Bomberman '93

The goal of every stage is to defeat all the enemies, and then find the exit warp which is hidden beneath a random soft block. Bomberman begins with only one bomb and a one-tile blast radius.
If you've played the last Bomberman on PC Engine, then this should be incredibly familiar.

Each stage contains one power-up item (sometimes two?) and a set number of enemies. If the item has not yet been found once all enemies have been destroyed, the soft block containing it will flash. The block hiding the exit warp has no such luxury, however.
If you bomb a door, 3 enemies will spawn from it. Bombing an item will spawn 4 enemies, and destroy the item in the process.

You are given 4 minutes to complete each stage. If the timer reaches 0, all enemies on the stage will be removed and replaced with 12 Pontans. In boss stages you are granted 9 minutes, but running out of time will make Bomberman lose a life, restarting the battle.

There are seven worlds with eight stages in each, making for 56 levels; the eighth stage of each round is dedicated to a boss battle, a fight against a foe with advanced tactics and multiple hit-points.

Battle Game

Details on the Battle Mode can be found here.

Controls

Names are sourced from the Japanese manual; names in brackets are from the American manual. Unless otherwise stated, all items are worth 1000 points.

Bomb Up / 爆弾数アップ (Multibomb)

Grants the player an extra bomb. Maximum of 10.

Fire Up / 火カアップ (Fire Power)

Extends bomb blast radius by one tile. Maximum of 5.

Speed Shoes / 快速シューズ (Speed Boots)

Increases movement speed. Maximum of 5.

Down Shoes / ダウンシューズ (Slow Shoes)

Decreases movement speed.

Remote Control / リモコン

Bombs can now be detonated at any time by pressing Button II.

Bomb Kick / ボムキック

Allows Bomberman to kick bombs by walking into them. Press Button II to stop the bomb in its tracks.

Line Bomb / ラインボム

Double-tap Button I to lay all bombs forward in a row.

Block Pass / 壁通過 (Boulder Pass)

Allows Bomberman to walk through soft blocks.

Bomb Pass / 爆弾通過

Allows Bomberman to walk through bombs.

Flameproof Suit / ファイアースーツ

Renders Bomberman invulnerable to bomb blasts for 20 seconds; enemy attacks are still lethal, however.

Heart / 復活 (New Life)

Protects the player from 1 attack.

1UP

Awards the player an extra life.

Clock / 時計

Will freeze enemies in place for 20 seconds.

Fruit / フルーツ

Apple 500 points.

Flower 500 points.

Banana 1000 points.

Apricot 2000 points.

Pineapple 4000 points.

Skull Item / ドクロアイテム

Collecting this item will inflict a random curse upon the player. It can be spread to other players by touching them, but will expire after a certain amount of time (depending on the curse). The curses include:

• Hyper speed: Movement speed is greatly increased. 25 second duration.
• Sluggish: Movement speed is greatly decreased. 20 second duration.
• Constipation: Player cannot lay bombs. 10 second duration.
• Diarrhoea: Player uncontrollably lays bombs at every step. 25 second duration.
• Short fuse: Bombs detonate in 0.5 seconds. 25 second duration.
• Long fuse: Bombs detonate in 4 seconds. 15 second duration.
• Weak Bombs: Bomb blasts are reduced to 1 tile. 15 second duration.
• Reverse: Movement controls are reversed. 15 second duration.
• Perpetual motion: Player is always moving in the direction they're facing. 20 second duration.
• Swap: Swaps positions with another planet.

For level data, maps and boss hints, see the following pages:

Ajian Star

Burajira Star

Zaurus Star

Dune Star

Aquaria Star

Crystal Star

Genesis Star

The only data I can provide for each stage are the enemies, the item, and the stage layout; enemy and soft block positions are randomised. The stage size is marked by (H) (horizontal scrolling) or (V) (vertical scrolling); if not marked, it is a single-screen level. All enemy names without a Japanese name are unofficial descriptors.

Battle Game can be played with 2 to 5 participants, either human or computer-controlled (though their AI leaves much to be desired), and the goal should be self-explanatory: be the last man standing!
The only items found in this mode are Bomb Ups, Fire Ups, Bomb Kick, Line Bomb and Skulls.

You can choose how many victories are required to win, from 1 to 5 victories. All matches are 3 minutes long; when 1 minute remains the battle enters sudden death, and hard blocks will fill in clockwise from the top-left, filling in the outer 2-tile ring. If time runs out, the match is declared a draw.

There are 8 stages to battle on, each with their own unique layout and traps. The stage select lists which traps appear in each arena, and are described below - names in brackets are from the English version.

Belt Conveyor / ベルトコンベア: Found in Stage 1 and 6. Moves players and bombs in one direction. Be careful when laying bombs that you don't trap yourself!
Warp Hole / ワープホール: Found in Stage 3, 4 and 6. When stepped on, warps the player to another Warp Hole. Each warp hole has a predetermined destination; see arena notes.
Door / ドア (Spinning Gate): Found in Stage 4, 7 and 8. A string of one to four red spheres functioning like a turnstyle. They behave differently depending on the hard block they're tethered to, either rotating clockwise or counter-clockwise, or only moving to certain positions.
Non Set Tile / ノンセットタイル (No-Bomb Tile): Found in Stage 5. Bombs cannot be placed on these tiles (marked by the light-coloured squares on them), but do not impede players or explosions.
Return Block / リターンフロック (Revive Block): Found in Stage 7. The arena has six soft blocks that will regenerate 4 seconds after they are destroyed; they are marked on the map below.

Stage 1: Arena (Warehouse) The Belt Conveyors scroll clockwise.	Stage 2: Simple Map (Dungeon) No gimmickry.
Stage 3: Desert The Warp Holes travel top to bottom, right to left.	Stage 4: Neon Street (City Square) The Warp Holes travel clockwise.
Stage 5: Colosseum (The Pyramid) Includes No-Bomb Tiles.	Stage 6: Space (Star Ship) The Conveyor Belts scroll counter-clockwise. The Warp Holes travel clockwise.
Stage 7: Great Sky (In The Sky) Includes Spinning Gates and regenerating Revive Blocks.	Stage 8: Toy State (Toy Store) Includes Spinning Gates.

Level passwords

Japanese Passwords are gleaned from the Bomberman Maniax guide book.

Configration screen

On the ending screen, wait for the music to fade out. Hold Button I and press RUN; a sound should confirm the code's input.
Soft-reset (hold RUN and press SELECT) and start the Normal Game; this configuration screen should appear before the stage begins, allowing you to choose Bomberman's item loadout, select what stage you wish to start on, and even use the sound test! Curiously, you can set your Bomb stock to 0 and become totally incapable of laying bombs!

As far as I'm aware, although the confirmation sound still plays, this screen cannot be accessed in the American release.