PrinceWatercress plays Super Bomberman - Part 7 of 7

Now that Normal Game is complete, it's time for the Battle Game!

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Now it's time for the battle mode.

In the battle mode, you can play with up to four players. If you don't have the Super NES Multi-Tap, you can set the third and fourth players to computer controller or turn them off entirely. You also have ten different difficulty settings for the computer players, assuming there are any in the match.

Each round lasts two minutes. When time gets low, blocks will start surrounding the battlefield from the outside in. You want to avoid having their blocks land on you, as they will kill you. Eventually, they'll stop dropping down, and you'll have a smaller playfield that increases the odds of somebody blowing somebody else up. If there is more than one Bomberman standing when the two minutes are up, no winner is declared and another round begins.

After that, you can see how many victories it takes to win a match, and you also have a choice between twelve different zones to play in. Some of the zones have their own special hazards, such as conveyor belts, a limited field of visions, bombs with short fuses that blow up quickly, among others.

Grab power-ups, avoid the curse icons, run into other Bombermen if you need to after running into the curse icons to curse them, and have fun! While future games would beat this game in terms of presentation and options (looking at you, Saturn Bomberman), this was the first one to allow more than two players to blow each other. See you next Let's Play!

PrinceWatercress plays Super Bomberman - Part 6 of 7

Just one last world and we'll have another Bomberman conquered. Stay tuned for Battle Mode!

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World 6

Stage 6-1

The purple blocks that look like treasure chests are the hard blocks; the gold blocks with the skulls are the soft blocks.

The enemies here all make return appearances from the first two worlds of the game.

Stage 6-2

Remember the green guys from World 3 that could burrow into the ground and pop back up someplace else entirely? Yeah, they return here.

Stage 6-3

There's a new enemy here: the guys in the armor with the pointy heads. These guys take three hits to defeat and they will definitely chase you around the playfield if they see you.

Stage 6-4

The gray blocks with the red eyes are the hard blocks; the yellow blocks with the three circles are the soft blocks.

There are two enemies here, but they're also new: they're floating gold suits of armor with spears and shields. Their shields will protect them from explosions unless you hit them from behind or from the side. Kicking bombs at them also works wonders.

This is also the worst place to bomb the exit tile. You just fought two of these things; do you really want to face a third?

Stage 6-5

The blue one-eyed blob enemies are back. Also, being able to move through soft blocks is better, as you can more easily hide from enemies if you can find a safe spot behind some soft blocks. This is especially true against the guys with the armored guys with the pointy heads.

Stage 6-6

*inhales* COINS

There's two of them, but they're bad enough, especially when you have the armored guys with the pointy heads running around here as well.

Stage 6-7

There are more coins here. Thankfully, they're pretty easy to take out here as well. 

You can find the Remote Bombs here if you're lucky and in need of them.

Stage 6-8

You'll start this battle off by facing a giant spider. You will need to hit the giant spider in the face when the red eyes is exposed and the hole at the top is open and spitting out bombs. Watch where the bombs land so you can stay away from the explosions. The giant spider robot also moves, too. If it's at the top, stay at the very bottom; if it's at the bottom, stay at the very top.

Dr. Mook and Carat Diamond will eventually rocket out of the giant spider once you damage it to the point that it explodes, and they will eventually fly around. To hit him, you'll need to have a punch glove power-up that allows you to pick up the bomb and throw it directly at Dr. Mook. After you throw the bomb, stay away from it to avoid being blown to bits. If you need a punch glove power-up, you'll have to wait for one to show up around here if you do, just like with all the other power-ups during boss battles. The bad guys will also throw skull icons, and you'll need to either stay away from them or blow them up. (Blowing them up is sometimes the better option; being surrounded by these things is no bueno.)

It is possible to get a heart icon from boss battles, and that icon gives you a second hit. Sadly, you cannot stack hearts, and I never really saw one during my Let's Play of this game, sadly.

Once you blow up Dr. Mook and Carat Diamond's ride, you've beaten Super Bomberman!

PrinceWatercress plays Super Bomberman - Part 5 of 7

You have no idea how many times I had to play through this world to get a run of it that satisfied me.

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World 5

Unlike the other stages, this one is a boss rush...sort of.

You'll be in a small boss arena where you will have to face evil Bomberman who more or less want you dead. The colors of the evil Bombermen are as follows: White, Black, Red, Blue, Green, Pink, Purple. At first, they take one hit each to defeat, but after the evil Blue Bomberman, they will take two hits to defeat...and yes, they have invincibility periods after the first hit once you reach that point. All the while, the evil Bombermen have some pretty good AI, and they get smarter and smarter the further into this you get.

