123456789012345678901234567890123456789012345678901234567890123456789012345678 Bomberman DS Walkthrough By Luigifan18 (a.k.a. Matthew Bradley) Version 1.22 E-Mail: luigifan@verizon.net ============================================================================== Table of Contents 1: Introduction 2: Copyright Stuff 3: Version History 4: Basics & Controls 4a: Controls 4b: General Hints 5: Items 5a: Power-ups 5b: Bombs 5c: Ability 5d: Limited Time 5e: Other 5f: Battle Mode Only 6: Enemies 6a: Bosses 7: Walkthrough 7*: Starting the Normal Game 7a: World 1 (Bomber Base) 7b: World 2 (Bomber Ruins) 7c: World 3 (Pirate Panic) 7d: World 4 (Desert of Doom) 7e: World 5 (Ghastly Graveyard) 7f: World 6 (Fiendish Forest) 7g: World 7 (Chilly Cavern) 7h: World 8 (Vile Volcano) 7i: World 9 (Crazy Castle) 7j: World 10 (Crystal Calamity) 8: Battle Mode 8a: Introduction 8b: Settings 8c: Playing Battle Mode 8d: Stages & Strategies 9: Credits If you want to jump to a section, use Ctrl + F and type it in!!! ============================================================================== 1: Introduction ============================================================================== Hey there!!! It's me, Luigifan18!!! Some of you may know me as the one who runs Furry Fiasco, and I have a knack for hopping about the message boards and leaving my two cents all over the place. But this is the first time I've went to the trouble of designing and submitting an actual FAQ. I've been a fan of the Bomberman series ever since my late grandfather got me Bomberman 64 for my birthday (I wanted Diddy Kong Racing, but oh well, I got that game the next year.) I decided to play it anyways, and I was hooked pretty quickly. I've tried to pick up every major Bomberman game since then. Lately, the series has gotten kind of off track, but I'm eagerly awaiting another game like Bomberman 64 that can engross me all over again. Until then, this is the closest I've got to a new true Bomberman game. As it turns out, it's a great throwback to the original Bomberman, expanding on it in some really clever ways. I've wanted to submit an FAQ to this site for a while, and since I'm playing through this game again, it might as well be here!!!! So, without further ado, here we go! ============================================================================== 2: Copyright Stuff ============================================================================== Okay, here's the deal. I'm not really into reckless copyrighting. That sort of stuff just stifles ideas, and has a tendency to expand the gap between rich and poor - and I can't stand ANYTHING that raises socioeconomic disparity. Plus, I work pretty darn hard on my FAQs, so I want people to see them. As such, I won't get terribly upset if my FAQs pop up unannounced on various gaming help sites, so long as said sites are legitimate. If we're talking something like eBaum's world, I might get pretty peeved. All I ask is that the site that puts up my FAQs link back to the original on GameFAQs. I've been a user on that site for a long time, and it's served me very well; as such, it's where I'll be uploading all of my FAQs. The most current version is going to be the one on GameFAQs, no ifs, ands, or buts about it. Other than that, as long as nobody's trying to poke fun at me, I don't mind being spread around the Internet a bit further. Just keep it clean, folks! GameFAQs: http://www.gamefaqs.com ============================================================================== 3: Version History ============================================================================== -Version 0.44: Basics and items complete, enemies complete through World 5, walkthrough complete up to Area 5-8, Battle Mode has yet to be started. Partial credits included. -Version 0.56: Walkthrough complete up to Area 7-2, enemies for Worlds 6 and 7 added. -Version 0.60: Corrected a grammatical error in Whisp's description, and completed the walkthrough up to the Area 7 Boss Stage. -Version 0.637: Completed the walkthrough up to World 8's Bonus Stage, added World 8's signature enemies, corrected errors in various enemy descriptions, and created an ASCII outline of how the explosion size of the Dangerous Bomb increases along with your Fire power. -Version 0.675: Completed the walkthrough up to World 9's Bonus Stage, added enemies for Worlds 9 and 10, made numerous corrections and added details throughout the guide, added my e-mail address to open the door for reader contributions. -Version 0.692: Added Area 9-6 to the walkthrough. -Version 0.70: Completed the walkthrough up to Area 10-2, and made some more corrections. -Version 0.745: Completed the walkthrough up to Area 10-9. Only the Master Monster remains!!!! -Version 0.75: The walkthrough is complete!!!!!!!! Now I can begin Battle Mode!!!!! In addition, I corrected a spelling error in the Version History ("Bonust Stage" indeed...) and Area 10-9, and I also did a grammar check on the introduction. -Version 0.751: Expanded the table of contents and explained the controls a little more thoroughly. -Version 0.756: Started talking about the Battle Game and added a section for retarded gamers. -Version 0.78: Expanded the Table of Contents and explained the basics and setup of Battle Mode. -Version 0.812: More Battle mode tips, the first few stages, and corrections to the descriptions of Koin and Kaktuss. -Version 0.84: Added the Voice Shield, Shield, Skull, Mystery Items, and Speedy stages, as well as a dirty trick for Voice Bomb... not that I'd ever use it!!!! -Version 0.852: Added Tunnels, Unipass, Tripass, and Conveyor Belt. -Version 0.870: Added Trapdoors, Kick-Kick, See-Saw, Full-Power, Lotsa Items, and Mini-Mini. -Version 0.871: Dang, this has been a long hiatus!!!! I've basically just corrected some version numbers and emphasized the need for skill on the Full- Power stage. I'd do more, but I don't have the time right now. Sorry - college comes first! -Version 0.872: I've been preparing to write a Game Script FAQ for Henry Hatsworth in the Puzzling Adventure, and have been looking to this FAQ to help me get started. While I was at it, I decided to look at the FAQ again, and I went about fixing some grammar and spelling errors. -Version 0.90: Back to work at last!!!! I've added the Inferno, Spikes, and Crown Battle stages to my Battle Mode strategies. Also, while I was researching Japan for my final project in my World Regional Geography college class, I found something called a Jomon Statue that looks a heck of a lot like the Master Monster. I've got a hunch that this game's final boss is directly based on one of those things. Go ahead, do a Google image search!!!! -Version 0.901: I decided to read through my guide again to have a good laugh at my corny jokes. Along the way, I noticed some inaccuracies and errors, so I corrected them. -Version 0.903: I've corrected more errors and inaccuracies, refining the guide so that it's easier to use. I also corrected the version number. -Version 0.928: I've corrected more innacuracies, added in "Stage Strategies" for the Inferno, Spikes, and Crown Battle stages (namely, I split them off from the "Stage Features", and added strategies for the Full-Power Crown, Merry-Go-Crown, and Blocks stages. -Version 0.95: Added the Kick Blocks and Zombie stages to the Battle Mode section. -Version 1.0: Basics, items, enemies, walkthrough, and Battle Mode strategy. Really, the bulk of the guide. Everything is complete. (Now finished) -Version 1.02: Further credit to Guns n' Roses, and I added the URL for DEngle's Bomberman (NES) guide. -Version 1.03: Just wanted to reinforce that you really, really, REALLY should use a Clock if you run out of time and are facing the Orbit gauntlet. Also, if you want to see a Jomon statue for yourself, check out this URL: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/ae/JomonStatue.JPG -Version 1.09: After recieving an e-mail from SuperCheats asking for permission to host my FAQs, I realized that I'd need some copyright stuff in my FAQ, so I decided to add that in. I decided to put it right below the Introduction, so the numbers in the Table of Contents and the guide had to be changed around a little. Also, I put SuperCheats in the credits for prompting me to do this, and I made a little grammar correction in the "Items" section (I changed the punctuation starting the Skull's description from a comma to a period, to make it consistent with the others.) Finally, I corrected the designations of the Worlds - apparently I slipped up somewhere. -Version 1.11: While playing a set on Bom-Bom, I noticed that the bombs appeared in the launchers a few moments before actually being launched. I've incorporated that into the Battle Stage strategies. -Version 1.15: While making my Area Maps, I noticed that when Lrucada's one hit away from defeat, he'll start throwing his snowflakes all over the place. I defeated him too quickly to see this going on, but I'm SURE I saw him fling 'em diagonally right at me a moment before I detonated the final bomb to defeat him. Looks like that's going into the guide!!! -Version 1.18: While mapping the Fiendish Forest, I mistakenly guided Bomberman into a stink cloud. However, instead of dying, he was merely stunned for a second. I guess Stunker's odor is less powerful than I thought! -Version 1.20: I decided to correct some more spelling and grammar errors (mainly the fact that I kept spelling "shuriken" as "shruiken".) I also added a bit of information for several of the items. -Version 1.21: I'm back, after what... a year? Wow. Anyways, I'm adding official names from the Bomberman Wiki. I still have more to go, but this is the update for now. Expect more later. -Version 1.22: More enemy names. ============================================================================== 4: Basics and Controls ============================================================================== Okay, so, in the Normal Game, you're trying to patch up the Bomb Crystal by blasting everything that moves to kingdom come. Oh, yeah, and you also want to blow up everything that DOESN'T move. How this is supposed to repair anything is beyond me, but you basically have to exterminate all the monsters that inhabit the game's 100 levels. Once you do, you have to find the exit, which will always be located under a soft block (those are the breakable ones, by the way.) In the Normal Mode, the 1-Ups are the only items that are used immediately upon being acquired. All other items are "captured", meaning that they are placed into a sort of "stock" and can be used before or during a stage by tapping them on the lower screen. You'll know when you've successfully captured an item because Bomberman will exclaim "Got it!" There are some points where you can't use items, though. Namely, you can't use items right before a Bonus Stage, nor can you use them during a Bonus Stage or Boss Stage. This is because these stages use both of the screens, so you'll be seeing the action on the bottom screen instead of the inventory. Towards the end of a Normal Game, you should have gathered enough items to be able to answer any challenge!!! In the Battle Game, you'll use items as soon as you grab them - there's no point in saving stuff for later in the heat of combat!!!! ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 4a. Controls: D-pad - Movement and Menu selection START - Pause the game or Resume it MIC - Use for a Mic mode in Battle Mode SELECT - Place an arrow above your Bomberman in battle mode A Button - Choose selection, drop bombs, throw bombs with Power Glove B Button - Cancel selection, detonate RC bombs, cancel a power up X Button - Stop a kicked bomb Y Button - Use for Shield, Line bomb, and Bomb punch L Button - Stop a kicked bomb R Button - Display Players' names in Battle Mode, Returns you to display of items Touch Screen - Access items in normal mode and Operate a revenge bomb in Battle Mode The controls were ripped from ThunderMan's guide. I'm quite sure that he ripped them from the instruction booklet. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 4b. General Hints -Try to keep your bombs, fire, and speed maxed out at all times. ESPECIALLY keep your speed up. If you can't move quickly to flee from an impending bomb blast or pursuing enemy, YOU WILL DIE. -If you bomb the exit, an Orbit will come out. These guys are REALLY fast, can pass through soft blocks, and will chase you like a swarm of flies chases a truck full of rotting corpses. I know the analogy is bad, but the point is, Orbits will NOT leave you alone. Their only goal in life is to harass you and kill you, and they are VERY good at doing that. I strongly recommend that you don't let them enter the level in the first place. -If you run out of time, you will not die immediately (like you would in, say, Bomberman Max 2.) However, you will have to deal with Orbits coming out of the exit every few seconds in an endless stream, and they will swarm around you, hunting you down and chasing you until you are dead. I am NOT kidding. Your only hope is to somehow blow them all up at once (WITHOUT bombing yourself or the exit in the process,) then quickly duck into the exit before another Orbit comes out - which is a LOT harder than I'm making it sound. Oh, yeah, and if there are still other enemies in the stage, you'll have to get rid of them before you can flee. Or, you could just use a Clock item to give yourself an extra minute. I HIGHLY recommend the latter option, as the former is (as I mentioned) MUCH easier said than done (and will likely cost you a few Hearts, if you don't just die trying.) -If you are a freakin' lunatic, you can let the time run out on purpose and then blast the Orbits for points. Just don't expect to leave the level in one piece. Indeed, I HIGHLY doubt that you will survive long enough to make a "profit" on this boneheaded scheme. -For every 100,000 points you earn, you will recieve an extra life. It sounds like a lot of points, but since the game's time bonuses are fairly generous, you'll be hitting that milestone long before you know it. (This is another reason that I discourage you from playing chicken with the clock and trying to face off with the endless stream of Orbits.) -Pick up every item in a level, even if you have to sacrifice some time to do so. You never know when you might need them. -Unlike in most maze-set Bomberman games (which would be most of them, including the Battle Mode in Bomberman Generation and Bomberman Jetters,) items will NOT stop bomb blasts. Any type of bomb blast will punch right through them. Keep that in mind, and you will live much longer. -If you throw or punch a bomb off the map, it will disappear. It will NOT wrap around the map and appear on the opposite side, like it would in most other Bomberman games. Again, this game's physics are a little different from the rest of the series, and knowing the differences will be VERY helpful in keeping you alive. -Even though the bosses are big, you can still maneuver "behind" them without getting hit. This is especially true of the final boss, which doesn't occupy NEARLY as much space as it appears to take up. -In Battle Mode, treat EVERY bomb as though it has maximized firepower. Taking chances will likely send you to the junkyard. -I made up the names of all of the worlds, as well as most of the enemies and bosses. The game only tells you the name of one type of monster, and that is the Ballom. The other enemy types... well, I had to name them myself. This is why I have to describe them in such great detail in the Enemies section. (Although, I think I might have seen the Rockitts in Battle Star in Bomberman Max 1... And Barom, Uhnyun, Barrol, Orbit, Blobby, Squiddy, Ballor, and GoldKat can all be encountered in the original Bomberman for the NES!!!!) -For a REAL trip down memory lane, here's a flash version of the original Bomberman: http://flashgamesite.com/play1096game.html ============================================================================== 5: Items ============================================================================== So, here are the item descriptions. I ripped these from ThunderMan's guide, and he - again - got much of his information from the instruction booklet. However, I'm filling in many gaps which he left behind... Here are the items you'll find in the Game: 5a. Power Ups: 1. Bomb up Increases the number of bombs you can place by 1 (max 8.) Rare: * Description: Bomb 2. Speed up Increases your Speed by 1 (max 8.) Rare: * Description: Blue Roller Skates 3. Fire Up Increases the Range of explosion by 1 (max 8.) Rare: * Description: Fire with a smile 4. Full Fire Maximize Explosion range Rare: ***** Description: Fire with a happy smile ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 5b. Bombs: can only be used on the current stage, cannot use 2 different bombs at a time 1. Remote Control bombs (RC) Lets you detonate it with B button Rare: *** Usefulness: ***** (You can detonate bombs at will... NOTHING CAN ESCAPE FROM YOUR WRATH!!!!!!! Ahem... It also lets you set up extremely intricate chain blasts; normally, you BARELY have enough time to set up 8 bombs, each within two squares of each other, and then get out of the way - with 8 speed!!!!) Description: Heart with a bomb 2. Hyper Bomb A.K.A Pass Through Bomb A.K.A. Pierce Bomb A.K.A. Asterisk Bomb Flames pass through soft/breakable blocks Rare: *** and found at least once in Areas with huge lines of blocks Usefulness: ****, especially in Areas with huge lines of blocks Description: Bomb with spikes Notes: Throughout this guide, I will refer to this item primarily as the Pierce Bomb. In the game, when you use it, Bomberman screams "Asterisk Bomb!", indicating that the item is referred to as the Asterisk Bomb in-game. 3. Power Bomb Firepower is Max (for first bomb only) Rare: *** Usefulness: ** (Once your firepower is maxed out, it's totally obsolete!!!!) Description: Bomb with a P on it 4. Land Mine bomb First bomb is a land mine that explodes when touched by anything or caught in a bomb blast; it takes a second to explode, so if you step on one, you still have a short time to get the hell out of its way!!!! Rare: ** Usefulness: ** Description: Land mine 5. Dangerous bomb Flame of the First bomb will expand in a Square Rare: *** Usefulness: *** (its maximum range is a 5X5 spread, which isn't as much as it sounds like) Description: bomb with a Skull Notes: Here, I will attempt to use ASCII art to depict the explosion radius of the Dangerous Bomb with various firepower settings: B = Bomb X = Explosion 1 Fire = XXX XBX XXX 2 Fire = XXX XBX XXX 3 Fire = XXX XBX XXX 4 Fire = XXX XXXXX XXBXX XXXXX XXX 5 Fire = XXX XXXXX XXBXX XXXXX XXX 6 Fire = XXX XXXXX XXBXX XXXXX XXX 7 Fire = XXX XXXXX XXBXX XXXXX XXX 8 Fire = XXXXX XXXXX XXBXX XXXXX XXXXX ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 5c. Ability: can only be used in current stage 1. Bomb kick Run to a bomb to kick it and stop it with X button Rare: *** Usefulness: ***** (The most basic way of saving yourself if you wind up stuck between a bomb and a hard place; it's also useful for ambushing enemies with sudden explosions) Description: Bomb being kicked 2. Bomb Punch @ Stand next to a bomb and punch it with Y Button Rare: ** Usefulness: *** Description: Boxing glove Notes: The Bomb Punch sends a bomb two squares away. It's very useful for when a bomb is up against a wall (or a soft block) and you can't just kick it away. EXTREMELY useful for those kind of situations, in which you would otherwise be trapped. Its range is only 2 squares, but the Bomb Punch has never been known for sending bombs flying long distances anyways. 3. Line Bomb @ Place all bombs at once With Y Button Rare: *** Usefulness: ***** Description: 3 bombs in diagonal order Notes: For the first time, like, ever, the Line Bomb and Bomb Throw can actually coexist!!! However, the Line Bomb now cancels out the Bomb Punch. I guess you win some and you lose some... 4. Power Glove Pick up a placed bomb with A Button Rare: *** Usefulness: **** Description: Blue glove Notes: The range of the bomb throw in this game is only 2 squares. Weak, yes, but you can easily tell where it will end up. You can stun enemies (and other Bombermen) for a few moments by tossing or punching a bomb onto their heads (well, okay, not all of the monsters have heads, but you can still stun them by bonking them with a bomb) - this is a fun trick that can also be used to buy some time for a quick exit or ensure that they can't escape from an imminent bomb blast! 5. Shield @ Protect from flame in front of you with Y button Rare: *** Usefulness: ***** Description: Blue shield with gold outline Notes: This shield protects you from bomb flames, yet is useless against projectiles... but then again, there aren't a lot of projectiles coming at you in this game. Still, this is the inverse of the shield in Bomberman Tournament (which was provided by Ceedrun, by the way,) which protected you against projectiles, but not from bombs. Interesting... @: These items can't be used at the same time since they all use the Y button. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 5d. Limited time Usage: These have a time limit to how long they can be used, but if you leave the stage before they expire, they will expire instantly. 1. Metawall (a.k.a. Block Walk, Wall Walk, Wall-Walker, or Wall-Through) Lets you walk through breakable blocks Rare: ** Usefulness: *** Time Limit: 55 Seconds Description: Bomberman running 2. Metabomb (a.k.a. Bomb Walk) Walk through placed bombs Rare: *** Usefulness: ** Time limit: 55 Seconds Description: Bomb with dash marks behind it 3. Fire suit Invincible against fire Rare: *** Usefulness: ***** Time limit: 30 Seconds Description: Bomberman's face with a red aura 4. Invincible! The name speaks for itself Rare: **** Usefulness: ***** (Basically an upgrade of the Fire suit) Time limit: I don't know for sure, but it's much shorter than the Fire Suit. Description: Bomberman with a yellow aura ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 5e. Other: These items don't fit in any of the other categories. 1. Glasses Allows you to see hidden items and the exit Rare: *** Usefulness: **** (Very useful for telling you which soft blocks to bother with bombing, especially when you don't want to take the time to clear out the whole level) Usage: 1 use, Lasts for the current stage Description: Glasses 2. Heart Let's you avoid one mistake without losing a life Rare: *** Usefulness: ***** Usage: 1 use, lasts for the current stage; when you get hit, your Heart vanishes, and you can immediately equip another one if you so desire. (I must emphasize that you will have to equip the Heart manually.) Description: A heart with a smile 3. Clock Extend time by 1 minute Rare: ** Usefulness: *** Description: Clock 4. 1 Up Gives 1 more life to Bomberman Rare: ***** Usefulness: ***** Description: Bomberman Icon ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 5f. Battle mode Exclusive: These will only be found in Battle mode 1. Bomb down Decreases the Number of bombs you can place by 1 (minimum 1) Rare: * Usefulness: ... It decreases your bombs, the only thing it's for is suicide (I suppose it can make Diahrrea less dangerous, but for the most part, it's not a good thing.) Description: Bomb with an X 2. Speed Down (a.k.a. Sandals) Decreases Speed by 1 (minimum 1) Rare: * Usefulness: Use this if you want to learn how slow a snail can be Description: Looks like a Sandal 3. Fire down Decreases fire by 1 (minimum 1) Rare: * Usefulness: Let's see... you won't be bothered by people who say fire is bad Description: Sad blue fire 4. Skull The work of the Damned, causes Illness which result in these: - Speed all the way down (Sluggish) - Bomb at level 0 (No Bomb) - Bombs will be placed randomly (Diharrea) - You'll freeze sometimes (Dizzy) Rare: * Can't be destroyed unless someone goes through it completely; it wears off in a minute. Unlike in the Gamecube games, you can't get rid of a curse by picking up a different type of item. The only ways to be uncursed are to pass the curse off to somebody else, die, or simply endure it for a whole entire minute. Oh, and you can't pass off a curse to an already cursed player. The curse will be randomly determined every time it's passed on, so you could have the No Bomb curse, pass it off to someone else, and give them Diharrea. Usefulness: The only use this has is cursing your opponents. None of the curses are a good thing, so you're better off just staying away from this wicked wild card. Description: The name speaks for its evil self; it resembles a skull. 5. Rubber Bomb (a.k.a. Bouncy Bomb) Bounces when kicked or punched; it belongs in the Bomb category, so it overwrites and is overwritten by any of the other Bombs. Rare: ** Usefulness: **** (I love using this thing to make Super Dangerous Bombs...) Description: Looks like blue Jelly (Chu jelly if you played LOZ WW) (I can see how Thunderman's comparison would make sense for the actual Bouncing Bombs, but the image on the pickup looks more like a teardrop to me. To each his own, I guess.) 6. ? (Question mark) Random effect Rare: depends on stage Usefulness: Depends on your luck; it can mimic any other item, except for the Crown. Description: Name speaks for its random self 7. Crown Instant victory - only appears in Crown Battle Rare: Only one on each of the three Crown Battle stages; like the Skull, it can't be destroyed Usefulness: It makes you win the game. What could be better than that?!? Description: ...It's a crown. Duh. NOTE: Items in the Limited time and OTHER category do not appear in Battle Mode. ============================================================================== 6: Enemies ============================================================================== Ah, yes, the enemies. The existence of these beasts is apparently the result of the Bomb Crystal shattering. (What made it break is beyond me.) In this section, I will list every enemy that you can confront and outline its statistics - name, location, speed, durability, special abilities, point value, and movement patterns. I will list them in roughly the same order that you will first encounter them. Also, keep in mind that the point value doubles for each enemy that you destroy with the same bomb or chain blast (setting up more than one bomb in such a fashion that the first one sets off the others when it explodes.) The multipliers tend to apply to enemies which are further from the center of the blast (i.e. where you put the bomb,) because they're getting killed slightly LATER. It seems a little counter- intuitive while you're playing the game, but when you think about it, it makes sense. Name: Barom (a.k.a. Valcom, Ballom, or Balloon) Description: It's a red balloon. Location: Areas 1-1, 1-2, 1-3, & 1-4; Barom stage (Battle Game) Speed: 1 (VERY slow) Durablility: 1 bomb blast will pop this 'bloon. Point Value: 100 points Special Abilities: Pause (Um... it stops every so often?) Movement Patterns: It generally moves back and forth, turning left or right on an infrequent basis. It usually pauses JUST as it's about to make a turn, but it sometimes turns without pausing. Notes: The personification of pathetic. Destroy them in any fashion you like. Oh, but it's the only enemy type to appear in the Battle Game. Name: Barrol (a.k.a. Dahl or Lantern) Description: A pink cylinder with thin black stripes. Location: Areas 1-3, 1-5, 1-6, 1-7, 2-1, 2-2, 3-1, 3-4, 4-5, 4-6, & 5-1 Speed: 2 (BARELY faster than Barom) Durability: 1 bomb is enough to send 'em to the scrap heap. Point Value: 400 points Special Abilities: Pause (In other words, it stops sometimes, like Barom.) Movement Patterns: Like Barom, it moves back and forth, turning left or right on an infrequent basis. Notes: Despite being a little quicker than Barom, Barrol isn't any more of a threat. Just get rid of him. A lot of enemies pause to use their special attacks (even if only for a split second,) but Barom, Barrol, and PipeSphere (more on him later) are the only enemies to pause for no reason at all. Name: Orbit (a.k.a. Pontan or Coin [not to be confused with Koin]) Description: A pink convex disk that spins around a lot. Location: Bonus stages, anywhere you bomb the exit or let time run out, Areas 10-6, 10-7, 10-8, & 10-9 Speed: 8 (Really, REALLY fast; the standard by which all other enemies' movement speeds are measured!!!!!!) Durabilty: Thankfully, 1 bomb is enough to kill them. I guess HudsonSoft is capable of showing mercy after all. Point Value: 800 points Special Abilities: Meta-Wall Movement Patterns: It chases you like a ravenous wolf would chase an obese, crippled deer that's smothered in meat tenderizer and a scent that just screams "EAT ME!!!!!!!!!! EAT ME NOOOOOWWWWWWWWW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" Notes: These guys are REALLY annoying. It's possible to hide from them, but you need to be far away, and preferably have some hard blocks between them and you. Unless you are fully powered up, you don't stand a chance against these monsters. So don't bomb the exits, and make sure that you get there on time!!! (P.S. It was worth 8000 points in the original Bomberman. See, THAT would be worth playing chicken for...) Name: Blobby (a.k.a. Ovape or Jelly) Description: A light green walking anthropomorphic little slime pile. It's cuter than you might think. Locations: Areas 1-4, 1-5, 1-6, 1-7, 1-8, 1-9, 2-1, 2-2, 2-3, 2-4, 2-5, 2-6, 2-7, 2-8, 2-9, 3-1, 3-2, 3-3, 3-6, 3-7, 4-4, 4-5, 4-6, 5-2, 5-3, 5-4, 5-5, & 10-6 Speed: 1 (It's very slow) Durability: 1 blast makes it disintegrate. Point Value: 1000 points Special Abilities: Meta-Wall Movement Patterns: It wanders about wherever its whimsy carries it, hardly even noticing that you exist. More often than not, it moves in straight lines. Notes: ...If this guy isn't nearly as threatening as Orbit, why is it worth more points?!? Anyways, Blobby appears SEVERAL times in the early stages of the game. For the most part, it's an easy, yet high-yield kill. Just don't let it sneak up on you!!!!!! Name: Ewe-Eff-Oh (a.k.a. Denkyun) Description: A little disc guy who glows green and floats around. Location: Areas 1-4, 1-5, & 1-8 Speed: 4 (Actually, pretty quick); 5 when injured Durability: 2 bomb blasts will make this thing crash and burn. Point Value: 600 points Special Abilities: None Movement Patterns: This little guy just floats back and forth, with hardly a care in the world. He might turn left or right every now and then, but he doesn't actively chase you. Notes: These guys crack after being bombed once, so it's obvious when they're about to be finished off. I think they speed up slightly when wounded, too. And, by the way, if you're wondering about the name, try saying it out loud. (OH EM GEE I AM SEW KLEVAR) I think this may be the same enemy as the yellow lightbulb creatures from Super Bomberman 1. The original name, Denkyun, is derived from the Japanese "Denkyuu", which means "light bulb". ...No wonder it glows. Name: Uhnyun (a.k.a. O'Neal or Beaker) Description: A blue onion with feet. Location: Areas 1-6, 1-7, 1-9, 2-3, 2-4, 3-2, 3-3, 4-1, 5-1, 8-1, & 8-2 Speed: 3 (He moves quickly, but not THAT quickly.) Durability: One bomb will peel him quite nicely. *is hit with various objects* Point Value: 200 points Special Abilities: None Movement Patterns: Totally random!!! Notes: Yes, I adore terrible puns. You should see the nicknames I've given to my Pokemon!!!!! Name: DozerBull Description: An orange bulldozer-like machine. Location: Areas 1-8 & 1-9 Speed: 1 (He only SEEMS faster than Barom because he doesn't stop at random) Durability: 2 bombs breaks him down. Point Value: 1000 points Special Abilities: Bomb Throw Movement Patterns: It moves back and forth, not unlike Baroms, but it will charge at bombs so it can toss them. And by "charge", I mean "speed up by a BARELY noticeable amount". Name: Golem Description: A brown, humanoid, living hunk of rock. Location: Areas 2-2, 2-3, 2-4, 2-7, 2-8, & 2-9 Speed: 1 (It even takes it about one and a half seconds to punch a bomb!!!) Durability: Despite the fact that he's so stony, 1 bomb is enough to do him in. Point Value: 1500 points Special Abilities: Bomb Punch Movement Patterns: It just wanders around aimlessly. Notes: No fancy names here. Just a simple, yet accurate monkier. Name: Ballor (a.k.a. Minvo or Face) Description: An orange, sad-looking sphere. Location: Areas 2-6, 3-4, 3-5, 3-6, 4-2, 6-1, 6-3, 6-6, 7-2, 7-4, 7-6, 8-6, 9-1, 9-4, 10-3, & 10-4 Speed: 5 (Quite quick, really) Durability: 1 Point Value: 800 points Special Abilities: None Movement Patterns: More or less random, though it tends to travel in straight lines Notes: He's not very intimidating. Name: Phyre Description: An evil-looking plume of sentient flame Location: Areas 2-6, 2-8, & 2-9 Speed: 3 Durability: 1 bomb puts it out. Point Value: 600 points Special Abilities: Creeping Fire (Phyre can spit out smaller fires which slowly creep along the ground (speed 1) in a straight line: if these fires touch your bombs, they immediately explode. The fires themselves are dangerous, as well. The fires do not disappear until they hit a wall [which can be a soft block, a hard block, or the edge of the level,] or are caught in a bomb blast.) Movement Patterns: Semirandom Notes: Phyre's attack is like a projectile, but I don't know if I could really call it that, seeing as it moves more slowly than Phyre itself. -_-; Name: Squiddy (a.k.a. Doria or Ghost (not to be confused with the Ghosts of World 5, which I named Dorios) Description: A pink squid-like thing. Location: Areas 2-7, 3-6, 3-7, 4-3, 4-4, 4-7, 4-8, 5-7, 5-8, 5-9, 7-1, 8-8, 9-2, 9-4, 10-2, 10-4, & 10-6 Speed: 5 Durability: 1 bomb blast turns it into calimari. Point Value: 2000 points Special Abilities: Meta-Wall Movement Patterns: Usually moves back and forth, turning randomly Notes: It's a faster Blobby. Still not half as dangerous as Orbit, though. Expect to see a lot of it in the later levels. Name: Whisp Description: A hooded ghost with a lamp (think a Nazghul or a Dementor, only with about one-quarter of the ability to turn you pale with fright and make you scream "OH MY GOD IT'S GONNA EAT MY SOOOOUUUULLLLLLL"... if it could even POSSIBLY do that.) Location: Areas 2-8 & 2-9 Speed: 4 Durability: One bomb blast does it in... if you can actually manage to HIT it. Point Value: 2000 points Special Abilities: Meta-Wall, Bomb Evasion Movement Patterns: Back and forth Notes: Whisp floats above a bomb blast when you try to hit it. It then freezes in place for a few moments. Your chance to nail it is during this momentary paralysis. Name: Baum (a.k.a. Megabomb or Bakudan) Description: A sentient bomb. Duh. Location: Areas 3-1, 3-2, 3-3, 3-4, 3-5, 3-6, 3-7, 3-8 & 3-9 Speed: 3 Durability: One bomb blast can defuse it, as long as it's in its "roving" form. Point Value: 800 points Special Abilities: Bomb Transformation (It can turn into a bomb just like the ones you set up, with a firepower rating of 3. In this state, bombing it will just set it off without hurting it. It can also set off your bombs when it goes off on its own.) Movement Patterns: It wanders back and forth, turning into a bomb every so often. It's more likely to become a bomb when it spots you (or a nearby bomb that you placed.) Notes: It takes Baum a few seconds to transform. He's vulnerable during that time, so if you can nail him in that state, you can kill him pretty easily. Baum's transformation time is MUCH shorter than the time it takes for your bombs to go off, though, so you'll need to be able to predict his moves to pull this trick off. Name: PipeSphere (a.k.a. Keibin) Description: A red ball in a blue pipe. Location: Areas 3-4, 3-6, 3-7, & 3-8 Speed: 5 Durability: 3 bomb blasts will be needed to put this thing to rest. Point Value: 600 points Special Abilities: Meta-Wall, Pause Movement Patterns: It moves about randomly. Notes: It's the sturdiest foe you've faced so far, AND it can pass through walls!!!! At least it doesn't chase you... Also, oddly enough, the PipeSphere sometimes stops moving, not unlike Barom and Barrol. I'm not quite sure what it's trying to do, so I've labeled that as the Pause "ability". Name: Pirate Whisp Description: A Whisp that decided to dress up as a pirate rather than a Grim Reaper. Location: Areas 3-6, 3-8, & 3-9 Speed: 3 Durability: 2 bombs are needed to defeat it, which is more frustrating than it sounds. Point Value: 3000 points Special Abilities: Bomb Evasion Movement Patterns: Essentially random, though I think it's a little more prone to chasing you than an ordinary Whisp. It likes to go back and forth. It will charge if it spots you, but as with DozerBull, that only means that it will speed up by a BARELY noticeable amount. Notes: It's a bit sturdier than the Whisps you faced in World 2, but it also seems to have lost the ability to walk through walls. Strange... very strange... Maybe its new outfit is a bit more corporeal? It dodges bombs in the same fashion as its landlubbing cousins, though, so take it down in the same way. Just keep in mind that you'll have to repeat the procedure. Name: GoldKat (a.k.a. Pass or Bear) Description: A yellow cat head that bounces around. Location: Areas 3-8, 3-9, 4-6, 4-7, 4-8, 5-7, 5-8, 7-6, 8-6, 8-7, & 10-8 Speed: 6 (Faster than anything else you've seen, though I'm tempted to use decimals) Durability: 1 bomb blast is enough to skin this cat. Point Value: 4000 points!!!!!!!! Special Abilities: None Movement Patterns: It usually moves back and forth, but it will turn without warning. Notes: ALWAYS try to kill this thing in a chain blast!!!!!!! It's worth too many points to take down by itself. Remember, your points are multiplied for every successive enemy you kill with the same chain blast!!!!! Name: Kaktuss Description: A hopping cactus in a cute little pot. For some reason, it wears a pink bow (or is that a flower?) Location: Areas 4-1, 4-2, 4-3, 4-4, 4-5, 4-6, 4-7, 4-8, & 4-9 Speed: 7 (Man, this thing can MOVE!!!!) Durability: Just one bomb blast is more than this little guy can bear. Point Value: 400 points Special Abilities: None Movement Patterns: Random (Well, it typically goes back and forth, but it could turn when you least expect it!!!) Notes: It's a souped-up Uhnyun. You can actually compare it to Uhnyun in Area 4-1. Kaktuss is MUCH quicker and has an easy time wiping you out if you aren't careful!!!! Name: Koin Description: A yellow twirling medallion. Location: Areas 4-1, 4-2, 4-4, 4-5, 4-7, & 4-8 Speed: 7 (It's super-quick!!!!) Durability: Luckily for you, one bomb blast irrepairibly tarnishes this pest's luster in a BIG way. Point Value: 1000 points Special Abilities: None Movement Patterns: Well... how do I say this... Koin DESPERATELY wants to be blood money. Smothered in YOUR blood. (Correction: Koin just seems to go back and forth, with a love for making right turns.) Notes: Koin is JUST as committed to bringing about your demise as Orbit is. The only differences are that Koin is a little bit slower, unable to move through walls, and worth 200 more points. Other than that, Koin and Orbit are essentially the same. (Orbit's still slightly more dangerous, though. Koin's inability to pass through soft blocks makes it easier to hide from.) (...Actually, I'm not even sure that Koin chases you in this game.) Name: Masque Description: A floating green mask. Location: Areas 4-3, 4-4, 4-6, 4-7, 4-8, & 4-9 Speed: 6 (For a mere mask, it's very swift!!!) Durability: 1 (successful) bomb blast breaks it for good. Point Value: 2000 points Special Abilities: Meta-Wall, Bomb Evasion Movement Patterns: It moves about pretty randomly, but it WILL begin to chase you if it gets close to your location. Notes: Masque behaves like a cross between Whisp and Orbit. You'll know when it's evaded a bomb because it will break apart, reform, and then remain motionless for a short time. Hit it before it begins to move again!!! Name: Batty Description: A blackish bat. Nothing else to explain, really. Location: Areas 5-1, 5-2, 5-3, 5-4, 5-6, 5-7, 5-8, & 5-9 Speed: 4 (It's kinda slow. Well, it's not fast by any means, but it's not as slow as some OTHER monsters you'll meet.) Durability: 1 bomb clips its wings. Point Value: 200 points Special Abilities: None Movement patterns: Back and forth with some erraticness. Notes: It's Uhnyun in a bat suit... sort of. Its motions are a little more predictable than Uhnyun's, but it will frequently change course when you least expect it. Name: HideSphere (a.k.a. Kierun) Description: A yellow sphere, though it might actually be a puddle of sorts. Location: Areas 5-1, 5-2, 5-3, 5-6, 5-7, 5-8, & 5-9 Speed: 2 (Not very quick.) Durability: 1 bomb melts it. Point Value: 800 points Special Abilities: Ground Hide Movement Patterns: It wanders around, hiding if it spots a bomb. Notes: This thing is hiding when it turns into a square and sinks into the ground, showing only its eyes. It can't be hurt during that time, but it also can't move. Wait for it to emerge. It takes a few seconds to hide or emerge, and is vulnerable during that time. (In fact, I've frequently managed to kill HideSpheres with a bomb going off at the EXACT moment that they start to come out.) Name: Dorio Description: A white ghost whose expression suggests that it has some anger problems. Location: Areas 5-3, 5-4, 5-6, 5-7, 5-8, & 5-9, as well as World 5 and World 9's Boss Stages (where it is summoned by the Vampire couple) Speed: 6 (It's a little faster than Doria... I mean, Squiddy.) Durability: One bomb blast can exorcise it. Point Value: 400 points... what a gyp! Special Abilities: Meta-Wall (Duh.) Movement Patterns: Random. Notes: Dorio's name is a tribute to Doria, the true name of Squiddy from Bomberman DS (and several other games, like, say, the very first one.) I guess you could call it Doria's male counterpart. Of course, Doria looks more like a squid in this game (hence, why I named it Squiddy,) so Dorio is the game's new resident ghost. Name: Cyclop Chomp (a.k.a. Pakupun) Description: A blue ball with one eye and VERY sharp teeth. Location: Areas 6-1, 6-2, 6-4, & 6-7 Speed: 4 (I THINK it's faster than Flora, but I can't be sure.) Durability: One bomb ruins its appetite. Forever. It actually has to explode, though. Point Value: 1000 points Special Abilities: Bomb Consumption (In other words, it eats bombs.) Movement Patterns: Back and forth Notes: Oh, come on, you canNOT tell me that this thing doesn't resemble a Chain Chomp. Unlike many bomb-eating enemies in this series (coughSnakeycough), Cyclop Chomp can eat several bombs in a row without slowing down, or even stopping. As soon as it touches a bomb, consider it gone (the bomb, that is.) On the other hand, Cyclop Chomp doesn't launch any sort of counterattack upon consuming a bomb (anyone who's played Bomberman Jetters should easily be able to think of an example of THAT. Darn flowerpots.) He used to take 3 hits to destroy in Super Bomberman 1, much to SlimKirby's frustration. Name: Flora Description: A blue-petaled flower... that HAS TEETH for some bizarre reason. Location: Areas 6-1, 6-2, 6-3, 6-4, 6-6, 6-7, & 6-8, as well as the Area 6 Boss Stage Speed: 3 (It's a plant, do you EXPECT it to move quickly?) Durability: One bomb makes it wilt. Point Value: 200 points Special Abilities: None Movement Patterns: Random Notes: It's Uhnyun in a flower costume. Name: Skunker (a.k.a. Skunpew) Description: A dark-colored skunk. If not for the tail, though, you might think it was a mouse. It also has a penchant for walking on its front legs - in other words, doing handstands and WALKING on them, kinda like Lanky Kong. Location: Areas 6-2, 6-4, 6-5, 6-6, 6-7, & 6-9 Speed: 6 (The skunk is quick on its feet!!!!!) Durability: One bomb will be MORE than enough to teach this guy some manners... well, actually, it'll kill it, but you get the idea. Point Value: 800 points Special Abilities: Stink Cloud (The stink bombs act like Phyre's fires, right down to the snail's pace. Thankfully, they only stun you if you touch them. (DANG, that's a potent odor!!!!!) However, if caught in a bomb blast, instead of simply vanishing, a stink cloud will explode as if IT was a bomb. Watch out for stench-thrown flames!!!!) Movement Patterns: Back and Forth Notes: Skunker is the most condensed enemy in this game. Area 6-5 packs 7 of them, and Area 6-9 has 15. Yes, FIFTEEN skunks, all passing gas. How does Bomberman STAND it?!?!? ...I guess being a robot has its perks. Name: Dig-a-Dag Description: A geeky-looking mole that looks like it REALLY needs to gain some weight. Location: Areas 6-3, 6-4, 6-6, 6-7, & 6-8 Speed: 5 Durability: 1 Point Value: 400 points Special Abilities: Dig & Tunnel (It can dig down from one spot and immediately pop up in another.) Movement Patterns: Back and forth, digs every so often Notes: The name is taken from a mole enemy in Bomberman Max 2, though THAT Dig-a-Dag behaves more like HideSphere. Name: Eyce Description: A pillar of jagged blue ice that looks VERY similar to Phyre (right down to the maniacal expression,) except for the coloration. Location: Areas 7-1, 7-2, 7-3, 7-4, 7-6, 7-7, & 7-8 Speed: 6 (It moves pretty quickly for what's essentially a landlocked iceberg.) Durability: One bomb blast and this thing will begin screaming "I'm melting!!! I'M MELTING!!!!!!!!!!!" Well, not really, but I couldn't resist throwing that joke in somewhere. But, yeah, one bomb and this guy's slush. Point Value: 600 points Special Abilities: Creeping Ice (It can generate and launch ice balls with a speed of 1. The ice balls behave just like Phyre's fires. When an ice ball touches a bomb, the bomb will instantly explode, and its firepower will be reduced to 1. Otherwise, the ice ball continues rolling in a straight line until it hits a wall or is caught in a bomb blast. (And, yes, you'll be hurt if you touch it.)) Movement Patterns: Random Notes: It's basically an upgraded Phyre. Ice ball-detonated bombs aren't much of a threat to you, but they aren't very likely to kill any enemies, either. Name: Snow Golem Description: A white Golem. Well, actually, it looks vaguely like a Yeti. Location: Areas 7-1, 7-2, 7-3, 7-4, 7-5, 7-6, 7-7, 7-8, & 7-9 Speed: 5 (It even takes it about one and a half seconds to punch a bomb!!! Other than that, it's surprisingly quick.) Durability: It melts with just one bomb. Point Value: 1500 points Special Abilities: Bomb Punch Movement Patterns: It just wanders around aimlessly. Notes: It's a bit faster than the original Golem, but that's about all. Name: Metalloid Description: A small metal orb that floats in the air. It bears a creepy red robotic eye. Location: Areas 7-1, 7-3, 7-5, 7-6, 7-7, 7-8, & 7-9 Speed: 6 (It moves somewhat quickly.) Durability: One bomb scraps it. Point Value: 800 points Special Abilities: None Movement Patterns: Random Notes: Metalloids ALWAYS travel in packs. This means that it may be a good idea to try to catch the whole gang in a chain blast. Name: Baum Mk II (a.k.a Mechabomb or Bakudan) Description: It LOOKS just like Baum, but it's a lot more menacing!!!! Location: Areas 8-1, 8-2, 8-3, 8-4, 8-5, 8-6, 8-7, 8-8, & 8-9 Speed: 4 (It can move pretty quickly) Durability: THIS incarnation of Baum takes 2 successful hits to defeat!!!! Point Value: 1000 points Special Abilities: Bomb Transformation (Unlike the normal Baum, Baum Mk. II becomes a Pierce Bomb!!! Watch out!!!! Its range is now 4 squares.) Movement Patterns: It moves about randomly, becoming a bomb every so often. Notes: It's a beefed up Baum. A hint for all enemies capable of transforming into bombs; once they do so, they can be kicked, punched, and walked through just like your bombs (assuming you have the appropriate power-ups.) If you punch such an enemy out of the stage while it's in its bomb form, it will vanish, effectively defeating it. You won't score any points for this trick, and it's kind of risky, but it's also pretty fun to pull off!!! Name: Flame Golem Description: A red Golem. Its appearance is more humanlike than the other two before it; it seems to be made of magma rather than stone. Location: Areas 8-1, 8-2, 8-3 8-4, 8-5, 8-6, 8-7, 8-8, & 8-9 Speed: 3 (It's faster than the original Golem, but not as fast as the Snow Golem.) Durability: 1 (Like its predecessors, the Flame Golem is deceptively fragile. One bomb reduces it to a lifeless puddle.) Point Value: 1000 points Special Abilities: Flame Whip (It can emit a whip of flames and swing it in a circle around itself. The whip will hurt you if it hits you, and it will also set off any bombs in its way.)
Movement Patterns: Back and forth like the other Golems
Notes: The third and final member of the Golem family, it has a different
special move than the other two.  Watch out for it, because it can kill you
even if you're just right around the corner!!!!

