Overview
Saturn Bomberman is a top-down action game developed and published by Hudson Soft for the Sega Saturn in Japan on July 19, 1996, with a European release by Sega on May 1997 and a North American release by Sega on September 4, 1997.
Part of the Bomberman series, Saturn Bomberman brings the classic 2D gameplay to the Saturn with a new story and a large-scale multiplayer mode.
The game's main story, sometimes told through anime cutscenes, involves an attempt at world domination by Mr. Meanie and the Meanie Gang (Mujo and the Higehige Gang in the Japanese version) by stealing four crystals from the Crystal Tower and awakening the horrible monster Crator (Densetsu Majin in the Japanese version), taking control of it using a mind control device. It's up to the White and Black Bombermen to infiltrate Meanie's hideouts throughout time and space and recover the crystals. In addition to the main campaign (or "Normal Game") for one or two players, the game includes a unique single-player "Master Game" mode with more traditional gameplay and score-based rank certification.
The game also features the series' staple multiplayer "Battle Game", which is sometimes seen as as a home successor to the Hi-TEN Bomberman and Hi-TEN Chara-BOM event games due to its large player count and guest characters from other Hudson titles (including company mascots Honey and Kotetsu, Milon from Milon's Secret Castle, Master Higgins from the Adventure Island series, Bonk from the Bonk series, Tengai Makyou II protagonists Manjimaru, Kabuki, and Kinu, Manto from the Tengai Makyou series, and Yuna from Galaxy Fraulein Yuna). Using up to two multitap peripherals, up to eight players can play at once in normal view, and up to ten players can play at once in a zoomed-out "wide" view.
The Japanese version received a supplemental "XBAND" disc release on September 27, 1996, featuring two modes: an online multiplayer version of Battle Game (for up to two consoles, each of them supporting teams of up to two players) and a bonus single-stage event version of "Master Game" (which was used in Hudson's "Nico Bon Pick '96" event). The online multiplayer mode was brought into the main game's North American release.
The game later received a Japan-exclusive sequel, known as Saturn Bomberman Fight!!
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