Saturn Bomberman

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Saturn Bomberman
System(s): Sega Saturn
Publisher: Hudson Soft
Developer: Hudson Soft
Sound driver: SCSP/CD-DA (29 tracks)
Peripherals supported: 6Player
Genre: Action
Number of players: 1-10
Release Date RRP Code JP 1996-07-19 ¥6,800 (7,004)6,800e T-14302G JP (Satakore) 1997-06-20 ¥2,8002,800 T-14314G JP (Party Pac) 1996-12-13 ¥9,980 (10,279)9,980e T-14313G US 1997-08-22 $39.9939.99 81070 EU 1997-05-01 MK81070-50 DE 1997-05-01 MK81070-50 UK 1997-05-01 £39.9939.99 MK81070-50 PL 1997 AU 199x FSAT23SSC

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Saturn Bomberman (サターンボンバーマン) is a Sega Saturn puzzle action game developed and published by Hudson Soft. An entry in the popular Bomberman series of multiplayer-focused puzzle titles, the game was first released in Japan in July 1996.

Two months later, it was followed up with an XBAND-compatible version for online gameplay, released exclusively in Japan; this version was later localized and brought to the United States in August 1997, with the game being reprogrammed to utilize the Sega NetLink modem accessory. Versions published in Europe and Australia, as well as the Japanese Satakore budget release, do not feature online functionality.

Gameplay

The game is played on a grid where the player drops bombs and must defeat opposing foes and clear obstructions. Power-ups are distributed to enhances the character or increase the reach of dropped bombs or it's behavior.

Controls

These are the default controls. Controls can be changed to five different presets in the Options menu.

• : Move Character
• : Bomb Set, Line Bomb
• : Remote Control
• : Power Glove - Dino Ability
• or : Kick Stop
• + : Dismount Dinosaur

Items

The game features a number of items that are split across all three game modes. While most will provide players benefits, some items may also hinder them. A letter next to each one notes where the item can be found. N refers to Normal Game, B refers to Battle Game and M refers to Master Game.

	Bomb
	N, B, M
	Fire
	N, B, M
	Speed
	N, B, M
	Sandals
	N, B, M
	Penetrator
	N
	1-Up
	N
	Bomb Kick
	N, B, M
	Power Glove
	N, B, M
	Bomb Pass
	N
	Block
	N
	Remote Control
	N, M
	Power Bomb
	N, B
	Bead Bomb
	N, B
	Line Bomb
	N, B
	Fire Suit
	N, M
	Heart
	N, B, M
	Rubber Bomb
	N, B
	Mine
	B
	Clock
	N
	Merger
	B
	Apple
	N, B, M
	Meat
	N
	Ice Cream
	N, M
	Egg
	N, B
	Skull
	B
	Devil
	B

Skulls

During a Battle Game, players can pick up a Skull icon that will affect them with a specific sickness. Collecting a Devil icon causes everyone to be affected by a random illness. The player who collected the Devil icon will be highlighted until the illness ends for all players.

• Sprint Sickness: Increases player's speed radically.
• Sluggish Sickness: Decreses player's speed drastically.
• Diarrhea: Sets bombs constantly
• Paralysis: Cannot set bombs
• Minimal Sickness: Decreases bomb explosion range
• Can't Stop Sickness: Cannot stop moving unless the player runs into a wall
• Reverse Sickness: Reverses the controls
• Short Fuse Sickness: Bombs explode quickly after setting them
• Long Fuse Sickness: Bombs take longer to explode after setting them.
• Involuntary Transplantation: Switch places randomly with another player

Eggs

During a Normal Game or a Battle Game, an egg can be discovered by blasting a softblock apart. Running into one will hatch out a Dinosaur. Not only will they provide the ability to take damage for the player, they also provide special abilities by pressing on the control pad.

Dinosaurs also have the ability to grow. In Normal Game, collecting food items such as Apples Running into another egg while riding the dinosaur or in Battle Game, running over another Egg will cause the Dinosaur to grow which boosts their powers. They can grow up to three levels.

Dinosaurs can be dismounted at any time by holding both and buttons.

	Purple
	Lets out ultrasonic waves that sets off bombs and reveals objects hiding under softblocks.
	Blue
	Able to kick bombs.
	Green
	Able to sprint into a wall without stopping. The higher level it is, it then provides a chance to stop a sprint and then provides the chance to turn corners.
	Yellow
	Able to stun opponents by roaring at them.
	Pink
	Able to jump over bombs and soft blocks. Once it gains levels it can then leap over hardblocks.

Modes

Saturn Bomberman is divided into three modes of play, though each mode plays in the traditional Bomberman fashion.

As well as offering a single-player campaign, Saturn Bomberman is notable for its multiplayer options, allowing up to 10 human players to compete on-screen through the with the use of the 6Player (and in Japan, Hudson made its own Bomberman-themed one). Even today some modern iterations of Bomberman lack this feature. Online play can be found in the the US and Japanese versions of the game, though the European version does not support this feature.

