid may be a little confusing at first (like Japanese girls dancing around like a Dance Dance Revolution scene), but you realize it's tied to the action. For example, bomb placement and explosion sounds change with the songs themselves, and the battle time also changes depending on the song, across the seven main stages. When the song picks up, expect more blocks will drop and items to appear when you break them with bombs. Not sure if it works, but kudos to Konami for trying to fuse music and rhythm into a chaotic, combative arcade experience. The download is a no brainer for Apple Arcade subscribers with a soft spot for Bomberman, and perhaps you'll like the production frills and attempt to combine music with bombing enemies and power-ups -- but everyone else might not get much out of Amazing Bomberman.