Panic Bomber

The Neo Geo version of Panic Bomber was a moderate success in Japan. The four reviewers of Electronic Gaming Monthly gave the Neo Geo version a 7 out of 10, describing it as a decent if unexceptional Tetris clone, with one reviewer commenting "This genre is so flooded that it's hard to come up with a unique angle, and there isn't one for Panic Bomber". The other three argued that the game "has enough originality to make it stand on its own." GamePro remarked the gameplay and graphics are too simple to justify the game's appearance on the powerful Neo Geo, but praised its play mechanics and addictive nature and concluded, "For a system renowned for fighting games, Panic is a refreshing presence." Reviewing the Virtual Boy version, a Next Generation critic said that while the game itself is "decent" and "addictive", it is poorly suited for the Virtual Boy, since it does not use the console's 3D capabilities and is less fun to play without colors to distinguish the different pieces. He gave it two out of five stars. GamePro, in contrast, said the game "pushes the Virtual Boy engine to its max", while admitting the 3D effects are "a little timid". The reviewer hailed the gameplay as being "as addictive as Zoop or Tetris."

• Illustration — Screenshot of Panic Bomber for the Virtual Boy. It uses a red-and-black color scheme standard to the system. In Japan, Panic Bomber was released for the PC Engine Super CD-ROM² on December 22, 1994. This was followed by a release for the Super Famicom as Super Bomberman: Panic Bomber W, on March 1, and on the Virtual Boy as on July 21, 1995. It was also ported to Neo Geo, PlayStation Portable and multiple Japanese home computers such as the X68000, FM Towns, and NEC PC-9821. The Virtual Boy version uses a red-and-black color scheme and parallax, an optical trick that is used to simulate a 3D effect. A Panic Bomber minigame was also included in Bomberman 64 (2001) and Bomberman Land 2. The original PC Engine CD version of Panic Bomber was later re-released on Wii in 2008 and the Wii U Virtual Console in Japan in 2015 (with the latter release also being available for the first time in North America and Europe in 2017, albeit untranslated). A port for the Neo Geo CD was also showcased but never released. Panic Bomber W was re-released in 2026 via an update to Super Bomberman Collection, marking its first English language release.