Saturn Bomberman

Saturn Bomberman (サターンボンバーマン) is a video game developed and published by Hudson Soft for the Sega Saturn. It is the first game in the Bomberman series released for home consoles to include 10-player multiplayer battles. It's also the first official Bomberman game to support online multiplayer, via dial-up modem (in Japan only).
==Controls==
* D-Pad: Move Bomberman.
* Start Button: Pause the game.
===Type A===
* A Button: Power Glove/Tirra ability.
* B Button: Detonate Remote Bomb.
* C Button: Set Bombs/Line Bomb.
* L or R Button: Stop kicked Bomb.
* L+R Button: Get off Tirra.
===Type B===
* A Button: Power Glove/Tirra ability.
* B Button: Detonate Remote Bomb.
* C Button: Set Bombs.
* Z Button: Line Bomb.
* L or R Button: Stop kicked Bomb.
* L+R Button: Get off Tirra.
===Type C===
* A Button: Line Bomb.
* B Button: Detonate Remote Bomb.
* C Button: Set Bombs.
* Z Button: Power Glove/Tirra ability.
* L or R Button: Stop kicked Bomb.
* L+R Button: Get off Tirra.
===Type D===
* A Button: Get off Tirra.
* B Button: Tirra ability.
* C Button: Set Bombs.
* X Button: Line Bomb.
* Y Button: Power Glove.
* Z Button: Detonate Remote Bomb.
* L or R Button: Stop kicked Bomb.
===Type E===
* A Button: Power Glove/Tirra ability.
* B Button: Detonate Remote Bomb.
* C Button: Set Bombs/Line Bomb.
* Z Button: Stop kicked Bomb.
* L+R Button: Get off Tirra.
==Story==
As taken from the English manual:EU manual, pg. 10, 12
"The Fuse Is Lit!"
"It was just another seemingly routine day for Bomberman. While flying on patrol, looking for threats to the sanctity of peace that the world so enjoyed, Bomberman stumbled upon something that could potentially throw it all into shambles. Deep in the tangled underbrush of the rain forest, a glint caught Bomberman's keen eye. Rising from the green depths, the Crystal Tower loomed. But the crystals which held the horrible monster Crator inside the tower were missing, and so was Crator. Then, a radio message crackled into the cockpit. It was Dr. I/Ein...
"Bomberman, Mr. Meanie has unleashed Crator and is using his powers to conquer the world! You must get the crystals back before it's too late! The MeanieLand Amusement Park is their secret base. Please hurry!"
It is up to Bomberman to regain control of the crystals and restore order to a crumbling planet, crushing the evil Mr. Meanie along the way. With that, a new chapter in the fight between good and bad begins..."
Taken loosely from Japanese:Saturn Bomberman SS (Japanese) Manual
:暑〝巨も遜蓑の軍箱を尋るため、 バトロールを羅けているボン丿ヾ一マンの謂に藝蓋
:逼槽が丈ったのは、 ある膳れた芭の手優だった。 ジャングルの藁藻くにそぴえるク
:リスタルタワ一に欝節されていた穣謂晨禅が覆窪してしまった。 閣の笹算から通豫
:を支配しょうと企むヒゲヒゲ団は、 伝説魔神の封印を解く4つのクリス夕ルを奪
:い、 魔神コントロール装置を装着して意のままに操っているのだ。
:伝説魔神を操るヒゲヒゲ団から世界を守るためには、 4つのクリ スタルを取リ返
:し、 ヒゲヒゲ団を倒すしかない!
:かく して、 ポンバ一マンとその仲間たちとの新たな戦いが始まった…。
A group of thieves led, known as the HIGE HIGE Bandits, head into the deepest depths of a jungle in search of the Crystal Tower. A monument sealing away the legendary demon, Crator, they make quick work of undoing the crystals keeping the monster at bay, releasing him. A mind-control device is thrown onto Crator, putting him under the bandits' control. 
To save the world, you'll have to take back the four crystals and defeat the HIGE HIGE Bandits! And so, a new battle begins...
After uncovering all four crystals, White Bomberman (and Black Bomberman) and Dr. Ein watch on as Crator arrives in Dino World, plunging the place into a deep winter. When Bomberman (and Black Bomberman) arrive at the crash site, the four crystals surround and weaken Crator, allowing them to take him out. After this, they hop back into the Kepo time machine and head to the future, infiltrating the HIGE HIGE Bandits' secret base and then confronting Mujoe and Dr. Mechard/Mechado. After the latter's defeat upon his blimp, the blimp falls and explodes, and White Bomberman, Black Bomberman, and their Tirra make their escape. 
