Saturn Bomberman Fight!!

Saturn Bomberman Fight!! is a permanent battle mode: your sole objective is to be the last player standing. Although still grid-based, a number of 3D elements are incorporated into gameplay, most notably the multi-tiered arenas.
Players can jump, allowing them to walk on top of bombs, blocks and even their opponents. Pressing the B Button in mid-air will perform a backflip, providing the height of an extra jump but moving them slowly backwards; ideal for avoiding explosions below. You cannot change direction while in mid-air.

Pressing the C Button will create a bomb either on the ground if walking, or in the player's hands if running (pressing the button again after laying a bomb will pick it up). Bombs can be kicked by walking into them, and a bomb's throwing distance can be altered by walking, running or standing still - be aware that bombs can still detonate in your hands! If a character is hit with a flying bomb, they will be briefly stunned and eject one of their items. Thrown bombs can be caught in mid-flight by pressing the C Button, allowing you to hurl them back; this even applies to Deca-Bombs and Super Deca-Bombs.

Players now have a health bar, allowing them to survive multiple bomb blasts. Health cannot be restored, however, and once their life is drained, that player is out of the match. (Battle Mode offers control after death - see Minibon below)

Beneath the health bar is the Deca-Bomb Gauge. Every time a player lays a bomb, the metre increases; when the gauge is full, that player's next bomb will be a Deca-Bomb (デカ爆) - a massive bomb that creates a huge circular explosion that deals massive damage. Deca-Bombs can only be thrown, and will detonate on impact or after 4.5 seconds. One of the power-ups will grant you a Super Deca-Bomb, which has an even bigger and stronger blast radius - see items.

After selecting a character, you can also adjust their Handicap: this will increase or decrease the character's stats (see below) and give them an extra Bomb Up and Fire Up for every number on the Handicap. The default is 2 (meaning they begin with 2 Bomb Ups and 2 Fire Ups), but ranges from 0 (weaker) to 4 (stronger).
The Timer can be set in Story Mode and Battle Mode to 60 seconds, 99 seconds, or disabled. At 30 seconds the match enters Sudden Death - bombs (with 3-tile blast radiuses) will rain from the sky in random locations. If nobody wins before time runs out, the match is declared a draw.

Story Mode

A single-player mode. Choose a character and follow their story through 7 to 8 matches against CPU opponents. To see what opponents each character fights, see characters.

Battle Mode

The multi-player mode that supports 1 to 4 players.
In the options you can set the rounds required to win to 1, 3 or 5, and toggle the Shuffle (シャッフル) setting: it will randomise each player's starting position in each round.

Exclusive to the Battle Mode, Minibon (ミニボン) is this game's equivalent of the Revenge feature; when a player is defeated, they will be respawned as a tiny character with limited capabilities: they have no double-jump, cannot collect items or kick bombs, and will phase through other opponents. They can only lay (or throw) one bomb at a time with a 2-tile blast radius.

By default, the CPU's characters are chosen at random. The only way to choose them yourself is through the Player Info under Options (see below). The game requires one human player; you cannot set all players to CPU.

Winning a number of victories as the same character (the amount varies depending on the character) will play a unique video or skit after their victory animation; see game story for more details.

Survival Mode

A single-player gauntlet pitting you against 50 CPU opponents with the goal of surviving as long as you can; your health and Deka-Bomb Gauge are carried over between matches, with only a small life refill after each victory. After every 10 victories a new backdrop will be displayed on the ranking screen. There is a high score board for the most defeats, the default highest score at 10 wins. The game ends after 50 victories and will award you with a special password, the significance of which is currently unknown. There are 50 passwords in total, and it is unclear what conditions will award you with certain passwords. A whole lotta uncertainty!

(src: Steamy Jimmy)

Options

In addition to changing settings for the Story Mode and Battle Mode described above, other options are available:
Pad Type changes how the D-Pad operates; the default A-Type treats it like the controller is held 45 degrees clockwise. B-Type mirrors that, as if it were 45 degrees counter-clockwise.
Sound Mode toggles between Stereo and Mono settings, and offers a limited sound test of only the CD tracks.

