Soft Block

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The Soft Block, originally called Brick (レンガ) according to the NES/Famicom manuals, and Destructible Blocks (破壊可能ブロック) according to the Japanese Bomberman II manual, is a core element of the Bomberman gameplay. It is the destructible turf that appears in almost every Bomberman game.
==Description==
Typically, in either Story Mode or Battle Mode, the round begins with the player(s) trapped in a small space by Soft Blocks and Hard Blocks. The player then proceeds to blast away Soft Blocks with bombs in order to reach enemies or opponents. Soft Blocks sometimes contain Items (which will either power up the player or hinder them) and in most of the traditional games, an exit is hidden inside one of them. It shall be noted that in some games, the Glasses item is able to see through those blocks, revealing its contain, could it be an exit or an item.
In some games that features Charaboms, Soft Blocks can also contain special Charabom Food items that are used to power up the Charaboms.
Soft Blocks also serve as a way of trapping Enemy Characters or other Bombermen. Strategically, it is usually best not to clear all Soft Blocks from a stage before destroying all Enemy Characters, and not to clear the entire stage at all during Battle Mode, unless you have enough power-ups or talent to deal with the other players effectively, or if Sudden Death has been activated.
The player is able to pass though them if they possess a Soft Block Pass power-up. Similarly, some specific enemies are also able to pass through those kind of blocks.
In games like Bomberman '94, remaining Soft Blocks of the stage will turn into Bonus Coins after collecting a Spirit Picture Piece.
==Appearances==
Much like the Hard Blocks, the Soft Blocks have various designs, and its overall appearance differs from one map to another based on the area's theme. As such, the players should analyze the design of the new maps, and be able to quickly distinguish a Hard Block from a Soft Block.
In some games, such as Bomberman Hardball, players are able to change the appearance of the Soft Blocks (along with those of the Hard Blocks) for the Battle Mode stages through some options.
==Variations==
It also exists variations of the Soft Blocks, featuring the same properties but with additional features; one with the property to regenerate, known as Regenerating Soft Blocks, and one other turning invisible by alternation, known as the Flickering Soft Block. There is also a special version in Bomberman Portable, the Lantern Soft Block, which shares the same properties as a traditional Soft Block, but for each ones destroyed, the area gets closer to sinking into complete darkness.
==See also==
*Regenerating Soft Block
*Flickering Soft Block
*Hard Block
*Pressure Block
de:Weichblock
Category:Mechanics