Super Bomberman
| Super Bomberman | |
|---|---|
| Developer(s) | Hudson Soft |
| Publisher(s) | Sony Electronic Publishing LTD |
| Platform(s) | Super NES |
| Release | Apr 28, 1993 (JP) 1993 (NA) Nov 20, 1993 (EU) |
| Genre(s) | Action |
| Mode(s) | Single player, Multiplayer |
Super Bomberman is the first video game in the Bomberman series to appear on the SNES. It is also the first 4-player game that was released on the SNES.
Gameplay
The basic gameplay involved in Super Bomberman is relatively simple. The game takes place on a single non-scrolling screen. The screen shows the top down view of a 7x6 grid. The grid restricts the movement of characters so they can only move horizontally or vertically around the screen. Pressing the 'A' button will make your Bomberman drop a bomb at his feet. This bomb will pulse for a few seconds (allowing you time to run away) and then explode, shooting flames horizontally and vertically. The game revolves around the idea of using these bomb blasts to destroy walls and enemies.
If a bomb explodes and the flame hits another bomb it will cause this second bomb to detonate early. This can cause large chain reactions.
If the flame from any bomb hits any character it will injure or kill them (unless they are currently invincible).
Most levels start with the grid being partially filled with destructible soft walls. If a bomb blast hits one of these soft walls then it disintegrates allowing characters to pass through the now empty space. Levels can quickly be cleared of soft walls, but it is usually useful to leave some making it easier to trap enemies.
Once a bomb is laid it is usually impossible to walk past until it has detonated. This leads to the tactic of trapping enemies with bombs and forcing them into bomb blasts.
Special items can be picked up by walking over icons on the screen. These items are normally revealed when destroying walls or killing enemies. There are many different items which give you different abilities, these change a players tactics and the way the game is played.
Normal Game
The normal game consists of 6 themed worlds each with their own set of enemies. Each world has 8 stages with the last stage being a boss fight.
You make progress through the game by clearing all the enemies from the stage and then exiting via a door that is hidden under one of the destructible walls.
World 5 differs from the rest because you fight robot Bombermen in an arena. The arena has no destructible walls or exit doors. The end of each stage is not defined like the other worlds. Instead, once you have cleared the arena of one set of robot Bombermen, then the next set walk into the arena, thus making this world one long continuous battle.
The normal game can be played by 1 or 2 players. In 2 player mode the aim is to work co-operatively to defeat the enemies. Although it is still possible to blow up you team mate with your own bombs.
The game utilized a password system to save your progress. Each stage you were given a 4 digit password that would allow you to return to that stage by entering it on the options screen. There was also a special password ("5656") which would make all your Bombermen really tiny (although this had no affect on the gameplay)
Story
Far to the north of Bomberman's hometown, Peace Town, lies the modern metropolis Diamond City. There, the evil Carot Diamond and his cohort, scientist Dr. Mook, are holding a Robot Tournament with robots specially designed for their combat and offensive capabilities. Hoping to steal Bomberman's advanced combat capabilities, Diamond has created a fake Bomberman to go to Peace Town and kidnap the real Bomberman. Aware of Diamond's plot, Black Bomberman heads out alone to face the fake Bomberman. But Black Bomberman is defeated and his castle is taken. Somehow Black Bomberman escapes and seeks refuge with White Bomberman, and warns him of Diamond's evil plan. Soon, wave upon wave of enemy robots begin their advance toward Peace Town. Now our two heroes must join forces to overthrow the evil Diamond II.
Battle Mode
Battle Mode is played by 2 to 4 players, controlled by either humans or the computer. Because the standard SNES control deck only has 2 controller ports, if you want to play with more than 2 human players you have to use a multitap device.
The battle takes place on 1 of 12 themed stages. The aim is to blow up the other players whilst staying alive yourself. All bomb blasts are instantly fatal in Battle Mode. If you are the last player remaining you win the round and receive a gold trophy. The overall winner is the first person to win a set number of gold trophies (i.e. the first person to win a certain number of rounds). The number of trophies needed is configurable when starting the game and ranges from 1 to 5.
Each round has a time limit of 2 minutes. If nobody has won after 2 minutes then the round is declared a draw and no trophies are given. It is also possible for a draw to occur if all remaining players are blown up at the same time.
After 1 minute the game displays a message to "Hurry Up!" and then starts dropping indestructible walls around the edge of the play field (starting bottom left and travelling clockwise), effectively reducing the area you can move around in. If you get hit by one of these dropping walls you are instantly killed.
Battle Mode can be extremely fast paced and hectic, this is reflected in the fast paced music score that accompanies it.
Battle Stages
- Normal Zone - Standard level. Each player starts in one of the four corners.
- Western Zone - Players start in the center of the arena. "Maximum Explosion" pickups are more common than usual.