Power-ups will show up in the arena as you go through this battle. Getting a clock when one pops up at random is an absolute must, as you'll need as much time as you can get with some of the tougher Bombermen. You definitely do not want to lose a ton of lives here. Also, the skulls show up here for the first time. The skulls do not do anything good, and touching one will cause you to suffer one of several status ailments, such as super-weak bombs, super-slow speed, not being able to lay bombs at all, among others.

Your best bet to defeat these enemies is to plant bombs everywhere so that the evil Bomberman that you are fighting has a tough time escaping...and hope that the explosions take them out and that the evil Bomberman does not hide where the bombs can get them. You can kick Remote Bombs at them, then detonate when the explosions are able to reach them, but even then, that can be a touchy strategy to employ, as they will still move a little bit and still have a slight chance of getting away.

There is a strategy that you can use, but you'll need Remote Bombs and the fastest speed obtainable with the roller skate power-ups in order to use it. Whenever an evil Bomberman shows up, they walk to the same spot every time, and if you are fast enough, you can surround that area with bombs. The evil Bomberman will walk through the bombs, stand on that tile, and then get stuck every single time. All you need to do is just stay away from the explosions, yet at the same time, you need to be able to get back to that tile and plant the bombs so that you can surround the next evil Bomberman. Also, you need to keep track of when you dropped the bombs that surround the evil Bomberman, as the ones that were dropped earliest are the ones that are going to explode when you detonate the Remote Bombs. This takes time and practice to do with every single evil Bomberman that you'll face here, but if you can do it with at least the first few of them, it makes this part easier. You can see this strategy in action here. The strategy is used after the evil White Bomberman (thanks, invincibility trick).

After you beat the evil Purple Bomberman, the lights will go out. When they come back on, you'll be placed near the lower-left corner and the audience will be gone, and you'll meet Dr. Mook, the evil scientist from before. You'll also meet a caped guy in a top hat named Carat Diamond, and they will unleash the evil Gold Bomberman.

The evil Gold Bomberman takes five hits to defeat, and he can also move into bombs and kick them. While it is possible to beat him with regular bombs, Remote Bombs are much, much easier to use against this guy. Once you beat him, a few more power-ups will show up. Grab as many power-ups as you can before chasing the bad guys to World 6.

PrinceWatercress plays Super Bomberman - Part 4 of 7

We've got one of the bad guys on the run, and we'll have to get through World 4 in order to keep it that way.

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World 4

Stage 4-1

The gray cones are the hard blocks; the rotating green spheres are the soft blocks.

There are now red versions of the bomb enemy. Not surprisingly, their explosions have the same characteristics as a Bomb Passer bomb, so you'll need to be careful with fighting them while also taking them out as soon as possible. The tanks from World 2 also come back here.

Stage 4-2

So far, we've had nothing but returning enemies. The gold horned enemies are now silver, but they're just as easy to defeat.

Stage 4-3

The coin enemies are back! Make use of pressing A and B simultaneously with the Remote Bombs while you are invincible at the start of the level in order to take them out as quickly as possible.

Stage 4-4

The grey flying enemies with the helicopter heads are much faster than their red counterparts and take three hits to defeat.

Stage 4-5

Now you have multiple Bomb Passer bomb enemies and multiple grey copter head enemies to defeat. The quicker you get rid of the enemies here, the better.

Stage 4-6

The coin enemies are back. You should know what to do with them by now.

Stage 4-7

Yep. More coins. They also make up most of the enemies on this stage, too.

Stage 4-8

This is an interesting boss.

You're supposed to hit the boss with the explosions from your bombs, but that's not what damages the boss. Instead, the explosions push the boss around, and you'll need to push them into the electric barriers that surround the playfield. You'll want to stay away from both the explosions of your bombs as well as the boss itself as you do this. Thankfully, the remote bombs make this even easier and even more fun.

If you need any, power-ups will spawn in random areas around the room. You can use those to make things a little easier in case you need to make your bombs more powerful.

PrinceWatercress plays Super Bomberman - Part 3 of 7

In World 3, we meet one of the antagonists of the game for the first time. We also get a slew of new enemies and power-ups.

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World 3

Stage 3-1

The yellow and grey blocks are the hard blocks; the red plants are the soft blocks.

The green guys wearing purple are the worst enemies here. You'll have to take them out pretty quickly. They take one hit to defeat, but they can burrow into the ground and make themselves invulnerable while they do it, and once they jump into the dirt, they can pop up virtually anywhere on the playfield. They will also chase after you if they see you.

The cabbages with the eyepatches take one hit to defeat and don't really do anything special.

