Bomb Strike (series)

Bomb Strike (ボンブストライク) is a platform-based run-n-gun video game franchise developed by Multisoft. The original game was published in 1989, during the beginning of Gamesoft, and currently has 25 games released on various platforms, as well as two cartoons. This franchise became as successful as Superstar, Aegis, Gunner Tribe, Planetary Heroes, and Realm Souls.

Gameplay
The original Bomb Strike started as an arcade platform-shooter game where players are suspended in a box-like stage and face enemies in order to proceed to the next stage, akin to Snow Bros and Bubble Bobble. Starting with Super Bomb Strike, it also became a multiplayer game where players (up to four) face each other in a free-for-all death match using the same type of weapons until one player remains. Gameplay involves using explosives (bombs, missiles, grenades, etc.) in order to destroy obstacles and kill enemies and other players. The player can pick up various power-ups, giving them benefits such as larger explosives or the ability to fire more explosives a time.

Setting & Plot
Most of the games take place in a galaxy known as the Delta Nebula, usually on Planet Delta, where the main characters reside. The first Bomb Strike begins with Tommy White, one of the infants raised to pilot the Blitzbombers (round robots that can shoot bombs), wanting to escape to see the outside world. Eventually he does succeed and adopts himself to two parents. That plot ended up being retconned following Mega Bomb Strike.

In earlier appearances, the second Blitzbomber toddler, Barry Black, is an enemy due to a programming error in his Bomb Striker, but since Super Bomb Strike, he and Tommy have forged an alliance. They have joined forces to handle bigger threats, most notably the evil alien Professor Jungler, who is most infamously known as the creator of the Dynamite Gang. Paths were also crossed with an intergalactic crime organization called the White Hole Bandits (led by Jackson and Sir Doc), as well as a mysterious rival known as Kain. There has been no central series antagonist, but these are the most common foes.

Tommy appears to be part of an intergalactic police force to help protect the galaxy. This has been elaborated upon in later games, where a friendly figure named Dr. Uno directs Tommy's objectives. There is also the Striker Base on Planet Delta, where Tommy and the other Blitzbomber pilots trains daily. After the shapeshifter (if fed) Kiko was introduced, Alterions became a part of the gameplay in some later single player games. A Blitzbomber pilot called Fall also became a semi-regular member.

Characters
Tommy White – the hero of the series. In the standard games, he is the protagonist and player-character. He is usually portrayed as the heroic yet cheerful type, often saving his home planet from disaster. Like all Blitzbomber pilots, he has the ability to use explosives as weapons. In later games, such as Bomb Strike X and Bomb Strike Story, he is shown to be part of an interplanetary police force stationed at Bomber Base. He was 1 year old from the original Bomb Strike to Super Bomb Strike, about 7 years old starting from Mega Bomb Strike to Super Bomb Strike 4, 9 years old from Bomb Strike Saturn to Burning Bomb Strike, 12 years old from Bomb Strike World to Bomb Strike Y, 15 years old from Bomb Strike: Next Generation to Bomb Strike Blast, and now 20 years old in Super Bomb Strike S.

Barry Black – a major character in the series. A member of the Blitzbomber Force, he has the ability to use bombs as explosives. He was the leader of his own gang of Blitzbomber pilots, leading Karen Red, Felix Blue, Sonia Green and Abel Gold. He proclaims himself to be Tommy's best friend and most cunning rival. He is a little more forceful, mildly frustrated at living in Tommy's shadow, because he is unable to catch up with his rival's level of skill. He is apparently older than Tommy, making him currently 21 in Super Bomb Strike S.

Fall – as one of the main characters in Bomb Strike X and Bomb Strike Y. He is somewhat competitive and arrogant, as shown in his first appearance that despite the urgency of the mission, he challenges Tommy to a contest to who can gather the most Alterions. Fall wears a black suit of armor with a long scarf that completely conceals his face. He is also a playable character in the game Bomb Strike Z, where he joins Tommy in the fight against the White Hole Bandits again, and he is an unlockable character for the battle mode of Bomb Strike: Next Generation. He is also unlockable in Bomb Strike Blast. His backstory is greatly expanded upon in Bomb Strike Story, revealing him to be a native of the planet Shadrium who became a cyborg due to injuries sustained during the first invasion attempt of the Dynamite Gang.

