Super Bomberman 5 is peak Bomberman—Hudsonsoft threw everything they learned from the first four games into this one. You’ve got your usual grid-based chaos, but with way more power-ups, wilder stages (13 of them, up from the usual 10), and a soundtrack that somehow makes dropping bombs feel even more satisfying. The single-player "Normal Game" is fine—you’re just clearing stages, blowing up bushes or ice blocks to find exits, and occasionally fighting bosses—but let’s be real, nobody’s here for that.

Battle Mode is where it’s at. You and up to four friends (with a multitap, because this game actually supported five players before it was cool) cram onto one screen, scrambling for bomb upgrades while trying to trap each other in explosions. The Rooi—these weird kangaroo-bunny hybrids—are the real MVPs. Each color does something different: green ones let you sprint like a maniac, yellow ones kick obstacles out of the way, and black ones drop entire rows of bombs. They also act as an extra hit point, so grabbing one feels like finding gold.

What sets this apart from earlier Bomberman games? For starters, you can finally customize your character. It’s not deep—don’t expect Sims-level detail—but it’s a nice touch. The Rooi are also way easier to figure out now. Instead of guessing what each color does, they’ve got little visual hints (pink ones bounce on pogo sticks, red ones wear boxing gloves). Small things, but they make a huge difference when you’re trying to survive the last-minute stage collapse.

It’s simple, sure, but that’s the beauty of it. Five-player SNES chaos doesn’t get better than this.