The red bomb icon is the Bomb Passer turns your bombs red. When your bombs are red, the explosions from your bombs can go through soft blocks and enemies, making hard blocks your sole source of shelter.

Stage 3-2

The blue, one-eyed blobs are back. Other than that, there's not much to say about this level.

Stage 3-3

The blue sphere enemies roll around and take one hit to kill, but they can double back. They can also go through the soft blocks.

Stage 3-4

The blocks that look like copper coils are the hard blocks; the gray circles with the rotating ball bearings are the soft blocks.

The gray guys with the yellow hard hats take two hit to kill; the red and blue guys take three hits and tend to stay away from your bombs.

If you need Remote Bombs, you can find them here.

Stage 3-5

The gold horned enemies with the flashing eyes take two hits to defeat, and they will charge at you if they see you.

Stage 3-6

The chameleon heads just move around and take one hit to defeat, but they can transform into Bomberman and go after you. While they are in Bomberman form, they are invincible until they turn back to chameleon head form, and hitting them will only stun them.

You can also get the Bomb Passer icon here.

Stage 3-7

There is a gold flame icon which, when picked up, makes your explosions so long that they can encompass the length of the playfield. If you grab it, play carefully.

Stage 3-8

The boss is one of the antagonists of the game in a machine that moves back and forth. Watch out for the claws that shoot to the bottom of the screen, and take out the missiles that come out whenever you can. The claws open before they shoot out. You'll need to hit the machine with the explosions from your bombs as it moves around. Whatever you do, don't stay directly across from the boss.

Once you beat the boss, you'll free a bunch of Bombermen, then it is on to World 4.

PrinceWatercress plays Super Bomberman - Part 2 of 7

In this entry, we take on World 2. This one isn't much much more difficult compared to the first world, thankfully.

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World 2

Stage 2-1

The yellow blocks are the hard blocks. The red treasure chests are the soft blocks.

The purple ball enemies with the springs take one hit to defeat, as do the purple sphere guys with the big lips and teeth. The orange guys in the teacups also take one hit to defeat, but they can move through the soft blocks and they won't be the last enemy you'll see doing that.

Stage 2-2

No new enemies here.

The punch glove allows you to throw a bomb that is in front of you. Walk up to a bomb and press X or R to throw the bomb a few spaces forward. If it lands on a hard block or soft block, it will bounce again until it reach safe ground. If it lands on the wall, it will wrap around to the other side of the screen and land there.

Stage 2-3

The UFO enemies take two hits to defeat. Amazingly, they cannot move through soft blocks.

Also, the exit tile counts as an obstacle if you kick a bomb into it.

Stage 2-4

The yellow blob enemies take one hit to defeat. They will stop and turn into a square before becoming nearly invisible (save for their eyes) on a regular basis, but they are even more vulnerable than usual when that happens.

Stage 2-5

The yellow coin enemies take one hit to defeat, but they are quick and can move through soft blocks. What I like to do is keep pressing A and B simultaneously at the start of the stage when I am still invincible, assuming I have the remote bombs. Even if you don't have them, you still want to take them out first.

If you can somehow find it, you can get the Remote Bombs here.

Stage 2-6

The blue blocks are the hard blocks. The red spheres are the soft blocks.

Stage 2-7

This time, the red spheres that act as the soft blocks phase in and out. If you're about to walk through soft blocks, this isn't much of a hassle. Just watch out for the blue blob enemies.

Stage 2-8

The boss here is a giant clown face. He will shoot electric sparks in eight directions. Hit him as he flies around, and stay away from him at all times. When he gets sad, he will move faster until he closes his mouth again. As long as you're patient, attentive and keeping your distance, you can beat this guy easily.

PrinceWatercress plays Super Bomberman - Part 1 of 7

It's high time I played another Bomberman game, and this time, I'm playing one of the games on the Super Nintendo. This one is pretty difficult.

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There is a story for this game, believe it or not. Cue Wikipedia:

The game's story takes place in the far to the north of Bomberman's hometown, Peace Town, where it lies the modern metropolis Diamond City. There, the evil Carat Diamond and his cohort, scientist Dr. Mook, are holding a Robot Tournament with robots specially designed for their combat and offensive capabilities. They hope to steal Bomberman's advanced combat capabilities, Diamond has created a fake Bomberman to go to Peace Town and kidnap the real Bomberman. They're 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. However, Black Bomberman escapes and seeks refuge with White Bomberman, and warns him of Diamond's evil plan. Later, hordes of enemy robots begin their advance toward Peace Town. The two heroes must join forces to defeat Diamond.

World 1

When you start the game, you'll be on a small world map. Each location indicates one world in the game.

