Developer: Tecmo Publisher: Tecmo Release: 07/87 Genre: Action
1987 was a critical year for the NES. As the library began to expand beyond simple arcade experiences we were treated to many fresh takes on existing genres like platforming and adventuring. Titles like Mega Man and the Legend of Zelda were stellar examples of how far you could push gaming. But there were also a number of games that tried and failed to present a compelling adventure like Deadly Towers and were virtually impenetrable to my adolescent mind. Mighty Bomb Jack sort of falls in that category. Revisiting it with older eyes shows how flawed the game is no matter how much I once liked it.
Mighty Bomb Jack is a sequel to the arcade game Bomb Jack and features much of the same gameplay. The ultimate goal is to guide your way through seventeen levels of the Pyramid to rescue the members of the Royal Family. Each of the game’s levels is split between an action zone and royal palace room. As you work your way through the action zone you collect power-ups and treasure to obtain a higher score and eventually find the exit. Each palace room contains a number of bombs that must be collected to advance to the next stage. This is a pretty nice way of fusing the original arcade game with the gameplay of a modern platformer. It sounds simple but quickly becomes complex as there are a number of underlying mechanics that the game does not explain.
Jack’s only ability is his insane leaping prowess. In a single bound he can touch the top of the screen and cover a long distance. If you repeatedly press A while descending he can sort of float which is a critical skill. He cannot attack enemies directly and so must avoid them at all costs. Nearly all of the game’s items are in treasure chests or parts of the environment. These can be opened or revealed by jumping on them or using mighty coins. These coins and their usage inform a lot of how you approach the game.
There are three levels of mighty power: blue, orange, and green. Certain chests require the second level of power or higher to open. At each power level Jack can only jump a certain number of times before it downgrades, forcing you to be strategic in their usage. At the green level enemies turn into coins for five seconds which is the same as collecting a power coin. The game limits how many coins you can carry with the Torture Room. Collecting more than nine mighty potions or extending the clock past 99 seconds punishes the player for their “greed” in said room. Here you must jump fifty times to escape. It is not easy as more and more enemies spawn and hound you relentlessly. Its Kid Icarus levels of frustration.
If you play Mighty Bomb Jack as a straightforward platformer it is simple. You can easily evade most enemies if you choose and make a bee line straight for the exit initially. A few levels in more aggressive enemies spawn faster and are relentless in their pursuit. In addition the level complexity increases and the game calls on the finer points of Jack’s leaping skills. It becomes a lot harder to collect items when enemies respawn every few seconds which creates a harrowing experience. In addition there are warps to skip levels, multiple routes, and even reverse warps that send you back. It does get a little bit repetitive but on the whole it is decent.
For those that want to see the game’s best ending you have your work cut out. To save all of the members of the royal family you must collect two crystal balls and at least five secret coins. These items often require you to find the hidden sphinx present in nearly every level, sometimes more than one. The problem is these can be anywhere. They are in parts of the environment no one would think to look; hell some of them are in invisible chests! Without a guide it is near impossible to find these items blindly. If you warp you can even miss out on some of them. It is obtuse nonsense like this that makes replaying some of these old games hard at times. At least in this case it is optional.
Regardless of whether you are trying for the best ending the difficulty curve in Mighty Bomb Jack ramps up quickly. A few levels enemies begin to spawn way too fast and in great numbers. It makes trying to collect items more of a hassle than it should be and frustrating. Mighty coins become limited and if you want to collect certain crucial items need to be hoarded. There is a late game maze that is a nightmare and what ultimately ended my progress back in the day. Even now it is still confusing. I wish I could say it is worth all the trouble but I can’t.
In Closing
Mighty Bomb Jack is a divisive game. The many optional secrets give the game depth and reason to replay it. But this is a case where the designers were a bit too clever for their own good. The general gameplay is good enough and fun but I don’t know that I would recommend it. This is an acquired taste that is not for everyone.
