Video: Super Bomberman R Update Sacrifices Resolution for a Tasty Framerate

Better take cover from the bomb squad!

Can't wait to get this game when I pick up a switch!

And agreed, I rather have 60fps for tighter controls, especially when avoiding bomb blasts and maneuvering for escaping dire situations.

Also, for you complaining about not being able to handle 1080 resolution at 60fps, blame konami for using Unity (which I presume is cheaper than making the game from scratch specifically to the console).

I guess it's better than nothing

@Gridatttack agreed this is not the kind of game that needs high resolution but frame rate is a must

When do I get to play as Belmont Bomber?

I got this day one and I have to say...BRAVO KONAMI! KEEP IT UP

Ugh this just makes me want to buy it... but I gotta save just a few more days for MK8D!!!

I have a 65" 4K TV and played the game pre update and post update in battle mode and haven't even seen the difference in resolution. Some people get so would up about resolution, but unless your looking at still images, it's not always easy to tell the difference especially in a fast moving game.

@faint @Gridatttack Somewhat agreed, but this is one of the detriments of Unity. If Mario Kart can run at 1080P 60fps and RMX can do the same there's no way this game can't reach that as well.

But the new Super Smash Bros focused on 60fps AND 1080p

They definitely made the right choice. In a game with such simplistic visuals, framerate is far more important than resolution. I wish every game that ran at 30 frames gave me the option to up the framerate and lower the resolution. I would pick framerate every single time.

My only problem is I feel like the hardware is enough to handle both. Developers use so much middleware we typically lose 40% of the system for easier development. Some games like BMR are no big deal, but there are games where some optimization would go a long way. I would love to see devs jump on the Vulcan API bandwagon, the Switch has been certified for it.

framerate > resolution
Almost always. I don't even really notice differences in resolution!

Goes to show that developers still don't know how to code for the system. If Smash Bros can do 1080p 60 fps on Wii U and Mario Kart 8 Deluxe can do 1080p 60 fps on Switch, Bomberman can do it too.

The real story here is that the Switch can't handle a game as simple as Bomberman at 1080p @ 60fps.... good lord.

@abbyhitter or, the Switch isn't very powerful.

For DLC content, can I choose Gradius ONLY without castlevania and silent hill ?
Because I don't even like at all considering both of them taken from NSFW games that I Hate most. Even in Cartoon style, I still Banned for two of them. That's even irritating my feeling.

Hey, that works. Who really cares about what kind of "___p" a game is? I sure dont

I knew something had to be cut when they made the game 60 fps. Eh, a better trade-off.

Absolutely pathetic. No excuses for not being able to pull off 60fps at 1080p.

If ever there was a video game that's the definition of WIP(Work in progress), this is it. It's all a bit slapdash.

All I can tell you is I'm loving Super Bomberman R. When I play Switch alone I play Zelda, but when my wife and/or kids join me we play Bomberman

@Scapetti This was made by a third string in training group of konami devs. That's a far cry from the smash team.

This is purely subjective, but I'd say it's an overall better choice... although I think giving the option between the two would be the right thing in this scenario. I don't own Bomberman R, nor do I plan to, but my brother does so I'll experiment it with him when I get home next week.

@Jaxad0127 Note I said almost always. Framerate doesn't matter in games where things aren't really moving around too much.

For shooters, platformers, action games, RPGs, etc. though? Framerate. Every time.

@Anti-Matter Castlevania is NSFW?

@gatorboi352 Dang you hate the Switch so much you're making stuff up about it.

@gatorboi352 Except Fast RMX is running at 1080, 60FPS, even in splitscreen multiplayer, so... try again?

@TruenoGT I see the point you're trying to make, but it's impossible to compare 2D sprites to 3D graphics. 3D definitely requires higher resolutions to look crisp. That said, 240p Bomberman all the way =)

As for this patch, it makes a huge difference for local play. I've previously put less than 2 hours of time into the game, as it just felt awful to me. This makes it much better. Unfortunately, online is still terrible, which was a big selling point to me. Overall, I'm still quite disappointed with this title, but at least now I can start getting my money out of local coop.

Good call on their part !
From what i saw, the frame timing (not the framerate per se) looked horribly janky.

While 30 FPS seems sufficient for a lot of games, I usually vote for framerate over resolution, and what's even there in a Bomberman game to feast one's ultraHD-craving eyes on? But considering that Switch CAN yield 1080p 60 fps in some games, one has to wonder if it's about early third party experience or just balancing the battery toll.

@gatorboi352 so what you imply is, MK8D is that much simpler than Bomberman R?

@nhSnork It's about companies playing catch up after rushing out for the launch month.

@gatorboi352

@thesilverbrick I was going to say the very same thing! For games that can't provide both 1080p and 60fps, I'd love an option to select the higher res or smoother framerate. In fact, I can't think of a single game where I'd pick resolution over frame rate.