Name: Panic Baum
Description: An orange floating bomb.  It's normally pretty calm, but bomb it
once and it goes bonkers!!!!!!  (Seriously, its appearance changes from a bomb
to a skull... it's actually mildly unnerving.)
Location: Areas 8-1, 8-2, 8-3, 8-4, 8-6, 8-7, 8-8, & 8-9
Speed: 4 while calm, 6 while panicking
Durability: 1 bomb blast makes this guy panic; a second will kill it.
Point Value: 500 points
Special Abilities: None
Movement Patterns: Back and forth
Notes: It may be a member of the Baum family, but it lacks the Bomb
Transformation ability.  However, like Ewe-Eff-Oh, this guy takes two hits to
kill, and its appearance will be changed by the first hit; furthermore, once
it's been bombed once, it will speed up, making it more difficult to bomb it
again.  (And now that I think about it, weren't these guys on Zaurus Star in
the original Bomberman Max?  ...Maybe I was mistaken.)

Name: Shield Knight (a.k.a. Yoroisu)
Description: A big floating knight with a bigger lance and an even bigger
shield.
Location: Areas 9-1, 9-3, 9-4, 9-5, 9-6, 9-7, 9-8, & 9-9
Speed: 5 (6 when charging normally, 7 when charging after a successful block)
Durability: It takes 4 bomb blasts to defeat this knight!!!!
Point Value: 4000 points
Special Abilities: Shield
Movement Patterns: Back and forth; it may charge if it spots you.  It will not
block preemptively; it raises its shield at the moment your bomb explodes,
instantly blocking it.  After blocking a bomb, it will ALWAYS charge, even if
you're nowhere in sight.  He likes to make right-angle turns to pounce on you
when you least expect it.
Notes: You can't get this guy from the front unless he decides to charge at
you (you'll know that he's doing this because he speeds up a bit, extends his
lance, and holds his shield directly in front of him.)  At any other time, if
you put a bomb in front of him, he'll raise his shield and block it.  Bomb him
from the side or behind.

Name: Queen Baum (a.k.a. Bakudan 5)
Description: A large grinning bomb with a bunch of tiny bombs (I think about
5) trailing behind it.
Location: Areas 9-1, 9-2, 9-3, 9-4, 9-5, 9-6, 9-8, & 9-9
Speed: 8 (Yow!!!! Breakneck speed!!!!)
Durability: Get them all at once, and 1 bomb does the job.  Hit a baby, and
you need 2 bombs to kill each of them.  In other words, GO FOR THE QUEEN!!!
(Actually, if you hit the queen first, she and her babies all instantly die,
regardless of whether or not you got any babies along with her.)
Point Value: Each of them is worth 800 points.
Special Abilities: None
Movement Patterns: Random; if a baby is bombed, they all scatter
Notes: Like the Metalloid, this thing is a huge opportunity for chain-blast
bonus points.  Unlike the Metalloid, the Queen Baum really IS a singular
entity - its babies can't exist without it, unless you bomb a baby first.  If
she dies, they die (unless you bomb a baby first.)  If you bomb a baby before
hitting the queen, they all scatter and become a LOT more difficult to deal
with (read: it's tough to avoid being run over.)  Make sure to get them all at
once, or you'll be losing a LOT of points!!!

Name: Rookie
Description: A red castle tower - in other words, a rook.  Ya know, as in, a
chess piece.
Location: Areas 9-1, 9-2, 9-3, 9-4, 9-6, 9-7, & 9-8
Speed: 3
Durability: One bomb is sufficient to send it crumbling to the ground.
Point Value: 600 points
Special Abilities: Block Production (It can make soft blocks.)
Movement Patterns: Random; it likes to box itself in, and has a penchant for
making soft blocks between itself and you.  It also doubles back quite a bit.
Notes: Be quick about getting rid of soft blocks in World 9, because Rookie
can make more!!!!!  Let it run wild, and you might not be able to!!

Name: Maus Baum
Description: A walking mouse-eared bomb.  (You could also say it's a RAT bomb,
but I went with a mouse just for the sake of my horrible faked German accent.)
Location: Areas 10-1, 10-2, 10-3, 10-4, 10-5, 10-6, 10-7, & 10-8
Speed: 5
Durability: One bomb blast kills it, but it still has a trick up its sleeve...
Point Value: 800 points
Special Abilities: Last Blast (Once defeated, it transforms into a bomb with
firepower 2.  It vanishes upon exploding.)
Movement Patterns: Random
Notes: Maus Baum isn't a very powerful opponent; however, it's still a threat
for a few moments after it's defeated.  Just don't get too close to it, and
you'll be fine.

Name: King Baum
Description: A giant bomb wearing a crown.
Location: Areas 10-1, 10-2, 10-4, 10-6, & 10-7
Speed: 5
Durability: It takes 3 bomb blasts to defeat this monster.  As with its
predecessors, you can only score a hit while it's roving or transforming; if
you bomb it while it's in its explosive form, you'll set it off without
injuring it.  It's invincible while transforming from explosive form to roving
form, but not the other way around.
Point Value: 4000 points
Special Abilities: Bomb Transformation (The King Baum turns into a Super
Dangerous Bomb (the sort that is created when two bombs are kicked into
each other during Battle Mode.)  Its transformation time is a bit longer than
its predecessors, and it takes a while to explode, but when it does, watch
out!!!  It'll leap over hard blocks and punch through any soft blocks in its
way.  Thankfully, the explosion will only spread through a 5-by-5 area.)
Movement Patterns: It moves randomly, becoming a bomb every so often.
Notes: If you hit the King Baum while it's transforming, you'll cancel the
transformation, even if you don't actually finish it off.  This is true of the
Baum Mk II as well, but the timing is a little trickier.

Name: Rockitt (a.k.a. Missile Man)
Description: A semi-anthropomorphic rocket.
Location: Areas 10-1, 10-2, 10-3, 10-4, 10-7, 10-8, & 10-9
Speed: 7
Durability: 1 bomb blast kills it, but it isn't actually dead until it's
blasted off.
Point Value: 800 points
Special Abilities: Dying Dive (After being hit, the Rockitt flies up into the
air.  About a second later, a shadow appears above your position, and four
seconds after that, the Rockitt comes crashing down.  You can easily evade
this by simply moving away as soon as the shadow appears; in fact, you have
PLENTY of time to react, as it takes about seven seconds in all for the 
Rockitt to actually hit you (or eight if you include the blast-off time.)
It's not much of a threat, but you can't afford to ignore it.)
Movement Patterns: Random
Notes: I think these guys are from the Battle Star level in Bomberman Max, but
I'm not sure... regardless, I KNOW I've seen them before.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

6a: Bosses

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

These are your toughest opponents.  You must face one at the end of each 
world, in a battle that spans both screens.  That means that you can't use 
items mid-battle, so what you enter with is what you've got.  Don't expect 
that you can just keep feeding yourself Hearts while absorbing blows.  One 
strike and you're out.  It takes several bomb blasts to kill the bosses, but 
you have unlimited time to work with, so don't worry about the Orbits ruining
your boss-bashing rhythm (not like there's an exit for them to come out of.)
But, anyways, here are the bosses!!!!!  The strategies are all copy-pasted
from the walkthrough, so you can just use Ctrl+F to get down there.

