Exploding expectations — Konami Assistant Producer on Super Bomberman R Online development

Released earlier this month, Super Bomberman R Online debuted as a Google Stadia exclusive. News Editor Elisha Deogracias said, “Super Bomberman R Online is THE reason to get a Stadia account.” We got to talk with Konami Assistant Producer Tatsunori Matsuo about the game’s development as well as a few more questions surrounding the franchise.

As the 2017 game received updates as well as different console releases, the roster of guest characters expanded, with properties like Silent Hill and Castlevania represented. Who was your favorite post-launch character inclusion?

I would say my favorite so far amongst the characters included at launch is Robbie the Rabbit Bomber of planet Silent Hill. Despite not being the main protagonist or anything, this character is quite beloved by fans, and so we decided to add him in as a playable character. When we designed Robbie the Rabbit Bomber, we kept its creepy aesthetic as close to the original, while giving him a bit of a comical touch, so you should go check that character when you get the chance.

As a Bomberman fan, I’ve been excited for this game since its announcement. What aspect of Super Bomberman R Online would you want fans to enjoy the most?

I want fans to enjoy “Battle 64” mode the most. Before SUPER BOMBERMAN R ONLINE, there was no other game in the series where you can play with this magnitude of players at once.  My hope is for SUPER BOMBERMAN R ONLINE to be a great multiplayer experience for all generations. It’s quite thrilling when the number of playable areas starts to shrink, and I hope everyone gets a chance to experience that.

While the Battle Royale genre is still relatively new in terms of gaming history, it’s making a BIG impact on how we approach games, with properties like Tetris even getting into the fray. What was the main inspiration for Super Bomberman R Online?

Systematically, shoving that many players into a single battle field would make the game lack the iconic excitement that Bomberman games have. Therefore, we designed that mode to have several smaller areas for players to battle it out to make it feel much closer to a traditional Bomberman match while still fulfilling that multiplayer experience.

As a Stadia timed-exclusive, the Google gaming platform will be getting this mode first. Are you planning on bringing any other titles to Stadia in the near future?　

Right now the team’s focus is just on the Super Bomberman R Online title for Stadia. We don’t have any other announcements at this time.

This game will take advantage of Stadia’s “Crowd Play” feature, which will allow fans to play with their favorite content creators on YouTube. Who are some of your favorite streamers or content creators to watch?

The only overseas streamers that I’m familiar with are the really famous ones, but I do like to check out Ninja’s streams every now and then.

Super Bomberman R Online marks the return of Louie, who’s been a staple of a majority of the series. What other features would you like to see make a comeback?　

The Louies were a big focus for us to bring back into this series. We have other thoughts, and hopefully we’ll be able to share more information soon.

With the Super Bomberman R franchise marking a return of the character, will we see any other Konami franchises coming back soon?　

We’re always considering how to bring some of our biggest franchises back in to consideration but we don’t have any news to share at this time.

Finally, any last words for our readers, perhaps plans for the future or things you’d like to say?

I would like to see many people experience a new Bomberman with the all new “Battle 64” mode. For us, SUPER BOMBERMAN R ONLINE is the foundation to which we can continually expand the franchise even more. Until then, enjoy this new game and make sure to keep an eye out for future updates!

You can download Super Bomberman R Online on Google Stadia. Stay tuned for more news here on Gaming Trend.

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