Bombs

An explosive sub-weapon and utility item used to damage enemies and clear obstacles across various retro action and platforming games.

Action

Role-playing (RPG)

20

Games

1982–2004

Years

4

Platforms

$13.35

Ø CIB

-76.5%

24M change

About

In retro titles like Route 16 and UN Squadron, Bombs serve as powerful offensive sub-weapons to clear enemy forces. In platformers and puzzle-action games such as Smartball, Super Mario All-Stars, and S.O.S: Sink or Swim, they are utilized both to defeat adversaries and destroy environmental barriers to progress through levels.

Originating as a staple mechanic within the broader Metal Slug and Wild Arms franchises, this explosive item evolved across diverse genres published under these banners. Early implementations in top-down and scrolling titles like Route 16 and U.N. Squadron established the item's mechanical foundation, which was subsequently adapted into the vertical shoot-'em-up Imperium. As the franchises expanded, the item transitioned into side-scrolling platformers and puzzle games. In Smartball and the updated classic compilation Super Mario All-Stars, players managed bomb inventories to navigate complex stage layouts.

The item also became central to survival and simulation gameplay within these intellectual properties. In the maritime escape adventure S.O.S. and the flight simulation Agile Warrior F-111X, tactical deployment of explosives dictated player progression and survival rates. This mechanical legacy concluded its classic run in the puzzle-action spin-off S.O.S: Sink or Swim, where timed detonations were required to guide survivors. Throughout these releases, the item remained a defining utility that bridged the action-heavy design of the Metal Slug lineage with the strategic resource management characteristic of the Wild Arms series.