Arcade Archives: Bomb Bee

[tepidsnake]

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This week's Arcade Archives release is... Bomb Bee (Namco, 1979)

Arcade Archives (previous-gen consoles)

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Switch
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Arcade Archives 2 (current-gen consoles)

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Switch 2

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Just the one ROM this week (so, predictably, no Bomb Bee N, as amusing as that would've been). No special Preference Settings this time, but like with Gee Bee, if you have a USB mouse, you can plug it into your console to use as a replacement for the spinner control (this feature is mentioned on every storefront but I've only tested it on the Switch release) or use the JoyCon 2's mouse function on Switch 2, otherwise you can adjust the speed of the paddle in the Controls Settings.

You know what, I won't lie, I'm kind of OK with Namco games on Arcade Archives yo-yo-ing between cutting-edge '90s 3D spectacles and their earliest works, especially since with this being the second of Toru Iwatani's Breakout / pinball hybrid trilogy, the next in line is Cutie Q, one of my personal favourites. You get a view of how far the company went across that period of time, which is interesting! Anyway, this is very similar to Gee Bee in that it's a bat-and-ball game with pinball elements with a different table design, and this time breaking the bricks at the side increases the value of the bumpers at the top, and breaking the bricks at the top adds a whopping 1000 point (!) bumper that eventually explodes and brings all the bricks back so you can do it again. This is also a bit of a hardware upgrade from the previous game, as it's proper colour rather than requiring cellophane, and with the exploding bumper, that makes the presentation just that little bit more dynamic, although it still doesn't quite have the visual charm of Cutie Q just yet. Just like the Gee Bee port though, this has somewhat strange controls in that you can't get 'proper' analogue control outside of using a mouse as without it you have to switch speeds by holding a button. Still, this actually works pretty well and on the defaul settings, it never feels like your controls aren't up to the task of returning the ball. Still, analogue controls without plugging in my cheapo mouse would be nice~