Mighty Bomb Jack

Overview

Mighty Bomb Jack is an action game from Tecmo and features the titular super hero as he jumps around defusing bombs. The player needs to defuse every bomb in the area before they can progress, and can earn extra rewards by defusing the bombs in a specific order: one of the bombs will have a lit fuse, and this lit fuse continues moves to move from bomb to bomb as they get defused.

Mighty Bomb Jack is considered a sequel to the Arcade game Bomb Jack. It was released in 1986 by Tecmo for the Famicom/NES and was ported to the Amiga, Atari ST and Commodore 64. The NES version was later released on Virtual Console for the Wii in 2007, Nintendo 3DS in 2012 and Wii U in 2014.

Story

King Pamera was a legendary king who ruled the lands and ensured peace and order throughout the world. The King demon Belzebut had plans to bring the world to ruin by kidnapping King Pamera, along with his wife and daughter. The Mighty Brothers fought against Belzebut but all were defeated except the youngest, Jack. Jack must save the world by defeating Belzebut and rescuing the royal Pamera family, thus restoring peace and order to the world.

Gameplay

Mighty Bomb Jack is a side-scrolling platformer with a number of unique mechanics. The titular Jack has the ability to jump very high, around the height of one screen. He can also stop his jump at any height by pressing the jump button again, allowing for more precise jumping. Jack can also float down during his descent, this is done by rapidly pressing the jump button while falling. Jack's last movement mechanic is the ability to rapidly descend by pressing down on the D-Pad while airborne. Jack’s mobility is his greatest defense. Jack also has the use of special abilities by increasing his Mighty Power, this is achieved by using Mighty Coins which will also change Jack’s color.

Players must use Jack’s abilities to navigate a labyrinth of rooms inside a pyramid in order to rescue the royal family. At the end of each main stage is a Royal Palace room (bonus stage) in which Jack must collect all bombs on screen in order to proceed through the gate. Bonus points are awarded if Jack can collect the bombs in order, the order in which to collect is determined by a lit fuse.

Another unique feature of this game is the addition of the Game Deviation Value (G.D.V.). This score is given to the player at the end of a game, and is apparently a score generated by the game based on reflexes, memory, and judgment.

Mighty Power

Mighty Power is the power up system used in Mighty Bomb Jack. Mighty Power is obtained by collecting mighty Coins. By using them Jack can increase his Mighty Power 3 times. Each tier gives Jack a new ability, and access to all lower tier powers. Beware of collecting too many Mighty Coins, if Jack collects more than nine (9) coins he will be sent to the Torture Room.

• · Blue – Allows Jack to open the orange treasure boxes.
• · Orange – Allows Jack to open red and orange boxes by simply touching the sides.
• · Green – Turns all enemies on screen into gold coins for five seconds, Jack retains all previous powers. The manual refers to other secret powers that it doesn’t specifically mention.

Torture Room

The Torture Room is where Jack is sent when he gets too “greedy”, meaning when he holds more than 9 Mighty Coins. The Torture Room is a single-screen sized room where a set number of enemies spawn and there is no immediate escape. In order for Jack to escape the torture room he must avoid the enemies until the timer reaches zero (0). Once Jack escapes the torture room the stage timer will be reset back to sixty (60) and Jack’s Mighty Coins will be reset back to zero (0).

Enemies

Enemies are the main threat in Mighty Bomb Jack and Jack is given very few ways of dispatching them. Any contact with an enemy will result in a loss of a life. Jack can eliminate an enemy by collecting a power ball which turns enemies into gold coins that can be collected thus eliminating the enemy. Jack can also turn enemies into gold coins by achieving third tier Mighty Power. Finally the easiest way to eliminate an enemy is by moving until they are off screen, once they are gone from screen they will disappear.

• Mummy – Mummies move left and right and can fall off the edge of a platform. They are the only enemies that spawn into the world, after a few seconds on screen they transform into one of the other enemy types.
• Spider – Spiders are slow moving and track Jack directly, they move in diagonal lines.
• Skull – Skulls are slow moving and move in Jack's direction, they move in diagonal lines and can only change direction after hitting the wall, ceiling or floor.
• Parrot – Parrots are slow moving and track Jack directly, they move on horizontal and vertical lines.
• Turtle Shell – Turtle Shells are the fastest enemy in the game, they track Jack and sprint directly to Jack’s position and move on all axes. After a sprint they usually follow up with a slower move towards Jack, allowing for escape.
• Fireball – Fireballs are slow moving, they track Jack directly and can move on all axes.
• Bat – Bats are slow moving and do not track Jack, they move in diagonal lines and can only change direction once they hit a wall, ceiling or floor.

Items & Pickups

There are various items found in world that serve to increase score and give additional benefits once collected. Items can also be hidden in secret blocks, jumping from one of these special blocks will result in the item becoming exposed. Most secret areas are accessed by finding these hidden items.

• Bombs – Bombs are the main collectible in the game and are placed throughout every level. (100 or 200 pts depending on lit fuse.)
• Treasure Chest – Treasure Chests are either red or orange, they contain pickups and other items that help Jack and increase the player's score. Orange chests require the player to have Mighty Power active.
• Treasure Bag – Treasure Bags are found in treasure Chests, the value of the Treasure Bag is indicated on the bag itself. (100, 300, or 1,000 pts.)
• Power Ball – Power Balls are a white ball with a red stripe and labeled with a “P”. There are a number of ways to get a Power Ball to appear. Power Balls appear in Royal Palace rooms automatically. They also appear if Jack collects enough bomb points, once achieved a chime will ring and the next Treasure Chest Jack opens will contain a Power Ball. Power Balls change all enemies on screen into gold coins.
• Mighty Drink – Mighty Drink is a red bottle with a white “M” in the center. Mighty Drink can be found in Treasure Chests and gives an additional 10 counts on the timer. (1,000 pts.)
• Sphinx – Sphinges open secret passages throughout the pyramid, typically Sphinges will be hidden in secret blocks. (10,000 pts.)
• Slave – Slaves are green in color and are pharaoh-like in appearance, they can be saved from the main rooms of the game for bonus points. (2,000 pts.)
• Balloon – Balloons are red and appear randomly from Treasure Chests. They immediately ascend and if collected before they disappear off the top of the screen Jack is awarded bonus points. (10,000 pts.)
• Gold Coin – Gold Coins are found in Treasure Chests and created from enemies. (500 pts.)
• Mighty Coin – Mighty Coins are found in Treasure Chests and look like Jack’s face on a gold coin. Mighty Coins give Jack super powers, however don’t collect to many at one time or Jack will be sent to the torture room. (1,000 pts.)
• Extra Coin – Extra Coins are red coins with a white “E” in the center, they provide Jack with an extra life. (3000 pts.)
• Secret Coin – Secret Coins are white coins with a red “S” in the center. Jack needs to collect 5 of these as well as the two Crystal Balls hidden in the pyramid to get the best ending. Secret Coins can only be picked up while in the final form of “Mighty Power”, the green tier. (50,000 pts.)
• Bonus Coin – Bonus Coins are white coins with a red “B” in the center. Bonus Coins only appear in the Royal Palace rooms and move about the room on the ground. They add a multiplier to the points collected in the Royal Palace room, which can be increased to a level 5 multiplier.
• Crystal Ball – There are two Crystal Balls hidden in the pyramid, both are required to save everyone in the royal family and receive the best ending.

Endings

There are multiple endings in Mighty Bomb Jack that are dependent on what conditions the player satisfies before entering the final series of rooms. The best ending requires the player to find both Crystal Balls and five (5) Secret Coins. This allows the player to save the entire royal family.