As you can see, Bomberman is right there alongside other Hudson favorites but strangely enough, I haven't encountered him yet. According to Ragey's site and the manual itself, it seems the only time Bomberman appears is in the form of icons that can be used during the main mode in Same Game. I believe they have to be unlocked in some way and my skill is rough in that section so I'll have to try again later. At the least the title confirms he's there.

What's interesting though is how this game really puts Honey and Kotetsu into the lime light. They appear on every menu, multiplayer mode and the challenge mode. It's all about them! As I mentioned there are three modes. The main mode has you select your difficulty and then try to clear the stage. In Same Game all you really try to do is click on two or more touching icons and they disappear, causing the remaining pieces to move in closer. You must think ahead in order to clear the board entirely. The main mode also allows you to choose your icons, hence where I believe the Hudson properties come in to play.

The multiplayer mode is interesting but a bit weird. It's the same concept but the players take turns. You select an icon and it changes into something else. What determines this, I have no clue. If you change it into something that can connect, you score so it can't be too complex. You play as either Honey or Kotetsu and it's cute to see their rivalry (?) pasted all over this mode.

Finally there's the challenge mode. Clear the board under certain conditions. Sometimes you have to clear them all while other stages will have you trying to connect all of a certain color or earn a certain number of points. It's a bit tough near the end and there are 50 stages in total. What's neat is that after each set of 10 stages, you see one of the following images:



Such a silly little moment. Even weirder is when you clear stage 50 you get the credits sequence which shows this:



That's right. The two of them ride off together into the sunset. Those two make a great pair, almost like a brother and sister they way they compete but also share the good times.

In an effort to condense space in my posts, here is a cluster of random screenshots that show the duo.



I've never really paid any mind to them in the past. I'm aware of them and usually chose Bomber characters over them, but this game caused me to want to sit down and analyze this further. Just who are these characters? Are they based on real people? Would they be considered part of the Bomberman franchise or the Hudson itself franchise? What is their relationship? I was only left with burning questions the more I played this game.

I'll share more in the future, should I make any real progress but this was so unexpected I couldn't wait to share what I already had. Thank you friends and let me know what you can find out about these two. I'd love to hear from you.