Normal Game

Normal Game is the story mode for Saturn Bomberman and supports up to two players. Players take control of White and Black Bomberman and must play through a series of levels based around different time periods.

The main antagonists are the Hige Hige bandits, who have gone on to be featured in other Bomberman titles and animated series including Bomberman Generation, Bomberman Jetters and more.

Stages

	Stage 1: Amusement World
	Stage 2: Samurai World
	Stage 3: Wild West World
	Stage 4: Dino World
	Stage 5: Mr Meanie's Future World

Battle Game

Battle Game serves as the multiplayer mode that goes up to 10 players through the use of two 6Players. You can also set up a series mode that allows specifications such as how many players playing, which stages are played and the rule set. In the US and Japanese versions of the game, players can make use of the Sega NetLink modem and link up one other system with up to 2 players per console for up to 4 player multiplayer online, and like all other Netlink games can now be played over a high speed internet connection with Voip.

Depending on how many players are allowed to play determines which stages can be selected. Up to 8 players can choose from any of the gimmick stages. 10 player matches can only be played on the Wide Stage. This stage appears zoomed out to accommodate for the additional players and does not feature any gimmicks.

Bombers

Instead of using differently colored Bomberman, players can choose from White and Black Bomberman as well as a host of other Hudson Soft based characters and mascots.

	W-Bomberman
	B-Bomberman
	Miss Honey
	Hudson mascot
	Kotetsu
	Hudson mascot
	Milon
	Milon's Secret Castle
	Master Higins
	Adventure Island series
	Bonks
	PC-Genjin/Bonk series
	Manjimaru
	Tengai Makyou series
	Kabuki
	Tengai Makyou series
	Kinu
	Tengai Makyou series

When playing online, players are split between two teams with up to two players each. Red Team plays with White Bomberman and Miss Honey. Blue Team plays with Black Bomberman and Kotetsu. If one team has two human players and the other only has one, the remaining slot will be replaced by a computer controlled teammate. Maps are selected at random.

Stages

• Hold the , and buttons for a few seconds when choosing a stage to unlock different stage variants. Press or to change the time of day. Each stage has four different variants.

	Stage 1: Path to Glory
	Stage 2: Soccer Stadium
	Stage 3: Jungle Trap
	Stage 4: Desert Twister
	Stage 5: Space Colony
	Stage 6: Bouncing Bomber
	Stage 7: Ninja House
	Stage 8: Factory Floor
	Wide Stage: Field of Glory
	Can only be played if "Wide" is selected in the rules setup. This is the only map that will fit up to 10 players.

Master Game

Master Game is similar to Normal Game that supports one player only. Players play as White Bomberman and go through twenty rooms. At the end of the game, players are graded based on their performance.

Development

During development, Saturn Bomberman was known by the working title Bomberman SS.

Production credits

Production

• Producer: Jason Kuo
• Net Link Producer: Paul Stathacopoulos
• Lead Tester: Lance Nelson
• Asst. Lead Testers: Jeff Junio, Jason Bartholomew, Jeremy Wheat, Hamilton Baylon

Marketing

• Director of Marketing: Anne Moellering
• Product Manager: Andrew Stein
• Product Specialist: Mark Subotnick
• Packaging: Bob Schanfisch
• Manual: Richard Walker

• Special Thanks: Yoshi Nakano, Yutaka Yamamoto (for Net Link development), Arvin Carlson, Eileen Sacman, Eric Smith, Marcelyn Ditter, Geraldine Dessimoz, Undyne Stafford, Mike Markey, Lydia Gable, Kristin McCloskey, Marc Sherrod, Shin Hamanaka, Sheri Hockaday, Yusuke Kiriyama, Mark Lindstrom, Dave Locke, Annie Nelson, Dave Nulty, Judie Nybo, Keith Palmer, Osamu Shibamiya, Bernie Stolar, Shuji Utsumi, Sandy Castagnola, Heather Ravenberg, Kevin Kelly, Masaaki Kawamura, and SEEDY crew
• SOA Test Department: Lorne Asuncion, Nicholas Azizian, Randy Blake, Holly Burdet, Don Carmichael, Joseph Damon, Marc Dawson, Mike Dobbins, Louis Dribin, Arnold Feener, Rick Greer, Jeff Hedges, Matt Ironside, Ty Johnson, Monica Kresse, Dennis Lee, Mark Lerma, Chris Lucich, Grant Luke, Tony Lynch, Mark McCunney, Lorne Miller, Abe Navarro, Wesley Ng, Mark Paniagua, Germaine Scott, Yobo Shen, Roger Sammerville, Fernando Valderrama, Paulita Villatuya, Peter Young

