On June 11th, 2018, character designer and artist Shoji Mizuno passed away. He was a key figure back in the 1990s at the now-defunct Hudson Soft, a renowned Japanese games publisher — having directed art or design, or sometimes both, on more than a dozen games in the popular Bomberman franchise as well as providing original character designs for the Beyblade anime series.

Since this year is also the 35th anniversary of the release of the first Bomberman game on the MSX, I thought now would be a good time to look back on how the explosive puzzle franchise made its way into the world — and into the hearts of millions.

Support comes from my Patreon and PayPal backers, with special credit going to Wade Tregaskis, Simon Moss, and Vivek Mohan. Thanks fellas!

Music and SFX credits:

The Take That Dyna Blaster segment from GamesMaster season 2, episode 5 (1992)All music is my own workSources:

The Untold History of Japanese Game Developers Volume 2 by John SzczepaniakEdge Magazine issue 6, March 1994Edge Magazine issue 17, February 1995Game Players magazine issue 22, April 1991Game Developers Magazine issue 1,RETRO magazine issue 6The One magazine issue 81, July 1995Edge Magazine issue 67, January 1999multiple pages from Ragey's Totally Bombastic Bomberman Shrine PlaceThe Complete History of Bomberman - Tired Old HackGames Nobody Talks About Anymore: Eric and the Floaters - Den of GeekRetro Gamer Magazine issues 66 and 67 (they have a two-part history of Hudson Soft)Computer & Video Games Magazine issue 34, August 1984CRASH Magazine, July 1984Sinclair User, July 1984The Life & Times of Video Games on the Web and social media

Website: lifeandtimes.gamesTwitter: @LifeandTimesVGInstagram: @lifeandtimesvgYouTube: lifeandtimes.games/youtubeYou can make a donation to help cover running costs and allow me to rely less on freelance income via

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