is an action game by Hudson Soft for the Sega Saturn, hence the game's title. The eleventh installment in the Bomberman series, it was first released in Japan on July 19, 1996, in Europe in May 1, 1997, and in North America in September 4, 1997. It is best known for its multiplayer functionality for up to ten players using multitaps. It received praise for its gameplay and multiplayer, but criticism for not advancing the Bomberman series enough.
Gameplay
Like most Bomberman games, Saturn Bomberman features a battle mode as well as a story mode. Along with them is a master mode in which the player races to finish a series of levels after which the player is given a rank based on how much time is taken. This time is then saved to memory and kept on a scoreboard for future reference. The game also features several new powerups.
Saturn Bomberman utilises Dinosaur helpers, which are initially found as eggs released upon the destruction of a soft block. Dinosaurs come in three levels: babies (the weakest), adolescents, and adults (the strongest). Dinosaurs can only take one hit no matter how large they are. If a player is riding a dinosaur when this happens, the dinosaur takes the hit instead of the player. 6 players with just one multitap, or two players without any multitaps. It is also possible to combat against CPU-controlled opponents in battle mode.
Reception
Reviews
Critics were generally positive over Saturn Bomberman. It received enthusiastic reviews from Electronic Gaming Monthlys four-person "review crew", Saturn Powers Dean Mortlock, and Sega Saturn Magazines Matt Yeo, who were particularly impressed with the ten-player capability
The Story Mode and Master Mode were criticized by Matt Yeo for the frustratingly difficult AI and unforgiving boss fights, In Japan, the game sold 129,616 units.
Accolades
In Electronic Gaming Monthlys 100th issue, Saturn Bomberman would tie with Castlevania: Symphony of the Night for Game of the Month. Later that year, the magazine would award Saturn Bomberman the 1997 Game of the Year awards for "Saturn Game of the Year" and "Multiplayer Game of the Year".. Digitiser ranked it the second best Saturn game of 1997, below Fighters Megamix. In 2012, GamesRadar ranked the game fourth on their "Best Saturn games of all time" list. In 2014, Retro Gamer placed the game on their "Top Ten Saturn Games" list.