Explodemon prototype videos reveal explosive gameplay, Bangai-O inspiration

Remember Explodemon? If you don't, don't blame yourself -- the title was revealed back on April Fool's Day and hasn't been heard of since. While its core concept -- a superhero powered by self-detonation -- may seem familiar after the XBLA release of 'Splosion Man, these prototype videos show a very different direction for the upcoming PS3/PSP/Wii platformer. Perhaps an analogy would best sum up our impressions:

Explodemon : Mario :: Splosion Man : Sonic (the good 2D kind, mind you)

Jonathan Biddle, design director at developer Curve, recently wrote about the various inspirations of Explodemon, a design that has been four years in the making so far. According to Biddle, players are encouraged to get as close to enemies as possible when exploding themselves, a mechanic ripped from Dreamcast's Bangai-O. "It's risk/reward in a distilled form, and is pure Treasure genius." You can see it in action after the break.