Level 1-1

The D-Pad lets you move around in four directions. A plants bombs. When planting bombs, you'll want to get away from your bombs so that the explosions don't hit you and kill you. This game, much like all other Bomberman games, are "one hit and you're dead" affairs. Running into an enemy or having an enemy run into you will also kill you and cost you a life. Aside from that, those are the controls and basics that you'll need to know for now, and I'll explain stuff over time.

At the top of the screen is your amount of lives and your current score. Below that is the current amount of time that you have in the stage. As you spend time in the stage, the white blocks below your lives and score disappear one by one until they reach the clock in the center. If you run out of time, you will lose a life. You can refill your time by finding a clock icon during the game.

The blocks that look like buildings are indestructible blocks, also known as "hard" blocks. The sirens here are destructible blocks, also known as "soft" blocks. The soft blocks can be destroyed with your bombs. The hard blocks cannot. You'll need to destroy soft blocks to get around in the level.

The red guys with the helicopter heads fly back and forth and rarely deviate from the direction they are going. They take one hit to defeat with your bombs.

The flashing blue tile is the exit tile that leads to the next level, and you'll need to defeat all the enemies before you can step on it and move on. Take care not to hit that tile with your bombs' explosions, as it will spawn more enemies that you will be forced to defeat if you do.

Sometimes, you will find icons underneath soft blocks as you destroy them. These icons are power-ups. The bomb icon lets you drop one extra bomb, and you can carry and lay down up to eight once you carry enough of them. At the start of the game, you will only have the ability to drop one bomb with a paltry explosion range of one tile in all four directions, but that will change as you go through the game and survive. This also makes your bombs deadlier, but this also makes it unintentionally easier to unwittingly blow yourself up, as your bombs' explosions will kill you if they hit you.

It is possible to blow up the power-up icons with your own bombs. Unlike other games, this does not spawn enemies if this happens.

Level 1-2

The little blue guys with the yellow heads take two hits to defeat. Their movement patterns are similar to the red helicopter head enemies.

The icon of fireball with the smiley face increases the range of your bombs by one tile in all four directions.

The roller skate icon will increase your movement speed. There is a limit to that speed, and it can be rather fast. Be careful when you are able to move faster.

By putting bombs in a line, you can create a chain reaction. You can do more damage faster this way, but you can also unintentionally blow yourself up if you're not careful.

Level 1-3

The tree stumps are the soft blocks; the log cabins are the hard blocks.

The little blue guys that bounce around take one hit to kill, but they can move around in packs pretty easily, so play it safe.

The icon of a foot kicking a bomb is the Kick ability. By moving into a bomb, you can kick it forward, and you can stop it with the R button. Unlike in other Bomberman games, kicking a bomb into an enemy will kill it as opposed to just stunning it.

Level 1-4

The floating bomb enemies will occasionally drop down and explode like one of your own bomb, and their explosions can do all the same things that your bombs' explosions can.

The life vest icon gives you temporary invincibility. As long as you're flashing, nothing will harm you, save for a time over. You also have invincibility when you start a stage or when you re-spawn from losing a life. That will come into play for a certain something a little later.

Level 1-5

The blue one-eyed blob will go after your bomb and try to eat it if the bomb is close enough. Having range on your bombs' explosions is a good thing here. Unfortunately, it takes three hits to take out the one-eyed blobs.

If you can find it, there is an icon of a heart with a bomb in it. This gives you remote bombs, which only explode when you tell them to. Set a bomb, then press B to detonate them. You will lose the remote bombs if you lose a life and you won't be able to get them back unless you can somehow earn them again, so do your best to survive in this game.

Level 1-6

The red and gray blocks are the hard blocks, while the moving green blocks are the soft blocks.

The green tanks take four hits to kill, and they also have flamethrower that shoot four tiles forward. If you have the kick ability, use it; it will make these things much easier to destroy.

The icon of the brick block with the lines going through it allows you to walk through the soft blocks. If you have the kick ability, it will replace it. This ability can help with getting away from enemies sometimes, but soft blocks won't stop all enemies, as you'll eventually see.

Level 1-7

If you blow up multiple enemies at once, you'll keep doubling the points on each one. It's possible to get a lot of points this way, and it is also possible to get extra lives by racking up the points.

Level 1-8

There is a boss in the eighth stage of a world. The boss here is a big blue orb guy with a hammer. Hit him with the explosions of your bombs, and never be south of him, as his hammer is bad news. He follows you around, but if you lay bombs as you go, keep hitting him with the explosions and stay alive the whole time, he is not too hard to beat. Remote bombs make this guy even easier.