- Bomb Zone - Minimum range bombs drop randomly from the sky. "Remote Control" pickups are more common than usual.
- Jump Zone - Jump pads are randomly positioned around the level. Walking on a jump pad launches you vertically upwards. Can be used to escape bomb blasts.
- Belt Zone - Level features 4 separate conveyer belts arranged round the middle of the level. Bombs or players on a belt travel in the direction the belt is moving.
- Tunnel Zone - Five tunnels appear on the level, obscuring the view of players or bombs within them. There is no "Power Glove" pickup on this level (assumedly because it wouldn't work with the tunnels).
- Duel Zone - Players start in the center of the level. At the start of the match a range of pickups are already placed around the edge of the level.
- Flower Zone - The destructible walls are actually flowers. The flowers randomly grow in empty spaces which sometimes traps Bombermen. Also tractors appear at the top of the screen and drive downwards collecting any bombs they find on the way. "Remote Control" pickups are more common than usual.
- Light Zone - The entire level is extremely dark apart from two circular areas that are lit with searchlights. The lit areas travel around the screen during play. Tends to be more "Skull" pickups on this level.
- Power Zone - All destructible walls are removed and players start with punch, kick, maximum number of bombs, maximum explosion range and maximum speed.
- Warp Zone - Five warp holes exist on the level. Walking over a warp hole will cause your Bomberman to fall into it then appear at one of the other warps randomly.
- Speed Zone - All players move at super speed (the same speed level that the "Skull" pickup sometimes gives you). "Remote Control" pickups are more common than usual.
Item Pickups
Special items appear for ammo supply as you destroy walls, enemies or opponent Bombermen. During a Normal Game, the effects of all items except fire power, number of bombs and speed will be lost when you lose a Bomberman stock. During a Battle Game, the effects of all the items last for one battle only.
These are the names of the items as given in the European manual
- Extra Bomb - Increases the maximum number of bombs that can be laid on the ground by one. (Maximum ten)
- Explosion Expander (Flame Icon) - Increases the range of explosions when bombs are detonated by one level (Maximum ten)
- Accelerator (Rollerskate Icon) - Increases the speed at which Bomberman moves by one level. (Decreased by one level each time a life is lost)
- Remote Control - Allows bombs to be detonated by remote control by pressing the B button.
- Maximum Explosion - Increases the range of explosions to maximum.
- Kick - Allows Bomberman to kick bombs by using the Direction Key. Pressing the X or A button stops the kicked bomb.
- Power Glove (Boxing Glove Icon) - Allows Bomberman to punch bombs and send them flying by pressing the Y or L button
- Skull - Causes one of the following unwanted effects : temporarily reduces speed, radically increases speed, lays bombs randomly, disallows laying bombs, makes Bomberman invisible, keeps laying bombs at high speed, or allows only one minimum-range bomb to be laid at a time. Effects can be spread to other players by touching them.
The following items only appear during the Normal Game.
- Indestructible Armor - When Bomberman wears Indestructible Armor, he flashes for a set length of time during which he is unaffected by explosions or attacks from enemies.
- Bomberman - Increases the stock of Bombermen by one
- Bomb Passer - Allows Bomberman to pass through bombs laid on the ground.
- Block Passer - Allows Bomberman to pass over Soft Blocks (walls that can be destroyed).
- Super Bomb - Allows bomb explosions to pass through obstacles such as enemies and walls.
- Time - Restores the timer to the counter setting the stage began on.
- Fire Extinguisher - Increases the number of Bombermen in stock to maximum and increases player's score
- Heart - Restores one Bomberman life.
- Mystery Item - The effects of this item are a mystery until you pick it up. (actually just adds points to your score, number of remaining enemies X 1000)
- Rice Ball - Increases the player's score.
- Cup and Ball - Increases the player's score.
- Cake - Increases the player's score.
- Ice Cream Cone - Increases the player's score.
- Apple - Increases the player's score.
- Frozen Pop - Increases the player's score.
Super Multitap
Super Bomberman was originally bundle with a multitap device to allow more than 2 players to play simultaneously. The Super Multitap was long and grey with 4 controller ports in a row on one side. It plugged into either of the controller ports on the SNES deck. This meant a total of 5 controllers could be plugged in (4 in the multitap and 1 in the second port on the SNES deck). Super Bomberman only allowed the use of the first 4 controllers to play the game, although the 5th controller would allow a sound test to be accessed by pressing the R shoulder button on the option screen.
Hudson later released a second multitap (the Super Multitap 2) on it's own for people that had purchased Super Bomberman unbundled, or one of the other multitap enabled games. This second version was designed in the shape of a Bomberman's head and had the 2 controller ports on the front and 1 on either side. It was also designed to be used with future games. Eventually there were 54 (mainly sports) SNES games that utilised the multitap. [1]