WORLD 1: Mecha Flower

This is the first boss, so it isn't too bad. (World 2 is a whole other ball
game - or, should I say, BOMB game.)  When the battle begins, this thing will
hover over the battlefield in a coat of junk.  After establishing its presence
on the upper screen, it will shed some of its armor in two pieces, which will 
drift to the ground to form mini Mecha Flowers, which die in one hit and are
worth 200 points apiece.  The babies move fairly quickly (about 4 speed,) but 
they aren't even remotely threatening unless you're an idiot.  Also, the big 
guy can't hurt you while it's in midair.  When you blow the babies up, the
Metal Flower will drop two more.  Kill them, and it will move to the center of
the upper screen, then send a third wave of its babies at you, while 
simultaneously floating to the ground to confront you personally.  Now you 
can get it.  It moves slowly and will hurl shurikens down the screen at you,
or spin them around itself and toss them in the four cardinal directions (up, 
down, left, and right.)  The shurikens don't move very fast, so it's easy to 
get out of their way.  Bomb the Metal Flower from any direction at any time.  
The shurikens are simple to dodge if you keep a fair distance between yourself
and the boss.  4 bomb blasts will make the Metal Flower turn red, at which
point it speeds up considerably - but one more bomb blast will turn it into a
glowing pile of harmless, worthless scrap metal.  So, that's 5 bomb blasts in
all.  Killing the Metal Flower earns you a nice 2000 points.  Make sure to
pick up the cornucopia of items when you're finished pulling this weed.

WORLD 2: Necron Statue

Oh, boy.  OH, BOY.  This guy is a real pain in the butt.  If you are not
prepared, then prepare to die.  As the battle starts, you will be on the lower
screen, separated from 6 disembodied hands by 2 rows of soft blocks.  
Comforting as your safety may be, you need to charge into battle.  Each hand
is worth 200 points, and it takes only one bomb blast to kill them.  They move
slowly (2 speed), but they can charge up spheres of energy in their palms and
toss them forward.  The energy spheres move even more slowly than the hands,
but they are deadly to the touch, and if they make contact with a bomb, both
sphere and bomb will vanish into thin air!!!!!  Spooky!!!  Blow up the soft 
blocks and kill all 6 hands, and the doors to the upper screen will open.
Summon your courage and cross the border.  Once in the upper screen, the doors
will close behind you, hard blocks will flood the lower screen, and the 
ghastly Necron Statue will rise from the ground, summoning his hands to do
battle!!!!  The Necron Statue itself cannot hurt you unless you are idiotic
enough to walk right into it, but as long as it is alive, hands will emerge
from the ground every few seconds to hunt you down.  The hands aren't all that
dangerous by themselves - the challenge comes from the fact that there are so
many of them, AND the Necron Statue will be sitting in the middle of the 
screen, AND you're restricted to a 9-by-15 space - no, LESS than that - for
the purpose of maneuvering.  To end this nightmare, you must bomb the Necron
Statue's eyes (or orbs - they look like eyes to me, though).  It has 3 eyes,
but you will only be able to do damage by blasting the eye with a sickening
red hue.  If you can blast the red eyes four times without being manhandled or
vaporized (or running up to hug the dang thing by mistake,) the Necron Statue
will turn red.  One more bomb blast to a red eye will finish it off, and it
will sink into the ground, never to bother you again... oh, no, wait, it WILL
bother you again...  But we'll cross that bridge when we come to it.  Enjoy
the 2000 points you earn for killing the Necron Statue (hands not included,)
and grab the items before you're whisked away.

Fun fact: this guy is nigh-identical to Baal-El from Bomberman '94.

WORLD 3: Killer Krab

As the battle begins, you'll be on the lower screen, and the boss will drop 
down to the upper screen with an earth-shaking thud!!!  (In fact, it lands so
hard, it bounces up for ANOTHER booming impact!!!!!)  It then flashes its
beady green eyes at you, and the skirmish is underway!!!!  As long as you are
below the Killer Krab, it can attack you by launching its claws at you.  It
can also defuse bombs by grabbing them with its claws and defusing them
within, sustaining no injury.  Therefore, you're best off attacking the Boss
from behind or to its side.  The Boss can also lunge from one screen to the
other, and if you value your life, you'd better not be in its way!!!!!  It may
LOOK like there's no way from one screen to the other, but that solid "wall"
in your way is really just overhead rigging.  You can enter or exit it at any
point, and move about freely under there (like in the Inferno Battle stage.)
The only problem is that you can't see where you are or where you're going.
While you are behind the Boss, it can only attack you by launching bubbles at
you.  These bubbles can not harm you; instead, they make you dizzy and unable
to move for about a second.  (Oh, I'm so scared, somebody hold me.  All right,
sarcastic comment finished.)  It can also use that attack while you are below
it.  In fact, it can launch them in any direction, so beware!!!!  The Boss 
will be constantly moving, so stay alert!!  Its lunge is its trickiest attack
to avoid, but you'll know it's coming because the Killer Krab will crouch down
to build up strength.  Its eyes will turn yellow while it makes bubbles and
prepares to spit them at you.  Bomb it four times, and the Killer Krab will
flash yellow and lose its red shell.  The yellow, red-eyed, less-protected 
crab will lose its claw attack/defense, but it will be faster and smaller, 
and it can now launch bubbles in all 8 directions (yes, including diagonal 
angles!!!!)  If a bubble hits a bomb, it will stick to it and reduce its
explosion radius to 1 square - a fact that can work for or against you.  The
shell-less Killer Krab also can't lunge at you, but it will freely move 
between the two screens.  Its only real way to hurt you is to walk into you,
but as long as you evade the bubbles, the Killer Krab shouldn't be able to do
that.  Bomb it 3 times after its shell is gone to kill it off, earning you
4000 points.  Then gather up the booty that appears before the ship sinks!!!

WORLD 4: Cactus Bros.

A large caped cactus descends upon the field.  After smirking at you, it casts
the cape aside, revealing that it is actually TWO cacti - a fat one and a 
skinny one.  The Cactus Bros. are fragile, but they make up for it with the 
fact that there are two of them.  They have one sombrero between them, and 
they will pass it back and forth between them (which can hurt you.)  The 
skinny cactus can lock out the lower area - when he says "COME ON!!!", get to
the upper screen IMMEDIATELY, lest you be pummeled by a hard block and 
instantly killed.  Once the lower area is locked out, it can't be re-opened.   
So, this devastating attack can only be used once.  The skinny cactus can also
hurl 4 needles at you like the Metal Flower's shurikens, only the needles are
faster and don't telegraph themselves as openly (they just appear and get 
launched.)  The fat cactus can throw needles into the sky, so that they come
down on you like rockets, and he also has a nasty bull rush attack.  Your best
chance to hurt them is when they slack off (the fat one plays a guitar, 
whereas the skinny one dances; either one can yell "COME ON!!!", but this only
has in-fight consequences the first time the skinny one does it.)  Each Cactus
Brother only takes three hits to kill, so hit them with everything you've got.
They are worth 2000 points each.  After beating down both bosses, grab the
items (you don't have to worry about the left-behind sombrero) and leave this
scorched land behind you!!!!!!

WORLD 5: Lrucada

As the battle against Lrucada begins, notice that there are NO tunnels
between the two screens.  However, you should also notice the swarm of bats
flying in, because that happens to be the boss.  Once Lrucada forms and starts
floating around the upper screen, runes will appear on the corners of the
bottom screen.  They can be used to get from one screen to the other - just
step on one, and you will teleport to the other screen!!!  However, if you
equipped Power Gloves beforehand, you can actually throw bombs across the
border and nail Lrucada from relative safety.  Lrucada won't just sit back and
wait for you to bring the fight to him, though.  He can generate three Battys
and send them soaring at you in spreadshot formation.  They work like 
projectiles rather than enemies, though; you can't kill them, and they can go
right through hard blocks, but they will immediately die upon reaching the
edge of the screen.  Lrucada can also summon Dorios to pester you while you
linger on the other screen.  Unlike normal Dorios, these guys are only worth
200 points, like other Boss-spawned enemies.  They will also chase you
relentlessly, and die after a preset period of time even if you don't bomb
them (but you'll score no points.)  Once you score a hit on Lrucada, he breaks
up into bats, flies to the other screen, and reforms.  If he moved to your
side of the screen, your runes will vanish (if you used a rune to teleport,
that would also get rid of them); either way, the runes will reappear on the
other screen.  Lrucada does this every time you bomb him.  He has one more
attack, in which he throws what looks like spiky snowflakes at you in a 5-way
spread.  Continue teleporting or throwing bombs and attacking the boss; he'll
summon Dorios no matter which side of the screen you're on.  Like the Killer
Krab, Lrucada will keep moving unless he's launching an attack (and, no, the
Dorios don't count.)  When he's one bomb away from being defeated, he'll
start throwing this attack in all directions, rather than just straight up
and down the screen - he'll even throw the snowflakes diagonally.  So be
careful!  It takes 10 bombs in all to defeat him (at which point he'll break
up into bats and disperse... Coward!!!!!!!)  You'll earn 6000 points upon
Lrucada's defeat.  Grab the items and get outta the graveyard!!!

WORLD 6: Giant Flower

As the battle begins, note the cluster of leaves floating onto the upper
screen.  Didn't we already see something like this?  Yep... four leaves
drop onto the ground and become Floras, while the leaf cluster (now with a
bud showing underneath) continues floating around.  You'll have to kill all
four Floras to get the Boss to shed four more leaves.  As the second wave of
Floras hits the ground, notice the closed flower beneath the leaf cluster.
When the second group of Floras is dead, the hovering boss moves to the center
of the upper screen and touches down, unleashing one last wave of Floras while
it completely sheds its leafy armor and confronts you head-on.  The Boss
opens to reveal its identity as a giant pink flower.  Its attacks are very
much like those of the Metal Flower which imitated it, but it attacks with
floral disks rather than shurikens.  It can fire more projectiles than the
Metal Flower could, and it can even fire disks in a five-abreast pattern that
you can only evade by getting COMPLETELY out of the way.  As with the Metal
Flower, it takes five hits to kill this thing.  Watch out when it turns red,
as it will not only be able to move faster, but it will also step up its 
attacks - it will be able to spin EIGHT disks around itself and release them
in an asterisk pattern!!!  Wilting this weed will earn you 4000 points and
a small treasure trove of items.  Now the evil can be purged from this forest
at last!!!!!!

Fun fact: this boss is Petunia from Bomberman '94, I'm sure of it.
Considering how tough Petunia was in that game, it's no wonder that it's been
bumped up from being boss #2 out of 6 to boss #6 out of 10.

WORLD 7: Nifilheim

The beginning of this battle is the same as the one before it.  Six icy hands
appear on the lower screen behind two layers of soft blocks, and you must kill
them all before you can move to the upper screen.  Once you make it up there,
Nifilheim will arise from the ground, staring at you with his beady red eyes.
Like the Necron Statue before him, Nifilheim cannot attack you directly; he
must rely on his hands to bring you to his dominion (his dominion, by the way,
is DEATH.)  Nifilheim is much stronger than the Necron Statue; his hands are
faster and more numerous, they use the energy balls more often, and the energy
balls move faster, too.  It will take all of your wits and skills to avoid
being put on ice - permanently.  The good news is, you can hurt Nifilheim in
the same way that you hurt the Necron Statue - bomb the red orb!!!!  4 hits
make Nifilheim red with rage, and one more bomb blast to a red orb will send
him screaming and howling back to the hellish realm from whence he came, 
earning you 6000 points.  With the Bomb Crystal and items in hand, we now
depart this winter wonderland.

WORLD 8: Sinister Scorpion

As the battle begins, the gray-shelled Sinister Scorpion crashes down to fight
you.  Its yellow eyes light up, and it scuttles to life.  You should
immediately notice that it's much faster than the Killer Krab, but its attacks
are very similar.  (So is the arena; you can freely move in the space between
the two screens!!!)  The Sinister Scorpion can try to grab you with its claw,
and this is much faster than the homologous technique of the Killer Krab; the
same move can be used to defuse your bombs.  Also like the Killer Krab, the
Sinister Scorpion can lunge from one screen to the other, and you'd better not
be in the way if you want to live!!!!  (Seriously, the thing virtually
launches itself... it REALLY moves fast!!!!)  The Sinister Scorpion can also
stun you with bubbles in the same fashion as the Killer Krab.  5 bomb blasts
will remove the Sinister Scorpion's shell, leaving it unable to claw you or
lunge; however, it becomes even faster, and its bubble attack becomes 8-
directional.  Once the Sinister Scorpion's shell is gone, 2 more bombs kill it
for good, earning you 6000 points, a plethora of items, and the eighth shard
of the Bomb Crystal!!!

WORLD 9: Aclimla

Like Lrucada, Aclimla arrives on the battlefield in the form of a flock of
bats that coalesce into a single humanoid figure.  In every way, she fights as
an upgraded Lrucada.  She moves around faster, summons more Dorios (and
summons them at a faster pace, which still isn't actively an attack,) and is
more prone to using the five-way star attack rather than the three-way Batty
wave (though her Batties fly VERY fast and can be tricky to dodge if you don't
do so in advance.)  Aclimla's Dorios also move about much faster than the ones
Lrucada summoned, and if you thought Lrucada's Dorios chased you persistently,
then you haven't seen anything yet; Aclimla's Dorios want you dead even more
badly than Orbits do!!!!  Like with Lrucada, you have to either toss bombs
from one screen to the other or use the conveniently-provided teleportation
runes to take the fight to Aclimla; in either case, striking her with a bomb
blast causes her to break up into a swarm of bats and fly to the other screen
before reforming.  Aclimla has the additional ability of making Batties occupy
several adjacent rows and making them fly across the screen, pushing any bombs
in their way a bit and forcing you to dash out of the way FAST or squeeze
into a gap - if you pick the latter option, Aclimla will usually crash right
into you, bringing about your demise.  She will typically use this attack when
you are both on the same screen and you are positioned below her, though she
may also use it to push bombs away from herself.  To top it all off, instead
of moving around randomly like Lrucada, Aclimla will usually chase you down -
and since she can move right THROUGH hard blocks and will be summoning Dorios
whenever she isn't in bat form, it will take some seriously fleet feet to stay
out of her way!!!!  It takes 10 bomb blasts to put this vampiress to rest, 
earning you 4000 points (WHAT?!?  What a gyp!!!!!) for sending her back to her
coffin.  Do try to grab the items before you go.

WORLD 10: Master Monster

Bomberman has finally made it to the summit of the Crystal Mountain.  There is
only one more task to complete - restoring the Bomb Crystal!!!  Before you can
do that, though, the holder of the final shard - the Master Monster -
confronts you with the goal of terminating your quest - indeed, your very
EXISTENCE - and clutching evil's victory from the jaws of defeat.  As this
Claydol look-alike levitates onto the screen, notice that there are NO tunnels
between the upper and lower screen.  Just like with Lrucada and Aclimla, you
will have to use teleportation runes to get from one screen to the other.
While you try to get onto the upper screen in a location that WON'T get you
steamrolled upon your arrival, the champion of darkness will fire its fists at
you in an attempt to punch your lights out.    (Yes, unlike the Pokemon it
resembles, the Master Monster actually HAS HANDS.) When the Master Monster
stops moving and revs up its fist until steam starts billowing out around it,
get ready to RUN!!!!!  The fists move fast, will be aimed with pinpoint
accuracy, and can actually home in on your position a little bit (though more
often they tend to straighten out and blast down your lane,) so you will have
to move fast in order to avoid getting clocked.  (If you duck into an upper 
(or lower) corner to dodge the punch, you will have to stay put for a while -
I don't know if the Master Monster's hands can hit you on the reset, but I'm
not about to find out the hard way!!!!)  Once you get to the same screen as
the Master Monster, you will have to contend with its fearsome speed and large
size (though, thankfully, it isn't quite as big as it APPEARS to be.)  When
the Master Monster extends its arms and meditates for a second, look out - it
is actually preparing to fire missiles at you!!!!!!!  Missiles will appear
to the left and right of the Master Monster and fly straight up or down the
screen, forcing you to get between them or get out of the way.  And since the
missiles travel three abreast, when I say "get between them", I mean 
positioning yourself between the two SETS of missiles - right in front of the
Master Monster.  For reasons relating to your health, it's probably better to
just get out of the way altogether.  Thankfully, the Master Monster can't
fire its missiles towards you if you're standing to the left or right of it.
When you score a hit on the Master Monster, the villain will retreat to the
other screen to repeat the cycle again.  This time, it will probably use its
missiles to bother you - it seems to prefer its missiles when you're above it
and its fists when you're below it.  Use the teleportation runes to chase it
down again.  The Master Monster can use its fists to engulf and neutralize
bombs just like the Killer Krab and Sinister Scorpion, so it's tougher to
score a hit from below.  When you've scored 5 hits on the Master Monster, its
spiky rotating bottom - which, by the way, seems to be more akin to clothing
than an actual part of the beast - will crack, glow red, and crumble, 
revealing the Master Monster's red underbelly.  The removal of this seal
allows the Goliath to your David to utilize a couple of new moves.  It can
adopt a meditative pose similar to that before its missile attack, then
spread its arms, open its chest, and instead send a 3-space-wide laser beam of
brilliant, water-like energy to flow straight ahead of it, surging down the
screen to incinerate you.  This move is simple to dodge, but it will set off
any bombs in its way.  The Master Monster also gains the power to send its
entire arm out to the side, where it becomes a devastating ray emitter that
sends an electric ray ebbing across an entire half of the screen it's on -
which will always be right AT you, since the Master Monster typically uses the
move when it and you are on the same screen.  The only way to dodge this is to
run behind the arm, to the other side of the screen (that would be left-right,
not up-down.  The failure to make this distinction could get you killed.)  The
ray and arm combined extend to a maximum of 10 squares, so you MIGHT be safe
if you stay all the way on the side of the screen, though if the Master
Monster is using this attack at that sort of range, it probably means that you
were already heading from one side of the screen to the other.  Like the
energy surge, the electric ray can set off any and all bombs in its path.
Once you've sent the Master Monster back to the lower screen, at a suboptimal
orientation to PHIRE ITS LAZARS, it may actually send its arm all the way to
your position to try the electric-ray attack from long range.  So make sure
that you teleport quickly.  The Master Monster also retains its missile
attack, but it will now fire them in two sets of FIVE abreast, giving you
precious little space to evade it.  Hit the Master Monster again and send it
back to the upper screen, and it will continue using the long-range electric
ray, only this time, it'll move even MORE quickly.  If you can't move fast
yourself, you're toast.  Even so, your best chance to hit the Monster Master
is to goad it into using the electric ray or the laser, then bomb it while
it's motionless.  Hit the Master Monster one more time - that's eight hits in
all, three after the breaking of the seal - and the champion of light (that
would be you) will triumph over the champion of darkness, earning 10,000 
points (not that it matters now.)  The ground will rumble and shake, and the
Master Monster, defeated, will shut down like a virus-addled computer.  You
did it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  The world is saved!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

==============================================================================

7: Walkthrough

==============================================================================

Ah, the Normal Game.  In this mode, your aim is to travel up the Crystal
Mountain and repair the Bomb Crystal which mysteriously shattered, by blowing
up all the monsters in the 100 Areas spread across 10 Worlds.  It's gonna be a
long journey, but, hey, at least we don't have to put up with those blasted
Hige Hige Bandits for the umpteenth time.  Actually, it doesn't seem that 
anyone's behind the mess (damn, I was hoping that I'd get to fight Bagular 
again.)  The Bomb Crystal just... went boom, and all of a sudden the land was
like "OH, SHICK!!!!!!!  EVERYTHING IS GONNA DIE!!!!  NOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!"  Hey,
what would you expect when the land is protected by a BOMB Crystal?!?  It's
going to blow up sooner or later!!!!!  Anyways, it's up to Bomberman to set
things right.  And I'm blabbing way too much.  Let's begin, before I talk your
ears off.

P.S.: I'm also working on an ASCII map for each Area, which I have contained
in a separate file.  Once I have successfully submitted it to GameFAQs, and it
is up on the site, I will put a URL for it here.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

7*: Starting the Normal Game

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

*sigh*  I REALLY shouldn't have to tell you about this. What do you think the
instruction manual's for?!?!?  Anyways... upon selecting "Normal [Game]" from
the menu, you will see three boxes in the top screen - green in the left,
orange at the middle, and blue on the right.  These contain the following
information, starting from top to bottom - File letter, user name, Area,
clear %, and time.  The file letter is the ID used to identify the file.  The
user name is that of the DS system you used to start the file.  The Area is
the Area you're in after your last save (the game saves automatically after
every Bonus stage and Boss Stage.)  The Clear Percentage is how much of the
game you've cleared.  Each Area is worth 1% (except for the Bonus stages,
which are just extras,) so this will go up in incriments of 5%.  Time is how
much time you've spent in that file (by the time you're near the end of the
game, it should be about 3 hours.)  On the bottom screen, there are three
boxes which correspond to the top-screen boxes; touch or select them to begin
playing in that file.  In the bottom-left corner, there is a trash can - you
can use the touch screen to drag a file into there if you want to delete it.
In the bottom-right, if you have Quick Save data, there will be a box labeled
"Resume".  Touch or select it to start from your Quick Save data, which can be
from anywhere in the game.  You can only have one Quick Save in the game's
memory at a time, and it self-deletes once you load it.  So don't think that
you can just restart a stage endlessly if things go awry!!!!!  When you select
a file (or Quick Save) and confirm your choice, the game will ask if you 
REALLY want to play that game.  Select "Yes" to start the journey!!!!  ...Like
I said, I REALLY didn't have to explain that... I hope...

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

7a: World 1 (Bomber Base)

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Obviously, our adventure begins at the Bomber Base.  This world is probably a 
throwback to the original Bomberman, in which Bomberman was a bomb-making 
robot trying to escape the drudgery of his job at the factory and earn a wish,
which he used to make himself and all the other Bombermen into human beings.
But, yeah, this is really kinda like a factory.  You'll see what I mean in the
later areas, when the construction-themed foes rear their ugly heads.  Honest
to God, it is a BLATANT reference to the original Bomberman.  But, anyways, 
this is the first world, so it's also the simplest.  And I really need to 
learn when to shut up.  AHEM.  Let's get going.

Area 1-1

Enemies: Barom x3
Time Limit: 3:00
Items: Bomb Up x1, Speed Up x1, Fire Up x2

Meh, this level is simple.  The map is small and basic - 9 by 15 - with the 
hard blocks in the usual places.  The only enemies you have to deal with here 
are a trio of Baroms.  And Baroms are absolutely PATHETIC.  Honestly.  You may
be underpowered (for now,) but you'll still have no problems, unless you 
somehow sic an Orbit on yourself.  Seriously, DON'T BOMB THE EXIT UNLESS YOU 
CONSIDER DYING TO BE FUN.  You have been warned.  (Don't expect me to count up
all the items available in all levels.  And my enemy count might be off a bit.
But I will do my best to let you know what to expect.)

Area 1-2

Enemies: Barom x3
Time Limit: 3:00
Items: Bomb Up x2, Fire Up x1, Speed Up x1, Clock x1

YAWN.  It's just Area 1-1 with more soft blocks.  Pop the Baroms and move on.
By the way, the Item count of each level may be semi-random.  If so, I 
shouldn't bother counting them... but I will, because it will serve as a 
general indicator of what you might find.

Area 1-3

Enemies: Barom x2, Barrol x1
Time Limit: 3:00
Items: Glasses x1, Bomb Kick x1, Fire Up x1, Speed Up x1, Bomb Up x1, Heart x1

NOW we're getting somewhere.  This level introduces you to the menace of 
Barrol.  Just kidding, he's a joke.  The stage is the same size as before. 
Blow everything up and move on, before the Orbits can arrive and ruin your day
by ending your life.

Area 1-4

Enemies: Barom x1, Blobby x1, Ewe-Eff-Oh x1
Time Limit: 3:00
Items: Bomb Up x1, Speed Up x1, Fire Up x2, Pierce Bomb x1, Shield x1

Whoo!  It's the same stage with two new faces!!!  Blobby can pass through soft
blocks, just like the menacing Orbit.  Unlike Orbit, Blobby is slow and 
stupid.  So don't worry about him.  As for Ewe-Eff-Oh, he's the sturdiest 
monster you've faced so far.  He can withstand one bomb blast without 
suffering anything worse than a few cracks, but a second explosion will put 
him away.

Area 1-5

Enemies: Barrol x1, Blobby x1, Ewe-Eff-Oh x1
Time Limit: 3:00
Items: Fire Up x1, Speed-Up x 1, Bomb-Up x 2, Pass-Through Wall x1, Bomb Kick
x1

By the time this stage is over, you will want to be powered up as much as you
can be.  Why?  Because the Bonus Stage is coming up!!!  You won't be able to
use any items in the preparation screen for the Bonus Stage, so get everything
in order before going down the exit chute.  Oh, yeah, and it's shaped just 
like the previous stage.  (By the way, if you haven't died at all yet, you 
should have 8 bombs, 6 speed, and 8 fire.  That means you can take on Orbit 
and still have a reasonable chance of coming out alive.  This will be good in
the Bonus Stage.)

Bonus

Enemies: Lots of Orbits
Time Limit: 0:30
Items: Too many to count in too little time

This is the first bonus stage, but they all work the same way.  You have to
begin by destroying all the Orbits, but don't worry - you're invincible during
the bonus round (which is good, because otherwise you'd be dead within 5
seconds, tops.)  Once all the Orbits are dead, you can go to the upper screen
to gather the smorgasboard of items.  Hurry up before time is out!!!!  My 
usual strategy is to begin by laying bombs in a network of adjacent junctions,
creating a maelstrom of fire that the Orbits are bound to crash into.  Then,
while within the explosion, I keep setting bombs, surrounding myself in a 
cross of fire that smites anything within range.  Of course, I stop when the
doors to the upper screen open up.  You can only get away with this when 
you're invincible, so enjoy it while you can!!!  All Bonus Stages have one 
extra life stashed away somewhere, so make sure to grab it if you've been 
blasting yourself more often than the monsters.

Area 1-6

Enemies: Barrol x3, Blobby x1, Uhnyun x1
Time Limit: 3:30
Items: Clock x1, Bomb Up x2, Power Glove x1, Fire Up x2, Bomb Kick x1, Speed 
Up x1

This stage is a little bigger - 9 by 21.  That means more enemies and more 
items.  It also has a more complex arrangement of hard blocks; there are a few
solid walls to watch out for.  By the time this is over, you should have your
first point-derived extra life!!!! Oh, and by the way... DO A BARROL ROLL!!!!
*is maimed brutally*  ...That was worth it.  This is where the items become a
little unpredictable.  Seriously, this is the item set I got on my third time
through the level.  You may find some different stuff.

Area 1-7

Enemies: Uhnyun x2, Barrol x1, Blobby x1
Time Limit: 3:30
Items: Bomb Up x2, Speed Up x1, Fire Up x2, Power Up x1, 1-Up x1, Bomb Walk 
x1, Glasses x1

This stage is as big as the previous one, without the awkward hard block 
walls.  Notice how few Speed-Ups you have.  For some reason, they're a bit 
more uncommon than Bomb-Ups, which aren't as common as Fire-Ups... what's up
with that?!?  -_-;  Oh, and items get more random here.  In addition to the
above list, I've also seen a Bomb Punch in here.

