Taisen ☆ Bomberman

information

Title 対戦☆ボンバーマン / Taisen ☆ Bomberman
	Supported phones EZweb i-Mode? Genre Battle (defeat all Bombermen) Players 2 to 4 Developer Hudson Publisher Hudson Releases 2 December 2004 (JP, EZweb)

The Taisen ☆ Bomberman series focused exclusively on providing a multi-player battle experience, boasting online connectivity with multiple opponents across the country. Users paid a monthly fee of 315 Yen to play the game, though the game was free-to-play for limited event periods. "Taisen" means "competition" or "great battle".

The first Taisen ☆ Bomberman is built upon the Super Bomberman engine, borrowing its graphics and simplicity: the only items found in battle are the Bomb Up, Fire Up, and Speed Up.
When starting the game for the first time, users register to the network, which generates opponents to fight against when waiting for a game. Matches can be played with 2 to 4 participants. Its online functionality is based on the WIN series of phones.

The Taisen ☆ brand was also applied to other Hudson mobile titles with similar online connectivity and networking options. Not to be confused with 2015's Taisen! Bomberman.

Hudson Soft page (archive)

What was once a colourful information page is now nothing but broken images. At least they had alt-text, so the info is still accessible.

The page updated in mid-2007 to act as a hub for the Taisen ☆ Bomberman brand, featuring links to their respective information pages.

Game Watch Impress

Features the highest-quality surviving screenshots.

ITmedia

A report from the WPC Expo 2004, mostly commenting on the state of its online play and potential lag.

Title 対戦☆ボンバーマン8 / Taisen ☆ Bomberman 8
	Supported phones EZweb Genre Battle (defeat all Bombermen) Players 2 to 4 (Free/Group Battle) 2 to 8 (Battle Royale) Developer Hudson Publisher Hudson Releases 28 July 2005 (JP)

An enhanced version of the game, named after its 8 player support, albeit only in one of its modes. It also splits the game into three game modes:

Battle Royale (バトルロイヤル対戦) is the traditional battle game; whoever is the last man standing is the victor. This is the only mode to support 8 players at once, and includes larger arenas to compensate, featuring a camera that scrolls horizontally and vertically to follow the action.
In addition, there are two exclusive items to be found: Fire-3 (ファイヤー3) and Bomb-3 (ボム3), which increase your respective item stock by 3.

Free Battle (フリー対戦) is limited to 4 players, but supports the Misobon / Revenge function, allowing players to participate by throwing bombs from the sidelines after they have been defeated. The victor is determined after 3 matches.

Group Battle (グループ対戦) allows you to play against members of the group you are registered in, and includes a message system to display chat messages during combat. You can create groups for yourself, or join groups created by other people, and impose unique match settings.

ITmedia

Dated April 26th 2005. A look at several upcoming games for the BREW platform, with "Taisen ☆ Bomberman 2" (対戦☆ボンバーマン2) among them; this later renamed to Taisen ☆ Bomberman 8.

Hudson Soft page

No surviving imagery, but the source of most of the game's information.

Game Watch Impress

A backup source of gameplay info.

Famitsu.com

It's got two watermarked screenshots. Nothing else of worth!

Title 対戦☆ボンバーマン２４ / Taisen ☆ Bomberman 24
	Supported phones EZweb Genre Battle (defeat all Bombermen) Players 2 to 24 Developer Hudson Publisher Hudson Releases 5 February 2007 (JP)

A maximum of players are now supported in a single match, and old Battle Game staples are re-introduced: such as Sudden Death - raining hard blocks down on the arena in the final 30 seconds - and players will now scatter their collected items upon defeat, allowing opponents to pick up their arsenal.

A new game mode is also introduced: Team Battle (チームバトル). Players are split into 4 teams, and the victory is awarded to whichever team is left standing, or has the most surviving members by the match's end.

Tournaments were regularly held during the game's lifespan, available via Hudson's "taisen.hudson.co.jp" mobile website, though any details have since been lost to time.

Newly introduced is the Avatar Feature (アバター機能), which allows you to customise your Bomberman's appearance, as well as communicate with other players during battle; presumably by playing unique animations, which it is unspecified. You can customise your Bomberman's colours, or even purchase entirely different characters to play as; the only known character is the Louie, though it is likely more were available.

Hudson Soft page (archive)

No imagery survives, but the largest source of information available on the game.

