Hi, and welcome back to our ongoing catalogue of Bomberman keshi. If you haven’t already, please start at the first post, then check out the list of articles we have on the subject. I’m steadily trying to cover them all, but it’s going to take a while!
Today, I’m focusing on the keshi from Super Bomberman 2 for the Super Famicom (or Super Nintendo). This is the first of two sets representing the 5 Fiendish Bombers (known in localizations as the 5 Bad Bombers or 5 Dastardly Bombers). You may be wondering how one can know which game each set is from. There are some telling signs in one of the figures that I will detail later on, so just sit tight~!
Super Bomberman 2 Series Info
- Year: Circa 1994
- Number of figures: 5
- Figure size: Normal (up to 5cmx5cm)
- Known colours: White, dark grey, pink, baby blue, light green, yellow
Magnet Bomber
Just like Magnet Bomber himself, there’s not a whole lot to say about this one. Okay, that’s a little unfair. Magnet Bomber was one of the most interesting bosses in the game.
Actually, there are a couple of things I’d like to note about this figure. His feet are big enough and spread far enough apart that they keep him upright moreso than some of the other figures I’ve covered (and will cover). The other thing is the way the three scarf-wearing characters are sculpted. Placing them on the side makes each one visible and keeps it flat in line with the seam on the side of the figure, which is pretty neat.
…Maybe I’m the only one who finds this sort of thing interesting.
Somehow or another, I’ve ended up with three of these guys.
Together, they’re like a more badass Magneton.
Golem Bomber
As I noted in the previous article, large characters in these series are scaled down to fit the same dimensions as the other figures in the set. So, Golem Bomber here is proportionately accurate, but he’s the same height as Magnet Bomber. You can kind of see this in the header image at the top of the article.
Even though he’s kind of hefty, his pose tends to keep him fairly balanced. There’s really only one figure in this set that has mild difficulties with balance. By the way, since I’m talking about it, you might find it interesting that he has his rounded design when, in Super Bomberman 2, he has a muscular hunchback look instead. Well, even in the artwork for Super Bomberman 2, Golem Bomber looked like this figure instead – you can even see this in the redrawn Western box art. Additionally, you may notice that he lacks an antenna. Many years ago, when I obtained my first keshi – a Golem Bomber from another set, which I intend to show at a later time – I thought this was a mistake until I looked back at all the artwork and noticed that, not only does he have no antenna, but his head is kind of an odd cylindrical shape. I feel like this is probably a common misconception amongst people who played both Super Bomberman 2 and Super Bomberman 3, because he is clearly depicted with an antenna in his sprites in both of those games.
I have no idea how this error made it into both games, nor why his Super Bomberman 2 sprites have such a radically different design from anything seen anywhere else.
Imminent glomp in 3… 2… 1…
Pretty Bomber
This is the first of three Pretty Bomber figures that were made available. This is the figure that clearly places these guys in the Super Bomberman 2 series. You can see this in the shape of her eyes. From Super Bomberman Panic Bomber W and onward, she has a very different face:
Hudson Soft Artwork from Panic Bomber W.
And yes, my Pretty Bomber figure is pretty scuffed up. I have another that looks cleaner. This one is the second keshi I ever collected, though, which I guess is why I took pictures of it instead.
A rare instance of two female Bomberman characters together, and they’re both the same person.
Brain Bomber
I’ve had this set completed for a long time by now, but I wasn’t going to post it because my Brain Bomber is missing his cape. I now have two Brain Bombers, both missing their capes. And they’re even the same colour! Madness.
If I had a line of these, it would kind of look like they’re dancing.
This is the only figure in the set that includes an attachment, which is going to make it super hard for anybody to get a perfect set of these guys. Being primarily handled by children around twenty years ago, it’s not surprising that many Bomberman keshi you’ll find for sale are missing their attachments. If I ever come across a Brain Bomber who has his cape, I will take pictures and revise this article.
By the way, check out that pose. It’s kind of funny to see Brain Bomber looking like he has such an attitude. In various Super Bomberman 2 artwork, though, he did kind of flap his cloak back a lot instead of covering himself all the time as he does in later artwork, so maybe it’s supposed to reflect on that appearance. Or maybe it’s just because most evil Bomberman with capes do this sort of pose.
Gotta look fabulous.
Plasma Bomber
Plasma Bomber is one of my favourite characters in the Bomberman franchise, so when I first found out about Bomberman keshi, I obviously wanted one. I saw the Super Bomberman 3 variation of him first, but it was in a Japanese Yahoo! auction that had long ended. I thought I would never have a Plasma Bomber of my own.
Boy howdy was I sure wrong.
Depicted: about how wrong I was.
Yeah, I’m just swimming in these guys now; I have six including the one from the Super Bomberman 3 set. One of them even still has the little knob thingy on his head from production. I should probably sell some off but I am a hoarder.
What can I say about this figure? His shoes have all the nifty little details on them from his artwork. I’m not sure if his hand is up in the air because he attacks by throwing bombs in the game, or if he’s waving “hello” to us. Maybe it’s both. Don’t get me wrong though, it’s a cool pose. Interestingly, his feet are oriented in just about the exact same way as Brain Bomber’s. Maybe that’s not actually interesting. I think I’ve run out of things to say.
That’s all I have for this article! Please check back now and then, as I do intend to showcase even more keshi in the future. My other sets are incomplete, but some are missing just one or two figures. It may be a while.
If you like Bomberman, well, so do I! Obviously! Please take a look at my other articles on the subject. Thanks for reading!
This article was updated a couple of times to include new pictures of duplicates in different colours. The most recent change was the picture of even more Plasma Bomber duplicates, on 11/5/2017.
h/t: Linked artwork comes from the Super Bomberman 4 manual, scanned by me, and the Super Bomberman 2, Panic Bomber (Virtual Boy), and Super Bomberman Panic Bomber W Japanese manuals, scanned by Ragey. Special thanks to a close friend of mine for gifting me most of those duplicate figures. <3 <3 <3
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