Bomberman Act:Zero

Bomberman Act:Zero is a permanent battle mode; your goal is to defeat all other bombermen and be the last player standing. Players begin with only one bomb and a 2-tile blast radius, though Power-Up Panels can be found in soft blocks. See Items.

There are two gameplay modes: Standard is closer to traditional Bomberman gameplay, with a locked top-down view on the entire arena, and players will die in one blast (unless they have a Heart item).

FPB Mode (First Person Bomber) changes the dynamic a lot: it features a close-up controllable camera that can pan and zoom around the player. All players have Life Points, allowing them to survive multiple bomb blasts (losing approximately 4 Life Points per 10 milliseconds spent in a bomb blast); once their Life Points reach 0, they're out of the game.
Exclusive to this mode is the Guard (ガード) command; so long as you are Guarding, all damage is halved. Taking prolonged damage will remove items from your stock and scatter them around the arena.

The Single Mode for one-player consists of 99 Rounds against up to 7 computer-controlled opponents. Matches normally last 3 minutes; at the 1 minute mark it enters Sudden Death and hard blocks will fill in the arena from both sides at opposite corners; getting crushed by one is instant-death in either mode. They can fill the map in different patterns, from filling in long-ways, from the outside inwards, or diagonally inwards.
Single Mode must be finished in one sitting and cannot be continued. If you die once, it's game over.

Secret Panels can be found in single-player modes by accomplishing certain feats; collecting one will award the player with an achievement, a Heart and specific power-up. See Secret Panels for details.

Bomb Up / ボムアップ

Allows you to lay an additional bomb at a time. Maximum of 9.

Fire Up / ファイアーアップ

Extends bomb blast radius by 1 tile. Maximum of 8.

Speed Up / スピードアップ

Slightly increases movement speed. Maximum of 5.

Speed Down / スピードダウン

Decreases movement speed by 1.

Remote Cntrl Bomb / リモコンボム

Bombs can be detonated at any time by pressing the B Button. Will replace Penetrating Bomb

Penetrating Bomb / 貫通ボム

Bomb blasts will now penetrate through soft blocks.

Line Bomb / ラインボム

Press the A Button twice to lay all your bombs forward in a row. It will extend as far as your bomb stock or until it touches a foe or block. Items caught under a Line Bomb are erased.

Unlimited Bomb / 無限ボム

Allows you to lay an infinite number of bombs (well, 64 actually).
Also referred to as Bomb Infinity and Infinite Bombs.

Bomb Through / ボムスル

Allows you to walk through bombs.

Block Through / ブロックスルー

Allows you to walk through soft blocks.

Heart / ハート

In Standard mode, allows you to survive one bomb blast. In FPB Mode, increases your health by 20.

Secret Panels, much like the games of olde, are special items that appear on a random part of the map after accomplishing a specific obscure feat. They behave identically to Hearts (except for Secret Panel 5), and enemies are also capable of collecting them, so pick them up fast!

Secret Panel 1 (B)

Destroy a Fire Up panel with a bomb blast.
Starting from Round 5, appears every third stage, then fifth stage, and repeats.

Secret Panel 2 (Bomberman?)

Destroy all soft blocks.
Starting from Round 1, appears every fifth stage, then every third stage, and repeats.

Secret Panel 3 (Diggerman?)

Do not lay any bombs for 2 minutes.
Starting from Round 2, appears every fifth stage, then every third stage, and repeats.

Secret Panel 4 (16 Shot)

Lay and detonate 16 bombs in the last minute of the match? (I haven't got this to work yet!)
Starting from Round 3, appears every eighth stage.

Secret Panel 5 (Uhi-Uhi)

Do not move for the first minute.
Starting from Round 4, appears every eighth stage.
In FPB Mode, this Secret Panel will max out your Life Points to 999.

time investment

Put some time aside if you're looking to play the single-player modes to completion! It takes at least two to three hours to finish all 99 levels, and there are no passwords or save files here - you play the entire game with one life, and if you lose once, it's game over. Don't be surprised to find your three-hour investment totally squandered because of a stray bomb blast or a hard block squashing you flat.

Unlimited Bomb

Pair this with the Line Bomb, and you have a weapon that can apply pressure to the entire battlefield. You can use horizontal and vertical lines to box foes in, or alternate lines in two columns to create an endless stream of detonations to whittle down their health.
However, don't be wasteful with it. Creating lines from across the map won't accomplish much when they seek cover and you're too far to exploit it. Keep the two items on hand, but don't abandon your ordinary battle tactics!

Secret Panel 5

If you're playing FPB Mode, you'll probably want this - for just one minute of your time, you can get an item that will max out your Life Points, making the rest of your journey a lot easier.
However! Be sure you're prepared to actually get the item - having the Block Through is handy, and scan the environment for enemies. Enemies can collect Secret Panels for themselves, but if they get this one, you might as well just switch the game off. Unless you can squash them during Sudden Death, do you really want to drain a foe of 999 Life Points...?