Super Bomberman

Top: Story mode gameplay. Bottom: Multiplayer battle mode. (SNES version shown) The game takes place on a single non-scrolling screen. The screen shows the top down view of a grid of 143 (13 x 11) squares.

The grid restricts the movement of characters so they can only move horizontally or vertically around the screen. Pressing a button will make Bomberman drop a bomb at his feet. This bomb will pulse for a few seconds (giving the player time to run away) and then explode, shooting flames horizontally and vertically. The game revolves around the idea of using these bomb blasts to destroy walls and enemies.

If a bomb explodes and the flame hits another bomb it will cause this second bomb to detonate early. This can cause large chain reactions . If the flame from any bomb hits any character it will injure or kill them (unless they are currently invincible). Most levels start with the grid being partially filled with destructible soft walls.

If a bomb blast hits one of these soft walls, then it disintegrates, allowing characters to pass through the now empty space. Once a bomb is laid, it is usually impossible to walk past until it has detonated. This leads to the tactic of trapping enemies with bombs and forcing them into bomb blasts but can also result in the player's defeat. Special items can be picked up by walking over icons on the screen.

These items are normally revealed when destroying walls or killing enemies. There are many different items which give the player different abilities; these change a player's tactics and the way the game is played. Normal Game Normal Game consists of six themed worlds each with its own set of enemies. Each world has eight stages with the last stage being a boss fight.

The player makes progress through the game by clearing all the enemies from the stage and then exiting via a door that is hidden under one of the destructible walls. World 5 differs from the rest in that the player fights robot Bombermen in an arena. The arena has no destructible walls or exit doors. The end of each stage is not defined like the other worlds.

Instead, once the arena has been cleared of one set of robot Bombermen, then the next set walk into the arena, thus making this world one continuous battle. The normal game can be played by one or two players. In two-player mode the aim is to work cooperatively to defeat the enemies, although it is still possible to blow up one's teammate with one's own bombs. The game utilized a password system to save progress.

Each stage provided a four-digit password that would allow the player to return to that stage by entering it on the Options screen.