Bomb Jack is an arcade platform game that was originally released in 1987 by Tehkan (known today as Tecmo) and ported onto the Game Boy in 1992

The player controls Jack, a superhero who can leap and glide. Someone has planted 24 bombs at famous tourist sites (the Sphinx and Great Pyramids, the Acropolis, Neuschwanstein Castle in Bavaria, and two cityscapes resembling Miami Beach and Hollywood, which appear only as screen backgrounds rather than unique game locations). Jack must fly around the screen to collect the bombs. Each screen uses a different configuration of platforms upon which Jack may run and jump. Eventually, the levels reoccur a number of times with increasing difficulty.
Bomb Jack's arcade version

Jack "defuses" the bombs by simply touching them. As soon as he has touched the first, he triggers a sequence in which another bomb's fuse lights up, and so on. A player can score a bonus in each round by touching 20 or more bombs in the correct lit-fuse sequence. Jack may also defuse an unlit bomb by touching it, but this impedes his opportunity to score the bonus for that screen. It also delays the appearance of the game's bonuses and power-ups.

Bomb Bonuses are triggered when Jack touches the first of 24 onscreen bombs. It is possible to collect the remaining bombs in fuse order, the maximum being 23 (the top score possible on a level). Expert players would combine this with X5 'b's for the largest multiplier score available.

The lit fuses have no strategic purpose other than the bonus; a lit bomb left unattended does not explode, although the onscreen enemies become faster the longer Jack is flying around and they eventually start to follow him at speed. At this point, new enemies appear in the form of flying saucers, that 'lock on' to Jack and are difficult to avoid.

Enemies such as birds, mummies, turtles, and orbs float around the screen, making Jack lose a life if he touches them. Collecting bombs will increase the bonus meter at the top of the screen (collecting lit bombs increases it more). When the meter is completely filled up, a circular bouncing "P" appears, and when collected, it will turn all the enemies into bonus coins for a short period during which Jack may collect them. Other similar bonuses are the B (Bonus) which increases the score multiplier (up to 5x), the E (Extra) which gives an extra life, and the rare S (Special), which awards a free game.

A Superbly playable and addicitive platform game, with gameplay that gives more than a passing nod to Namco's seminal "Pac-Man".

The object of the game is to collect all of the bombs on each level, before progressing to the next. Extra point bonuses are awarded for collecting bombs with their fuses lit. Only one bomb at a time has a lit fuse, and collecting twenty or more of these lit bombs on any given level will earn the player a points bonus (see TIPS AND TRICKS for details). Bomb Jack is pursued around each level by a variety of constantly spawning, mechanical enemies. When Bomb Jack gets killed, he drops to the nearest platform, always landing on his head.

The five different background pictures that feature in the game are : the Sphinx in Egypt, the Akropolis in Greece, Castle Neuschwanstein in Bavaria, skyscrapers and a cityscape by night. While the five backgrounds themselves are repeated as the player progresses, the platform layouts for each level are completely different. At least until level eighteen, after which the levels repeat themselves.

A powerball appears at semi-regular intervals and moves diagonally around the screen. If the player manages to grab this, all of the level's monsters are frozen for several seconds and can then be killed by having Bomb Jack fly into them (similar to the 'Powerpill' feature in "Pac-Man"). Collecting the Bonus 'B' symbols will increase the amount of points awarded for collecting bombs with their fuses lit. Picking up an 'Extra' symbol awards the player with an additional life, while catching the 'Special' symbol will give the player an extra credit.

The Amiga version of the arcade hit!

Bomb Jack Twin is a platforming arcade game that was released in 1993 by NMK. It is from the Bomb Jack series and plays similar to the original.

The sequel to the original Bombjack, Mighty Bombjack brings side scrolling to the series, and brings it closer to a platform game rather than the arcade / puzzle likeness of the first one.

Once again you play as the bomb-hungry caped superhero. Collect the bombs for points and avoid being touched by the different monsters that spawn from crates and the like.

The game now features new scenarios like clouds and forests, as well as the usual sphinx and pyramids backgrounds of the original title.