Area 1-8

Enemies: Ewe-Eff-Oh x2, Blobby x1, DozerBull x1
Time Limit: 4:00
Items: Shield x1, Fire Suit x1, Fire Up x2, Speed Up x2, Bomb Up x1, Line Bomb
x1, Landmine x1

This stage is oriented like 1-7, but the enemies are all-new.  This is where
the mechanized enemies I was talking about first show up.  The DozerBulls can
throw your bombs away, but that isn't a very effective defense, especially
compared to what some later foes can do.  Still, this is your first taste of 
an enemy that will try to mess with your bombs.  Watch out for them.

Area 1-9

Enemies: Blobby x2, Uhnyun x 1, DozerBull x1
Time Limit: 4:00
Items: Speed Up x2, Fire Up x2, Bomb Up x2, Remote Control x1, Bomb Punch x1,
Meta-Wall x1, Glasses x1, Dangerous Bomb x1

This is it, the last level before the first Boss!!!  In later worlds, you'll
notice that most enemies come and go, but there is a fairly regular "cast" of
hooligans you'll meet time and time again.  Blobby and Uhnyun are among these
repeat offenders.  Indeed, all the enemies that appear in the original
Bomberman, with the exception of Barom, are EXTREMELY ubiquitous in this game.
Unlike most levels in this position, you have plenty of time and are NOT 
swamped by soft blocks.  So don't go crazy with the items.  Oh, and have fun 
navigating the maze of hard blocks.  Trust me, the level layouts get more 
complex from here on out, though unlike in some other Bomberman games 
*coughBombermanMaxcough*, they never get confusing.  Now, if only there was a
"jump" item...

Area 1 Boss Stage

Enemy: Metal Flower
Time Limit: Infinite (until you beat the boss, that is; then you have 10 
seconds to grab a bunch of items that pop up from out of thin air, which will
happen in all boss stages except for the last one)
Items: There isn't enough time to count them!!!!!

Here we are, the first boss stage.  Our opponent here is the Metal Flower.
Don't worry, it's a joke, especially if you try to compare it to the Oodrey
from Bomberman Max 2.  But I'm getting ahead of myself.  So, as for 
strategy...

This is the first boss, so it isn't too bad. (World 2 is a whole other ball
game - or, should I say, BOMB game.)  When the battle begins, this thing will
hover over the battlefield in a coat of junk.  After establishing its presence
on the upper screen, it will shed some of its armor in two pieces, which will 
drift to the ground to form mini Mecha Flowers, which die in one hit and are
worth 200 points apiece.  The babies move fairly quickly (about 4 speed,) but 
they aren't even remotely threatening unless you're an idiot.  Also, the big 
guy can't hurt you while it's in midair.  When you blow the babies up, the
Metal Flower will drop two more.  Kill them, and it will move to the center of
the upper screen, then send a third wave of its babies at you, while 
simultaneously floating to the ground to confront you personally.  Now you 
can get it.  It moves slowly and will hurl shurikens down the screen at you,
or spin them around itself and toss them in the four cardinal directions (up, 
down, left, and right.)  The shurikens don't move very fast, so it's easy to 
get out of their way.  Bomb the Metal Flower from any direction at any time.  
The shurikens are simple to dodge if you keep a fair distance between yourself
and the boss.  4 bomb blasts will make the Metal Flower turn red, at which
point it speeds up considerably - but one more bomb blast will turn it into a
glowing pile of harmless, worthless scrap metal.  So, that's 5 bomb blasts in
all.  Killing the Metal Flower earns you a nice 2000 points.  Make sure to
pick up the cornucopia of items when you're finished pulling this weed.

That's it!!!  The shard of the Bomb Crystal flies up into the sky, and the
Bomber Base is restored to its former glory!!!!!  One world down, nine to 
go!!!!!

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

7b: World 2 (Bomber Ruins)

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

All right!!!!  Here we are, the second world!!!!!  This zone is similar to the
Bomber Base on the outside, but it's totally different within!!!  This is 
where you should first notice that a lot of enemies will be exclusive to one
world.  The Ewe-Eff-Ohs, Baroms, and DozerBulls are totally gone, replaced by
Golems, Whisps, and Phyres (dang, those names aren't very good.)  You've still
got a long way to go, so let's get cracking!!!!!

Area 2-1

Enemies: Blobby x2, Barrol x2
Time Limit: 3:00
Items: Glasses x1, Meta-Wall x1, Fire-Up x2, Bomb Up x3, Speed Up x2, Line 
Bomb x1, Pierce Bomb x1, Power Bomb x1

This stage is 19 squares from left to right; all stages are 9 squares from top
to bottom, in case you were wondering.  Furthermore, the items have become
somewhat predictable again.  There are no new enemies here, so get acquainted 
with your new environment and don't let the Orbits out!!!

Area 2-2

Enemies: Blobby x1, Barrol x2, Golem x1
Time Limit: 3:00
Items: Fire Up x2 Speed Up x1, Bomb Up x2, Remote Control x1, Meta-Bomb x1,
Bomb Kick x1

Hey, a new enemy!!!  This stage introduces the Golem, who is capable of 
punching bombs.  It moves slowly, though, and it isn't as durable as it looks,
so it isn't much of a threat.  You have plenty of time to clear this stage,
but don't dawdle!!!  (Oh, and you just might have your second score-based 1-Up
by the end of this stage!!!!)

Area 2-3

Enemies: Blobby x1, Uhnyun x2, Golem x1
Time Limit: 3:00
Items: Glasses x1, Fire Up x2, Speed Up x1, Bomb Up x1, Fire Suit x1, Pierce
Bomb x1, Bomb Punch x1, Clock x1

It's just 2-2, except that the Barrols have been replaced by Uhnyuns.  YAWN.

Area 2-4

Enemies: Blobby x1, Uhnyun x1, Golem x2
Time Limit: 3:00
Items: Bomb Up x1, Clock x1, Fire Suit x1, Speed Up x2, Fire Up x1, Power
Glove x1

...They swapped out an Uhnyun for a Golem.  How lazy can they get?!?

Area 2-5

Enemies: Blobby x3
Time Limit: 1:30
Items: Full Fire x1, Pierce Bomb x1, Speed Up x2, Power Bomb x1, Bomb Up x2,
Fire Suit x1, Clock x1, Fire Suit x1

This stage is small - 9 by 15 - but it's PACKED with soft blocks, and you have
VERY little time.  I highly recommend that you use Pierce Bombs, as well as
Glasses and maybe a few Clocks.

Bonus

Enemies: Lots of Orbits
Time Limit: 0:30
Items: Too many to count in too little time

All the Bonus stages are essentially the same.  Try to be efficient in your
movements.

Area 2-6

Enemies: Ballor x2, Phyre x1, Blobby x2
Time Limit: 4:00
Items: Shield x1, Remote Control x1, Fire Up x2, Speed Up x2, Heart x1, Bomb
Up x1 

This is a big stage - 23 squares from left to right - and it introduces two
new enemies.  Ballor moves quickly, but he's nothing to write home about.
Phyre, on the other hand, is your first enemy with a talent that no power-up
can emulate.  Phyre periodically spits out smaller fires that can hurt you,
and if they touch your bombs, said bombs go off INSTANTLY.  They're quite
dangerous, so watch out!!!!  (I got my third score-based 1-Up here.  How about
you?)

Area 2-7

Enemies: Golem x3, Blobby x1, Squiddy x1
Time Limit: 4:00
Items: Power Bomb x1, Fire Up x1, Bomb Up x2, Speed Up x1, Meta-Bomb x1,
Bomb Kick x1

This stage introduces you to Squiddy, which is basically a speedier Blobby.
(Blobby and Squiddy... it sounds like a children's cartoon show.)  It's still
not as swift as Orbit, though, and it's a wanderer.  So you should be fine.

Area 2-8

Enemies: Whisp x1, Golem x2, Blobby x2, Phyre x1
Time Limit: 4:00
Items: Power Glove x1, Speed Up x1, Dangerous Bomb x1, 1-Up x1, Bomb Up x1,
Fire Up x2, Line Bomb x1 

This stage is 27 squares long!!!!  There's a lot of ground to cover.  Watch
out for Whisp - it can evade your bombs and pass through soft blocks.  Enemies
with the Bomb Evasion ability can't move for a while after dodging a bomb, so
quickly bomb them again before they recover!!!!!!!!!!

Area 2-9

Enemies: Golem x2, Blobby x2, Whisp x1, Phyre x1
Time Limit: 2:00
Items: Fire Up x2, Glasses x1, Clock x1, Bomb Up x2, Meta-Bomb x1, Speed Up 
x2, Remote Control x1, 

Yep.  It's ANOTHER stage that's only 15 squares long, has a short time limit,
and is PACKED with soft blocks.  And to make things worse, half of the foes
here can walk through walls.  Pierce Bombs are highly recommended, but oddly
enough, you don't NEED them...

Area 2 Boss Stage

Enemy: Necron Statue (and his many, many, many hands of DOOM)
Time Limit: Infinite (until after the boss is dead and the grabbing phase
begins, at which point you have 10 seconds to clean up)
Items: Too many to count in too little time

It's Boss #2 time, and this guy's a lot tougher than the Metal Flower.  Our
foe this time around is the Necron Statue - a name I gave it because of its 
one method of attacking you.  And boy, does it work well!!!!  I won't go into 
detail here - read the strategy, will ya?

Oh, boy.  OH, BOY.  This guy is a real pain in the butt.  If you are not
prepared, then prepare to die.  As the battle starts, you will be on the lower
screen, separated from 6 disembodied hands by 2 rows of soft blocks.  
Comforting as your safety may be, you need to charge into battle.  Each hand
is worth 200 points, and it takes only one bomb blast to kill them.  They move
slowly (2 speed), but they can charge up spheres of energy in their palms and
toss them forward.  The energy spheres move even more slowly than the hands,
but they are deadly to the touch, and if they make contact with a bomb, both
sphere and bomb will vanish into thin air!!!!!  Spooky!!!  Blow up the soft 
blocks and kill all 6 hands, and the doors to the upper screen will open.
Summon your courage and cross the border.  Once in the upper screen, the doors
will close behind you, hard blocks will flood the lower screen, and the 
ghastly Necron Statue will rise from the ground, summoning his hands to do
battle!!!!  The Necron Statue itself cannot hurt you unless you are idiotic
enough to walk right into it, but as long as it is alive, hands will emerge
from the ground every few seconds to hunt you down.  The hands aren't all that
dangerous by themselves - the challenge comes from the fact that there are so
many of them, AND the Necron Statue will be sitting in the middle of the 
screen, AND you're restricted to a 9-by-15 space - no, LESS than that - for
the purpose of maneuvering.  To end this nightmare, you must bomb the Necron
Statue's eyes (or orbs - they look like eyes to me, though).  It has 3 eyes,
but you will only be able to do damage by blasting the eye with a sickening
red hue.  If you can blast the red eyes four times without being manhandled or
vaporized (or running up to hug the dang thing by mistake,) the Necron Statue
will turn red.  One more bomb blast to a red eye will finish it off, and it
will sink into the ground, never to bother you again... oh, no, wait, it WILL
bother you again...  But we'll cross that bridge when we come to it.  Enjoy
the 2000 points you earn for killing the Necron Statue (hands not included,)
and grab the items before you're whisked away.

Fun fact: this guy is nigh-identical to Baal-El from Bomberman '94.

The Bomber Ruins have been cleared.  If you want, you can hum the Indiana
Jones theme to yourself as the Bomb Crystal shard flies away.  But it's really
not necessary.  Now, quit ogling Lara Croft, because we still have more
adventuring to do!!!!  Next stop - the Pirate Ship!!!!!!!  Or, for 
alliteration's sake, we can call it the Pirate Panic.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

7c: World 3 (Pirate Panic)

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

ARRRRRRRR!!!!!!!  Welcome aboard the Pirate Ship, ye explosive little 
scallywag!  Prepare to face the Pirate Panic!!!!  Here we've got loads of 
monsters for you to bomb, if they don't bomb you first!!!!  Bomber Island this
ain't, and there isn't no Cap'n Boom to show ya around!!!!!!!!  D'arrrr har
har har har har!!!!!  Think ye can recover the booty?  Ye'd better be readin'
up on Cap'n Luigifan's helpful hints!!!!  But I'd better warn ye; this game be
fast-paced and more than a little unpredictable!!!!!  Ye'll have to be able to
survive by yer own wits, matey!!!!  But I'll guide ye along as best I can!!!!
ARRRRRRRRGGHHH!!!!!!!!  So move along, before ye're sent to a watery grave, ya
worthless sea dog!!!!  One false move and ye'll be keelhauled!!!!!  
YARRRRRRRR...  *is whacked over the head*  OW!!!!  Okay, okay, I'm done with
the pirate-speak!!!!  Geez!!!  Ahem... so, where was I?  Oh, yeah, we'd best
get moving!!!!!

Area 3-1

Enemies: Blobby x2, Baum x1, Barrol x2
Time Limit: 3:00
Items: Bomb Punch x1, Bomb Up x3, Fire Up x2, Speed Up x2, Clock x1, Power
Bomb x1

I'm afraid that I might not be able to list all the items in this world, and
the reason for that is the Baum.  Baum can transform into a bomb not unlike 
yours, and it can destroy soft blocks and items in doing so.  Thankfully, 
Baum can also kill your enemies...  The problem is, you probably won't even 
know what Baum is destroying until it's too late.  Grab the items quickly, or
better yet, kill Baum ASAP!!!!!  (By the way, this stage is 19 squares long.)

Area 3-2

Enemies: Uhnyun x2, Barrol x2, Baum x1
Time Limit: 3:00
Items: Speed Up x1, Fire Up x1, Bomb Up x1, Heart x1, Line Bomb x1, Glasses 
x1, Landmine x1

Can you get your fourth score-based 1-Up by the end of this level?  Remember
to leave each level as soon as you can (though not at the expense of items -
you'll need those) and kill as many enemies as you can with each chain blast
to rack up the big points!!!!!!  Oh, and check out the structure of the
hard blocks.  You have a few "L" shapes to navigate here.  (Actually, it
kinda looks like a broken-up swatiska...  O_o;)  Trust me, it only gets 
crazier as you delve deeper into your quest.

Area 3-3

Enemies: Uhnyun x2, Barrol x2, Baum x1
Time Limit: 3:00
Items: Shield x1, Power Glove x1, Bomb Up x2, Fire Up x1, Speed Up x2,
Pierce Bomb x1

Same enemies, though thankfully the swatiska shape was dropped (well, to be
honest, I think it was meant to be a rectangle with the bottom half jutting
out to the right.)  Instead, we have hard blocks lining the center lane of the
stage.  That means that your chain blasts will have to be located at the top
or bottom half of the level.

Area 3-4

Enemies: PipeSphere x1, Barrol x2, Ballor x1, Baum x1
Time Limit: 3:00
Items: Speed Up x1, Fire Up x2, Bomb Kick x1, Bomb Up x1, Remote Bomb x1

After Ballor's super-brief debut, he makes a return appearance at last.
Barrol's come along, too, and Baum is, as always, trying to ruin your item
collection (or better yet [from its perspective,] blow you up.)  But there's
also a new face here.  PipeSphere is the sturdiest enemy you've seen up until
this point in the game (other than the bosses, of course,) and it also has the
ability to move through soft blocks.  I'm not sure if it can avoid taking
damage by hiding in its pipe, but it doesn't seem to have that ability.
Nevertheless, you must hit it 3 times to destroy it.  That's a lot!!!!

Area 3-5

Enemies: Baum x3, Ballor x1
Time Limit: 2:00
Items: Pierce Bomb x1, Speed Up x2, Bomb Up x2, Fire Suit x1, Power Glove x1,
Meta-Wall x1, Fire Up x2, Full Fire x1, Invincible x1

It's another stage with lots of soft blocks, but not much space or time.
Actually, the fifth and ninth Areas of every World tend to be like this.
Make sure to use Hyper Bombs, and more importantly, make sure you're fully
powered up before you leave!!!!

Bonus

Enemies: Lots of Orbits
Time Limit: 0:30
Items: Too many to count in too little time

It's just like the two Bonus Stages before it.  Don't blow this opportunity
for points and items!!!!

Area 3-6

Enemies: PipeSphere x1, Blobby x3, Squiddy x1, Pirate Whisp x1, Baum x1
Time Limit: 4:00
Items: Fire Up x2, Bomb Up x1, Speed Up x1, Glasses x1, Meta-Bomb x1, 1-Up x1,
Heart x1

This stage is 21 squares long with hard blocks that form a sort of VERY wide
letter "X".  All but 2 of the enemies here can move through soft blocks.  One
exception is Baum, and the other is - ironically - a newcomer based on an 
enemy that COULD move through soft blocks when you first saw it.  The Pirate
Whisp still has the ability to dodge bomb blasts, but it's traded in the 
ability to move through soft blocks for some extra durability.  You'll have
to hit the Pirate Whisp twice to defeat it - and since it can dodge your bombs
just like the Whisp can, you'll actually need to bomb it twice in quick 
succession to score a hit.  And, once again, I should mention that all the 
enemies here except for the Pirate Whisp and Baum can move through soft 
blocks, so don't let them sneak up on you!!!

Area 3-7

Enemies: PipeSphere x1, Blobby x2, Squiddy x1, Baum x1
Time Limit: 4:00
Items: Bomb Up x2, Fire Up x2, Speed Up x2, Dangerous Bomb x1, Line Bomb x1,
Remote Bomb x1, Meta-Wall x1, Power Glove x1

An unremarkable area with a layout similar to Area 3-4.  It's 19 squares long.
Bomb the bad guys and move on.  Can you acquire at least 500,000 points by
this level?

Area 3-8

Enemies: PipeSphere x1, Baum x2, Pirate Whisp x1, GoldKat x3
Time Limit: 4:00
Items: Bomb Up x3, Clock x2, Fire Up x1, Speed Up x1, Bomb Kick x1

This 9-by-19 level is the first place that you meet GoldKat.  GoldKat is worth
an ABSURD amount of points, and isn't very difficult to kill (it behaves very
much like a speeded-up Uhnyun,) so try to fell it with a chain blast for mega
points!!!!!  Also, note that the sides are "restricted access" with narrow
entrances.  (Bomb Throw, anyone?)  The exit is more often than not on the way
right side of the level.  Hope and pray that there isn't a Baum there to blow
it up repeatedly and swamp you in Orbits.

Area 3-9

Enemies: Pirate Whisp x3, Baum x2, GoldKat x1
Time Limit: 1:00 (O.o;)
Items: Speed Up x2, Heart x1, Fire Up x2, Bomb Up x2, Meta-Bomb x1, Power Bomb
x1, Landmine x1, Bomb Punch x1

This is another small level with VERY little time and a lot of soft blocks.
To make matters worse, you have to face 3 Pirate Whisps, and they can take a
while to kill.  Move fast and bomb faster!!!!  The exit will usually be in the
upper-right corner.  Hurry, before the Orbits arrive!!!!!!!!

Area 3 Boss Stage

Enemy: Killer Krab
Time Limit: Infinite for the Boss fight, 10 seconds for item collection
Items: Too many to count in too little time

ARRRRGGGHHHH!!!!!  There ain't no pirate captain for this ship, matey!!!!
Instead, you'll be facin' the most ornery crustacean ever to terrorize the
seven seas!!!!!  If ye can assault this awful arthropod and come out on top,
ye'll get another shard of the Bomb Crystal for your efforts!!!  Avast, matey,
this is no time for cowardice!!!!!!!  Get yerself ready and 
CHAAAARRRRRRRGGGGGEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!!!  *stares out at audience, hears crickets
chirping*  ...Okay, I'm done with the pirate-speak!!!!  Geez!!!!!

As the battle begins, you'll be on the lower screen, and the boss will drop 
down to the upper screen with an earth-shaking thud!!!  (In fact, it lands so
hard, it bounces up for ANOTHER booming impact!!!!!)  It then flashes its
beady green eyes at you, and the skirmish is underway!!!!  As long as you are
below the Killer Krab, it can attack you by launching its claws at you.  It
can also defuse bombs by grabbing them with its claws and defusing them
within, sustaining no injury.  Therefore, you're best off attacking the Boss
from behind or to its side.  The Boss can also lunge from one screen to the
other, and if you value your life, you'd better not be in its way!!!!!  It may
LOOK like there's no way from one screen to the other, but that solid "wall"
in your way is really just overhead rigging.  You can enter or exit it at any
point, and move about freely under there (like in the Inferno Battle stage.)
The only problem is that you can't see where you are or where you're going.
While you are behind the Boss, it can only attack you by launching bubbles at
you.  These bubbles can not harm you; instead, they make you dizzy and unable
to move for about a second.  (Oh, I'm so scared, somebody hold me.  All right,
sarcastic comment finished.)  It can also use that attack while you are below
it.  In fact, it can launch them in any direction, so beware!!!!  The Boss 
will be constantly moving, so stay alert!!  Its lunge is its trickiest attack
to avoid, but you'll know it's coming because the Killer Krab will crouch down
to build up strength.  Its eyes will turn yellow while it makes bubbles and
prepares to spit them at you.  Bomb it four times, and the Killer Krab will
flash yellow and lose its red shell.  The yellow, red-eyed, less-protected 
crab will lose its claw attack/defense, but it will be faster and smaller, 
and it can now launch bubbles in all 8 directions (yes, including diagonal 
angles!!!!)  If a bubble hits a bomb, it will stick to it and reduce its
explosion radius to 1 square - a fact that can work for or against you.  The
shell-less Killer Krab also can't lunge at you, but it will freely move 
between the two screens.  Its only real way to hurt you is to walk into you,
but as long as you evade the bubbles, the Killer Krab shouldn't be able to do
that.  Bomb it 3 times after its shell is gone to kill it off, earning you
4000 points.  Then gather up the booty that appears before the ship sinks!!!

With the Bomb Crystal claimed, the cursed Pirate Ship will vanish, but not
before depositing Bomberman on the far shore.  It's now time to travel through
the Desert of Doom and make our way to the Crystal Mountain.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

7d: World 4 (Desert of Doom)

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

From ocean to desert - talk about a change!!!!  This area has a lot of tricky
enemies, and even trickier level layouts!!!  The enemies here move fast, and
they will only get faster, so make SURE that you can move at least as fast as
they do!!!!!  Well, one of the worst things you can do in a desert is stick
around - let's get going, so we can leave this scorching place!!!!

Area 4-1

Enemies: Kaktuss x2, Uhnyun x2, Koin x1
Time Limit: 3:00
Items: Pierce Bomb x1, Fire Suit x1, Speed Up x1, Bomb Punch x1, 1-Up x1,
Bomb Up x2, Fire Up x2, Glasses x1

This stage is 21 squares long (notice that they're getting bigger?)  It also
introduces 2 of the new enemies for the world.  Koin is a wannabe Orbit that
moves almost as quickly and is just as ruthless; luckily for you, it can't
move through soft blocks.  Kaktuss is just an Uhnyun on speed pills.
(Ironically, there are a couple of Uhnyuns as well.)  The enemies here move
quickly and unpredictably (with the exception of Koin, which will chase you
like a dog chasing a squirrel,) so always try to have an escape route if 
they're heading right for you!  (P.S.:  Do you have 600,000 points?)  (P.S.S.:
I must have gotten Koin mixed up with its incarnation in other Bomberman games
I've played.  This version seems to be content with going about in straight
lines and making right-angle turns upon bumping into walls, bombs, or soft
blocks.)

Area 4-2

Enemies: Kaktuss x2, Ballor x2, Koin x1
Time Limit: 3:00
Items: Fire Up x2, Bomb Up x2, Speed Up x1, Shield x1, Clock x1, Bomb Kick x1,
Remote Control x1

The hard blocks are arranged in a pretty complex fashion here.  It won't be
terribly difficult to navigate this level, but movement will be restricted,
so plan ahead to give yourself a way to escape from any unexpected hazards!

Area 4-3

Enemies:  Masque x1, Blobby x1, Squiddy x1, Kaktuss x2
Time Limit: 3:00
Items: Dangerous Bomb x1, Bomb Up x2, Line Bomb x1, Power Bomb x1, Speed Up
x2, Fire Up x1, Meta-Bomb x1

Enjoy this new face, because it's the last one for this world.  And, yeah, it
is rather literally a new FACE.  Because it's a mask.  In other news, the
layout of this level is REALLY inconvenient.

Area 4-4

Enemies: Blobby x1, Squiddy x1, Kaktuss x2, Koin x1, Masque x1
Time Limit: 3:00
Items: Heart x1, Speed Up x2, Bomb Punch x1, Fire Up x2, Clock x1, Invincible
x1, Power Glove x1, Bomb Up x1

Another Area, another whacked-out layout.  It only gets zanier from here on
out.

Area 4-5

Enemies: Kaktuss x1, Blobby x1, Barrol x2, Koin x1
Time Limit: 2:00
Items: Pierce Bomb x1, Fire Up x2, Bomb Up x2, Full Fire x1, Line Bomb x1,
Speed Up x1, Glasses x1, Clock x2, Invincible x1


No wacky design here.  Just a tiny stage with oodles of soft blocks and a
shortage of time.  Make sure that your stats are maxed out.  ...Oh, wait, the
design IS wacky.  Stay out of the dead ends!!!!

Bonus

Enemies: Lots of Orbits
Time Limit: 0:30
Items: Too many to count in too little time

Yes, I'm copy-pasting that.  The Bonus Stages are all virtually identical.
Can you attain 700,000 points?  I did, by wiping out all the Orbits in a
glorious chain blast!!11!!  Wah ha ha ha ha!!!!!!!

Area 4-6

Enemies: Barrol x2, Masque x2, Blobby x2, Kaktuss x2
Time Limit: 4:00
Items: Meta-Wall x1, Shield x1, Power Bomb x1, Speed Up x2, Clock x1, Fire Up
x1, Bomb Up x2, Heart x1

The layout is once again awfully inconvenient, as you must navigate a level
divided into several boxes connected to each other by bottleneck passages.
Deal with it, because you'll have to put up with worse later on.

Area 4-7

Enemies: Kaktuss x2, Masque x2, GoldKat x1, Koin x1, Squiddy x1
Time Limit: 4:00
Items: Fire Up x2, Speed Up x1, Bomb Up x2, Land Mine x1, Heart x1, Meta-Wall
x1, Dangerous Bomb x1, 

Yay, more inconveniently arranged hard blocks.  Oh, well, bomb all the enemies
and move on.  (Is it just me, or is this whole game a lot like the original
NES Bomberman?)

Area 4-8

Enemies: GoldKat x2, Koin x2, Squiddy x2, Masque x2, Kaktuss x2
Time Limit: 4:00
Items: Bomb Punch x1, Bomb Up x1, Bomb Kick x1, Power Glove x1, Fire Up x2,
Speed Up x2, Fire Suit x1, Meta-Bomb x1

FINALLY, an ordinary grid!!!!!  It's about time, and it's a good thing that
you have lots of room to move - there are 10 enemies here!!!!!  And all of 
them are FAST!!!!  If you aren't fast, you'll be dead pretty quickly.  You
have 27 squares of horizontal distance to work with, so you may want to
consider working vertically.