@gatorboi352

No its Konomi being lazy. It's not the Switch being under powered. Nintendo is running Mario Kart 8 Deluxe on the Switch at 1080p @ 60fps, so it's not the Switch.

Personal question, you used to have good posts about two years ago, but now all your posts are negative and bitter for some reason?

As long as the game runs smooth in don't care

I can see the replies to the infamous @gatorboi352, but not the original comment. Deleted?

@xxAcesHighxx check again

inb4 "Switch is too weak"...

Oh wait...too late.

Honestly, I think more developers should do this.

Going from playing Uncharted 3 Remastered on the PS4 in 60 FPS to Uncharted 4 in 30 FPS was kind of a bummer, despite Uncharted 4 looking much better graphically. Framerate > Resolution.

@OptometristLime Ahh, I see it. It's just popped up after about five refreshes. That was weird.

Wouldn't mind at all if Square Enix went the same route with Dragon Quest Heroes. I'd gladly trade in the higher resolution for a more stable framerate.

@Meaty-cheeky @gatorboi352 is clearly about 8yrs old, his or her pathetic attempts at trolling have gotten steadily worse but... they obviously can't help themselves. What they've said here is just childish, embarrassing, foolish, and it's funny how they go into hiding when their nonsense is challenged. @kingofthesofa's 'not even worth rolling my eyes' is an absolutely perfect response.

Smart move. For racing games and multiplayer battle games like Smash Bros. and Bomberman, frame rate beats resolution any day.

I would gladly take a miriad of games in 720p 60fps, let alone Bomberman. I feel like the presentation quality is always better with lower res and higher frames. What's the point of a crisp 1080p or higher pic if half of the frames are missing? Sure it's necessary for some games and works well but, I would gladly always take more frames for res sacrifice as long as it doesn't drop below 720p.

I'd prefer the extra framerate to extra resolution, but I'd much prefer have both a great framerate and a great resolution.

Confused they weren't able to achieve both, but I agree fps trumps visuals.

@gatorboi352

Or you could try using your brain.

Mario Kart 8 is a vastly more intensive game that runs at a 60FPS 1080P docked.

Obviously this is a result of laziness, low budget, incompetence or lack of optimization.

This seems to be a thing with bomber man games that go above the 4 player battles. I remember for Sega Saturn when you went to 8 or 10 players it just dropped you in a plain green arena with gray blocks, no details or anything just so they could get it running.

I don't think the graphics in this game are that demanding. Seems like they just have not done much optimizing. It's not a big deal because the game does not require high resolution but it shows Konami just does not have much talent anymore. Game is still fun though and I am enjoying it.

@gatorboi352 actually what this says is that Konami is goat making video games ever since all the talented people left the company.

i honestly hated this, it looks nice on the tv, but UNDER 720p undocked? really? would've preferred to just have uncapped 720p without changing the resolution

love the game though

this woldnt have happen if konami made the game properly instead of rushing it out.

@Camilla just like how you rushed your comment and typed "woldnt"?

The resolution is rubbish now and 60fps doesn't do anything for this type of game especially when the online mode has so much lag. To be honest I'm still baffled how this game scored so highly, it's got to be one of the worst games I've played in years, I'd have much rather paid £50 for one of the Snes games. I wouldn't have minded it so much had it not locked half of the courses and all of the free dlc stuff behind a ridiculous in game currency that you have to grind. Being forced to play a mundane story or broken online over and over again so that you can fully play the local mp is not my idea of fun

@carlos82 er, worst game you've played in years? it's flawed but it's not that bad and aside from the resolution issues they are trying to fix it

story mode is like the best part btw it's so amazingly cheesy

@ninty-love it's bad when content is locked in the way I described and it's online portion barely works. I recently played one of the Snes Bomberman games and was shocked how much more content there was back then. So yes this is easily the worst game I've played this year and I can't remember many that have disappointed me this much for quite some time

The resolution drop explains why some things looked a bit more blurry than before. Game's actually playable now (but I use a wired connection and may have been lucky with opponents' connections). Well worth making bad graphics slightly worse for that jump in performance.

I'd usually say frame rate first, but after playing loads of multiplayer matches before the patch without feeling there were any slow control or other non 60 fps issues, I sort of want my 1080p back. An option here would be perfect. Still though, had they not been using the slow Unity this would not be a problem.

@westman98 Ha. If you want to get in before the Anti-Switch brigade, you need to refresh NL every five minutes or so and try to post within a minute of an article going up. I'll give them this, they are dedicated to their cause.

Konami has done well with this game.

It's a pretty good game, and with the free content and what, 2 or 3 content updates now, it's clear that at least the Bomberman devs care.

