You might not be aware of this, but Hudson’s popular Bomberman series made its arcade debut much earlier than you might suspect.
The first Bomberman coin-op was released in 1991 by Irem, under licence from Hudson. Published as Atomic Punk and DynaBlaster in some regions, it was followed by a sequel, Bomber Man World, in 1992 (known as New Atomic Punk: Global Quest / Atomic Punk 2 in North America and New DynaBlaster: Global Quest in Europe). The Atomic Punk / DynaBlaster name would also be used for some of the home console entries in the franchise.
FPGA coder @wickerwaka has just released a version of the Irem M90 core which supports the first game, as well as its aforementioned regional variants.
The core is currently available for the MiSTer FPGA, but should also be coming to the Analogue Pocket.
The first Bomberman game was released in 1983 for the Famicom. Since then, the series has seen many sequels and spin-offs, with Super Bomberman R 2 being the most recent.
Konami now owns the property. It merged with Hudson in 2012 after acquiring the company.
Go on.... treat yourself to a new game.
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This is such a cool throwback! I had no idea Irem was behind the original Bomberman arcade game. It’s wild to think it all started back in 1991. The fact that it’s now available on FPGA platforms is awesome for retro gaming fans. I love how these classic games are getting new life thanks to projects like this. Can’t wait to see how it plays on the MiSTer and Analogue Pocket! Definitely gonna have to check out that gameplay video too. Bomberman has such a nostalgic vibe—perfect for some multiplayer chaos!