Area 4-9

Enemies: Masque x4, Kaktuss x2
Time Limit: 2:30
Items: Speed Up x2, 1-Up x1, Meta-Wall x1, Bomb Up x2, Remote Control x1,
Heart x1, Glasses x1, Fire Up x1, Power Bomb x1, Shield x1, Bomb Kick x1 

Another 15-square-long stage with lots of soft blocks and a short timer... but
it's not THAT short.  You have plenty of time to kill the Masques and
Kaktusses even without Pierce Bombs.  Take heart - the desert is almost over.
So... um... O_o;  Holy ****, the stage looks like a swatiska!!!  At least I
had 800,000 points by the time I got out of here.  Do you?

Area 4 Boss Stage

Enemies: Cactus Bros.
Time Limit: Infinite for the boss fight, 10 seconds to gather items
Items: Too many to count in too little time

Phew!!!  We're almost out of here.  But before we can escape, we have to claim
the next Bomb Crystal, which is being held by a pair of super-mean cacti.  Can
you overcome THE REAL SUPER POWER OF TEAMWORK?!!?!??!?!!??!1?!?!?

A large caped cactus descends upon the field.  After smirking at you, it casts
the cape aside, revealing that it is actually TWO cacti - a fat one and a 
skinny one.  The Cactus Bros. are fragile, but they make up for it with the 
fact that there are two of them.  They have one sombrero between them, and 
they will pass it back and forth between them (which can hurt you.)  The 
skinny cactus can lock out the lower area - when he says "COME ON!!!", get to
the upper screen IMMEDIATELY, lest you be pummeled by a hard block and 
instantly killed.  Once the lower area is locked out, it can't be re-opened.   
So, this devastating attack can only be used once.  The skinny cactus can also
hurl 4 needles at you like the Metal Flower's shurikens, only the needles come
out faster and don't telegraph themselves as openly (they just appear and get 
launched.)  The fat cactus can throw needles into the sky, so that they come
down on you like rockets, and he also has a nasty bull rush attack.  Your best
chance to hurt them is when they slack off (the fat one plays a guitar, 
whereas the skinny one dances; either one can yell "COME ON!!!", but this only
has in-fight consequences the first time the skinny one does it.)  Each Cactus
Brother only takes three hits to kill, so hit them with everything you've got.
They are worth 2000 points each.  After beating down both bosses, grab the
items (you don't have to worry about the left-behind sombrero) and leave this
scorched land behind you!!!!!!

So, have you worked up a sweat yet?  No?  You say this is only a video game?
...Well, that IS true, but... I was just joshing with ya...  Meh, you'd
better be ready for a cold sweat next, because our next stop is the Evil
Graveyard!!!!!

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

7e: World 5 (Ghastly Graveyard)

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

'CAUSE THIS IS THRILLER!!!!  THRILLER NIGHT!!!!!!  AND NO-ONE'S GONNA SAVE YOU
FROM THE BEAST ABOUT TO STRIKE!!!!!  YEAH, THIS IS THRILLER, THRILLER NIGHT!!!
AND YOU'RE FIGHTING FOR YOUR LIFE INSIDE A KILLER! THRILLER! 
TONIIIIIGGGGGHHHHHHTTTTTT!!!!!!!!!!!!  ... ... Um, yeah.  The following 10
areas are all horror-themed (though it comes off more as "aw, look at those
cute little ghouls" because of this game's chibi graphics and upbeat music.
Hey, it's better than getting depressed listening to the music of the
Holgestein Base, which has actually happened to me, mind you.  **** those
conveyor belt puzzles and egregious amounts of backtracking.)  So, without
further delay, let's fight our way through this graveyard.  Try not to die of
fright while you're here.

Area 5-1

Enemies: HideSphere x2, Batty x2, Barrol x1, Uhnyun x1
Time Limit: 3:00
Items: Speed Up x2, Bomb Up x2, Fire Up x2, Glasses x1, 1-Up x1, Bomb Kick x1,
Shield x1, Pierce Bomb x1

Gee, the music here isn't scary at all.  It's a basic 23-square-long stage, so
just bomb the monsters and move on.

Area 5-2

Enemies: Batty x2, HideSphere x2, Blobby x2
Time Limit: 3:00
Items: Line Bomb x1, Speed Up x2, Fire Up x1, Bomb Up x1, Heart x1

Meh.  It's just a basic stage.  Move along folks, move along.  (Couldn't they
have added booby traps to some of the levels?!?  I swear, Bomberman games were
a lot more interesting back in the N64 days!  *grumble*)

Area 5-3

Enemies: Dorio x1, HideSphere x3, Batty x2, Blobby x1
Time Limit: 3:00
Items: Fire Up x2, Land Mine x1, Bomb Up x1, Speed Up x2, Meta-Bomb x1

We have a new enemy here, a ghost that can pass through walls.  (The original
"ghost" was Squiddy, whose true name is Doria.  It looked like a ghost [that
would rather be chasing Pac-Man] in the NES Bomberman, but now... well, it
looks like a squid.  Maybe it's a ghost squid?)  So, the new ghost on the
block, Dorio, is something to watch out for.  Its speed is a little better
than Squiddy's, and its movement is totally random, so it can sneak up on you
if you're not careful.  In other news, we're back to the inconvenient 
bottlenecks.  Yayyyyyyyy.  ...Yeah, I'm done with the sarcasm now.  More often
than not, the exit will be on the right side of the level.  (I'm starting to
get the feeling that the location of the exit is more predictable than I
initially thought...)

Area 5-4

Enemies: Batty x3, Blobby x2, Dorio x1
Time Limit: 3:00
Items: Power Glove x1, Fire Up x2, Speed Up x1, Heart x1, Remote Control x1,
Fire Suit x1, Bomb Up x1, Clock x1 

Another 23-square-long stage, this one has its top and bottom halves split up
by a long string of hard blocks.  And the only way down to the bottom half is
to navigate all the way to the right side of the stage and work your way 
through some narrow passages.  Aside from the entry passage, the bottom half 
is made of two "boxes".  The right "box" is narrower than the left "box" and
has a dead end all the way at its right side.  The top half is unobstructed
save for enemies and hard blocks, but most of the enemies will probably be on
the bottom.  Bomb Throw will help you A LOT.  If you want, you can take a
"shooting gallery" approach to this stage, but you may lose out on a lot of
items that way.  Where's Pommy Animal when you need it?!?

Area 5-5

Enemies: Blobby x4
Time Limit: 2:00
Items: Full Fire x1, Fire Up x1, Speed Up x1, Bomb Up x1, Pierce Bomb x1,
Line Bomb x1, Shield x1, Bomb Kick x1, Glasses x1, Remote Control x1, 1-Up x1,
Power Glove x1, Meta-Wall x1

This stage is reminiscent of 2-5, what with all the Ovapes... erm, Blobbies.
However, the layout is much more restrictive this time, with narrow corridors
galore.  The fact that Blobbies can move through soft blocks doesn't help you
AT ALL.  Make sure that you don't get cornered!!!  You do NOT want to die and
power down right before the Bonus Stage!!!  At least the stage is a small
15-square-long layout...

Bonus

Enemies: Lots of Orbits
Time Limit: 0:30
Items: Too many to count in too little time

Yep. Another day, another Bonus Stage.  I actually had over 900,000 points
when I began this stage.  Wow, it sure is hard to notice without Bomberman
screaming "1-Up!"

Area 5-6

Enemies: Batty x3, Dorio x3, HideSphere x3
Time Limit: 4:00
Items: Fire Up x1, Speed Up x2, Dangerous Bomb x1, Shield x1, Meta-Bomb x1,
Clock x1, Fire Suit x1, Bomb Up x2, Pierce Bomb x1

This area is 29 squares long - yeah, they're getting bigger.  The stage is
just a basic grid.  You have 9 monsters to beat, so get blasting!!!!!

Area 5-7

Enemies: HideSphere x4, Batty x2, Dorio x2, GoldKat x1, Squiddy x1
Time Limit: 4:00
Items: Fire Suit x1, Line Bomb x1, Fire Up x2, Speed Up x2, Bomb Up x1, Power
Bomb x1, Bomb Punch x1, 

Oh, boy!!  Now you've gotta face Doria and Dorio TOGETHER!!!  ...Relax, it
shouldn't be too hard.  (By the way, Doria is Squiddy.)  This stage is 
arranged like a cross... a very fragmented cross... weird, huh?  I think 
Hudson did that on purpose.  The level is full of small walls, and the right
half has a few cul-de-sacs, so you'll have to be careful to make sure that 
you have an out.  Use the Smith system!!!  (Sorry, random Driver's Ed
reference...)

Area 5-8

Enemies: Squiddy x2, Dorio x1, HideSphere x3, Batty x2, GoldKat x1
Time Limit: 4:00
Items: Fire Up x2, Speed Up x1, Bomb Up x2, Landmine x1, Meta-Wall x1, Heart
x1, Remote Control x1, Power Glove x1

This stage is full of dead ends and bottleneck boxes, so it's easy to get 
cornered.  Having a Shield might be useful, so that you can block incoming 
enemies by setting a bomb - even if it will back you into a corner - without
blowing yourself up.  Actually, as long as you're standing on a bomb, most
enemies can't touch you (those foes which are capable of punching, kicking,
throwing, eating, or otherwise interacting with your bombs are an exception.)
However, without Remote Bombs, you can't use this "safeguard" for very long 
without it becoming a self-defeating system.

Area 5-9

Enemies: Squiddy x3, Batty x2, Dorio x1, HideSphere x1
Time Limit: 2:00
Items: Glasses x1, Bomb Up x2, Fire Up x2, Speed Up x2, Dangerous Bomb x1,
Invincible x1, Power Bomb x1, Bomb Kick x1, 

It's another small stage with little time and lots of soft blocks, but this
one is 21 squares long.  You know the drill - equip those Pierce Bombs and get
blasting!!!!!!  Just be mindful of the small walls and cul-de-sacs at stage 
right.  I hit the 1,000,000 mark after this stage.  How about you?

Area 5 Boss Stage

Enemy: Lrucada (and his hordes of Dorios and Batties)
Time Limit: Infinite for the Boss fight, 10 seconds to collect items
Items: Not NEARLY enough time to count them

There are dozens of classic horror monsters we could be fighting - werewolves,
Frankenstein, witches, demented pumpkins, and mentally disturbed guys with
VERY sharp objects all come to mind - but, if you managed to unscramble the
anagram of the Boss's name, you'll have figured out that he's supposed to be a
vampire.  Indeed he is.  Since we don't have any stakes, holy water, garlic,
crosses, or divinely enchanted whips handy, we'll just have to make do with
our bombs.  Don't worry, they'll work fine.  But bring your Power Gloves - 
you'll see why soon enough!!!!  It's time to bring this horror story to a
close!!!  

As the battle against Lrucada begins, notice that there are NO tunnels
between the two screens.  However, you should also notice the swarm of bats
flying in, because that happens to be the boss.  Once Lrucada forms and starts
floating around the upper screen, runes will appear on the corners of the
bottom screen.  They can be used to get from one screen to the other - just
step on one, and you will teleport to the other screen!!!  However, if you
equipped Power Gloves beforehand, you can actually throw bombs across the
border and nail Lrucada from relative safety.  Lrucada won't just sit back and
wait for you to bring the fight to him, though.  He can generate three Battys
and send them soaring at you in spreadshot formation.  They work like 
projectiles rather than enemies, though; you can't kill them, and they can go
right through hard blocks, but they will immediately die upon reaching the
edge of the screen.  Lrucada can also summon Dorios to pester you while you
linger on the other screen.  Unlike normal Dorios, these guys are only worth
200 points, like other Boss-spawned enemies.  They will also chase you
relentlessly, and die after a preset period of time even if you don't bomb
them (but you'll score no points.)  Once you score a hit on Lrucada, he breaks
up into bats, flies to the other screen, and reforms.  If he moved to your
side of the screen, your runes will vanish (if you used a rune to teleport,
that would also get rid of them); either way, the runes will reappear on the
other screen.  Lrucada does this every time you bomb him.  He has one more
attack, in which he throws what looks like spiky snowflakes at you in a 5-way
spread.  Continue teleporting or throwing bombs and attacking the boss; he'll
summon Dorios no matter which side of the screen you're on.  Like the Killer
Krab, Lrucada will keep moving unless he's launching an attack (and, no, the
Dorios don't count.)  When he's one bomb away from being defeated, he'll
start throwing this attack in all directions, rather than just straight up
and down the screen - he'll even throw the snowflakes diagonally.  So be
careful!  It takes 10 bombs in all to defeat him (at which point he'll break
up into bats and disperse... Coward!!!!!!!)  You'll earn 6000 points upon
Lrucada's defeat.  Grab the items and get outta the graveyard!!!

As the Bomb Crystal flies away, the evil is purged from the graveyard.  Now,
we must enter the foreboding forest at the foot of the Crystal Mountain.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

7f: World 6 (Fiendish Forest)

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

We may have gone from a graveyard to a forest, but the atmosphere's STILL
creepy.  In fact, it may even be creepier than the graveyard we just left.
Dang.  This place is home to several irritating enemies, so we should probably
move it.  Yeah... I've got nothing.

Area 6-1

Enemies: Cyclop Chomp x2, Flora x2, Ballor x2
Time Limit: 3:00
Items: Remote Control x1, Fire Up x2, Bomb Up x2, Speed Up x2, Glasses x1,
Heart x1, Meta-Bomb x1, Bomb Kick x1, Clock x1

WELCOME TO THE JUNGLE!!!  WE GOT FUN 'N GAMES- ...Sorry.  This is the first
area of this World, so it's just a basic grid for you to get acquainted with
your new targets.  The stage is 23 squares long and it's a basic, no-frills
grid.

Area 6-2

Enemies: Skunker x2, Flora x2, Cyclop Chomp x2
Time Limit: 3:00
Items: Pierce Bomb x1, Bomb Punch x1, Bomb Up x2, Fire Suit x1, Meta-Wall x1,
Dangerous Bomb x1, Fire Up x2, Speed Up x1

Skunker is one annoying pest.  The stink clouds it attacks you with will
spead explosions.  If a cloud is caught in a bomb blast, it will be treated
as though IT was a bomb.  Oh, yeah, and the stink clouds themselves can stun
you.  Talk about a potent gas!!!!

Area 6-3

Enemies: Dig-a-Dag x2, Ballor x2, Flora x2
Time Limit: 3:00
Items: Bomb Up x1, Speed Up x2, Invincible x1, Dangerous Bomb x1, Power Bomb
x1, Line Bomb x1, Fire Up x2

Dang, this level has lots of solid walls.  As always, try to always have a way
to escape your bombs.  And watch out for the Dig-a-Dags - they can pop in
from out of nowhere!!!!  They may even appear right under you - which means
you have a second to notice them coming and get out of the way before you die!
In a hectic game like this, that's not as much time as you might think!

Area 6-4

Enemies: Cyclop Chomp x1, Skunker x2, Dig-a-Dag x2, Flora x2
Time Limit: 3:00
Items: Bomb Up x2, Speed Up x2, Fire Up x1, Heart x1, Bomb Kick x1, Shield x1,
Power Glove x1, Land Mine x1

This stage is chock-full of small walls.  So, it will be more effective to
organize horizontal chain blasts (i.e. setting up bombs in a horizontal row.)

Area 6-5

Enemies: Skunker x7
Time Limit: 1:30
Items: Pierce Bomb x1, Full Fire x1, Speed Up x2, Bomb Up x2, Glasses x1,
Meta-Wall x1, Heart x1, Remote Control x1, Clock x3, Fire Up x2, 1-Up x1,
Invincible x1, 

AIR!!!  I NEED AIR!!!!  *wheeze*  Too many skunks, not enough space or time...
use Pierce Bombs, but beware - your bomb flames may be thrown around by the
stench clouds!!!!

Bonus

Enemies: Lots of Orbits
Time Limit: 0:30
Items: Too many to count in too little time

Another World, another Bonus.  *sigh*  This one is just like the others.
Well, have fun.

Area 6-6

Enemies: Flora x2, Ballor x2, Dig-a-Dag x2, Skunker x2
Time Limit: 4:00
Items: Meta-Bomb x1, Bomb Kick x1, Clock x1, Fire Up x2, Speed Up x1, Bomb Up
x2, Power Bomb x1, Shield x1

This stage is 29 squares long.  The hard blocks are in a simple arrangement,
but you might still have some difficulty getting around nonetheless.  There's
a straight path through the middle, so you shouldn't have to circle the map
just to get from point A to point B, if you catch my drift.

Area 6-7

Enemies: Dig-a-Dag x2, Cyclop Chomp x2, Skunker x2, Flora x2
Time Limit: 4:00
Items: Fire Up x2, Speed Up x2, Bomb Up x1, Power Glove x1, Land Mine x1,
Dangerous Bomb x1, Fire Suit x1

This stage has hard blocks in every other junction, making navigation a little
awkward.  Don't get caught between a rock and a hard place (the hard place
being a bomb.)  Bomb Kick and Bomb Punch will probably help a lot.

Area 6-8

Enemies: Flora x4, Dig-a-Dag x4
Time Limit: 4:00
Items: Bomb Up x2, Speed Up x2, Line Bomb x1, Fire Suit x1, Meta-Bomb x1,
Bomb Punch x1, Fire Up x1, Remote Bomb x1 

Is this area supposed to represent Stonehenge, or something?  It's divided
into concentric rings and Tetris-esque shapes that SERIOUSLY remind me of that
Druidic rock formation.  With all these narrow passageways, you'd better make
sure that you have enough time to race around the nearest corner before 
setting a bomb.  (More importantly, you need to make sure that there IS a
nearby corner to use in evading the blast, since there are a few dead ends
where you could get trapped if you're careless.)  Of course, that shouldn't
be a problem if you have maxed-out Speed... RIGHT?!?  Oh, and don't let the
Dig-a-Dags take you by surprise.  Even though they usually like to move AWAY
from you, they might decide at any moment to try to ambush you from below.
You can't really predict what they'll do next, so STAY ALERT!!!!  (Why are
they so demented, anyways?  Did somebody push the reset button too many
times?)

Area 6-9

Enemies: Skunker x15
Time Limit: 2:00
Items: Pierce Bomb x1, Heart x1, Fire Suit x1, Fire Up x2, Speed Up x1, Bomb
Up x2, Bomb Kick x1, Line Bomb x1, Glasses x1, Power Bomb x1, Shield x1

I am NOT kidding.  You have 2 minutes to punch through oodles of soft blocks
and defeat FIFTEEN Skunkers.  Normally, I'd recommend Pierce Bombs for this
sort of stage, but that's going to be more than a little bit risky with all
the stink clouds going around.  You may want to consider using a few Clocks,
because things will get messy in a hurry, and you'll want to exercise caution
and timing to avoid blowing yourself to bits.  Just be glad that you can't
start any forest fires in this game.

Area 6 Boss Stage

Enemy: Giant Flower
Time Limit: Infinite for the boss, 10 seconds to gather items afterwards
Items: If the earlier Boss stages are any indication, there's going to be
around three Speed Ups, around three Fire Ups, around three Bomb Ups, and a
1-Up.  But I really can't count them!!!

From here on out until World 10, the bosses will imitate those in the first
half of the game.  In the case of World 6, our enemy will be the organic
counterpart of World 1's Metal Flower.  It's a marginally tougher opponent,
but you should already know what to do.  For you forgetful folks out there,
though, I'll provide a strategy for this guy.

As the battle begins, note the cluster of leaves floating onto the upper
screen.  Didn't we already see something like this?  Yep... four leaves
drop onto the ground and become Floras, while the leaf cluster (now with a
bud showing underneath) continues floating around.  You'll have to kill all
four Floras to get the Boss to shed four more leaves.  As the second wave of
Floras hits the ground, notice the closed flower beneath the leaf cluster.
When the second group of Floras is dead, the hovering boss moves to the center
of the upper screen and touches down, unleashing one last wave of Floras while
it completely sheds its leafy armor and confronts you head-on.  The Boss
opens to reveal its identity as a giant pink flower.  Its attacks are very
much like those of the Metal Flower which imitated it, but it attacks with
floral disks rather than shuriken.  It can fire more projectiles than the
Metal Flower could, and it can even fire disks in a five-abreast pattern that
you can only evade by getting COMPLETELY out of the way.  As with the Metal
Flower, it takes five hits to kill this thing.  Watch out when it turns red,
as it will not only be able to move faster, but it will also step up its 
attacks - it will be able to spin EIGHT disks around itself and release them
in an asterisk pattern!!!  Wilting this weed will earn you 4000 points and
a small treasure trove of items.  Now the evil can be purged from this forest
at last!!!!!!

Fun fact: this boss is Petunia from Bomberman '94, I'm sure of it.
Considering how tough Petunia was in that game, it's no wonder that it's been
bumped up from being boss #2 out of 6 to boss #6 out of 10.

You've done it!!!  The sixth shard of the Bomb Crystal is yours!!!  Things
will be getting a lot more difficult from here on out, so ready yourself -
you will need to be prepared for anything!!!!

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

7g: World 7 (Chilly Cavern)

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Brrrrr!!!!!  We're in a VERY chilly place right now... and as expected, many
of the enemies are ice-themed.  Many of them will remind you of enemies from
World 2, but they're more dangerous than before, so LOOK OUT!!!  It would be
a shame if your quest was deep-frozen!!!!  Get going, before you're trapped
UNDER THE IIIIICCCCCCEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!  *begins listening to Blind Guardian*

Area 7-1

Enemies: Eyce x2, Squiddy x1, Snow Golem x2, Metalloid x3
Time Limit: 3:00
Items: Speed Up x3, Bomb Up x3, Fire Up x3, Power Glove x1, Glasses x1, Heart
x1, Bomb Kick x1, Remote Control x1, Bomb Punch x1

As usual, this 25-square-long stage is meant to get you used to your new
surroundings and your new opponents.  I use the word "new" loosely, though,
because two of the three newcomers are actually powered-up versions of two of
the monsters of World 2.  The third, Metalloid, has no quirks other than its
preference for moving about in packs, with multiple Metalloids behaving as
though they were a single unit.

Area 7-2

Enemies: Snow Golem x3, Eyce x3, Ballor x2
Time Limit: 3:00
Items: Fire Up x2, Speed Up x1, Bomb Up x2, Clock x1, Fire Suit x1, Line Bomb
x1, Shield x1, Power Bomb x1

Another very basic stage, with no design quirks that you need to look out for.
(I had 1,210,600 points by the time I got here!!!)

Area 7-3

Enemies: Snow Golem x2, Metalloid x4, Eyce x2
Time Limit: 3:00
Items: Fire Up x1, Speed Up x2, Bomb Up x2, Dangerous Bomb x1, Invincible x1,
Power Glove x1, Meta-Wall x1

Now things are getting trickier.  This Area's layout is very similar to the
right side of 6-8, with its arrangement of hard blocks that look like pieces
from Tetris... well, Mickey Mouse's Magical Tetris for the N64, anyways.
But I'm not going off topic here... bomb the enemies and move out!!!

Area 7-4

Enemies: Snow Golem x4, Ballor x2, Eyce x2
Time Limit: 3:00
Items: Clock x1, Speed Up x2, Bomb Up x1, Fire Up x2, Remote Control x1, 
Meta-Bomb x1, Land Mine x1, Pierce Bomb x1

Now THIS is an odd layout...  Below you when you start the stage is a "box"
which can only be entered in its lower-right corner.  To the right, there are
more hard blocks that look as though they were ripped from Tetris.  The level
designs are clearly getting wackier... and they'll only continue to get more
and more bizarre!!!  :p

Area 7-5

Enemies: Snow Golem x5, Metalloid x5
Time Limit: 1:30
Items: Bomb Up x2, Invincible x1, Pierce Bomb x1, Heart x1, Line Bomb x1,
Glasses x1, Bomb Kick x1, 1-Up x1, Remote Bomb x1, Fire Up x2, Clock x2,
Speed Up x1

It's another stage with a lot of soft blocks and a shortage of time.  Pierce
Bombs are a good idea, as always, but you may also want to consider Land Mines
to help you knock out all the Metalloids at once.  Make sure you're fully
powered up when this stage is over!  (I got 1,300,000 points from the time
bonus.)

Bonus

Enemies: Lots of Orbits
Time Limit: 0:30
Items: Too many to count in too little time

You know the drill by now.  Kill the Orbits, get the items.

Area 7-6

Enemies: GoldKat x2, Metalloid x2, Snow Golem x2, Ballor x2, Eyce x2
Time Limit: 4:00
Items: Bomb Up x2, Speed Up x2, Power Bomb x1, Bomb Punch x1, Dangerous Bomb
x1, Heart x1, Clock x1, Fire Up x1

Not only are the stages getting more complex, they're also getting larger.
This stage is 31 squares long, but it's really just a simple grid.  Trickier
stages are still forthcoming.  Fun Fact: This is the ONLY stage where
Metalloids can be found operating independently.

Area 7-7

Enemies: Metalloid x5, Eyce x3, Snow Golem x2
Time Limit: 4:00
Items: Land Mine x1, Speed Up x2, Bomb Up x2, Fire Up x1, Line Bomb x1,
Shield x1, Fire Suit x1

Oh, GREAT.  This level is like Area 5-4, with the level split into top and
bottom halves by a LONG string of hard blocks.  Also, I kinda lied in Area
7-6; this stage has a singular Metalloid as well.  (Though maybe that's
just because I killed its companions.)

Area 7-8

Enemies: Snow Golem x2, Metalloid x6, Eyce x2
Time Limit: 4:00
Items: Fire Up x2, Bomb Up x2, Clock x1, Speed Up x1, Power Glove x1, Power
Bomb x1, Bomb Kick x1, Meta-Bomb x1

This stage is again full of hard blocks in junctions, but this time they
alternate between the top and bottom sides of the screen, creating an upside-
down pyramid shape.  On the right side, there are many bottleneck passages.
Don't trap yourself.  (I got 1,400,000 points here!!!!!)

Area 7-9

Enemies: Metalloid x8, Snow Golem x1
Time Limit: 2:00
Items: Fire Up x3, Bomb Up x3, Speed Up x3, Heart x1, Invincible x1, Remote
Control x1

It's another 15-square-long Hyper Bomb stage!!!!  Use the Pierce Bomb to
blast through swiftly!!!  Use the Fire Suit and FLAME ON!!!!!!

Area 7 Boss Stage

Enemy: Nifilheim (and his many HANDS OF FREAKIN' FROSTY FATALITY!!!!!)
Time Limit: Infinite for the boss fight, 10 seconds to gather items
Items: Too many to count in too little time

If you thought this was similar to World 2 before, wait 'til ya see this!!!
It's the return of that blasted Necron Statue!!!  Erm, wait... it's actually
his big brother, Nifilheim!!!!  The same tactics that worked before will work
again.  Let's get it!!!!!  (If you're wondering about the name, Nifilheim was
the name of Hell in Viking mythology, and it was a very, VERY cold place.)

