Cherry Bomb


 * For other versions, see Cherry Bomb (disambiguation)

Cherry Bomb is an instant-kill plant available in all of the main series Plants vs. Zombies games and spin-offs.

When planted, Cherry Bomb will burn out in 1.2 seconds (PvZ) before exploding violently in a 3x3 area, dealing 1800 damage per shot to any zombies that happen to be near or caught in the blast. This is enough to instantly kill almost all enemies, with the exception of Gargantuars, Giga-gargantuars, Giga-Football Zombies, Dr. Zomboss, some mechanical enemies, and Jurassic Rockpuncher. After the explosion, it will be removed from the field.

Origins
Cherry Bomb is based on the Cherry, a term for the fruit of plants belonging to the genus Prunus. They are named after the real life cherry bomb, a type of spherically-shaped firework.

In the first game, an explosion cloud with the onomatopoeia "POWIE!!" (or "powie!!" depending on the version) will appear, while in the second game, the cloud will spell "CHA-BOOF!" instead.

Their name refers to the fact that they are a cherry plant as well as a bomb. Their name could also be a reference to the song "Cherry Bomb" by The Runaways.

Plants vs. Zombies
Cherry Bomb is received after completing Level 1-2. They explode in a 3x3 area, deals 90 damage to every enemy in the area and disintegrate the corpses of all defeated zombies. Cherry Bomb can also affect flying Balloon Zombies, submerged Snorkel Zombies, underground Digger Zombies and ladders placed by Ladder Zombies. The explosion is not counted as a fire effect, and will not thaw ice trails laid by Zombonis.

Plants vs. Zombies 2
Cherry Bomb is unlocked after the player finishes Pirate Seas - Day 24. The explosion is now counted as a fire effect, meaning that they will remove freezing and chilling effects from all surviving zombies. This also means that Imp Dragon Zombies are completely immune to Cherry Bomb.

Plants vs. Zombies
Cherry Bomb

Cherry Bombs can blow up all zombies in an area. They have a short fuse so plant them near zombies.

Damage: massive

Range: all zombies in a medium area

Usage: single use, instant

"I wanna explode," says Cherry #1. "No, let's detonate instead!" says his brother, Cherry #2. After intense consultation they agree to explodonate.

Cost: 150

Recharge:  very slow

Costumed
When they explode, every blasted zombie gives 25 sun.

Level upgrade
Note: Cherry Bomb cannot be upgraded to level 4.

Plants vs. Zombies
Cherry Bomb is typically used either as a last-ditch defensive effort to eliminate zombies that have gotten past the player's defense, as a bomb to neutralize a large cluster of enemies that might pose trouble to most single-target plants, or as a nuke to quickly deplete the health of dangerous threat, such as Gargantuars and Zombonis. However, Cherry Bomb's long cooldown time means that great care must be taken in using Cherry Bomb to fully utilize their potential, although Imitater can be used to remedy this issue. When using Imitater with the Cherry Bomb, it's important to note the extra fuse time as the Imitater has to transform into a Cherry Bomb before detonating.

In Survival Mode, Cherry Bomb is a useful plant, particularly when the player opted to include a small amount of Cob Cannons into their strategy. As the amount of incoming zombies will rapidly increase over time, Cherry Bomb will easily find their place in clearing large groups of enemies that can otherwise overwhelm other offensive plants, especially when the game starts to send in hordes of Giga-gargantuars in an attempt to break through.

Achievements
The Explodonator achievement (called Demolitioneer on the Nintendo DS and Nintendo DSiWare versions) is awarded when the player neutralizes a minimum of 10 enemies with a single Cherry Bomb. Note that this only applies to normal-sized zombies; smaller zombies from the mini-game, Big Trouble Little Zombie does not count toward this achievement. The achievement can be easily obtained by playing Survival: Endless, due to the great amount of zombies present in later flags.

Plants vs. Zombies 2
As Cherry Bomb has remained virtually unchanged between the two games, most strategies that worked in the first game should also apply to the second game. An important thing to note is that Cherry Bomb's explosion is now counted as a fire effect, meaning that Gargantuars frozen by Iceberg Lettuce will be not chilled and able to move again a normal pace when hit by Cherry Bomb. Imp Dragon Zombies are also completely immune to Cherry Bomb, although this will be of little importance as they can easily be pacified by most offensive plants. Also, it no longer has a fuse time (1.2s in the first game), meaning that you do not need to wait for the 'right' time to plant it.

In Endless Zones, Cherry Bomb is a great pick, especially later on, because of the sheer amount of zombies that come in higher levels. Planting Cherry Bombs in large groups of zombies in later levels can easily destroy hundreds of zombies, relieving a lot of pressure you might have.

It should be noted though that generally, Primal Potato Mine, Grapeshot, and Bombegranate outclass Cherry Bomb, either due to being more efficient or having an extra effect.

Furthermore, Cherry Bombs can now be upgraded, decreasing their recharge and decreasing their sun cost. Therefore, they can be more liable for later levels.

Specific to Plants vs. Zombies

 * If used on a Pole Vaulting Zombie or Imp while they are in the air, the zombies will disappear without an animation, unlike other zombies on the ground. This also happens when other explosives are used such as Jalapeno.
 * It also happens when the player uses a Cherry Bomb and other explosive plants on a headless zombie that fall into the ground before disappearing and popping the tires of a Zomboni and Catapult Zombie by a Spikeweed and Spikerock but use an explosive plant before they explode.
 * This also applies to any aquatic zombies.
 * On the online version, using them on a headless zombie will cause the head to come back for the animation.
 * On the online version, their explosion visual appears bigger, though gameplay wise the radius is exactly the same.
 * If they are planted in a large enough group of zombies, it is possible for them to be eaten before they can explode.
 * In their Almanac entry, it says "explodonate" which is a portmanteau of "explode" and "detonate," which both relate to explosions.
 * The damage Cob Cannon deals is the same as a Cherry Bomb.

Specific to Plants vs. Zombies 2

 * As of the 2.3 update, if the player listens carefully, there is a charging sound that will play before they detonate. Also, if one looks closely, they can see the stem turn black as if it was burning.
 * It now changes its facial expression before exploding.
 * They are the only instant-use plant that appears in frozen blocks. This only occurs in Icebound Battleground and Piñata Parties.
 * If they are used on a headless corpse, the ensuing charred zombie will still appear with its head and arms.
 * In this game, zombies can no longer interact with Cherry Bombs. As a result, Cherry Bombs can no longer be eaten in this game.
 * Their Almanac entry mentions their "LP", which is short for Long Play, the technical term for a music album.

Specific to the Chinese version

 * Before version 1.8, they were the only premium plant in the game (unlocked along with the turbo feature with a code). Normally, they could only be unlocked by buying total RMB 30 (around 3 USD) of gems.
 * However, they are not a premium plant in the international version of the game.
 * Cherry Bomb's Puzzle Pieces can only be obtained in Penny's treasure.
 * The small Cherry Bomb they create says "SPUDOW!" when it explodes, similar to Potato Mine.