After dropping the Tirras off back in their time, White and Black head back to the present, making note of a golden Tirra statue, as well as an edit of Mt. Rushmore with Bomberman's face on it, eventually landing back home where they then celebrate, and in Dr. Ein's office, the very first bomb is there on display.
==Normal Game (ノーマルゲーム)==
In the Normal Game, the game plays like a traditional Bomberman game. In each of the main stage, players must destroy all of the Core Mechanisms to unlock the Exit (the enemies are completely optional). Once you complete a stage, you can replay it as many times as you wish (the only time you cannot replay a stage, is if it is a boss stage). If you lose a life, you will lose all Special Power-Ups you currently have. If you get a Game Over and decide to continue (or save the game for later playthrough), your Score, Fire, Bomb, Speed and Tirras growth progress is also reset. You gain an Extra Life at 10,000 points (then at every 20,000 points onward) milestone. This mode can be played with 1 or 2 players. White Bomberman is controlled by Player 1 while Black Bomberman is controlled by Player 2.
===Stages===
*Stage 1: Hige Hige Land (ヒゲヒゲランド)/Amusement World
*Stage 2: Mage Mage World (マゲマゲワールド)/Samurai World
*Stage 3: Gunman World (ガンマンワールド)/Western World
*Stage 4: Tyranno World (テイラノワールド)/Dino World
*Stage 5: Mujoe World (ムジョーワールド)/Mr. Meanie's Future World
==Battle Game (バトルゲーム)==
For the first time in any Bomberman game, up to ten players can compete in the Battle Game. Two multitaps are necessary for this, as a single Saturn multitap adds only six extra controller ports. Below listed each steps taken before the game begin.
===Which Mode? (どっちでボバる？)===
Matches can be determined in one of the following ways:EU manual, pg. 36
*Match Play (マッチプレー): The stage and other settings are selected for each match.
*Series/B League (Bリ一グ): Players can select a series of stages and battle settings, such as the number of rounds per match. The preset matches are then played in sequence. Up to 100 rounds can be played in Series mode.
===Battle (ボバり方)===
==== Stage (ステージ) ====
Determined the size of the stage players take part in:EU manual, pg. 38
* Normal (ノーマル): 13x11 for up to 8 players. All stages are available.
* Wide (ワイド): 37x21 Field of Glory for up to 10 players.
==== Mode (モード) ====
Determined if this match play as a team:
*Single (シングル): Individual players compete against each other.
*Tag (タッグ): Players are split into 1 of 5 teams (White, Red, Blue, Yellow, Green).
==== Players/Number of people (人数) ====
Determined how many players will be playing, can be set to MAN, COM, or OFF. Player 9 and 10 will be locked out if Stage setting is set to Normal.
===Rules (ルール)===
*# of Battles (バトル回数): Determined how many games needed to win the match (1~5).
*Time: Determined how long each round lasted (1~9 Minutes in multiple of 1 minute).
*Shuffle (シャッフル): Whether or not players' starting positions are decided randomly in each round.
*No Draw/Sudden Death (サドンデス): Whether or not the Pressure Blocks will fill in the entire stage.
*Devil (デビル): Whether or not the Devil item will appear in the Soft Blocks (This option will be locked out if the Stage setting is set to Wide).
*Mad Bomber/Miso Bon (みそボン): Whether or not the defeated players can throw Bombs at living players.
*Bonus Game/Bomber Catcher (ボンバーキャッチャー): Whether or not the winner of the match gets to play Bomber Catcher for extra items for his/her next match.
*Com Level/COMレベル: Determined the difficulty of the computer players (1~4)
===Bombers (キャラクター)===
The game features playable characters, most of them originated from other Hudson Soft franchises.
*White Bomberman (白ボンバーマン)
*Black Bomberman (黒ボンバーマン)
*Honey (ハニーちゃん)
*Kotetsu (小鉄)
*Milon (ミロン)
*Master Higgins/Takahashi Meijin (高橋名人)
*Bonk/Genjin (原人)
*Sengoku Manjimaru (戦国卍丸)
*Kabuki Danjuro (カブキ団十郎)
*Kinu (絹)
====Secret Characters====
Holding down the L and R Button at the first Battle Game screen until you hear a chime. These characters also come with an advantage.
*Manto (マントー): Start with Power Glove.
*Yuna Kagurazaka (ユナ): Start with max Speed.