The beginning of this battle is the same as the one before it.  Six icy hands
appear on the lower screen behind two layers of soft blocks, and you must kill
them all before you can move to the upper screen.  Once you make it up there,
Nifilheim will arise from the ground, staring at you with his beady red eyes.
Like the Necron Statue before him, Nifilheim cannot attack you directly; he
must rely on his hands to bring you to his dominion (his dominion, by the way,
is DEATH.)  Nifilheim is much stronger than the Necron Statue; his hands are
faster and more numerous, they use the energy balls more often, and the energy
balls move faster, too.  It will take all of your wits and skills to avoid
being put on ice - permanently.  The good news is, you can hurt Nifilheim in
the same way that you hurt the Necron Statue - bomb the red orb!!!!  4 hits
make Nifilheim red with rage, and one more bomb blast to a red orb will send
him screaming and howling back to the hellish realm from whence he came, 
earning you 6000 points.  With the Bomb Crystal and items in hand, we now
depart this winter wonderland.

Phew!!!!  I hope you're chilly, because we're about to warm up.  No, really,
things are gonna get hot, hot, HOT.  Because our next destination is a
volcano!!!!!!!

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

7h: World 8 (Vile Volcano)

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

YOW!!!!!!  Talk about a temperature shock!!!!  From the Chilly Cavern, we go
RIGHT into a freakin' volcano!!!!  It's out of the freezer and into the fire!!
Think you can beat the heat?  I sure hope so!!!!  (By the way, I've noticed
that each world seems to have three signature enemies...  then there are the
"repeat offenders" which populate every world.)

Area 8-1

Enemies: Flame Golem x2, Panic Baum x2, Baum Mk II x2, Uhnyun x2
Time: 3:00
Items: Fire Up x4, Bomb Up x2, Speed Up x4, Shield x1, Heart x1, Bomb Kick x1,
Pierce Bomb x1, Glasses x1, Remote Bomb x1

This level and the one right after it serve as Uhnyun's swan song (it's been a
while since we last saw him.)  Other than that, this 31-square-long stage is
an introduction to the native monsters of the Vile Volcano.  It may look like
Baum is making a comeback here, but that isn't the case; the explosive enemy
here is Baum Mk II, a rougher, tougher upgrade to the original (which we faced
back in World 3.)  Baum Mk II requires 2 hits to defeat, and when it becomes
a bomb, it becomes a PIERCE bomb - which means that it can easily punch
through soft blocks!!!  As with World 3, I'll have a difficult time reporting
on ALL the items in each level.  There's also a new variety of Golem here, but
this one can't punch bombs - instead, it packs a flamethrower which it swings
around in a circular wave, threatening the 3-by-3 space around it and setting
off all bombs within.  Combined with the Baum Mk II, this guy just might stop
me from telling you about everything you can find in this world!!!  The third
signature monster of the Vile Volcano is the Panic Baum.  This guy can't
self-detonate, but it can withstand two hits, and upon taking the first, its
fuse will be lit; this does nothing other than making the Panic Baum, well,
panic, drastically speeding up its movements.  Sadly, the Normal Game has no
level hazards, so we won't have to deal with stuff like lava flows or
fireballs raining from the air.  (Some would call this a blessing, but I say
it would make the game more interesting and more fun.)  Well, that's all I
have to say on this level.  Happy bombing!!!

Area 8-2

Enemies: Flame Golem x1, Uhnyun x2, Baum Mk II x1, Panic Baum x4
Time Limit: 3:00
Items: Speed Up x2, Bomb Up x2, Fire Up x1, Meta-Wall x1, Clock x1, Bomb Punch
x1, Power Bomb x1, Fire Suit x1

Another basic Area.  Watch out for the Baum Mk II.  And say goodbye to Uhnyun!

Area 8-3

Enemies: Baum Mk II x3, Panic Baum x3, Flame Golem x1
Time Limit: 3:00
Items: Speed Up x2, Fire Up x2, Bomb Up x1, Land Mine x1, Invincible x1, Line
Bomb x1, Heart x1

This Area has several short horizontal and vertical walls in a crisscross-
esque pattern.  Maybe you can use them to block the Baums?  (By now, you may
have nearly 99 Bomb Ups and Fire Ups!!!  They sure are ubiquitous, aren't
they?  Oh, and I got to 1,507,000 points when I finished this stage.)

Area 8-4

Enemies: Baum Mk II x2, Panic Baum x4, Flame Golem x1
Time Limit: 3:00
Items: Fire Up x2, Bomb Up x2, Speed Up x1, Dangerous Bomb x1, Remote Bomb x1,
Clock x1, Power Glove x1, Meta-Bomb x1

This stage is even more complex than the previous one... it is seriously a
maze!!! Plan your route in advance, so that you don't trap yourself!

Area 8-5

Enemies: Flame Golem x2, Baum Mk II x6
Time Limit: 1:30
Items: Remote Control x1, Glasses x1, Heart x1, Speed Up x2, Bomb Up x2, Fire
Up x1, Pierce Bomb x1, Bomb Kick x1, Shield x1

Another Area with lots of soft blocks and a shortage of time, but this one is
31 squares long, just like the 4 Areas before it.  Worse yet, it has 6 Baum Mk
IIs.  You may want to use your own Pierce Bombs, but be careful not to blow up
the items... oh, yeah, and it would probably be a good idea to use a Clock or
two.  Make sure you're fully powered up at the end!!!!!

Bonus

Enemies: Lots of Orbits
Time: 0:30
Items: Too many to count in too little time

It's a dead ringer for the 7 Bonus stages you've played thus far.  As always,
the same rules and tactics apply.  If your stats are maxed out, try to set up
bombs at every junction as soon as the Bonus Stage begins; this should kill
all the Orbits in one chain blast, earning you MASSIVE points and giving you
plenty of time to grab all the items.  Failing in that, fall back on the
"Flaming Bomberman" trick.  (Man, I should have told you that earlier!)

Area 8-6

Enemies: Flame Golem x2, Ballor x1, Baum Mk II x2, GoldKat x1, Panic Baum x2
Time Limit: 4:00
Items: Fire Up x2, Speed Up x2, Bomb Up x1, Power Glove x1, Bomb Punch x1,
Meta-Bomb x1, Land Mine x1, Power Bomb x1

Like the rest of the volcano, this stage is 31 squares long.  It has quite a
few dead ends and cul-de-sacs, so be alert!!!

Area 8-7

Enemies: Panic Baum x2, Baum Mk II x3, GoldKat x2, Flame Golem x1
Time Limit: 4:00
Items: Line Bomb x1, Speed Up x1, Meta-Wall x1, Invincible x1, Fire Up x2,
Bomb Up x2, Pierce Bomb x1

Deja vu...  I KNOW I saw this shape somewhere in World 4...  Except it was 
more symmetrical than this.

Area 8-8

Enemies: Baum Mk II x2, Flame Golem x2, Panic Baum x2, Squiddy x2
Time Limit: 4:00
Items: Heart x1, Speed Up x2, Bomb Up x2, Fire Up x1, Dangerous Bomb x1, Land
Mine x1, Bomb Punch x1, Power Glove x1

This isn't as tricky to navigate as the Area before it, but the hard blocks
still get in the way.

Area 8-9

Enemies: Flame Golem x4, Baum Mk II x3, Panic Baum x2
Time Limit: 2:00
Items: Shield x1, Speed Up x2, Glasses x1, Line Bomb x1, Remote Bomb x1, 
Pierce Bomb x1, Bomb Up x1, Fire Up x2, Bomb Kick x1

15 squares long, lots of soft blocks, strict time limit... yep, this is the
typical Area X-9.  Even at this stage of the game, being swamped by Orbits is
bad, bad, BAD, so move quickly!!!!

Area 8 Boss Stage

Enemy: Sinister Scorpion
Time Limit: Infinite for the boss fight, 10 seconds for item collection
Items: Too many to count in too little time.

We fought a big ORGANIC flower in World 6, and Nifilheim in World 7, so World
8 must rehash the Killer Krab, right?  Right!  This battle is very similar,
and as such it should be a piece of cake if you know what you're doing.  It's
time to fry this fiery freak and claim another Bomb Crystal shard!!!!

As the battle begins, the gray-shelled Sinister Scorpion crashes down to fight
you.  Its yellow eyes light up, and it scuttles to life.  You should
immediately notice that it's much faster than the Killer Krab, but its attacks
are very similar.  (So is the arena; you can freely move in the space between
the two screens!!!)  The Sinister Scorpion can try to grab you with its claw,
and this is much faster than the homologous technique of the Killer Krab; the
same move can be used to defuse your bombs.  Also like the Killer Krab, the
Sinister Scorpion can lunge from one screen to the other, and you'd better not
be in the way if you want to live!!!!  (Seriously, the thing virtually
launches itself... it REALLY moves fast!!!!)  The Sinister Scorpion can also
stun you with bubbles in the same fashion as the Killer Krab.  5 bomb blasts
will remove the Sinister Scorpion's shell, leaving it unable to claw you or
lunge; however, it becomes even faster, and its bubble attack becomes 8-
directional.  Once the Sinister Scorpion's shell is gone, 2 more bombs kill it
for good, earning you 6000 points, a plethora of items, and the eighth shard
of the Bomb Crystal!!!

With the Bomb Crystal secured, the volcano calms down and becomes dormant.
We're almost at the Crystal Mountain, but before we can get there, we have to
fight through a nasty castle and its chesspiece legions!!!

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

7i: World 9 (Crazy Castle)

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Welcome to the Crazy Castle!!!  (I didn't steal the name from the Looney
Tunes, I swear.)  This area contains one of the toughest foes you've seen
yet!!!  Keep your guard up at all times, because your enemies certainly will!

Area 9-1

Enemies: Rookie x4, Shield Knight x1, Queen Baum x1, Ballor x1
Time Limit: 3:00
Items: Bomb Kick x1, Bomb Up x4, Speed Up x4, Fire Up x4, Glasses x1, Power
Bomb x1

Like I said, this place has a definite chess theme.  The toughest foe here
is the Shield Knight, which carries a big lance and a bigger shield.  That
shield works just like yours - it can block bomb blasts.  It only works from
the front, though, so try to get this guy from the side or from behind.  The
Rookie is slow and wouldn't be much of a threat if not for the fact that it
can make soft blocks.  Be careful around it, as it just might cut off your
escape route!!!!  I had over 1,700,000 points after this stage!  31 squares
long is now the standard size, by the way.

Area 9-2

Enemies: Squiddy x2, Rookie x4, Queen Baum x1
Time Limit: 3:00
Items: Power Glove x1, Speed Up x3, Fire Up x3, Bomb Up x3, Heart x1, Bomb
Punch x1, Remote Bomb x1

A basic stage, but watch out.  Squiddy and Rookie work well together.

Area 9-3

Enemies: Rookie x4, Shield Knight x2, Queen Baum x1
Time Limit: 3:00
Items: Bomb Up x3, Speed Up x3, Fire Up x3, Fire Suit x1, Pierce Bomb x1,
Line Bomb x1

Once again, this level's a freakin' maze.  And those Rookies AREN'T HELPING.
(Kill them.)  [I got 1,800,000 points here.]

Area 9-4

Enemies: Squiddy x1, Ballor x1, Queen Baum x1, Shield Knight x2, Rookie x2
Time Limit: 3:00
Items: Shield x1, Bomb Up x2, Fire Up x3, Speed Up x3, Clock x1, Meta-Bomb x1,
Land Mine x1

Not as frustrating as the previous one, though it's still clearly designed to
be hard to navigate.  (Hey, the whole POINT of castles is that intruders have
a difficult time getting around the place [without getting killed.])  Just
watch out, because Shield Knights like to make right-angle turns to nail you.

Area 9-5

Enemies: Queen Baum x1, Shield Knight x5
Time Limit: 1:30
Items: Speed Up x3, Bomb Up x3, Fire Up x3, Pierce Bomb x1, Meta-Wall x1,
Invincible x1, Remote Bomb x1, Glasses x1, Dangerous Bomb x1

1 minute and 30 seconds to kill 5 knights AND a Queen Baum... No, I'm NOT
kidding.  Using some Clocks, Pierce Bombs, a Heart, and Glasses would probably
be a good idea.  So would switching to Remote Bombs when you're done with the
soft blocks.  (I got 1,800,000 points in this stage.)

Bonus

Enemies: Lots of Orbits
Time Limit: 0:30
Items: Too many to count in too little time

It's just like any other Bonus stage.  Grab as many points and items as you
can.

Area 9-6

Enemies: Rookie x2, Shield Knight x2, Queen Baum x2
Time Limit: 3:00
Items: Heart x1, Fire Up x3, Speed Up x2, Bomb Up x2, Dangerous Bomb x1, Bomb
Kick x1, Power Bomb x1, Meta-Bomb x1, Power Glove x1

Navigating this castle will only get more awkward (and wait until you see the
Crystal Mountain!!!!!)  So always, ALWAYS make sure that you can escape from
an unexpected threat!!!!!

Area 9-7

Enemies: Rookie x3, Shield Knight x3
Time Limit: 3:00
Items: Fire Up x3, Speed Up x3, Bomb Up x3, Clock x1, Bomb Punch x1, Land Mine
x1, Shield x1, Fire Suit x1

Time isn't exactly plentiful, and the crisscrossing arrangements of hard
blocks continue to make this place a pain in the neck to navigate.  Watch
where you're going, lest you get cornered.  (I got 1,900,000 points here.)

Area 9-8

Enemies: Rookie x2, Queen Baum x2, Shield Knight x3
Time Limit: 3:00
Items: Line Bomb x1, Heart x1, Speed Up x3, Bomb Up x3, Fire Up x3, Meta-Wall
x1, Invincible x1, 1-Up x1, Bomb Kick x1, 

Another stage where they decided to block off random junctions.  At least your
movement isn't as restricted as it was in the previous two levels.  (I
actually ran out of time here and found myself with 2,035,100 points without
even TRYING.  There's actually a limit as to how many Orbits can be spawned at
one time... well, from the timer, at least.)

Area 9-9

Enemies: Shield Knight x3, Queen Baum x3
Time Limit: 2:00
Items: Speed Up x3, Fire Up x2, Bomb Up x3, Clock x2, Glasses x1, Heart x1,
Remote Bomb x1, Pierce Bomb x1, Fire Suit x1, Line Bomb x1, Bomb Kick x1

It's a basic 9-by-15 stage.  The trouble stems from the fact that this stage
forces you to deal with 3 Shield Knights (and 3 Queen Baums) in just two
minutes.  After clearing the soft blocks, you may want to switch to Remote
Bombs.  (P.S.: I got to 2,100,000 points here.)

Area 9 Boss Stage

Enemy: Aclimla (and her hordes of Dorios and Batties)
Time Limit: Infinite for the Boss fight, 10 seconds to gather items
Items: ...You REALLY expect me to sit there and count them when I could be
gathering them up?!?

So, we rehashed the Metal Flower in World 6, the Necron Statue in World 7, and
the Killer Krab in World 8... that means we're getting a redux of the Cactus
Bros. here, right?  WRONG.  The lady of the Crazy Castle is actually Lrucada's
mistress, Aclimla, and she fights much like her... um... counterpart (we don't
know if those two are married.)  The arena is similar, too, so do take that
into account.  There's no time to summon the Belmonts (and after Shanoa's
experience with that Wallman freak, there's no guarantee that they'd be
willing to help,) so we'll have to handle this vampiress ourselves.  Let's
roll!!!!!

Like Lrucada, Aclimla arrives on the battlefield in the form of a flock of
bats that coalesce into a single humanoid figure.  In every way, she fights as
an upgraded Lrucada.  She moves around faster, summons more Dorios (and
summons them at a faster pace, which still isn't actively an attack,) and is
more prone to using the five-way star attack rather than the three-way Batty
wave (though her Batties fly VERY fast and can be tricky to dodge if you don't
do so in advance.)  Aclimla's Dorios also move about much faster than the ones
Lrucada summoned, and if you thought Lrucada's Dorios chased you persistently,
then you haven't seen anything yet; Aclimla's Dorios want you dead even more
badly than Orbits do!!!!  Like with Lrucada, you have to either toss bombs
from one screen to the other or use the conveniently-provided teleportation
runes to take the fight to Aclimla; in either case, striking her with a bomb
blast causes her to break up into a swarm of bats and fly to the other screen
before reforming.  Aclimla has the additional ability of making Batties occupy
several adjacent rows and making them fly across the screen, pushing any bombs
in their way a bit and forcing you to dash out of the way FAST or squeeze
into a gap - if you pick the latter option, Aclimla will usually crash right
into you, bringing about your demise.  She will typically use this attack when
you are both on the same screen and you are positioned below her, though she
may also use it to push bombs away from herself.  To top it all off, instead
of moving around randomly like Lrucada, Aclimla will usually chase you down -
and since she can move right THROUGH hard blocks and will be summoning Dorios
whenever she isn't in bat form, it will take some seriously fleet feet to stay
out of her way!!!!  It takes 10 bomb blasts to put this vampiress to rest, 
earning you 4000 points (WHAT?!?  What a gyp!!!!!) for sending her back to her
coffin.  Do try to grab the items before you go.

With the Crazy Castle conquered, there is only one more locale to visit before
the Bomb Crystal is completely restored - the Crystal Mountain itself.  Or,
perhaps I should now be calling it... the Crystal Calamity!!!!!!!

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

7j: World 10 (Crystal Calamity)

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

This is it!!!!  We've gotten nine of the ten Bomb Crystal shards, and now 
we've taken the fight to where the problem began - the Crystal Mountain 
itself, where the Bomb Crystal used to govern the land before it suddenly
exploded.  It's been a long journey, but that journey is now approaching its
end.  This is going to be the toughest World of all, but you should have built
up an impressive stockpile of items by now - don't be afraid to use them!!!
Planet Bomber is counting on you, and you've come MUCH too far to screw up
now!!!!!!!!!  Get ready and get psyched, because it's time for the grand
finale!!!!  Take a deep breath, look over what you've accomplished so far, and
then make like Kirby and get that last Crystal Shard!!!!!

Area 10-1

Enemies: Maus Baum x3, King Baum x2, Rockitt x2
Time Limit: 3:00
Items: Fire Up x4, Speed Up x5, Bomb Up x4, Clock x1, Heart x1, Remote Control
x1, Full Fire x1, Glasses x1, Bomb Kick x1, Power Glove x1

The signature enemies of this world are among the toughest you've encountered.
They move quickly, and ALL of them have a quirk that can screw you over if you
aren't careful.  Maus Baum can transform into an explosive like its 
counterparts, but it doesn't do so until AFTER you kill it; this means that
you may find yourself scrambling to retrieve nearby items before they go up in
smoke.  Rockitt also has a last card to play after you fell it; it will launch
itself into the air and come crashing down on your position.  It's easy to
dodge, but ignoring it could cost you your life.  The King Baum doesn't use
any suicide tactics; rather, it uses the same Bomb Transformation trick you've
come to hate by now.  This one becomes a Super Dangerous Bomb, obliterating
anything in the 24 squares around it, and it takes three hits to destroy.
If a King Baum kills a Rockitt, you'll be in for a nasty surprise, so stay on
the move!!!!  Remember, ALWAYS make sure that you have an escape route!!!

Area 10-2

Enemies: Maus Baum x3, King Baum x1, Squiddy x2, Rockitt x2
Time Limit: 3:00
Items: 1-Up x1, Bomb Up x3, Speed Up x3, Pierce Bomb x1, Line Bomb x1, Fire Up
x3, Meta-Bomb x1, Meta-Wall x1, Bomb Punch x1

Another basic stage.  Don't let Squiddy sneak up on you.

Area 10-3

Enemies: Rockitt x4, Ballor x2, Maus Baum x2
Time Limit: 3:00
Items: Bomb Up x3, Speed Up x3, Fire Up x3, Dangerous Bomb x1, Invincible x1,
Shield x1, Power Bomb x1, Power Glove x1, Fire Suit x1, 

Surprisingly enough, this is another basic stage.  Ballor makes his final
appearance here.  Give him a VERY warm farewell for me!!!!

Area 10-4

Enemies: Rockitt x1, Squiddy x2, King Baum x1, Maus Baum x2, Ballor x2
Time Limit: 3:00
Items: Fire Up x3, Speed Up x3, Bomb Up x3, Land Mine x1, Line Bomb x1, Bomb
Kick x1, Bomb Punch x1, Heart x1, Pierce Bomb x1, Invincible x1

Now THIS stage has a complex design.  There are multiple curving strips of
hard blocks that can SERIOUSLY get in your way, and the right side of the map
is just a MAZE, plain and simple.  So watch out!!!  (I got 2,200,000 points
here!!!)

Area 10-5

Enemies: Maus Baum x10
Time Limit: 1:30
Items: Fire Up x3, Bomb Up x3, 1-Up x1, Heart x1, Bomb Kick x1, Invincible x1,
Bomb Punch x1, Shield x1, Speed Up x3, Remote Control x1, Line Bomb x1, Clock
x1, Power Glove x1, Meta-Wall x1, Meta-Bomb x1, Fire Suit x1, Pierce Bomb x1

This is the last small stage in the game, and it is INFESTED with Maus Baums.
You may want to bring along a Shield to protect yourself from the after-
explosions, or a Bomb Punch to knock them out of your way.  Of course, you'll
probably also want to bring Pierce Bombs.

Bonus

Enemies: Lots of Orbits
Time Limit: 0:30
Items: Too many to count in too little time

This is the final bonus stage in the game and the final checkpoint (there's no
New Game+ or ability to go back and replay levels in this game, which
absolutely SUCKS. I mean, honestly, they couldn't have let us go back and play
levels over again?  Were they even TRYING to give this game replay value?  Oh,
wait... I'm forgetting about Battle Mode, aren't I?)  Make it count!!!!!!  (I
had 2,332,000 points after this in the playthrough where I made this guide,
but I had about 2,500,000 in another.  That's because I had to waste quite a
bit of time counting items and mapping out the areas.  Yep, that's me, making
personal sacrifices for the sake of the guide.)

Area 10-6

Enemies: Maus Baum x3, King Baum x1, Orbit x1, Blobby x2, Squiddy x2
Time Limit: 4:00
Items: Meta-Bomb x1, Speed Up x3, Bomb Up x3, Land Mine x1, Power Bomb x1,
Dangerous Bomb x1, Shield x1, Fire Up x3, Bomb Kick x1, Clock x1

This stage's enemy list is notable in three major ways.  First of all, it's
the only Area in World 10 without Rockitts.  Second, it's the final appearance
of Blobby and Squiddy (the former of which hasn't been seen since World 5!!!)
Finally... Orbit's here from the get-go.  And the same will be true of the 3
Areas after this, only even MORE so.  In these final 4 Areas, it is VERY
important that you give yourself plenty of room to move ASAP, because Orbits
can pass through soft blocks, are by FAR the speediest foe in the game, and
will chase you like a sadistic starving Chinese butcher would chase a tied-up,
crippled, obese puppy wearing a muzzle.  (Wait, can that even be called a
"chase"?  Okay, once again, the analogy's bad, but I can't stress this enough
- it is VERY difficult to shake Orbit off your trail.  Only the bosses are
more determined to kill you.  You just CAN'T afford to let your guard down.)
This will be the first time you've seen Orbits if you never bombed an exit or
let the time run out, but they've been a lurking threat in EVERY SINGLE AREA.
And now, in the buildup to the ultimate showdown, that threat is realized.
If you are not fully prepared for battle, then you will die very, VERY
quickly.  Do NOT underestimate Orbit.  I repeat, do NOT underestimate it!!!!!!
This Area is especially dangerous because [over] half of the enemies (Orbit
included) can pass through soft blocks, and the other half can blow them up
(though three-fourths of that portion have to DIE before they'll use that
ability.)  I would highly recommend that you use Meta-Wall here, so that the
former option is also available to you.  Even WITH Meta-Wall, though, this
stage is a pain to navigate, because the hard blocks are arranged so that you
have to take the high road or the low road.  Actually, you'll have to take
both, but you can't be in two places at once, so you'll have to pick your
poison at the start and hope that Orbit's there so it doesn't trap you from
behind.

Area 10-7

Enemies: King Baum x2, Rockitt x3, Maus Baum x1, Orbit x2
Time Limit: 4:00
Items: Bomb Up x3, Speed Up x3, Fire Up x3, Remote Bomb x1, Dangerous Bomb x1,
Fire Suit x1, Meta-Wall x1

This stage isn't as irksome to navigate as the previous one was, but it can
still be somewhat of a pain in the neck.  It's kinda reminiscient of the Crazy
Castle.  Don't get caught between a bomb and a soft block or enemy!!!!

Area 10-8

Enemies: Orbit x3, Rockitt x3, Maus Baum x1, GoldKat x1
Time Limit: 4:00
Items: Bomb Up x3, Speed Up x3, Fire Up x3, Remote Control x1, Land Mine x1,
Shield x1, Power Bomb x1, 1-Up x1, Line Bomb x1, Power Glove x1, Heart x1,
Pierce Bomb x1

WAHOO!  Loop-de-loop!!!!!  This Area has a bunch of small boxes with single
entrances.  As fun as it is to rip around these little cul-de-sacs, save it
for a situation where you need to bomb an Orbit or grab a few items.  Like
Area 10-6, you have to take the high road or the low road at first, and you'll
have traversed both by the time you're done.  I got 2,300,000 points while
traveling through this Area, thanks in part to the last GoldKat in the game.

Area 10-9

Enemies: Orbit x7, Rockitt x3
Time Limit: 4:00
Items: Bomb Up x2, Fire Up x3, Speed Up x2, Clock x1, 1-Up x1, Line Bomb x1,
Pierce Bomb x1, Land Mine x1, Power Glove x1, Invincible x1, Bomb Kick x1,
Dangerous Bomb x1, Power Bomb x1, Remote Bomb x1, Heart x1, Fire Suit x1,
Bomb Punch x1, Glasses x1, Meta-Bomb x1, Meta-Wall x1, Shield x1

SEVEN Orbits roll out to stop you from ascending the grand stairs to the lord
of all monsters.  Talk about a steep challenge!!!!  This is the penultimate
Area in all (including the final Boss,) so the stakes are high.  This is
another stage where soft blocks are plentiful, and the aforementioned stairs
effectively divide the level into two halves - both conditions which stack the
odds in the Orbits' favor.  To come out of this place alive, you will NEED
Pierce Bombs to carve some paths through the soft blocks before the Orbits can
get to you.  If they reach you as the level starts (when there are a lot of
soft blocks,) you are SCREWED unless you use a Meta-Wall.  Actually, it would
be a great idea to use a Meta-Wall before even entering this Area.  Line Bomb,
Heart, and Bomb Kick will all help, too.  Your journey is almost over, so
don't be afraid to pull out all the stops - you'll need to do exactly that in
order to win!!!!!!  (I got to 2,400,000 points here... not bad, but not great,
either.)

