Warpman

Overview

Warpman, by Namco, is an updated version of Warp & Warp, in which the player moves between levels via a temporarily open warp gate at the center of the screen. On the first screen, the player character shoots a laser rifle in four directions to destroy enemies as they appear. On the second screen, players lay bombs around a grid in order to defeat enemies that wander too close. In effect, these two modes superficially resemble Berzerk and Bomberman.

It is unsure why Namco would bother rereleasing an old Arcade game, but it is thought that they intended to cash in on the then-present Bomberman craze, which was selling very well on home computers and had not yet made it to the Famicom (it would be released a few months after Warpman). The updated "cutesy" character sprites and its name change to include "man" would seem to suggest that Namco wanted to play up the game's influence on Bomberman.