Bomberman Online (Dreamcast)

Not to be confused with Bomberman Online (PC) or Bomberman Online Japan
Bomberman Online is a 2001 video game for the Dreamcast, released exclusively in North America. It is the first official Bomberman game to support broadband online multiplayer (Saturn Bomberman was dial-up only).
==Normal Game==
The BOMB-A-LYMPICS is a quadrennial Bomber Battle Festival held on Quintet Island. Each contestant that enters sets up their own base which is filled with trials that their challengers must face. If they make it through the trials, they must face the contestant in their throne room in a one on one duel. The competing contestants are the Electric Dragons, the Red Phoenix, the Princess Mariners, the Iron Bulldozers, and the Storm Giants. Bomberman, already being the Champion of Planet Bomber, has the privilege of going first. Can he defeat the other Bombers and defend his title?
===Gameplay===
The player must use bombs to destroy the enemies on screen. They can then advance to the next round and after all rounds in an area are clear, they advance to the next area. There are five Champion Teams of each Bomber Event.
The Electric Dragons are fought on Survival Rule, where the goal is to simply eliminate the other competitors. Thunder Bomber is the boss.
The Red Phoenix are fought on Hyper Bomber Rule. The rules are that all players have infinite lives, however there are three special panels on the field somewhere that, when gathered, allow the person with all the pieces to go to a special pad and blow up the arena, causing that player to instantly win. These special panels can be knocked out of a player simply by blowing that player up. Bomber Brothers are the boss.
The Princess Mariners are fought on Submarine Rule. The goal of the stage is simple, if a bit strategic. Bomberman will be placed on one side of the field, and the Princess Mariners on the other, with a dividing wall. When a bomb is put down, a timer that is visible on the bomb will countdown, and when it hits 1, it will immediately go to the other side of the field. The goal is to hit the other players while avoiding the bombs as they put them down. Bomber Mermaid is the boss.
The Iron Bulldozers are fought on Panel Paint Rule. All players can die infinitely, however the goal is not to do damage, but rather to change the field to your color. Bomb explosions, while still damaging, can now cause the field to change to that player's. When the time limit ends, the player with the most panels wins. Bomber Gun Rock are the boss.
The Storm Giants are fought on Ring Match Rule. The goal of the board is to get the highest score by knocking the other player off the platform. Aladdin Bomber is the boss.
In addition to the main gameplay, grants a random chance to obtain a "Collection Panel", which provides a costume piece that can be shown off in the online mode.
===Stages===
*Thunder Volt Power Plant
*Volcanic Training School
*Submarine Patrol Base
*Diamond Canyon Excavation Point
*Tower of Wind
==Battle Game==
Up to four players, either human or computer controlled, compete to gain the most points. Players can also be set for up to two teams to cooperate with one another. Additional rules are also set before the beginning of a match.
 
Computer 	
* Weak
*Normal
*Strong
Games Per Match	
*Can be set between 1 to 5 games
Times Up! 	
*Can be set between 1 to 5 minutes
Level 	
*Beginner
*Normal
*Advanced
Sudden Death 	
*Off
*On
*Random
Random Position	
*Off
*On
Skull Bomb 	
If on, skull icons will appear among the items to hinder players.
*Off
*On
Mini Game  	
If on, the winning player of a match will play Bomber Karate
*Off
*On 
Miso Bomb  	
Activates Miso Bomb feature.
(Only works with Survival and Submarine Rules)
*Off
*On
*Super
===Bomber Karate===
After a match has finished, the lead player will play a round of Bomber Karate. First, by holding the R trigger, then pressing the A button will cause the player to chop the blocks in front of their character. Depending on how deep the R trigger is held, the more blocks of wood will be chopped through. The item received will carry over through every round of the next match.
If the Mini Game setting is set to off, the mini game will be skipped. The Mini Game cannot be played if players are in teams.
===Miso Bomb===
When a player is defeated, and if the feature is turned on, players will appear on the sidelines in a small craft that allows them to throw bombs at the other players. Miso Bomb players will only be able to throw one bomb at a time and their fire rate will be at +2. If the feature is turned on to "Super" then they will be able to replace players if their fire range catches the target player(s). This is the game's answer to Bad Bomber.
