Pocket Bomberman is one of the more physically unusual Game Boy releases. The Japanese version came in a metal case and includes a black cartridge, which makes it stand out immediately in any collection.
The game is unusual too: it breaks from the traditional top-down Bomberman formula and turns the series into a side-scrolling platformer, so it is distinctive both as an object and as a game.
The Japanese cartridge also supports Hudson's GB KISS, an infrared feature built into the cartridge itself. Holding two carts close together let players exchange and share user-created maps without a link cable, a function unique to the Japanese Game Boy release.
More from the Museum's Journal: Pocket Bomberman: A Metal Box, a Black Cartridge and a Secret Infrared Kiss and Three Cartridges That Taught the DMG-01 New Tricks.