Area 10 Boss Stage

Enemy: Master Monster
Time Limit: Infinite (This is the final boss, so there are NO items!!!!)
Items: Game Clear

THIS IS IT!!!!!!!  We've cleaned up the Bomber Base, explored the Bomber 
Ruins, escaped from the Pirate Panic, dashed through the Desert of Doom,
purged the Ghastly Graveyard, choked through the Fiendish Forest, spelunked
about the Chilly Cavern, blasted through the Vile Volcano, fought through the
Crazy Castle, and weathered the Crystal Calamity.  It's been a long, hard
quest, but we have 9 of the 10 shards of the Bomb Crystal, and the 10th is in
our sights.  Once we have it, Bomberman can restore the Bomb Crystal and bring
peace and happiness back to the land.  But it's not gonna be that easy.  The
monsters were trying to stop us for a REASON - their very existence is tied to
the shattered state of the Bomb Crystal.  And now, when all seems lost for the
forces of evil, the toughest of their kind, the living Jomon statue called the
Master Monster, comes forth to challenge us.  Everything that we've
accomplished so far, the entire grand adventure, the fate of Planet Bomber -
it all comes down to this ultimate showdown between good and evil.  If
Bomberman wins, then light will return to the world, and life will return to
normal - but if the Master Monster wins, then darkness will reign forevermore.
In other words, failure is NOT an option!!!!!!!  ARE YOU READY TO
RUMBLE?!!!?!???!!?!?!?!?!?!??!?!!??!!??!!!???

Bomberman has finally made it to the summit of the Crystal Mountain.  There is
only one more task to complete - restoring the Bomb Crystal!!!  Before you can
do that, though, the holder of the final shard - the Master Monster -
confronts you with the goal of terminating your quest - indeed, your very
EXISTENCE - and clutching evil's victory from the jaws of defeat.  As this
Claydol look-alike levitates onto the screen, notice that there are NO tunnels
between the upper and lower screen.  Just like with Lrucada and Aclimla, you
will have to use teleportation runes to get from one screen to the other.
While you try to get onto the upper screen in a location that WON'T get you
steamrolled upon your arrival, the champion of darkness will fire its fists at
you in an attempt to punch your lights out.  (Yes, unlike the Pokemon it
resembles, the Master Monster actually HAS HANDS.) When the Master Monster
stops moving and revs up its fist until steam starts billowing out around it,
get ready to RUN!!!!!  The fists move fast, will be aimed with pinpoint
accuracy, and can actually home in on your position a little bit (though more
often they tend to straighten out and blast down your lane,) so you will have
to move fast in order to avoid getting clocked.  (If you duck into an upper 
(or lower) corner to dodge the punch, you will have to stay put for a while -
I don't know if the Master Monster's hands can hit you on the reset, but I'm
not about to find out the hard way!!!!)  Once you get to the same screen as
the Master Monster, you will have to contend with its fearsome speed and large
size (though, thankfully, it isn't quite as big as it APPEARS to be.)  When
the Master Monster extends its arms and meditates for a second, look out - it
is actually preparing to fire missiles at you!!!!!!!  Missiles will appear
to the left and right of the Master Monster and fly straight up or down the
screen, forcing you to get between them or get out of the way.  And since the
missiles travel three abreast, when I say "get between them", I mean 
positioning yourself between the two SETS of missiles - right in front of the
Master Monster.  For reasons relating to your health, it's probably better to
just get out of the way altogether.  Thankfully, the Master Monster can't
fire its missiles towards you if you're standing to the left or right of it.
When you score a hit on the Master Monster, the villain will retreat to the
other screen to repeat the cycle again.  This time, it will probably use its
missiles to bother you - it seems to prefer its missiles when you're above it
and its fists when you're below it.  Use the teleportation runes to chase it
down again.  The Master Monster can use its fists to engulf and neutralize
bombs just like the Killer Krab and Sinister Scorpion, so it's tougher to
score a hit from below.  When you've scored 5 hits on the Master Monster, its
spiky rotating bottom - which, by the way, seems to be more akin to clothing
than an actual part of the beast - will crack, glow red, and crumble, 
revealing the Master Monster's red underbelly.  The removal of this seal
allows the Goliath to your David to utilize a couple of new moves.  It can
adopt a meditative pose similar to that before its missile attack, then
spread its arms, open its chest, and instead send a 3-space-wide laser beam of
brilliant, water-like energy to flow straight ahead of it, surging down the
screen to incinerate you.  This move is simple to dodge, but it will set off
any bombs in its way.  The Master Monster also gains the power to send its
entire arm out to the side, where it becomes a devastating ray emitter that
sends an electric ray ebbing across an entire half of the screen it's on -
which will always be right AT you, since the Master Monster typically uses the
move when it and you are on the same screen.  The only way to dodge this is to
run behind the arm, to the other side of the screen (that would be left-right,
not up-down.  The failure to make this distinction could get you killed.)  The
ray and arm combined extend to a maximum of 10 squares, so you MIGHT be safe
if you stay all the way on the side of the screen, though if the Master
Monster is using this attack at that sort of range, it probably means that you
were already heading from one side of the screen to the other.  Like the
energy surge, the electric ray can set off any and all bombs in its path.
Once you've sent the Master Monster back to the lower screen, at a suboptimal
orientation to PHIRE ITS LAZARS, it may actually send its arm all the way to
your position to try the electric-ray attack from long range.  So make sure
that you teleport quickly.  The Master Monster also retains its missile
attack, but it will now fire them in two sets of FIVE abreast, giving you
precious little space to evade it.  Hit the Master Monster again and send it
back to the upper screen, and it will continue using the long-range electric
ray, only this time, it'll move even MORE quickly.  If you can't move fast
yourself, you're toast.  Even so, your best chance to hit the Monster Master
is to goad it into using the electric ray or the laser, then bomb it while
it's motionless.  Hit the Master Monster one more time - that's eight hits in
all, three after the breaking of the seal - and the champion of light (that
would be you) will triumph over the champion of darkness, earning 10,000 
points (not that it matters now.)  The ground will rumble and shake, and the
Master Monster, defeated, will shut down like a virus-addled computer.  You
did it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  The world is saved!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The 10 shards of the Bomb Crystal are united, and they come together in a
glorious flash.  The Bomb Crystal is whole again, and peace returns to the
land.  The purple sky turns blue, just as it was before the Bomb Crystal 
broke, signifying that everything is back to normal now.  Shortly after the
world is depicted returning to its peaceful and happy state, the screen fades
out to white, and the credits begin playing.  You could always take a look at
the names of the people who made this fine game, but I find it more 
entertaining to watch the Bombermen of assorted colors walk onto the screen
and engage in all their animations - hopping from foot to foot and pumping
their fists happily, jumping up and down in a victory celebration, tapping
their feet in boredom, breaking down in tears (uh... why?), and... WTF?!?  Is
he... dancing or something?!?  BWA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA!!!!!!  Seriously - 
it's a LAUGH RIOT to watch Bomberman shaking his patootie.  It's worth going 
through all this trouble all by itself, trust me.  As the words "PRESENTED BY
HUDSON" float onto the screen, the cycle of walking and performing Bombermen
ends, and all eight Bombermen walk onto the screen, roll-call style, and jump
up and down cheerfully.  Congratulations - you've cleared the Normal Game!!!!!

==============================================================================

8: Battle Mode

==============================================================================

In this section, I'm going to cover Battle Mode.  Duh.  I don't have much to
say here, as introducing the Battle Mode requires a sub-section all by itself.
Speaking of that...

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

8a: Introduction

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

In most Bomberman games, Battle Mode is the heart and soul of the whole thing,
and Bomberman DS is no exception.  This game's Battle Mode is particularly
deep, with 3 game modes scattered across 30 arenas.  23 arenas utilize the
"Survival" style of play, in which your objective is to eliminate the other
players by blowing them up, while trying to make sure that this doesn't happen
to YOU.  3 arenas utilize the "Crown Battle" play-style, where your objective
is to be the one who collects the Crown item - you can knock your opponents 
out of the race by bombing them, and they can do the same to you, but
destroying your opponents doesn't QUITE guarantee your victory.  Another trio
of battlefields feature the "Blocks" style of play, in which your objective is
to have the most squares match your own color by game's end by blasting all
over the map (if you've played Reversi Battle in Bomberman Generation, it's
mostly the same thing.)  The last arena is basically a mix-em-up mode where
you go on a whirlwind tour of ALL the game's arenas, as chosen on a random
basis, until somebody emerges as the ultimate victor.

In any case, a Battle Mode game is divided into matches, and any number of
sets may be included in a match.  A Battle Mode game isn't over until
somebody wins the required number of sets to win the match.  Since up to 8
people can play, and it's possible for a set to end in a "draw" (in which case
nobody gets the victory - not even if the set was down to just two people when
they both got blown up or time run out [or, in Blocks play, the top two
players had the same amount of territory when time expired,]) this isn't
conducted in a "2 out of 3", "3 out of 5", "4 out of 7", et cetera fashion.
Instead, the match keeps going until somebody gets the required number of
wins.  This game also tracks your kills, and these are used as a tie-breaker
if two or more players are tied in their number of wins when the match ends
(but in this event, the tie will be for second place at best.  :p  Seriously,
your kills won't carry over from one match to the next - only for the sets
which compose one match - so they're really more for fun and quick bragging
rights than for anything else.)  The winner of the match will be the one who
wins the required number of sets first.  Victories cannot be "stolen", so if
you fall behind, you'll have to step up your game to avoid a crushing defeat.

That's enough of the basic stuff for now.  I think it's time for me to move on
to the drollest part of the Battle Game... the setup phase.  Oh, a quick
reminder before we begin: you can find and collect power-ups in the Battle
Game, and, indeed, you will HAVE to do so in order to win.  When you collect a
power-up, you will immediately use it - there is no "capturing" involved, not
even on the arena that uses only the top screen (that's Mini-Mini, if you're
curious.)  Therefore, you will have to be cautious as to what you pick up,
lest you cancel out a really good item or snag a power-down by mistake.  Also,
the items in the "Limited Time" and "Other" categories do not appear in the
Battle Game (and, yes, that means no Hearts,) but there is another group of
items that you can ONLY find in the Battle Game.  See the "Items" section for
more details.  I am NOT going to bother trying to count up the items in each
arena, but I have noticed that some items are more prone to appearing in
certain arenas than others.  I'll try to let you know where this is the case.
Okay, NOW we're ready to begin fooling around with the settings.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

8b: Settings

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

First of all, if you are actually intelligent, like me, and bothered to read
the instruction manual, then you will not have to read the next few
paragraphs.  You can freely skip them and advance to the part where I begin
talking about handicaps and rule settings, because you already know everything
that I will be saying in the aforementioned first few paragraphs.  I only go
to the trouble of describing the menus in great detail because some people -
who I can only refer to as "retarded" - think that instruction manuals are
unimportant wastes of their time.  Nothing could be further from the truth.
Without reading the instructions, you can only learn from trial-and-error,
which is honestly more trouble than it's worth if instructions were available.
(People who are smart enough to take the time to read instruction manuals also
have no need to peruse Section 6*, which is also intended to cater to those
aforementioned idiots.)  Right, then... now that I'm finished being
self-righteous, I'll explain how to set up your Battle Game.

After selecting "Battle Game", you will arrive at a screen with eight boxes in
the upper screen and one green box down below labeled "Start".  This screen is
where you broadcast a signal to invite others to join in your game - your DS
will do that automatically, and other DSes can pick up the signal by selecting
"Download Game" from the DS's main menu (only 1 Bomberman Game Card is
needed.)  The upper screen will show all players sorted by the order in which
they joined, with the initiator being Player 1, and each box will contain the
user name of that player's DS system.  After all players have joined the game,
hit "Start" to go to the next screen.  (If nobody else joined you, you will be
asked "Do you want to battle alone?"  Press A if you would like to do so, or B
to cancel if you want to continue waiting.)

In the next screen, all players will be assigned a color of Bomberman.  Player
1 will be White Bomberman, Player 2 will be Black Bomberman, Player 3 will be
Red Bomberman, Player 4 will be Blue Bomberman, Player 5 will be Green
Bomberman, Player 6 will be Yellow Bomberman, Player 7 will be Pink Bomberman,
and Player 8 will be Light Blue Bomberman.  All Bombermen who not being
controlled by DS-equipped humans (which would be all of them other than White
Bomberman if you're playing by yourself) will not participate by default.  To
activate a Bomberman, tap its selective box; the computer-controlled
Bomberman's face will now appear above the word "Normal".  (The Bomberman will
also appear in its box on the upper screen.)  Tap it a second time to change
its designation (and name) to "Hard", a third time to change it to "Easy", and
a fourth time to deactivate it.  From this menu, you can also either "confirm"
once you have two or more players/computers, or go to another screen where
you can set up teams.  All players are free to assign a particular color to
themselves to designate their allegiance, while Player 1 also operates
computer selections.  (In all other menus, Player 1 calls the shots.)  During
gameplay, a player will appear as the color of his or her team (their
Bomberman's true color can still be seen in the status box in-game.)  There
must be at least two teams, and no team can have more than four players.  When
all players are happy with their choices, you can go back to the player-select
screen and confirm everything to move on to the stage-selection screen.

Stage-selection is a simple affair.  Simply use the big left-arrow and right-
arrow boxes (or left and right on the Control Pad) to scroll to the stage you
want, and press A when happy with your choice.  The upper screen will show the
default settings (at the very least, you'll be able to change the number of
sets in the match on the next screen.)  This is also where you can get to the
Handicap screen, via the little blue box labeled "HANDI" in the lower-right
corner.  The box at the top-center of the lower screen shows the name of the
stage you have selected.

~*_(SMART PEOPLE CAN BEGIN READING HERE)_*~

In the Handicap screen, you can assign items to your Bomberman before the
match, as long as those items don't "violate" what you're SUPPOSED to have in
the stage (more on that later.)  Basically, you can use the Handicap Screen to
give yourself an advantage or a disadvantage over the others.  Again, Player 1
makes these choices for the computers.  Handicap-assigned items remain with a
player for the entire match; the player begins all sets with those items, and
they will not appear all over the map when the player is defeated (unlike any
items that he/she happened to pick up.)  Keep in mind that you can't assign
to a player several items that conflict with each other (such as different
bomb types), nor can any player be pre-assigned more than six items.  When
everyone is happy with their handicaps, you can go to the rule screen by
confirming your stage selection - just tap on the big box in the center of the
screen!!!!!!  I'll go into detail on each of the stages in that section, but
for now, I will provide a basic overview of each stage:
--------
Normal: The standard stage; no fancy traps, gimmicks, or restrictions here!!!
---
Classic: A simplistic stage with only the most basic of items and settings.
Namely, only Bomb Up, Bomb Down, Fire Up, Fire Down, Speed Up, Speed Down, and
Bomb Kick are available here.
---
Voice Detonate: You have the almighty Remote Control from the get-go!  But
instead of using the B button to detonate them, you have to use your voice!!!
(Oh, yeah, and your opponents get Remote Bombs, too.)
---
Voice Bomb: Instead of using the A button to set up bombs, you have to blow
into the microphone!
---
Voice Shield: You are equipped with a mighty Shield!!!!  The catch - you must
use your voice, rather than the Y button, to raise it!  (And your opponents
can do the same...)
---
Shield: You are equipped with a mighty Shield!!!!  But so are your opponents!
---
Skull: Those pesky Skulls are ABSURDLY common here!!!!!
---
Mystery Items: All the items are ? Marks!!!  You never know what you're
picking up!!!  Be careful!!!!!
---
Speedy: You're at your maximum speed from the word "Go!"  Your opponents are
also super-speedy, so look out!!!
---
Tunnels: The stage is full of tunnels that can hide items and players - and
that doesn't JUST refer to the tunnels between the screens!!!  There are
actually plenty of tunnels for players, bombs, and items to hide in within the
screens themselves!!!
---
Unipass: Only one tunnel connects the screens!
---
Tripass: The screens are linked by a mere three tunnels.
---
Conveyor Belt: Conveyor belts carry players and bombs 'round and 'round!
---
Trapdoors: Instead of tunnels, players must use trapdoors to warp from one
screen to the other.
---
Kick-Kick: Not only does this stage have lots of tunnels, it also has arrow
marks on the floor that can change the direction of kicked bombs!!!  Everyone
has Bomb Kick to capitalize on this.
---
See-Saw: Four see-saws are lined up at the edges of the screen.  When a player
steps onto the raised end of a see-saw, anything on the lowered end - be it
a player or a bomb - is tossed away.  Players hurled out of the screen in this
fashion are immediately defeated.
---
Full-Power: Everyone's strength is maximized!!!  There are no soft blocks.
---
Lotsa Items: There are no hard blocks in this stage.  Instead, the center of
each screen contains a smorgasboard of items!!!!
---
Mini-Mini: The entire battle takes place on just one screen!!!
---
Inferno: There are no hard blocks - which means that there's nowhere to hide!!
---
Spikes: There are no hard blocks; instead, there are floor traps which spring
deadly spikes every so often.  Watch your step!!!
---
Crown Battle: Get the Crown on the upper screen to win!!!
---
Full-Power Crown: Get the Crown on the upper screen to win, but watch out -
everybody's at full power, and the hard blocks are replaced by spiky holes
that can block YOU, but NOT bomb blasts!!!!
---
Merry-Go-Crown: Get the Crown on the upper screen to win, but watch out - the
Crown is being carried in circles on a conveyor belt!!!!
---
Blocks: Claim the most territory with bomb blasts to win!!!!
---
Kick Blocks: Claim the most territory with bomb blasts to win, but watch out -
the floor is littered with arrows that can't be claimed and will change the
direction of any bomb that is kicked over them!!!  All players have Bomb Kick
in order to make good use of this.
---
Zombie: Claim the most territory to win!!!  Defeated players respawn right
away, sans their territory and items.
---
Bom-Bom: Bombs are tossed out of four spawning blocks spread across the
screens!!!
---
Barom: Baroms spawn here endlessly - watch out for them!!!
---
Random: Any stage could be chosen here, and the arena will change from one set
to the next!!!

In the rule screen, you can tinker with the settings by tapping on their
appropriate boxes.  The currently selected settings are shown on the upper
screen, whereas the interactive boxes you use to change those settings are
found on the lower screen, in the corresponding location (except for the
stage, which was selected on the previous screen; in its place will be the
box which confirms all of your choices.)  Depending on the stage, some
settings might be grayed out on the lower screen; this means that you can't
tamper with them.  Once you are happy with the settings, hit "OK" (in the
lower-right corner) to go to the next screen.  The various settings are:
------
Sets: (Upper-left) This is the number of sets that must be won in order to win
the match.  It can be set to any number from 1 to 9.
---
Time: (Upper-right) This is the amount of time allotted for a winner to be
decided.  When it expires, the set will end in a draw (in Survival and Crown
stages,) or the winner will be determined (in Blocks stages.)  It can be set
to any value from 1:00 to 9:00 in 1:00-intervals.
---
Tiebreak: (Directly below Sets) This setting decides whether or not the match
will incorporate a "tie-breaker", and it can be set to Yes or No.  If Tiebreak
is set to Yes, then hard blocks begin to appear once time is running out,
confining the players in an ever-tighter space to make it easier for them to
kill each other (if the blocks don't kill them first.)
---
Slots: (Directly below Time) This determines whether or not the Slots are spun
for additional items at the beginning of every set, and it can be set to Yes
or No.  Setting it to Yes lets everyone play the Slots right before a new set
begins; setting it to No keeps the Slots off-limits and unuseable.
---
Revenge: (Directly below Tiebreak) Determines whether or not Revenge bombing
is allowed, and whether or not Revenge bombers who successfully defeat an
opponent are allowed to respawn.  It can be set to Yes, No, or Super.  Setting
it to Yes allows fallen players to become Revenge bombers, but they cannot
respawn if they score any kills.  Setting it to No does not allow fallen
players to become Revenge bombers.  Setting it to Super allows fallen players
to become Revenge bombers, and it also allows them to return to the set upon
defeating another player (thereby making them eligible for victory once more.)
---
Position: (Directly below Slots) Determines where players are placed to begin
each set.  It can be set to Fixed or Random.  If it is set to Fixed, all
players begin in the same place for each set.  If it is set to Random, all
players' starting locations are shuffled to begin each new set.
---
Skull: (Lower-left) Determines whether or not Skulls can appear.  It can be
set to Yes or No.  If it is set to Yes, Skulls will appear; if it is set to
No, there will not be any Skulls.

The final screen shows the selected stage and all settings.  If you are happy
with the settings, tap the stage icon (or press A) to begin the Battle Mode
game!!!!  If not, press B to go back to the stage-select screen and change
your choices.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

8c: Playing Battle Mode

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Tiebreak works like this: once the timer for a set is allowed to reach 0:40, 
hard blocks will begin to crop up, killing any player caught beneath them as
they rise and leaving everyone else with little room to maneuver.  The hard
blocks begin appearing in the lower-left corner of the lower screen and appear
from left to right; as soon as the right-most square in a row is filled, a
hard block appears in the left-most square of the row above it to continue the
cycle.  When the lower screen is completely filled in, the process repeats
itself in the upper screen, and the tunnels close.  This all happens quite
quickly, and it won't be long before there's BARELY any room to move, let 
alone evade any explosions, so it's EXTREMELY unlikely that two or more people
will still be alive long enough for the timer to hit 0:00.  As a further note,
all Revenge bombers will be pulled out of the match once Tiebreak begins - it
would be WAY too cheap to let them stick around!!!!

If you get killed and become a Revenge Bomber, the odds are NOT going to be in
your favor.  You do have an advantage over Revenge Bombers in other Bomberman
games - namely, you can get bombs into ANY position on the field, you can use
the microphone to generate Dangerous Bombs, and you can toss bombs a little
quicker than Revenge Bombers in other games - but it's still REALLY hard to be
anything more than a nuisance.  Your bombs are only at Power level 1, so an
opponent has to be standing RIGHT next to the bomb in order to die from it.
You will have VERY little success in trying to bomb enemies directly.  Rather,
try to position your bombs in the proximity of other bombs (so they'll be set
off early,) or, better yet, try to trap your opponents whenever possible.

If the "Position" setting is set to "Fixed", then for most arenas, P1 will
start in the upper-left corner of the upper screen, P2 will start in the
upper-right corner of the upper screen, P3 will start in the lower-left corner
of the upper screen, and P4 will start in the lower-right corner of the upper
screen.  P5, P6, P7, and P8 start in the analagous corners of the lower screen
(upper-left, upper-right, lower-left, and lower-right respectively.)  However,
the starting positions will be different on maps that warrant it (read: Mini-
Mini and the three Crown Battle stages.)  If "Position" is set to "Random",
the starting positions won't change - the only thing being shuffled up is who
starts where.

You'll know you've scored a kill when you hear Bomberman shout "Yeah!!"

When a set ends, you'll find yourself at the Results Screen.  This shows how
many wins and kills everyone has.  Look out for number one!!!!

When the match is over, the top three players will be on a winner's podium.
Number 2 and Number 3 will be bawling hysterically as Number 1, the winner,
jumps up and down for joy.  From here, you can "retry" and begin another
game, or quit and head back to the main menu.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

8d: Stages & Strategies

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Here, I will outline each battle stage - default settings, locked settings,
forbidden handicaps, stage features, and, last but not least, key strategies.

Stage: Normal
Sets: 3
Time: 2:00
Tiebreak: Yes
Slots: No
Revenge: Super
Position: Fixed
Skull: Yes
Handicap: All items are permitted.
Stage features: None. This is a bland stage.
Strategies: This is an ordinary stage, so no extraordinary strategy is
required.  Just get out there and blow your opponents to pieces!!!!  As far as
I can tell, all the items appear.

Stage: Classic
Sets: 3
Time: 2:00
Tiebreak: No *LOCKED*
Slots: No *LOCKED*
Revenge: No *LOCKED*
Position: Fixed
Skull: No *LOCKED*
Handicap: All items except for Bomb Up, Bomb Down, Fire Up, Fire Down, Speed
Up, Speed Down, and Bomb Kick are forbidden.
Stage Features: Only Bomb Up, Bomb Down, Fire Up, Fire Down, Speed Up, Speed
Down, and Bomb Kick can be found here.
Strategy: No fancy tricks are available to you, and there will be NO twists in
the match.  This stage will push your bombing skills to the limit!!!  Do your
best to trap foes - it's easiest if you set up many bombs or corner them near
a wall, so that they won't be able to just kick your bombs away.  I experience
a lot of draws on this stage.

Stage: Voice Detonate
Sets: 3
Time: 2:00
Tiebreak: Yes
Slots: No *LOCKED*
Revenge: Yes
Position: Fixed
Skull: Yes
Handicap: All Bomb-type items forbidden
Stage Features: None in particular, save for the gameplay quirk.
Strategy: You have Remote Bombs automatically, but so do your opponents!!!!
Be VERY aggressive - the best way to avoid being killed is to kill your
opponents before they get the chance!!!!!!

Stage: Voice Bomb
Sets: 3
Time: 2:00
Tiebreak: Yes
Slots: No *LOCKED*
Revenge: Yes
Position: Fixed
Skull: Yes
Handicap: All items Permitted
Stage Features: None in particular, save for the gameplay quirk.
Strategy: As with all the Voice stages, don't blow at the wrong time!!!  It
would be humiliating to trap yourself and be blown to smithereens at your own
hand.  If your opponents are near you, perhaps you could blow into THEIR DS
systems at an inopportune time - just make sure to run and hide immediately
afterwards, as I'm SURE they won't look too kindly on you for such dirty
tactics.  I know I wouldn't.

Stage: Voice Shield
Sets: 3
Time: 2:00
Tiebreak: Yes
Slots: No *LOCKED*
Revenge: Super
Position: Fixed
Skull: Yes
Handicap: All items except for Shield permitted
Stage Features: None in particular, save for the gameplay quirk
Stage Strategy: This is a highly defensive stage. To win, you'll have to set 
up bombs at several of your opponent's flanks, so that he can't block them all
at once.
Notes: Oddly enough, you can give yourself the Bomb Punch or Line Bomb through
the Handicap menu.  Since this stage forces you to operate the shield with the
mic, you can use Line Bomb or Bomb Punch with Y as normal - these two items
can coexist with the Shield for this stage only (but they still can't coexist
with each other!!!!)

Stage: Shield
Sets: 3
Time: 2:00
Tiebreak: Yes
Slots: No
Revenge: Super
Position: Fixed
Skull: Yes
Handicap: All items except for Shield, Bomb Punch, and Line Bomb permitted
Special Features: None, save for the auto-handicap
Stage Strategy: Since everyone has the Shield automatically, you'll have a
tough time beating foes unless you set up bombs on multiple flanks or you
catch them by surprise (which almost REQUIRES you to have high firepower.)
Notes: Unlike the Voice Shield stage, you operate the shield with Y, as 
normal.  That's why Line Bombs and Bomb Punch aren't allowed.