Dr. Uno – an ally of Tommy and a recurring character of the series. He is an eccentric 50 year-old scientist with the appearance of a short and overweight mad scientist. He has white spiky hair, and glasses with spirals covering the lenses. He appears to be stoic, despite being a friendly figure and a reasonably kind soul. He is one of the head researchers for The Department of the Galactic Nation and the creator of the Minute Rescue 12 robots.

Springies – kangaroo-like creatures that Tommy can ride around on. Each different colored Springie has their own unique ability, similar to the power ups in the game. Another benefit of riding a Springie is that if an attack or hazard hits you, the Springie will take the damage and be destroyed, making them act as a secondary health bar. They were first introduced in Mega Bomb Strike. They have appeared in many games ever since, but sometimes are replaced by other ridable creatures like Bogs.

Dynamite Gang – a gang of five recurring boss enemies in several games of the series. Gravity Striker sports a scarf-like cape and has a spacial motif on his suit, and uses explosives that draw to his enemies and cancel aerial attacks. Tortoise Striker is much larger than the others and he utilizes turtle-like explosives. Cutie Striker stands out from her male counterparts by her green dress, yellow headphones, and the large pink heart attached to her helmet. She also appears as a close friend to Tommy in several games, where both Tommy and Barry are attracted to her. Shadow Striker is the engineer of the group, who wears a cloak and has the symbol of a crown on his helmet. He is shorter than the other characters and sometimes floats above the group. Plasma Bomber is the leader. Nitro Striker wears a cape and carries an engine attached to his back that can fuel his bombs with stronger explosives.

Jungler (formerly known as Jangula) – the main villain in many of the games. He resembles a brown and green, large, elderly man with a bushy white beard, glasses, and a cape. He first appears as the main villain of Mega Bomb Strike, in which he attempts to run a comet-disguised ship into Planet Delta after throwing it into chaos. Jungler appeared out of the vastness of space, with his history being unknown but his brilliance clear. He is a brilliant (but mad) scientist and a dark magician, having controlled and created many evil creatures such as Striker-Terminators, with the only purpose of conquering the universe. As one of Tommy's more resilient enemies, he will stop at nothing to achieve his goals — it seems that he will always return.

Games

 * Bomb Strike (1989; Arcade)
 * Bomb Strike 2 (1992; Arcade, NES, Game Boy)
 * Bomb Strike '93 (1993; PC-Engine/TurboGrafx 16)
 * Super Bomb Strike (1993; SNES)
 * Mega Bomb Strike (1994; Sega Genesis)
 * Super Bomb Strike 2 (1994; SNES)
 * Super Bomb Strike 3 (1995; SNES)
 * Super Bomb Strike 4 (1996; SNES)
 * Bomb Strike Saturn (1996; Sega Saturn)
 * Super Bomb Strike 5 (1997; SNES)
 * Burning Bomb Strike (1997; Nintendo 64, Sega Saturn)
 * Bomb Strike World (1998; PlayStation)
 * Bomb Strike Adventure (1999; Nintendo 64; Sega Dreamcast)
 * Bomb Strike Anniversary Edition (1999; Arcade, PlayStation)
 * Bomb Strike X: Blue Fighter/Red Warrior (1999; Game Boy Color)
 * Burning Bomb Strike 2 (2000; Sega Dreamcast)
 * Bomb Strike Story (2001; Game Boy Advance)
 * Bomb Strike Y: Blue/Red Advance (2002; Game Boy Advance)
 * Bomb Strike: Next Generation (2003; Nintendo Gamecube)
 * Bomb Strike Z (2004; Playstation 2, Nintendo Gamecube)
 * Bomb Strike (2006; Nintendo DS)
 * Bomb Strike Legacy (2007; Playstation Portable)
 * Bomb Strike 2 (2007; Nintendo DS)
 * Bomb Strike Blast (2008; WiiWare)
 * CrossXBomb: Exploding Fight (2009; WiiWare)
 * Super Bomb Strike S (2018; Nintendo Switch)

Trivia

 * Tommy, Barry, and the rest of the Blitzbomber pilots are some of the few Multisoft characters known to age throughout each game, starting as infants and reappearing as young adults.
 * Two minor characters, Sugar and Yusuke, who appeared in Super Bomb Strike 4, were based on concepts of Multisoft's mascot before settling on Superstar's Billy Scotch.
 * Tommy, Barry, and Cutie Striker appear in the Superstar Racing: Nitro Speed games as playable characters. Tommy, however, will be the only one from his franchise to make a reappearance in the upcoming game, Superstar Racing: Nitro Speed Solar.