===Skulls===
During rounds, a skull icon may appear depending on the rules set above. If skulls are turned on and collected, they will affect the player in one of several ways. They can also spread the skull power by touching other players. These are the following effects of the skull power-up.
*Sprint Sickness - Increases player's speed radically.
*Sluggish Sickness - Decreases 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.
==Network==
Up to four players per console can join games for up to eight players over the internet. Not all of the game rules are available to play online, however. Each local player can load their avatar created from the Extras menu so long as their VMU is present in slot 1 of their respective controllers. To play online would require a paid SegaNet account. This mode also grants extra chances of obtaining certain costume pieces not found elsewhere.
*Because all Dreamcast servers were shut down in 2003, these features no longer work without using unofficial tunneling services.
Before each match is a central Arena room where players can join together in a chat room and begin or join rooms.
*Players will be able to chat by either plugging a Dreamcast Keyboard in slot B of the system or by using player 1's controller with the software keyboard.
Starting a room will grant access to the Room Master options, which is as follows.
Set Up Rule 	
*Set up the rules of a match.
Start Battle	
*Begins the game if all players are ready.
Kick Out 	
*Remove players from the host's room.
Lock Room 	
*Prevents entry of other players.
Exit Room 	
*Closes the room and sends all players back to the Arena room.
Log Out 	
*Logs out from the network and sends other players back to the Arena room.
Battle Type 	
*Survival Rule
*Hyper Bomber Rule
Games Per Match	
*Can be set between 1 to 5 games
Times Up! 	
*Can be set between 1 to 5 minutes
Random Position	
*Off
*On
Select Stage 	Not added yet
==Dreamcast VMU Features==
Bomberman Online can utilize VMU storage to save Normal Game progress and accumulated Collection Panels. In addition, online play allows one group of players (players per system) to use their avatar and nickname set from the Extras mode in the Network mode when plugged into slot 1 of their respective controllers.
Bomberman Online Save Data
Name 	File Name 	Comment 	File Size	Icon
BOMBERMAN ONLINE	BOMBERMANONLINE	BOMBERMAN ONLINE	6 blocks 	
==Trivia==
* This is the only Bomberman game to be released exclusively in North America, despite having been developed in Japan by h.a.n.d. Inc.
*In Bomberman Jetters, two characters returned as part of the Bomber Shitennou: Thunder Bomber and Bomber Mermaid (renamed Mermaid Bomber).
*Due to the lag being inherent in online play, the game uses a "Judge" system to determine which player really collected an item in the Battle Game after it has been picked up. This takes about a second to process, and is used even in offline mode.
*A large number of tracks from Bomberman Online's OST would go on to be remixed or reused unaltered in future titles, particularly Bomberman (PSP) and Bomberman Ultra. This makes it one of two games in the franchise to have had music sourced from the most, as opposed to composing all-new tracks unique to each game, the second being Bomberman Land 3, whose entire OST would be reused for Bomberman Land (PSP).
==Gallery==
Bomberman 2.jpg|Bomberman
Bombermanz.jpg|Bomberman
Lightning Symbol.jpg|Electric Dragons symbol
Mini-Lightning Bomber.jpg|Electric Dragon enemy
Lightning Bomber.jpg|Thunder Bomber
Fire Symbol.jpg|Red Phoenix symbol
Flame Bomber 0.jpg|Red Phoenix enemy
Flame Bomber 1.jpg|Bomber Brother 1
Flame Bomber 2.jpg|Bomber Brother 2
Water Symbol.jpg|Princess Mariners symbol
Merman Bomber.jpg|Princess Mariner enemy
Mermaid Bomber.jpg|Bomber Mermaid
Construction Symbol.jpg|Iron Bulldozers symbol
Construction Worker.jpg|Iron Bulldozer enemy
Construction Bombers.jpg|Bomber Gun Rock
Genie Symbol.jpg|Storm Giants symbol
Pirate Bomber.jpg|Storm Giant enemy
Genie.jpg|Aladdin Bomber
File:Bomberman Online - Super Armor Intro.gif|Super Armor
Logo BO.png|Logo
Category:Bomberman Games
Category:Bomberman Online (DC)
Category:Dreamcast Games