Saboten Bombers

Saboten Bombers is a 1992 arcade platform game developed by NMK and published by Tecmo. It wouldn't receive a home release until it saw ports for the Nintendo Switch and PlayStation 4 as part of Hamster's Arcade Archives lineup on April 8, 2021.

Developer(s)	NMK
Publisher(s)	Tecmo
Platform(s)	Arcade
Release	1992
Genre(s)	Platform
Mode(s)	Up to 2 players simultaneously

Gameplay

Saboten Bombers is a single screen platform game in which the main characters are anthropomorphic cacti named Wanpi (1P) and Tsuupi (2P). The gameplay consists of throwing bombs at the enemy pests that infested a house where player cacti reside and avoiding being hit by bombs thrown by enemies. However, explosions from players' own bombs pose a threat to players as well as enemies. Because players' bombs tend to move fast and bounce off walls during the game, throwing them carelessly are tantamount to suicide. There are a variety of enemies and colorful backgrounds. Some enemies can withstand more than one bomb attack, and some can escape bombs while still being swept away before explosions - both of which compel players to toss multiple bombs at them. Physical contacts with enemy minions do not kill players, but with bosses do. When all enemies are defeated, a stage is cleared, allowing players to move on to the next stage. The game consists of over 100 levels with every tenth stage featuring bosses, and also a versus mode in which the player competes against the computer-controlled opponent. The game has many collectable items, the most notable of which is the cake which gives the player an extra life after collecting eight pieces.

Reception

In Japan, Game Machine listed Saboten Bombers on their May 15, 1992, issue as being the twelfth most popular table arcade unit at the time.