Player Info allows you to view each character's stats, as well as register up to 8 player IDs. Regsistering an ID requires a name and default character, and can then be assigned to one of the four players; this means that character will be automatically chosen on the Character Select, and it will keep score of their wins, losses and draws.

controls

Items are found in soft blocks. Items are indestructible - bombing them will just bounce them around. Bludgeoning an enemy with a bomb by some means (kicking it, throwing it, etc) will knock one item out of them, including expired Mystery Panels.

Fire Up / ファイヤーアップ Extends blast radius by 1 tile.

Bomb Up / ボムアップ Increases bomb stock by 1.

Mystery Panel / ? パネル

Afflicts whoever collects it with a random power-up or ailment. Positive afflictions are marked with light-blue icons; negative ones have dark-blue icons. Except for the Super Deca-Bomb, the item's effect will expire after 15 seconds, but can be removed by riding the White Horse or replaced by picking up another Mystery Panel. Afflictions include:

Super Deca-Bomb / 超デカ爆: Immediately awards you a powered-up bomb, with a blast radius larger than the vanilla Deca-Bomb.
Line Bomb / 連爆: When you lay a bomb, all your bombs will be laid forward in a line. Can be ideal for stunning opponents.
Tower Bomb / 縦連爆: When you lay a bomb, all your bombs will be laid on top of each other in a stack. Can be ideal for kicking at foes.
Max Flame / 火力MAX: Increases bomb blast radius to 8 tiles.
Swift / 駿足: Increases movement speed to maximum.
Hasty / せっかち: Decreases bomb detonation time; bombs detonate in 0.5 seconds.
No Jumping / ジャンプ不能: Removes the ability to jump.
Geta / ゲタ: Decreases movement speed to the slowest possible.
Little Flame / チョビ火: Shortens bomb blast radius to 2 tiles.
Reverse / リバース: Reverses your movement controls.

White Horse / ホワイトホース

A goofy-looking steed players can ride. It increases movement speed and bomb-throwing strength, and can erase bombs on the battlefield by walking into them. However, the White Horse cannot double-jump. If hit by a bomb or explosion, the player will be knocked off but take no damage (they remain temporarily invincible until they land), and the White Horse will scamper to another part of the map and sit still, where it can be rode again. You cannot dismount the White Horse any other way.

There is only one White Horse per map, found in a random soft block. When the match enters Sudden Death, the White Horse will disappear.

Each character has different stats, changing up their abilities and encouraging different play styles. Stats are gleaned from the Perfect Program Official Edition book.
Health (たいりょく) determines their maximum health. Golem Bomber has the highest in this stat and takes 8 bombs to defeat, versus 4 or 5 for most other characters.
Throw (わんりょく) determines how far a character can throw a bomb.
Speed (そうりょく) is how fast the character moves.
Kick (キックりょく) determines how far a character can kick a bomb.
Jump is how high a character can jump; 30 is just enough to get on top of a soft block, while 100 jumps the height of two soft blocks - and you can double that with a backflip!
Deca-Bomb determines how quickly a player's Deca-Bomb Gauge fills. This is Lewysia's highest stat, who needs to lay only 9 bombs before she can get a Deca-Bomb; Deral is the opposite, requiring 34 bombs before she gets one!

The Rounds show what opponents each character battles in their Story Mode. To read a character's story, click their name or visit the reference page.