I like having a few games on deck for playing with others at work. Gonna have MK8 Deluxe (one MP game to rule them all) but also some Bomberman, Fast, Puyo Puyo, etc. Gotta keep a fresh rotation in play

I know it's kind of the principle of it for many, but honestly I didn't really notice it myself (granted I've only player on a 42 inch screen so far). That being said it's early days for the switch, and it ends up being a trend earlier on in consoles that developers aren't immediately the best at optimising games at first, but also get better over time (e.g. Compare early 360 to later).

Hopefully this sort of thing improves in time. It also strikes me as them having rushed the release to make it a launch title, given what we're only just getting in features now.

This game should have been able to run at 1080p 60 fps. Hearing that this is unity related makes me sad. I want to develop for the Switch but if unity is causing problems, what else am I supposed to do?

Framerate can't change the fact it's not worth $50

@Kalmaro Unity is a terrible engine. I'll never understand why people choose to learn a near useless engine.

@Menchi187 from what I understand, it's easy to work with

Gameplay > graphics. That's where I stand.

@Kalmaro It is easier to work with when beginning but it becomes out of date very fast. What it offers in quality caps out pretty low compared to other engines. Everyone I know that learned Unity originally and moved on to other engines all wish they never wasted their time learning it.

It's a mediocre portfolio builder and basic <6 person team indie game engine for teams with no financial backing imo

@westman98 "inb4 "Switch is too weak"...
Oh wait...too late."

This site is monitored 24/7. Their f5 keys are bald.

@JasmineDragon yep!

I still say the game should be 20 bucks tops! And the free content SHOULD be free!!

Am I the only one that can tell the different between resolutions over frame-rate? I still can't tell between 30 fps and 60 fps.

@Super_Gravy I'm the opposite. I can spot very easily (in most games anyway) when there is a difference between FPS (even generally in games that are pretty stable at 30 fps), but when it comes to resolution, I find it harder. My preference is for optimal smooth 60fps either way in this day and age.

It may be TV-size related, or perhaps certain other aspects (e.g. rendering and other quality elements aside from actual resolution), but it's nowhere near what it used to be for me back in the days of DOS (e.g. playing a game on 320x200 vs. 640x400). That's more an example where i'd be fussed over resolutions personally.

@gatorboi352 I could code an average looking game that the PS4 could not handle at even 360p - bad coding is bad coding - Mario Kart @60 + 1080p even with 2 player for example, shows that it's the coding that is lacking when a game like Mr Shifty or Bomberman doesn't perform.

Sure if the system was more powerful, devs don't need to worry about coding efficiently, but that's a bad way for the industry to go (ie. just code badly and compensate with more power).

This game was done in Unity, that's why it sucks. A native engine for games like MK8 runs full speed at full resolution.

@Amsterdamsters That is because of the art direction in Bomberman R you don't notice it that much.

In other games, like Super Mario Kart 8 you will definitely notice the difference between 720p and 1080p on a large TV, especially a 4K one.

So it really depends on the game.

I haven't played it yet with this update. I do hope the controlls feel tighter now that it can run at 60fps. (Might even make me believe that fps can matter lol)

Very cool

why not just have an option somewhere to switch between resolution or framerate boost? Then everyone is happy

A good game got better after the update. I did not notice the change in resolution until you guys brought it to my attention.

Tbh we're lucky to have all these improvements to the game as this being Konami they could've charged us for it

@subpopz He/she comes in every article to bash something. I already used to it lol

@carlos82 i don't know, i haven't been a huge bomberman fan before this game but the aesthetics (aside from the sub 720p in undocked i hate that) are pretty nice and the online works pretty well... most of the time.

it's not super great, but worst game?? have you not played a whole lot of games recently or something?

I think the problem is that it's predecessors from over 20 years ago are better in almost every single way. Don't forget we're talking a full price release here and not a £20 eshop game. Bomberman Ultra on the PS3/360 has a much better multiplayer with far more options and it was £7.99 when it came out. I've not played a single online match which didn't have constant lag and to top it off I have to grind to access the content so that I can play local mp with friends, how is that a good thing?. All things considered I think it's dreadful value for money.

As for how many games I've played recently, well amongst them are Resident Evil 7, Yakuza 0, Horizon, Zelda Breath of The Wild, Persona 5, Yooka Laylee, some VR games including I Expect You to Die, Job Simulator, Batman VR and yes it would comfortably be bottom of that list.

If you enjoy it then that's great but for me it's been a very irritating experience and when i take everything into account, up there with one of the worst games I've ever bought

@Amsterdamsters Couldn't agree more. I've a 60" and Super Mario series etc on Wii U @720p60 look stunning and very sharp, I don't even find the lack of AA annoying as cartoon styled graphics can easily get away with it.

As long as a game can hit 720p, it's more than clear enough in the living room.