Mighty Bomb Jack

Mighty Bomb Jack
Developer(s)	Tecmo
Publisher(s)	Tecmo
Platform(s)	Arcade, Amiga, Amstrad CPC, Atari ST, Commodore 64, NES, Virtual Console
Release date(s)	1986
Genre(s)	Platform game
Mode(s)	Single player, 2-player alternating
Display	Standard resolution raster

Mighty Bomb Jack (マイティボンジャック^?) is a 1986 arcade game that was later released for the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) in 1987 by Tecmo, and later for the Amiga, Atari ST and Commodore 64. The NES version was released on the Wii Virtual Console on May 7, 2007. It is a sequel to Bomb Jack.

Plot

An action zone (NES version)

The hero of the game, Jack, must make his way through 16 levels of a pyramid in order to defeat the demon Belzebut and rescue the royal Pamera family.

Gameplay

Each level is split into two parts; an action zone and a Royal Palace room. The mechanics and level designs of the Royal Palace rooms are directly lifted from Bomb Jack. Action zones can be split up into several portions, and contain power-ups usually hidden in treasure chests such as money bags, Mighty Coins and Mighty Drinks. Mighty Coins allow Jack to change colors; blue allows Jack to open orange treasure chests, orange allows him to open any treasure chest by simply touching it from the side, and green transforms all enemies on the screen into coins for 5 seconds. Mighty Drinks add 10 seconds to the game's timer. Secret passages can also be found in the action zones, activated by finding a Sphinx in a visible or hidden treasure chest.

To prevent the player from becoming too "greedy", the game automatically sends the player to a Torture Room if they obtain more than 9 Mighty Coins or 99 seconds on the game's timer. The only way to escape a Torture Room without losing a life is to complete a number of jumps, which are counted down on the screen. Once the player exits the torture room, Jack automatically loses all Mighty Coins, the timer is reset to 60 seconds, and the game recommences from the beginning of the current level.

A Royal Palace room (NES version).

Vs. Series version

A Vs. Series version of the game was released in 1986 for the Japanese market (not to be confused with the original dedicated arcade version)

Version differences

Differences between the original and vs. series versions include adding a two-player mode, changing the locations of some secret passages and removing a warp trick in the Royal Palace rooms. In the NES version, Jack could warp forward to the next Royal Palace room if he touched the first lit bomb in the current room after the other 23 bombs were collected; however, if Jack died in the warping process, he would be sent back to the beginning of the level from which the trick commenced.

External links

• Mighty Bomb Jack guide at StrategyWiki
• Mighty Bomb Jack at MobyGames
• Mighty Bomb Jack at MAWS