Name: Skull
Sets: 3
Time: 2:00
Tiebreak: Yes
Slots: No
Revenge: Yes
Position: Fixed
Skull: Yes *LOCKED*
Handicap: All items permitted
Special Features: None, except for the obscene amount of skulls you'll find
here
Stage Strategy: The Skull setting should read "Yes... VERY YES".  When I said
that there was an "obscene" amount of skulls, I was actually making a pun...
because you're sure to do a lot of swearing on this stage!!!  *is maimed*
Ow...  Anyways, do try to avoid the skulls, even if you have to make a detour.
All of the possible skull effects in this game are CRIPPLING - Diahrrea in
particular can easily kill you, while Slow makes you an ABSURDLY easy target
(and it's hard to pass off to others, since they will DEFINITElY be able to
outrun you.)  No Bomb renders you unable to attack, and you're also unable to
break any soft blocks (ARGH.)  Dizzy is actually the least dangerous of the
four, but it's still incredibly annoying, especially when you're trying to
flee the danger zone of an impending bomb blast.  If you DO get an infection,
try to pass it off to someone else posthaste.

Name: Mystery Item
Sets: 3
Time: 2:00
Tiebreak: Yes
Slots: Yes
Revenge: Super
Position: Fixed
Skull: Yes
Handicap: All items are permitted.
Stage Features: None, except for all the cloaked items.
Stage Strategy: This stage is an even worse obscenity-generator than Skull.
With no way to see just what you're about to pick up, you could wind up with
a power-down, a bomb type that you DON'T want, or even worse, a Skull, EVERY
time you get an item.  The only way to tell what you picked up is to listen
for Bomberman shouting the name of the item when you nab it (or to see the
purple fog appear around him when he picks up a Skull.)  The only exception to
this madness is that when a player dies and his items appear all over the map,
they WILL appear as what they actually are.  You'll want to make a beeline for
that (or, alternatively, avoid it like the freakin' plague.)

Name: Speedy
Sets: 3
Time: 2:00
Tiebreak: Yes
Slots: Yes
Revenge: Super
Position: Fixed
Skull: Yes
Handicap: All items are permitted except for Speed Up (since you're already
maxed out.)
Stage Features: None, save for the auto-handicap.
Stage Strategy: Since all the players are super-fast, you'll have to be
careful not to run into a bomb blast.  Avoid the Sandals at all costs (other
than being blown up, of course.)

Name: Tunnels
Sets: 3
Time: 2:00
Tiebreak: Yes
Slots: No
Revenge: Yes
Position: Fixed
Skull: Yes
Handicap: All items are permitted.
Stage Features: The tunnels on both of the screens (not to be confused with
the tunnels BETWEEN the screens.)
Stage Strategy: Bombs can't be thrown or punched into the tunnels; they'll
just bounce off the roof.  Bombs also can't be carried into the tunnels - they
fall out of your hands if you try.  You're free to set up or kick bombs into
the tunnels, though.  Bombs in tunnels are effectively hidden, so watch out!!
Use the Select button to keep tabs on your own position (which is always a
good idea, but even more important in this stage,) and use the R button to
find out where your opponents are.  Just don't hold down R for very long, as
the speech bubbles are even more of an impediment to your vision than the
tunnels!!!!

Name: Unipass
Sets: 3
Time: 2:00
Tiebreak: Yes
Slots: Yes
Revenge: Super
Position: Random
Skull: Yes
Handicap: All items are permitted.
Stage Features: Only one tunnel connects the screens, and the hard blocks
directly in front of their entrances are gone.
Stage Strategy: Since there's only one route which connects the two screens,
prowl around there and try to trap players in the tunnel.  Just watch out
for opponents trying the same trick!!!  If you feel especially mean-spirited,
set up bombs in the tunnel so that your foes can't flee to the upper screen
when the Tiebreak begins!!!!!

Stage: Tripass
Sets: 3
Time: 2:00
Tiebreak: Yes
Slots: Yes
Revenge: Yes
Position: Random
Skull: Yes
Handicap: All items are permitted.
Stage Features: It's like Unipass, but now there are three tunnels instead of
one.
Stage Strategy: Your basic strategy should be the same as Unipass; block your
enemy's path!!!  Just keep in mind that you have THREE tunnels to defend.

Stage: Conveyor Belt
Sets: 3
Time: 2:00
Tiebreak: Yes
Slots: Yes
Revenge: Yes
Position: Fixed
Skull: Yes
Handicap: All items are permitted.
Stage Features: The stage has three conveyor belts; there's an outer belt
which travels clockwise around the two screens, and two inner belts, one on
each screen, which move counterclockwise.  All Bombermen, bombs, and items on
a belt get carried in that direction.  This speeds you up when you move WITH
the belt and slows you down when you move AGAINST it.  Only two tunnels
connect the screens, and the outer conveyor bolt travels through each.  All
three conveyor belts are simple rectangles.
Stage Strategy: Aw, come on... where are the speed and reverse buttons?  And
why didn't they put this sort of thing in the Normal Game?!?  Anyways... the
key to winning here is to use the belt to your advantage.  Don't set your
bombs on the belt where you WANT them to go off - they will quite literally be
carried away.  Instead, set them about three to four spaces away so that they
will be carried TO the correct location.  You can also use the conveyor belt
to try to catch the other players by surprise - just don't get surprised
yourself!!!  You'll have to think ahead to win in this stage.

Stage: Trapdoors
Sets: 3
Time: 2:00
Tiebreak: Yes
Slots: No
Revenge: Yes
Position: Random
Skull: Yes
Handicap: All items are permitted.
Special features: There are no tunnels between the screens.  Instead, there
are five trapdoors on each screen; one about 3 squares diagonally from each
corner, and one smack-dab in the center.  Going into a trapdoor from any given
direction launches you out of the other screen's corresponding trapdoor 1
space in the other direction.  Bombs can travel through trapdoors in the same
fashion, and going through a trapdoor while carrying a bomb... well, I think
you drop the bomb, but I'm not quite sure where it ends up.  In a sense, the
trapdoors are similar to the Normal Game's teleportation runes, but there are
distinct differences, namely, the launching.  Here's a diagram to show how
trapdoor travel works:

B = Bomberman/Bomb H = Hard Block T = Trapdoor

  Left-to-right       Top-to-bottom
Screen 1 Screen 2 OR Screen 1 Screen 2

  H H      H H         HBH      H H
  BT        TB          T        T
  H H      H H         H H      HBH

Going into a trapdoor from its underside or right side would result in the
inverse of the corresponding diagram.  Also, you can and WILL bounce off of
any bombs or soft blocks that you happen to land on when coming out of the
trapdoor, landing in the nearest open space in the direction that you exited.
Stage Strategies: Oh, boy.  THIS is a fun stage.  It's difficult, but it JUST
might be possible to launch other players out by setting up bombs as they're
exiting towards the edge of the screen, so that they bounce across all of them
and end up out of the arena.  I've never pulled it off, but theoretically, it
could work.  A more feasible (and entertaining) strategy is to wait for the
Tiebreak, get to the upper screen, and then set up bombs all around the trap-
doors so that the folks on the lower screen are scared to follow you.  Keep it
up until the blocks cover up ALL the trapdoors on the lower screen, and every-
one who's still there is DOOMED.

Stage: Kick-Kick
Sets: 3
Time: 2:00
Tiebreak: Yes
Slots: No
Revenge: Yes
Position: Random
Skull: Yes
Handicap: Bomb Kick is forbidden, because everyone already has it.
Stage Features: In addition to the tunnels from the Tunnels stage, this stage
has arrow markers on the ground that redirect any and all bombs kicked over
them (in the direction of the arrow.)  Everyone is given Bomb Kick in order to
utilize this.
Stage Strategies: Uh, duh.  Use the arrow markers to kick bombs and catch your
opponents off guard!!!!  You can also try using them to make Dangerous Bombs!!

Stage: See-Saw
Sets: 3
Time: 2:00
Tiebreak: Yes
Slots: No
Revenge: Yes
Position: Fixed
Skull: Yes
Handicap: All items are permitted.
Stage Features: Four seesaws are lined up along each left-right edge of each
screen.  If a bomb or Bomberman moves onto one end of the seesaw, any bombs or
Bombermen on the other end go flying two squares in the other direction.
However, if you're flung out, you're OUT!!!  Also, the fulcrum of each see-saw
acts as a hard block - you can't pass through it, and neither can bomb flames.
Stage Strategies: Stay out of the edges of the arena.  It's far too easy
for you to get trapped there, and other players can kill you simply by
stepping on a seesaw.  If another player fails to follow this advice, step on
a see-saw and chuck 'em out!!!  Note that you do NOT earn kills for launching
other players off the map - only for engulfing them in bomb blasts.  Still,
hurling your enemies around is great fun, and this is by FAR one of my
favorite stages.

Stage: Full-Power
Sets: 3
Time: 2:00
Tiebreak: Yes
Slots: No *LOCKED*
Revenge: No
Position: Fixed
Skull: No *LOCKED*
Handicap: All items are forbidden.
Stage Features: There are NO soft blocks here.  Instead, each player has maxi-
mum Bombs, Fire, and Speed from the get-go!!!!
Stage Strategies: Unlike in other Full-Power stages in other Bomberman games,
you don't get Bomb Punch, Bomb Kick, or Line Bomb.  To win here, you'll have
to be aggressive, rush at opponents, and flank them with bombs, while
simultaneously avoiding their attempts to do the same to you.  You'll also
have to keep your guard up at all times, since nothing sucks more than being
careless and walking RIGHT into a bomb blast.  Chain blasts are your friend
and your foe here.  This is a very difficult stage to win on, just because of
all the chaos that will invariably erupt.  Seriously, you're actually going to
need some major skills to win.

Stage: Lotsa Items
Sets: 3
Time: 2:00
Tiebreak: Yes
Slots: No *LOCKED*
Revenge: No
Position: Random
Skull: No *LOCKED*
Handicap: All items are permitted.
Stage Features: There are no hard blocks, and both screens have an absolute
SMORGASBOARD of items in the middle.  (I'm not sure if the soft blocks leave
additional items behind, but I'm guessing that they do.)
Stage Strategies: The first thing you want to do is get to the items in the
middle, then grab all the power-ups you want.  Be selective, though.  Avoid
power-downs like the plague, and make sure to grab ONLY the bomb type and Y-
button item that you want to use for that particular set.  Burn the others so
your enemies can't use them.  >:D  Once you're ready to go, blast the heck out
of your [hopefully] underpowered adversaries!!!!!!

Stage: Mini-Mini
Sets: 3
Time: 2:00
Tiebreak: No
Slots: No
Revenge: Yes
Position: Random
Skull: Yes
Handicap: All items are permitted.
Stage Features: The lower screen is filled in and sealed off right from the
get-go.  All the action takes place on the upper screen!!!!
Stage Strategies: Like Full-Power, this stage gets chaotic quickly.  Grab as
many items as you can, but ALWAYS KEEP YOUR GUARD UP!!!!  I cannot stress this
enough.  There isn't much room to maneuver, so you'll have to make the most of
the space you have.  Some of the players will die VERY quickly.  This is true
in any Battle Mode set, but it's even more true in this arena.  BE CAREFUL!!!

Stage: Inferno
Sets: 3
Time: 2:00
Tiebreak: Yes
Slots: Yes
Revenge: Yes
Position: Fixed
Skull: Yes
Handicap: All items are permitted.
Stage Features: This stage has no hard blocks.
Stage Strategies: The lack of hard blocks means that you can move about more
or less freely (except for the fact that soft blocks can be anywhere but the
tunnels,) but you have nowhere to hide from bomb blasts.  Also, the lack of
hard blocks makes trapping your opponent with your bombs next to impossible.
Line Bomb, on the other hand, is absolutely DEVASTATING.  Just make sure that
YOU have someplace safe to stand!!!!  Power up your flames and bombs as much
as possible, and get ready to rock!!!!

Stage: Spikes
Sets: 3
Time: 2:00
Tiebreak: Yes
Slots: Yes
Revenge: Yes
Position: Fixed
Skull: Yes
Handicap: All items are permitted.
Stage Features: Instead of hard blocks, this stage has spike traps!!!  The 
spike traps don't block bomb blasts, and you can walk on them - but it isn't
always going to be safe to do so!!!!!  Spikes will erupt from the traps every
so often, killing anybody who stands on them when the spikes are extended!!!
Stage Strategies: There are never any soft blocks on top of the spike traps, 
so you can walk on them and lay bombs on them freely.  I'm not sure if the
spikes will set off bombs (because I've never quite dared to find out,) but I
do know that if you're standing on the spikes or walking over them when 
they're extended, you're dead.  (Yes, it IS possible to walk onto spikes that
are already extended and immediately die.  So move carefully.)  Thankfully,
you can see the spikes begin to come up about a second before they're actually
able to kill you, and when they are up, they will only remain up for about a
second or two before retracting again. Unfortunately, the spikes will NOT all
come up in unison; they will instead come up and down randomly, and it's very
likely that some spikes will be up and others will not at any given moment in
the set. (Why they didn't have these spikes as a hazard in the Normal Game is
beyond me... did Hudson Soft get lazy?!?)  This is a stage of risk and reward.
You can take shortcuts over the spike beds to get at items or escape bomb
blasts, but be careful about it - or it will be the last thing you ever do!!!

Stage: Crown Battle
Sets: 1
Time: 2:00
Tiebreak: No *LOCKED*
Slots: No
Revenge: No *LOCKED*
Position: Random
Skull: No
Handicap: All items are permitted.
Stage Features: This is one of the six "alternate objective" stages in the
Battle Mode, and the first of the three Crown Battle stages.  In this arena,
all the Bombermen start on the bottom screen, and your goal is to be the first
to get at the crown on the upper screen.  Killing all of your opponents won't
instantly net you victory (though it will cause all of the soft blocks to
disintegrate, giving you easy access to the Crown.)  
Stage Strategies: Just a reminder: you can't blow up the crown with your bomb
blasts to end the set in a draw.  If you try, it will just bounce away like a
Skull.  Your best bet here is to focus on the crown.  Take some opponents out
if you can, since the lower screen WILL be crowded and it will probably be a
simple matter to trap somebody, but don't go out of your way to eliminate your
opponents.  You really should focus on getting through that madness in one
piece and blazing a trail to the Crown before anyone else can do so.

Stage: Full-Power Crown
Sets: 1
Time: 2:00
Tiebreak: No *LOCKED*
Slots: No (not locked for some odd reason)
Revenge: No *LOCKED*
Position: Random
Skull: No
Handicap: All items except for Bomb Down, Speed Down, and Fire Down are
prohibited.
Stage Features: This is the second of the Crown Battle stages.  The crown is
at the top of the upper screen, and all players start at the bottom of the
lower screen.  All players start with maximized Bombs, Fire, and Speed, just
like in the Full-Power stage.  Instead of hard blocks, there are spike beds
with spikes permanently extended. They do not block flames, and players cannot
walk on them, period (no, not even under consequence of death.)  The only
items to come out of the soft blocks are power-downs and Skulls (the latter
only appear if they are turned on, of course.)  The player who gets the Crown
wins the set.
Stage Strategies: Oh dear God.  The combination of far-reaching bomb flames,
a small area in which to move around, fast-moving players, extensive bomb-
deployment capacities, and squares that block movement but not bomb flames
makes it EXTREMELY likely that half of the players will die within the first
30 seconds of the set.  Be extremely cautious as the set begins - keep an eye
on the whole field, and make sure that you are not within eight spaces of ANY
bomb at all times.  Blow up soft blocks and avoid collecting power-downs if
you can, but your survival should be your top priority.  Once most of the
other players are dead, the chaos should lessen a bit - at this point, you can
be a bit bolder, blazing a trail through the soft blocks and destroying power-
downs in your path until you reach the crown.  You should DEFINITELY trap and
take down a rival if you get the chance - an opponent who's dead is an
opponent who is unable to kill YOU (or beat you to the crown.)

Stage: Merry-Go-Crown
Sets: 1
Time: 2:00
Tiebreak: No *LOCKED*
Slots: No
Revenge: No *LOCKED*
Position: Random
Skull: No
Handicap: All items are permitted.
Stage Features: This is the third Crown Battle stage.  The crown is at the top
of the upper screen, and all players start at the bottom of the lower screen.
There are two conveyor belts on the upper screen, and the uppermost of those
two has the crown on it - and the Crown WILL be carried around on the conveyor
belt, just like any other item.
Stage Strategies: Don't worry, there are no conveyor belts in the tunnels.
Anyways, in addition to the usual Crown Battle strategies (e.g. blaze a path
to the Crown as quickly as possible at nab it as soon as you have the
opportunity,) you need to keep in mind the Conveyor Belt strategies.  It is
very likely that you will need to put a bomb on one of the belts at some
point, so remember to set your bombs a short distance away from where you
actually want them to blow up so that the conveyor belt carries them TO the
intended explosion point, rather than AWAY from it.  Also, there will be
fewer soft blocks than in other Crown Battle stages, so you'll have to be
ready to head for the Crown the moment you see an opening, lest somebody else
beat you to it.  To get an edge in the race for the Crown, try to plan your
path so that you'll be going with the conveyor belts instead of against them.

Stage: Blocks
Sets: 3
Time: 2:00
Tiebreak: No *LOCKED*
Slots: No
Revenge: Yes
Position: Fixed
Skull: Yes
Handicap: All items are permitted.
Stage Features: This is the first of the "Blocks" stages.  Your objective here
is to have the most spaces "painted" with your color when the time hits 0:00.
Blocks are painted with your color when they are covered with fire from one of
your bombs, regardless of what color they were previously.  This means that
you can steal spaces from your opponents, and they can do the same to you.
Revenge bombers can also obtain squares with their bombs, but because Revenge
bombs are weak and it takes a while for a Revenge Bomber to be allowed to
launch another bomb, they won't be much more than a nuisance to the surviving
players.  Defeated players still retain all of the squares that they already
had, though.  Also, you can't claim the tunnels, so don't even try.
Stage Strategies: To win here, you must be aggressive.  Power up as quickly
as possible.  Having more firepower allows you to paint more squares with a
single bomb, having more bombs allows you to cover more of the field at a
faster pace, and having more speed enables you to get around the arena more
quickly so you can more easily and rapidly claim territory that isn't yours.
You should definitely be careful - if you're taken down, your ability to claim
territory will be minimized, and you will have practically NO chance of
victory unless the match is nearly over anyways.  With that in mind... try to
kill your opponents to dash their hopes of winning the set.  If all players
are dead, the set immediately ends, and whomever has the most blocks is
declared the winner - so if you're the last person left, go ahead and grab
all the territory, then kill yourself to end the set in your favor.  Some more
hints, relating to power-ups: If you have the Shield, you can use it to stop
an opponent's bomb blast and reduce the territory that they claim.  If you
have the Line Bomb, you can use it to put out your bombs for a good distance
away and claim a lot of territory quickly.  Bomb Kick, Bomb Punch, and Bomb
Throw can help you claim territory from a distance.  Dangerous Bombs can get
spaces throughout their spread.  If you get Remote Bombs, ruthlessly wipe out
your competitors (and reduce their ability to take away your territory) and/or
rapidly place bombs, then set them off as soon as you are out of the way to
grab lots of spaces in a hurry.  Try to snag territory from the (other) 
players that have the most of it, to put them as far behind you as possible,
and claim the territory of defeated players so that they can't win the set
despite being down and out.  Whatever you do, remember that you should be a
bit more aggressive than in Survival battles, but you can't afford to die.
Cautious aggression is the key to victory.

Stage: Kick Blocks
Sets: 3
Time: 2:00
Tiebreak: No *LOCKED*
Slots: No
Revenge: Yes
Position: Random
Skull: Yes
Handicap: Bomb Kick is forbidden (because everyone has it anyways); all other
items are permitted.
Stage Features: This is the second "Blocks" stage.  Everybody is given Bomb
Kick, and there are arrows on the ground that redirect kicked bombs.  You can
claim squares (except for the kicked-bomb-redirecting arrows) by covering them
with flames from your bombs, and the player who has the most squares when time
runs out (or all players are dead) wins.
Stage Strategy: It's Blocks with kick-redirection arrows.  A clever tactic is
to use them to make Super Dangerous Bombs.  Unlike the Kick stage, there are
no tunnels (aside from the ones between the screens,) so Bomb Punch and Bomb
Throw won't be blocked by terrain.  Aside from that, use the same strategies
as in the Blocks stage.

Stage: Zombie
Sets: 3
Time: 2:00
Tiebreak: No *LOCKED*
Slots: No
Revenge: No *LOCKED*
Position: Fixed
Skull: Yes
Handicap: All items are permitted.
Stage Features: This is the third of the "Blocks" stages.  It's the same as
the "Blocks" stage, except for a gameplay twist - all defeated players
respawn in about 1-2 seconds (the time it takes for the death animation to
play out.)  Upon defeat, the player loses all collected items, and his/her
claimed territory is lost (it reverts to the neutral state.)  The player who
has the most territory when time is up wins!
Stage Strategy: You can be a bit more aggressive in this stage than in the
other Blocks stages, because you'll immediately respawn if you die.  However,
you still don't want to be defeated - not only will you lose all of your
spaces (which will all but ENSURE your defeat if the time is almost out,) but
your items will be scattered about - which pretty much means open season for
the other players.  If you get killed, try to reclaim as many of your items as
you can - if you get stuck in a low-powered state when there are no more items
left on the field, you're sure to fall behind (and the other players could
probably pick you off like a fish in a barrel in Groundhog Day, just to more
thoroughly screw you over.)  Speaking of fish in a barrel, try to see how high
you can get your kill-count to be in this stage!!!  :p  But, yeah.  Try to
kill your opponents repeatedly and swipe all of their items, so you can
dominate the field and hog all the territory to yourself.  >:D

Stage: Bom-Bom
Sets: 3
Time: 2:00
Tiebreak: Yes
Slots: No
Revenge: No *LOCKED*
Position: Random
Skull: Yes
Handicap: All items are permitted.
Stage Features: There are four bomb launchers in the stage, each positioned
in the middle of a cluster of hard blocks, in the left-center and right-center
of each screen.  They periodically launch bombs for random distances in
cardinal directions, and their bombs have a firepower rating of 1.
Stage Strategy: This is a fairly tricky stage, because of all the bombs flying
about.  You have to be cautious here, especially when you're in direct bomb
range of the launchers - the last thing you want is to get cornered!!!!  
Thankfully, the bombs appear in the launchers for a few seconds before they're
actually fired, so you can at least see that they're coming (though there's no
indication of which direction they'll be launched in or how far they'll go, so
you don't really get a precise report as to where NOT to be.)  Try to use the
launchers to your advantage to corner your opponents, and never walk right up
to the darn things, especially when they have a bomb in them - that's just
BEGGING to be trapped!!!!

Stage: Barom
Sets: 3
Time: 2:00
Tiebreak: No
Slots: No
Revenge: No *LOCKED*
Position: Fixed
Skull: Yes
Stage Features: Baroms will periodically spawn in random open locations
throughout the set.
Stage Strategies: Baroms move slowly, move mostly in straight lines, turn
infrequently and at random times, and will stop moving altogether for
no reason at all every so often.  They're really not a threat at all,
especially once you're powered up.  However, they can become dangerous when
thrown in as a distraction while Bombermen are trying to blow each other to
kingdom come.  The Baroms can spawn in with very little warning in this stage,
so you can easily walk right into one if you don't watch your step.  The
Baroms will flash for a few moments as they spawn in, and they cannot be hurt
or hurt anybody until they fully materialize.  Blast Baroms out of your way if
you have to, but it's a lot more fun to try to herd your opponents to them and
use them as part of a diabolical trap to ensure their demise.

Stage: Random
Sets: 3
Time: Random *LOCKED* *SPECIAL*
Tiebreak: Random *LOCKED* *SPECIAL*
Slots: Random *LOCKED* *SPECIAL*
Revenge: Random *LOCKED* *SPECIAL*
Position: Random *LOCKED* *SPECIAL*
Skull: Random *LOCKED* *SPECIAL*
Handicap: Unavailable
Stage Features: In this "stage", you will be fighting in a different stage for
every set!!!!  All stages will use the default settings (as described in this
FAQ,) and a screen will show up between sets to let you know where you'll be
fighting next!!!
Stage Strategies: This is a great place to have an ultimate showdown, because
it can be anywhere!!!  Familiarize yourself with all the quirks, features, and
settings of the other 29 Battle stages.  Know what the best tricks to ensure
your victory will be wherever you go, and know how to execute them.  Use all
of your strategizing skills and bomb-setting panache to come out on top!!!!

==============================================================================

9: Credits

==============================================================================

I would like to extend credits, acknowledgements, and thanks to the following:

-HudsonSoft, for producing this game and every other game in the Bomberman
series.

-ThunderMan, for making another guide for this very same game (which saved me
the trouble of counting the enemies and staking out the size of each area,
not to mention the production of most of the "Controls" and "Items" sections.)
I also used his boss strategies as the framework for my own.  Frankly, this
guide wouldn't have been possible without his guide to precede it.

-Myself, for counting out the items, naming most of the enemies, staking
out strategies for the Battle Mode stages, noting any obstacles in the Normal
mode areas, and providing the details behind the operation of several items
and the tactics of Bomberman's enemies.  (And let's not forget the humorous
touches laced throughout this guide!!!!)

-Michael Jackson, for "Thriller" (and the gag I was able to play with it in
the preface to World 5.)

-flashgamesite.com, for hosting the original Bomberman so that I could play it
(and recognize many of the recurring monsters in this game.)

-DEngel for his Bomberman (NES) FAQ, including the REAL names of the monsters
from the original Bomberman (Barom/Valcom, Uhnyun/O'Neal, Barrol/Dahl,
Ballor/Minvo, Blobby/Ovape, Squiddy/Doria, GoldKat/Pass, and Orbit/Pontan.)
I still use my names, but thanks to DEngel, older Bomberman fans will know who
I'm actually talking about.  This is the URL for his guide:
http://www.gamefaqs.com/console/nes/file/563390/14622

-Guns 'n Roses for "Welcome to the Jungle" (and therefore the gag I made with
it in the description of Area 6-1.)

-My brothers, whose intentional ignorance (or, to be a little nicer, "seat-of-
the-pants approach") made me realize that it would probably be necessary to
explain how the hell you're supposed to get through the menus...  -_-;  If
anybody honestly has difficulty with that, I feel nothing but pity for them,
and am helpless to know how the hell they managed to find my FAQ in the first
place.  (Granted, my brothers aren't idiots, but... my efforts to enlighten
them often fall on deaf ears.)

-SuperCheats, for making me realize that I ought to include copyright
information.

-And finally, you, the reader, for taking the time to read through my
Bomberman DS FAQ.

If there is a suggestion, correction, addition, or comment for this guide that
you would like me to include, you can e-mail it to me.  If your suggestion is
good, I'll update my guide to include it and give you credit.  My e-mail
address is: luigifan@verizon.net

Guide (C) to Luigifan18, a.k.a. Matthew Bradley
Game (C) to HudsonSoft
Characters (C) to HudsonSoft
Scenario (C) to HudsonSoft