For Hudson

• Planning: Tatsumitsu Watanabe
• Programming: Satoshi Mikami, Tetsuya Wakabayashi, Yoshikazu Okeya
  • Chief Designer: Kohei Maruyama
  • Design: Mika Kakutani, Miho Nitta
  • Animation Director: Shoji Mizuno
  • Sound Direction: Toshiaki Takimoto, Keisuke Mitsui
  • Composition, Arrangement, Performance: Jun Chikuma
  • Cooperation: Joe Down Studio
  • Special Thanks: Hiroyuki Ota, Kazumi Sawai
  • Product Manager: Haruhiko Ikeda
  • Director: Shigeki Fujiwara
  • Executive Producer: Hiroshi Igari
  • General Producer: Yuji Kudo

Source:

US manual

Magazine articles

Main article: Saturn Bomberman/Magazine articles.

Promotional material

Print advert in Sega Saturn Magazine (JP) #1996-12: "1996-12 (1996-07-26)" (1996-07-12)

Print advert in Sega Saturn Magazine (JP) #1996-13: "1996-13 (1996-08-09)" (1996-07-26)

Print advert in Sega Saturn Magazine (JP) #1996-22: "1996-22 (1996-12-27)" (1996-12-13)

Physical scans

Sega Retro Average
Publication Score Source Fun Generation (DE) 90 GamesMaster (UK) 90 Hobby Consolas (ES) 90 Playmag (FR) 90 №6, p109 [1] Retro Videogame Magazine (US) 90 2015-05-12

	90
Based on 5 reviews

Sega Retro Average

Publication Version Score Computer & Video Games (UK) 75 Computer & Video Games (UK) 100 Edge (UK) NTSC-J 70 Electronic Gaming Monthly (US) NTSC-U 93 Famitsu (JP) NTSC-J 68 Fun Generation (DE) NTSC-J 80 Fun Generation (DE) PAL 90 Gambler (PL) 92 GameFan (US) 92 Game Power (IT) 90 GamePro (US) NTSC-U 75 Game Informer (US) NTSC-J 80 Game Informer (US) NTSC-U 83 Gry Komputerowe (PL) 85 Hobby Consolas (ES) 90 Intelligent Gamer (US) NTSC-J 91 Joypad (FR) NTSC-J 100 MAN!AC (DE) NTSC-J 87 MAN!AC (DE) PAL 87 Mega Fun (DE) NTSC-J 87 Mega Fun (DE) PAL 87 Mean Machines Sega (UK) NTSC-J 85 Next Generation (US) 75 Next Generation (US) NTSC-U 50 Player One (FR) 95 Playmag (FR) PAL 78 Saturn Fan (JP) NTSC-J 75 Saturn Fan (JP) NTSC-J 74 Saturn+ (UK) NTSC-J 93 Saturn Power (UK) 91 Secret Service (PL) 78 Sega Magazin (DE) PAL 93 Sega Power (UK) NTSC-J 73 Świat Gier Komputerowych (PL) 70 Sega Saturn Magazine (UK) PAL 90 Sega Saturn Magazine (JP) NTSC-J 73 Sega Saturn Magazine (JP) NTSC-J 81 Sonic the Comic (UK) PAL 81 Super Power (FI) 88 Ultra Game Players (US) NTSC-U 85 Video Games (DE) NTSC-J 70

	83
Based on 41 reviews

Saturn Bomberman

Saturn, JP
Cover
Spinecard Disc Manual

Saturn, JP (Satakore)
Cover

Saturn, JP (Party Pac)
Cover

Saturn, US
Cover
Disc Manual

Saturn, EU
Cover
Disc Manual

Saturn, DE
Cover
Disc

Saturn, AU
Cover
Disc

Technical information

ROM dump status

System	Hash	Size	Build Date	Source	Comments
?	CRC32 MD5 SHA-1	567,876,288		CD-ROM (EU)	MK81070-50 V1.000
✔	CRC32 MD5 SHA-1	569,654,400	1996-05-31	CD-ROM (JP)	T-14302G, T-14314G V1.000
✔	CRC32 MD5 SHA-1	581,461,440		CD-ROM (US)	81070 V1.003

Save data

Saturn Bomberman makes use of the Saturn's internal battery back-up as well as the Saturn Backup Memory to save data for all three modes.

Saturn Bomberman Save Data

Name	Comment	File Size
BOMBERSS_##	NORMAL	1
BOMBERSS_##	BATTLE	11
BOMBERSS_##	MASTER	5

References

Bomberman games for Sega systems
	Bomberman Special (198x)
	Mega Bomberman (1994) | Mega Bomberman: Special 8 Player Demo (unreleased)
	Saturn Bomberman (XBAND) (1996) | Saturn Bomberman Fight!! (1997) | Bomberman Wars (1998)
	Bomberman Online (2001)