Shirobon / しろボン		Kurobon / くろボン
Health: 60 Throw: 70 Speed: 60 Kick: 60 Jump: 50 Deca-Bomb: 60	Round 1: Kurobon Round 2: Pegi Jr. Round 3: Radibon Round 4: Honey Round 5: Mami Round 6: Denta & Puipui Round 7: Baguro Round 8: Deral	Health: 60 Throw: 60 Speed: 60 Kick: 70 Jump: 50 Deca-Bomb: 60	Round 1: Puipui Round 2: #12 Round 3: Pump Round 4: Lewysia Round 5: Kotetsu Round 6: G.Bomber & Mami Round 7: Shirobon Round 8: Deral
Honey / ハニー		Kotetsu / 小鉄
Health: 60 Throw: 60 Speed: 70 Kick: 60 Jump: 50 Deca-Bomb: 60	Round 1: Pegi Jr. Round 2: Mami Round 3: G.Bomber Round 4: Radibon Round 5: #12 Round 6: Denta & Kotetsu Round 7: Kurobon Round 8: Deral	Health: 70 Throw: 60 Speed: 60 Kick: 60 Jump: 50 Deca-Bomb: 60	Round 1: Lewysia Round 2: G.Bomber Round 3: Puipui Round 4: Pump & Radibon Round 5: Baguro Round 6: Shirobon Round 7: Honey Round 8: Deral
Baguro / バグロォ		Combatant #12 / 戦闘員12号
Health: 60 Throw: 80 Speed: 60 Kick: 50 Jump: 50 Deca-Bomb: 60	Round 1: G.Bomber Round 2: Lewysia Round 3: #12 Round 4: Pump Round 5: Honey Round 6: Kurobon Round 7: Shirobon & Denta Round 8: Deral	Health: 60 Throw: 40 Speed: 70 Kick: 40 Jump: 40 Deca-Bomb: 70	Round 1: Puipui Round 2: Lewysia Round 3: Mami & Radibon Round 4: G.Bomber Round 5: Kotetsu Round 6: Shirobon Round 7: Deral
Golem Bomber / ゴーレムボンバー		Pegi Jr. / ペギーJr.
Health: 100 Throw: 100 Speed: 40 Kick: 30 Jump: 30 Deca-Bomb: 50	Round 1: Radibon Round 2: Pegi Jr. Round 3: Shirobon Round 4: Puipui Round 5: Pump Round 6: Kurobon & Baguro Round 7: Deral	Health: 70 Throw: 40 Speed: 50 Kick: 100 Jump: 50 Deca-Bomb: 60	Round 1: Lewysia Round 2: Kurobon Round 3: Kotetsu Round 4: #12 & Honey Round 5: Baguro Round 6: Denta Round 7: Mami Round 8: Deral
Radibom / ラジボン		Puipui / ぷいぷい
Health: 60 Throw: 50 Speed: 100 Kick: 60 Jump: 50 Deca-Bomb: 50	Round 1: Kotetsu Round 2: Lewysia Round 3: Pegi Jr. Round 4: Kurobon Round 5: Shirobon & Puipui Round 6: Baguro Round 7: Deral	Health: 60 Throw: 60 Speed: 90 Kick: 50 Jump: 70 Deca-Bomb: 50	Round 1: Honey Round 2: Lewysia & Pegi Jr. Round 3: Mami Round 4: Baguro Round 5: Shirobon Round 6: Denta Round 7: Deral
Mami / まみ		Lewysia / レウィシア
Health: 60 Throw: 40 Speed: 80 Kick: 50 Jump: 60 Deca-Bomb: 90	Round 1: #12 Round 2: Pump Round 3: Radibon & Lewysia Round 4: Kotetsu Round 5: Baguro Round 6: Kurobon Round 7: Deral	Health: 60 Throw: 50 Speed: 70 Kick: 40 Jump: 80 Deca-Bomb: 100	Round 1: Shirobon Round 2: Puipui Round 3: Pump Round 4: G.Bomber Round 5: Denta Round 6: Honey & Kotetsu Round 7: Deral
Denta / 伝太		Pump / パンプ
Health: 50 Throw: 60 Speed: 80 Kick: 50 Jump: 100 Deca-Bomb: 50	Round 1: Mami Round 2: Kurobon Round 3: G.Bomber Round 4: #12 Round 5: Radibon Round 6: Shirobon Round 7: Kotetsu Round 8: Baguro & Deral	Health: 60 Throw: 60 Speed: 80 Kick: 40 Jump: 50 Deca-Bomb: 60	Round 1: Baguro & #12 Round 2: Honey Round 3: Radibon Round 4: Pegi Jr. Round 5: Puipui Round 6: Denta Round 7: Shirobon Round 8: Deral

Deral / デラル * Unlocked after completing Story Mode.
Health: 80 Throw: 80 Speed: 80 Kick: 80 Jump: 50 Deca-Bomb: 20	Round 1: Mami Round 2: G.Bomber Round 3: Kurobon Round 4: Lewysia & Denta Round 5: Baguro Round 6: Honey Round 7: Shirobon Round 8: Pegi Jr.