Dengeki Online

A backup source of gameplay info.

taisen.hudson.co.jp (expired)

At one point, the site where tournament information would have been provided; likely intended only for mobile phone usage, as no archives exist.

ITmedia

Dated September 22nd 2006, a report from KDDI's booth at Tokyo Game Show 2006, where the game was unveiled.

Title 対戦☆ボンバーマン＋ / Taisen ☆ Bomberman +
	Supported phones i-Mode EZweb Yahoo! Keitai Genre Battle (defeat all Bombermen) Players 2 to 4 (4-Player Battle) 2 to 8 (8-Player Battle) Developer Hudson Publisher Hudson Releases 9 August 2007 (JP, EZweb) 7 December 2007 (JP, Yahoo! Keitai) 19 November 2008 (JP, i-Mode)

A reboot of sorts, now boasting brand adorable new graphics, but rewinding the player count and game modes. The game is split into two modes:
4-Player Battle (4人対戦) is played across three rounds, and features the Misobon / Revenge function.
8-Player Battle (8人対戦) has three sizes of map to fight on: small, medium and large. The last person standing is the winner, and defeated players have access to a spectator option, letting you watch the action by controlling the camera.

The customisation functionality is pushed harder in this version, rewarding players with not only new designs for your playable Bomberman, but even new background music, backdrops, and additional friend features. They are unlocked by meeting certain conditions, or purchasing them using coins via microtransactions.
In addition to the normal Bomberman, known Character Bombers (ボンキャラ) across all versions of Taisen ☆ Bomberman + include:

Louie
Warui
Ballom
[block enemy?]
Geisha
Fairy Bomber
[cloth cap]

Elephant
Chicken
Wolf
Rabbit
Sheep
Cow
Pretty Bomber

Bomberman Reprint
Takahashi Meijin
Challenger
Nuts
Milk
RIZE Bomber
King

Taisen ☆ Bomberman Festival♪ / 対戦☆ボンバーマン祭♪

From March 2nd to April 30th 2009, the game was free to play for all users, and a series of tournaments were held that awarded character skins and other in-game prizes for participating. The four tournaments were:

Red Vs. White Rivalry (紅白対抗戦): Ran from March 2nd to March 15th. A Team Battle where players are randomly split into white and red teams. Red players would win "Nuts" character skins, while White players could win "Milk" skins, from the Famicom title Nuts & Milk.

Bomberman Developer Showdown (開発者とボンバーマン対決): Ran from March 16th to March 29th. Battle against Hudson Soft staff members, who would use the "Bomberman Reprint" character skin, a recreation of the 8-bit Famicom sprite - winners could win that skin for themselves.

Takahashi Meijin Showdown (高橋名人とボンバーマン対決): Ran from March 30th to April 13th. Battle against Hudson Soft staff members, who would use the "Takahashi Meijin" character skin - winners could win that skin for themselves.

Prefecture Wars (都道府県対抗戦): Ran from April 14th to April 26th. The player scores in each prefecture are averaged, based on the number of victories to number of users in that area. The prefecture with the highest number of wins is the winner, and awarded the "Challenger" character skin; users who took first place were also awarded the "Knight Bomber" skin. No participation prize was awarded.

Whoever placed first in any of the tournaments would also win a "King" character skin.

Earning five victories would enter the player into a drawing for one of fifty prizes: 2 PlayStation Portable consoles, 30 unspecified Hudson Soft video games, or 18 unspecified gachapon figurines. Players could enter as many times as they liked, so long as they continued to win five more victories.

Hudson Soft page (archive)

Basic gameplay information with next to no imagery. Also available in Yahoo! Keitai and i-Mode versions.

Famitsu

An overview of the game that mostly talks about its online connectivity as if it were something new.

Game Watch Impress (November 19 2008)

The i-Mode version of the game is announced, seemingly without the "Plus" as part of its title.

Game Watch Impress (February 12 2009)

Information on the Taisen ☆& Bomberman Festival♪ contest. This was also documented at K-Tai Watch and ITmedia

Dengeki Online: i-Appli Online

A promotional page for the game service, with two screenshots.

Dengeki Online

A playtest of the i-Appli service, with the Dengeki Online staff roped in to try the 8-player battle mode.

korekara yukkuri kangaL

A blog featuring a screenshot of the profile page.

