Play Pocket Bomberman on GBC Online

Pocket Bomberman on the Game Boy Color is this weird little side-scrolling twist on the classic formula—instead of grid-based puzzles, you're jumping platforms and dropping bombs mid-air. The story's pure 90s cheese: some monster stole the Sword of the Sun (because of course it did), and now Bomberman’s gotta collect five Power Stones to fix everything. Honestly, I just skipped the text and started blowing stuff up.

Each world has four bite-sized stages where you bomb monsters while dodging their attacks, followed by a boss fight that’ll make you curse the tiny GBC screen. The controls take some getting used to—timing jumps while placing bombs feels awkward at first, but you’ll eventually find a rhythm. And yeah, you’ll absolutely blow yourself up a lot. Pro tip: grab the power-ups hidden in breakable walls unless you enjoy pitiful explosions that barely reach two tiles.

It’s janky, it’s unfair sometimes, but there’s something satisfying about clearing a stage by the skin of your teeth with one life left. Just don’t expect it to hold your hand.