Standard いつもの Map size: 12x12 Soft blocks: 26 It may look like your standard arena, but with the ability to jump there's so many options at your disposal! The CPU tend to converge in one lane and fill it with bombs; whether you want to avoid that or pile onto it is up to you.	Palace of War 戦火の宮殿 Map size: 14x14 Soft blocks: 16 A fairly open arena with a pit in the centre. The nooks between the slopes are an ideal place to trap panicking foes with a Deca-Bomb.
Gathering In The Flowers お花畑でごいっしょに Map size: 14x14 Soft blocks: 20 The inverse of Palace of War, with an elevated centre and pits in the corners. The soft blocks do a good job at tripping up CPU foes, so try and keep them around.	Cherish Nature! 自然を大切にね! Map size: 14x14 Soft blocks: 26 One of the more involved stages, with slopes, a bridge and numerous inviting nooks and crannies. Be careful of the campfire, you don't want to get stuck in it when a bomb's going off!
The Nameless Castle 名もなき古城 Map size: 10x10 Soft blocks: 18 A pyramid-shaped arena with one corner obscured by the camera. This is a tricky arena to fight on, as the slopes mean it's hard to tell where bomb blasts are coming from, and whether or not they'll fly over your head.	Welcome to Southern Island サザンアイランドへようこ Map size: 10x10 Soft blocks: 28 A contest for the upper sections; kicking and throwing bombs at foes below is a cinch from up there, and it's easy to wipe out the enire competition with a single Deca-Bomb if everyone is below.
Desert Skirmish 荒野の攻防 Map size: 12x12 Soft blocks: 18 Despite the high-rise slopes, most fights with the CPU take place in the corners of the staircases.	Floating Castle Fort 浮遊城の砦 Map size: 12x12 Soft blocks: 20 A bomb-thrower's paradise. Get acquainted with jumping if you want to navigate quickly, especially if a Deca-Bomb's detonating!
From The North Country... 北の国から… Map size: 10x10 Soft blocks: 17 The dip at the bottom is good hiding spot from bombs; any explosions coming from the top of the slopes will usually fly right over your head.	Showdown! 決戦! Map size: 14x14 Soft blocks: n/a * Unlocked after completing Story Mode. A totally flat, featureless arena. Geometry can't save you now!

The following stages can only be accessed inputting a button code; see cheats and codes for info.

Bonus Zone 1 おまけその1 Map size: 10x10 Soft blocks: 8 An inverted pyramid with barely any stable ground. The CPU get hung up on geometry here a lot!

Bonus Zone 2 おまけその2 Map size: 10x10 Soft blocks: 14 A flat plane with a winding staircase on its border; fight for the higher ground!

Bonus Zone 3 おまけその3 Map size: 14x14 Soft blocks: n/a An empty dip. Bomb blasts will often soar over players' heads.

unlock Deral & Showdown!! arena

Complete Story Mode to unlock Deral as a playable character, and the Showdown! arena in Battle Mode.

unlock Bonus Zone arenas

At the Hudson Soft screen on startup, press the Start Button 15 times per second until the intro FMV begins. There is no confirmation chime, but if done correctly the three Bonus Zone arenas can be selected in the Battle Mode.
You're expected to do this using Hudson's SBom Joycard controller and setting the Start autofire to "slow".

unlock Mami & Lewysia costumes

Change the Story Mode options to Rank: Hard and Time: 60. Complete the Story Mode as Mami and Lewysia without losing once. After selecting the character, hold the X, Y & Z Buttons while selecting their handicap to choose their alternate costume. This works in any mode. This does not effect their HUD graphics or battle victory screen, though CPU opponents may use them randomly.

unlock Deca-Bomb Mode (デカ爆モード)

Start Survival Mode with a handicap of 1 star or less and defeat 50 opponents. You can now press the L & R Buttons simultaneously to instantly fill your Deca-Bomb gauge at any time during gameplay.

Victory screen camera

On the trophy screen, hold the L, R, X, Y & Z Buttons simultaneously until the "Victory" text appears. You can now tilt the camera up and down using the D-Pad.

clean pause

Press the X, Y and Z Buttons simultaneously to remove the "Pause" graphic; press again to restore it.