Title 対戦☆ボンバーマン２４＋ / Taisen ☆ Bomberman 24+
	Supported phones EZweb Genre Battle (defeat all Bombermen) Players 2 to 24 Developer Hudson Publisher Hudson Releases 6 December 2007 (JP)

The player count is upped to 24 again, split across Battle Royale (free for all) and Team Battle (four teams of 6).

As a collaboration with rock band RIZE, two "RIZE Cup" (RIZE杯) tournaments were held after March 26th and April 16th 2008, as tie-ins to the release of their single "Live or Die" and album "K.O." respectively. "Live or Die" would play as background music for the duration, and the four band members were caricatured in the game as character skins, dubbed "RIZE Bomber" (RIZEボン), and even partook in the events using their respective characters.

Participants received a RIZE Bomber wallpaper and a RIZE Bomber character skin; up to 333 people could download the "Live or Die" single for free each month, and were also gifted a free RIZE Bomber phone wallpaper.

Hudson Soft page (archive)

Basic game information. Most of it is regurgitated from older versions, and only one tiny screenshot survives.

ASCII.jp

The game's release is announced. It's got a title screen screenshot!

Famitsu.com

Information on the RIZE Cup tournament, but mostly dedicated to an impromptu interview with the band as they crash the Famitsu office.

Universal Music Japan

More detailed information on the RIZE Cup. Also in more concise form at Barks.

Dengeki Online

Screenshots!

Title 対戦☆ボンバーマンＧＥＥＫ / Taisen ☆ Bomberman GEEK
	Supported phones i-Mode EZweb Genre Battle (defeat all Bombermen) Players 2 to 8 Developer Hudson Publisher Hudson Releases 29 January 2009 (JP)

This version introduces the ability to purchase power-up items, which are equipped before the start of a match. New items to the series include the Heart; the Block Change (ブロックチェンジ), which disguises the player as a soft block when they aren't moving; and the Misobon Enhance (みそボン強化), which increases the blast radius of bombs deployed in the Misobon / Revenge state.

New to this game is the Newcomer Preferential Treatment (初心者優遇処置) system, which equips new players with a free Bomb Up and Fire Up at the start of every match. This handicap expires once the player wins more than 10 matches, or plays over 50 matches.

Meeting certain conditions will unlock rewards, including cosmetic items for your player character or menu screens, or titles. Titles are unlocked for special achievements, such as defeating an opponent using Misobon, and are displayed above your name in player menus. Titles cannot be unlocked in 1-player mode or friend rooms.

In addition to the 4-player and 8-player modes, there are three additional modes:
1-Player Mode (1人用モード): A single-player battle against CPU opponents.
Tournament Mode (大会モード): Seemingly used only for events, awarding prizes to winners.
Sudden Death (サドンデス): Only for 4 players. Sudden Death begins when 30 seconds are left, raining hard blocks on the arena until only one Bomberman remains.

Hudson Mobile page (old, backup)

The only salvaged remains are the page itself and some site imagery. The screenshots were filled in with other ones. It may look bad without its CSS coding, but it's the most info available on the game.

Hudson Mobile page (expired)

Japanese

4人または8人でリアルタイム対戦を行うボンバーマンです。
アイテムを購入・装備して対戦することができます。
ボムの爆風で対戦相手を倒し、最後に生き残ったプレイヤーが勝利となります。

translation

A game of Bomberman real-time strategy, for 4 to 8 players.
Items can be purchased and equipped, and used during battles.
Defeat enemies in your bomb blasts; the last man standing is the victor.

Well, that page shrunk down something fierce.

Cross Games Corporation Website (archive)

This company appears to have had a hand in the game's development, but it's unclear. I get the impression they assisted in the online multi-player technology? They had some neat clean screenshots, before the page got axed.

Jpubb

Quoting from a now-expired press release.

Title 対戦☆ボンバーマンCross / Taisen ☆ Bomberman Cross
	Supported phones i-Mode EZweb Yahoo! Keitai Genre Battle (defeat all Bombermen) Developer Hudson Publisher Hudson Releases 29 October 2009 (JP)

Seemingly identical to Taisen ☆ Bomberman +, but now supporting cross-play between phone carriers: users on i-Mode, EZweb or Yahoo! Keitai systems can all play together for the first time! Additional communication options are added, including notifications and the ability to disable messages entirely.