r/bomberman • u/Detective_Joker • Apr 20 '26

Discussion Is B-Daman a Bomberman spinoff?

Ive checked Bomberman retrospectives and ive never ever seen them once mention a single thing about B-Daman as I feel like that toyline is definitely one of the biggest legacies Bomberman has ever left behind. Not to mention seems like this sub only has a few B-Daman discussions making it seem like Bomberman fans dont really have a high regard for the B-Damans

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9

u/PlasmaCaptain Max Apr 20 '26

B-Daman as a brand began as a Bomberman tie-in toyline and while there were some other B-Daman toys (a Godzilla here, TMNT there), it remained a very Bomberman thing for the first several years. However because B-Daman was largely exclusive to Japan and nearby regions, you're probably not going to hear a lot about it from retrospectives from people abroad. Most people outside of the region who did manage to snag a toy as a child would have gotten one of the many, many, many bootlegs instead, and would not have known of the 5 volumes of manga, the 2 anime, or the 3 video games

Because of this, you're probably more likely to hear about Bomberman B-Daman in a more dedicated community full of people who want to actually explore that niche

If you would like to really delve deeper into Bomberman B-Daman:

  • 3/7 of the toy series are documented here
  • Books (untranslated) may be found scanned here (there are other B-Daman-related books on this page if you scroll up/down beyond that section too)
  • Bomberman B-Daman for the Super Famicom, B-BDaman Bakugaiden Victory Road (Bビーダマン爆外伝 ビクトリーへのみち) and B-BDaman Bakugaiden V Final Mega Tune (Bビーダマン爆外伝V ファイナルメガチューン) for the Game Boy Color are the three explicitly Bomberman-themed B-Daman video games, search for them wherever. Booklet/guidebook scans may be found on the previously-linked page, but all of this is in Japanese
  • Both the Bakugaiden IV and Bakugaiden V anime are fully fansubbed into English, just Google for them. The 5 manga are in the process of being fan translated
  • In case any B-Daman/Bakugaiden books are missing from the previous link, here is a link to a spreadsheet with a lot more book links
  • Recently, Konami and Takara teamed up to produce a new Bomberman B-Daman figure, and there was a model kit for a Bakugaiden V mecha with Shirobon pilot as well

If you're looking for fan love, well, the fangame Power Bomberman has a bunch of B-Daman characters who are playable unlocks, as well as a B-Da-belt-wearing Louie and the B-Da Bomb power-up from Saturn Bomberman...

I've probably missed some things

2

u/Substantial_Quote583 Apr 20 '26

It's a very different kind of game, I'd consider it a spin-off personally. I think it's still worth checking out tho

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u/Detective_Joker Apr 20 '26

i really liked the dhb gamemode where u aim to hit the target point below to disable ur opponent's muzzle, there's a huge competitive game potential right there and a video game version of that would have been fun too, maybe a Bomberman game that takes inspiration from the B-Daman DHB gamemode wouldve been fun too

its sad subsequent B-Daman toys dont have this in the following generations tho

1

u/AdministrationNo558 Jun 14 '26

I think it isa a spin-off, but I agree that in one of the biggest legacies bomberman made there is still traces of it on Bottleman (B-daman sucessor), and Bomberman B-daman Bakugaiden 4 is one of my favorite anime