The sequel to the sequel to the excellent Wario Blast Featuring Bomberman will probably be best remembered as Konami’s last usage of the Bomberman franchise. Originally released in Japan (only) in 1996, Bomberman GB 3 features a plot expected of a Bomberman game: battle as Shirobon (White Bomber) and take back the stolen capsules after a devastating earthquake and defeat Evil Bomber. The gameplay is pretty much what is expected of a Bomberman game also, although it plays far better than an afterthought featuring some great level design, solid difficulty curve and fun bosses.

Some changes have been made to the bomber-formula: Bomberman GB 3 boasts a mini-cutscene before each stage featuring a new character with directives of how to defeat them, every fifth level involves collecting diamonds with Shirobon collecting enough will be given an item to help during the boss battle, and upon defeating a boss you will have some bomber-money to purchase more items. A fun packed well designed portable Bomberman game that is a little on the short side but easily worth ¥400 to all fans of the series. If this is the last Bomberman (re)release, at least it goes out with a blast and not a whimper.

7/10