''Bombuzal'' is a

puzzle video game Puzzle video games make up a broad genre of video games that emphasize puzzle solving. The types of puzzles can test problem-solving skills, including logic, pattern recognition, sequence solving, spatial recognition, and word completion. H ...

Antony Crowther Antony Crowther is a former designer, programmer, and musician of Commodore 64 games. During the 1980s he worked for Alligata, Gremlin Graphics and later his own company, Wizard Development. Career The first computer game he created was a vers ...

(credited as "Ratt" in the game) and David Bishop for

Image Works Image Works was a British video game publisher that served as a publishing label for Mirrorsoft between 1988 and 1992, when the parent company went bankrupt. History The first two games published under the Image Works label were '' Fernandez M ...

. The game was released in 1988 for the Amiga, Atari ST and Commodore 64. It was also released in 1989 for

MS-DOS MS-DOS ( ; acronym for Microsoft Disk Operating System, also known as Microsoft DOS) is an operating system for x86-based personal computers mostly developed by Microsoft. Collectively, MS-DOS, its rebranding as IBM PC DOS, and a few ope ...

and Dec, 21 1990 in Japan for the

Super Famicom The Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES), commonly shortened to Super NES or Super Nintendo, is a Fourth generation of video game consoles, 16-bit home video game console developed by Nintendo that was released in 1990 in Japan and South ...

, with the North American version released on August, 1992 renamed as ''Ka-Blooey''. The game had a sequel/remake available for the

Nintendo 64 The (N64) is a home video game console developed by Nintendo. The successor to the Super Nintendo Entertainment System, it was released on June 23, 1996, in Japan, on September 29, 1996, in North America, and on March 1, 1997, in Europe and ...

called ''

Charlie Blast's Territory ''The Bombing Islands'' ( in Japan) is a puzzle video game developed and published by Kemco for the PlayStation (console), PlayStation. It was later re-released for Nintendo 64 as ''Charlie Blast's Territory'' (whose working title was ''Charlie Bl ...

''. Among its notable features was the ability to play using either an overhead or isometric view.

Gameplay

To complete each of its 130 levels, the avatar has to destroy all bombs on the level. It must stand on top of the bomb to light it, then is only able to take one step away before the bomb explodes; it can also pick up and move bombs, but only the ones that are on Rail tiles. Bombs come in different sizes and it is only possible to ignite the smallest kind without dying. In most cases, the bombs have to be set off using a

chain reaction A chain reaction is a sequence of reactions where a reactive product or by-product causes additional reactions to take place. In a chain reaction, positive feedback leads to a self-amplifying chain of events. Chain reactions are one way that sys ...

to prevent the avatar from being killed in the explosion; at other times, separated small bombs can be destroyed one at a time. Each Bomb/Mine has a reaction zone. For example, a small bomb will only destroy the tile it's on, but will affect any other Bombs/Mines one tile away in the four main directions. A Large bomb will destroy 13 tiles, and its reaction zone will be one tile farther away than the tiles destroyed in each of the four directions, and diagonally between these four points. The game featured level designs by several gaming celebrities, including

Jon Ritman Jon Ritman is a game designer and programmer notable for his work on 1980s computer games, primarily for the ZX Spectrum and Amstrad CPC home computers. His first experience with a computer was when he was 13, his first computer was a Sinclair ZX ...

Andrew Braybrook Andrew Braybrook (born 1960) is a software engineer and former game programmer. He created video games such as '' Paradroid'', '' Gribbly's Day Out'', '' Fire and Ice'', ''Uridium'' and '' Morpheus''. He also programmed the Commodore Amiga and ...

, Geoff Crammond and

Jeff Minter Jeff Minter (born 22 April 1962) is an independent English video game designer and programmer who often goes by the name Yak. He is the founder of software house Llamasoft and has created dozens of games during his career, which began in 19 ...

. Jeff Minter's level blew up to leave behind a llama dropping a pile of dung. There are also two enemies, Sinister and Dexter, appearing on some levels. These continuously travel along with the level, with Sinister always turning left and Dexter always turning right. Neither Sinister nor Dexter actively pursues the avatar, but contact with either is fatal.

Reception

The game received mixed reviews. It received 97% and 92% ratings from

Zzap!64 ''Zzap!64'' was a computer games magazine covering games on the Commodore International series of computers, especially the Commodore 64 (C64). It was published in the UK by Newsfield Publications Ltd and later by Europress Impact. The magazine ...

magazine for the C64 and Amiga versions respectively, compared to a review in

Commodore User ''Commodore User'', known to the readers as the abbreviated ''CU'', was one of the oldest British Commodore magazines. With a publishing history spanning over 15 years, it mixed content with technical and video game features. Incorporating ''Vic ...

magazine awarding a mere 49%. The former reviews applaud it as an addictive puzzle game with "cute" graphics, while the latter criticizes gameplay, graphics, and controls. The game was released by Spotlight Software and distributed by

Cinemaware Cinemaware was a video game developer and publisher that released several titles in the 1980s based on various film themes. The company was resurrected in 2000, before being acquired by eGames in 2005. Cinemaware Corp. (1986–1991) The compan ...

in the compilation ''BrainBlaster'' with '' Xenon 2'' for the Amiga. This compilation was reviewed in 1991 in '' Dragon'' #165 by Hartley, Patricia, and Kirk Lesser in "The Role of Computers" column. The reviewers gave ''BrainBlaster'' 5 out of 5 stars. The Amiga version of ''Bombuzal'' was included as a fully working game on the

cover disk Covermount (sometimes written cover mount) is the name given to storage media (containing software and or audiovisual media) or other products (ranging from toys to flip-flops) packaged as part of a magazine or newspaper. The name comes from the ...

of the first issue of '' Amiga Power''. The Super Famicom incarnation of the game was later scheduled for release on the

Online service An online service provider (OSP) can, for example, be an Internet service provider, an email provider, a news provider (press), an entertainment provider (music, movies), a search engine, an e-commerce site, an online banking site, a health site, ...

for the Nintendo Switch console in July 2021.

References

External links

''Bombuzal''
on the Amiga a
The Hall of Light (HOL)
*{{moby game, id=/bombuzal, name=''Bombuzal''
''Bombuzal''
at Lemon64

1988 video games Amiga games Atari ST games Cancelled ZX Spectrum games Commodore 64 games DOS games Kemco games Nintendo Switch Online SNES games Puzzle video games Single-player video games Super Nintendo Entertainment System games Video games about bomb disposal Video games developed in the United Kingdom Image Works games