===Stages (ステージ)===
*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
*Stage W: Field of Glory
==Master Game (マスターゲーム)==
In this mode, one player must eliminate all enemies in each floor of the Tower. There are 20 floors in total. The goal is to get a high score. Ranks are determined based on the score.
Every four floors, the player will face one of the 5 Bomber Masters as a boss:JP manual, pg. 24-25
*4th Floor - Bomb Kami Bomber/Bomjin Bomber
*8th Floor - Debugon Bomber
*12th Floor - Jokkii Bomber/Tankard Bomber
*16th Floor - Miyagi Bomber
*20th Floor - Dragon Bomber
==Power Up/Items==
*See: List of Power-Ups.
==Tirras==
In this game, Louies are replaced by dinosaurs called Tirras that can be ridden. They offer special abilities.
The dinosaurs come in five different colors:EU manual, pg. 58
* Purple Tirra: This Tirra emits ultrasonic waves to explode bombs and reveal the contents of Soft Blocks. His ultrasonic waves grow as he grows bigger.
* Blue Tirra: This Tirra can kick bombs over objects. His kicking ability grows as he grows bigger.
* Green Tirra: This Tirra sprints down the line until stopped by an obstacle. As he gets bigger, he becomes faster and gains the ability to stop running and make turns while running.
* Yellow Tirra: This Tirra can stop your opponents in their tracks with his roar. His roar range grows as he grows. His roar causes other players to drop powerups
* Pink Tirra: This Tirra can jump over Soft Blocks. When grown, he can also jump over Hard Blocks, and jump further distances.
==XBAND Edition==
A little over two months after the initial Japanese release of the game, a new Japan-only edition was made that added support for the Sega Saturn XBAND modem for online play (as well as the Sega NetLink adapter, which used the same technology). While SegaNet matchmaking services have long been discontinued, it is still possible to use XBAND modems to play online today by making a direct-call connection to another modem through the phone lines.
==Party Pac Edition==
A special "Party Pac" edition, released on December 24, 1997 in Japan, included one Hudson-made SBom Joycard controller and one SBom Multitap for the Sega Saturn, along with the game. It was the third Japanese re-release of the game, coming after the XBAND edition and the SataKore reduced-price edition.
==Gallery==
Saturn Bomberman US Box.jpg|US Box
Saturn Bomberman EU Box.jpg|EU Box
JP SS Box Art.jpg|JP Box
Saturn Bomberman - Party Pac.jpg|JP Party Pac Edition
SB Title.png|Title Screen
Loading Screen.png|Loading Screen
Options.png|Options Screen
Multiplayer Options.png|Multiplayer Options
SB Character Select.png|Character Select Screen
SB Gameplay.png|Story Mode Gameplay
SB MM Gameplay.png|Master Mode Gameplay with some Pontans
Novice Bomber.png|Novice Bomber Grade
Next Floor.png|Floor Clear
Rankings.png|Master Mode Rankings
SB MM .png|Master Mode Opening Sequence
SB MM 2.png|Master Mode Ending Sequence
20.png|Scene from the Story
SB Opening.png|Scene from the Opening
A Sleepy Bomberman.PNG|White Bomberman sleeping in his bed, as seen from the Opening Intro.
Saturn - Sleeping Bomberman.gif
Saturn and Super 3.jpg|Prototype Stuff from fukumenz4622
Saturn Bomberman 1.jpg
Saturn Bomberman 2.jpg
Saturn Bomberman 4.jpg
Saturn Bomberman 3.jpg
==Notes==
==Trivia==
*The Japanese case art shows an alternative English logo that reads Bomberman SS. This may have been the original intended English title for the game. The name could have been turned down to avoid association with the Schutzstaffel of Nazi Germany, even though the "SS" stands for Sega Saturn.
*The 5 Bomber Masters seen within the game's master mode would actually re-appear in the Bomberman Jetters anime, specifically as judges alongside Momo in the B-1 tournament.
*While Mujoe and the HIGE HIGE Bandits would go on to make numerous more appearances, Dr. Mechado, interestingly, would never do so again, outside of the Jetters anime and its tie-in game, along with Bomberman Jetters: Game Collection. However, he did make an unexpected return in the Survival Mode of Bomberman Kart DX as the twice-fought penultimate boss.
*This is one of the few Bomberman games that have the Power Glove Button separate from the Set Bomb Button.
==References==
#Saturn Bomberman European manual
#Saturn Bomberman Japanese manual
#Prototype Images: https://twitter.com/fukumenz4622/status/1668257871534997505, https://twitter.com/fukumenz4622/status/1667734829532852229
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