In the interests of good comparison science, it’s worth mentioning that a couple of platforms also got homebrew ports…

The Atari 8-bit version of Bomb Jack

Over on the Atari 8-bit platforms, we have “Gacek”, a kind of unbranded version of Bomb Jack. It’s really good, and really pushes the old Atari’s to their limits. Varied sprites and colourful backdrops, and a range of music throughout the levels. It feels really good to play as well.

There are oddities though - like the way it plays the theme from Gradius/Nemesis on the high score table. And the way it doesn’t mention Bomb Jack at all (understandable, given its homebrew nature). So it’s not so much Bomb Jack as Bomb Jack-ish. But it’s still very good!

The Colecovision version of Bomb Jack

The venerable Colecovision also got a homebrew version, this time staying truer to the original. It’s also very good, and looks way better than a 1982 console has any right to. Control is fluid and fast, and the music is catchy and not annoying.

The bomb sprites are a bit large however, and the game tends to be a bit on the easy side, given there are fewer enemies on screen. But it’s still a tremendous achievement.