20 Trailers So Bad They KILLED Video Games

7. Bomberman: Act Zero

Bomberman act zero
Microsoft

Due to Bomberman's stagnation over the last few decades, it's easy to forget how popular the block-blasting hero was. At its peak, Hudson Soft were churning out five or six Bomberman games per year. After releasing 50+ titles, the developers decided to reinvent their most recognised IP.

Although dark reboots were popular at the time, it was obvious Bomberman: Act Zero went too far, based on the trailer. The Xbox 360 exclusive ramped up the edginess to such an extreme, Act Zero resembled a maze-based Doom spin-off rather than a Bomberman title. The teaser is also filled with philosophical quotes about existence and purpose, inaccurately suggesting this tripe would harbour a deep and profound narrative.

Even though Act Zero was anticipated to fail, its awfulness surpassed all expectations. Due to the repetitive level design, appalling collision detection, unbalanced AI, and unbearable loading times, Act Zero flopped and was branded as one of the worst games ever made. Though the trailer didn't paint Hudson Soft's little experiment in a good light, it was generous compared to how the final result turned out.

Contributor

James Egan has been with Whatculture for five years and prominently works on Horror, Film, and Video Games. He's written over 80 books including 1000 Facts about Horror Movies Vol. 1-3 1000 Facts about The Greatest Films Ever Made Vol. 1-3 1000 Facts about Video Games Vol. 1-3 1000 Facts About James Bond 1000 Facts About TV Shows