Super Bomberman is a 1993 action, maze game developed by Hudson Soft and Produce! Hudson Soft, and Sony Electronic Publishing. Living Mobile GmbH published the game in different regions of the world. Super Bomberman is the first game in the Bomberman series that came out in Europe with the Bomberman title. Previous games in the series were called Dynablaster or Eric and the Floaters instead.
The game was originally released for the Super NES (SNES), but Super Bomberman was also ported to the Java Platform, Micro Edition, or Java ME (J2ME). Today, this classic game can be found online at places like RetroGames.cz, where players can play the SNES version right on their browser with no downloads necessary. Players can also play Super Bomberman at Play Classic Games and MiniPlay.com. Of course, there are also some download options, like EmulatorGames, for people who would rather have the game on their computer. Naturally, players should look into their options and find the one that they feel is the best and safest option before committing.
At the time of its release, Super Bomberman had a mostly positive reception. Players and critics loved the game and some claimed that it was so hard to put down, it was just as addictive as Tetris. Many popular publications at the time rated the game in high favor. Electronic Gaming Monthly rated Super Bomberman a 36 out of 40 and gave it their Game of the Month award. In the 2010s, IGN included Super Bomberman in its “Top 100 SNES Games of All Time”. It ranks number 49. Even today, people love this game. 95% of Google users who weighed in on the topic claimed to like Super Bomberman.
Super Bomberman Premise
Bomberman is from Peace Town, which is far to the south of Super Bomberman’s setting, Diamond City. Carat Diamond and his colleague, Dr. Mook, are hosting a Robot Tournament that specializes in advanced combat robots. This tournament is nothing but a rouse to get ahold of Bomberman’s technology. Diamond creates a fake Bomberman that will take Bomberman’s place in Peace Town, so no one suspects that he’s missing. With the fake Bomberman in place, Diamond intends to kidnap Bomberman.
Discovering Diamond’s plot, Black Bomberman decides to intervene by facing the fake Bomberman. Unfortunately, Black Bomberman loses the fight and his castle in the process. After his defeat, Black Bomberman manages to make a run for it and goes to Bomberman for help. Black Bomberman and Bomberman must join forces to face Diamond and Mook’s robot army before they destroy Peace Town.
The game is a top-down view of a 143 (13 x 11) squares grid and it plays on a single screen. Unlike platformer games or side-scroller games, Super Bomberman has no scrolling elements. It plays similarly to Tetris or Donkey Kong, where the entire playable screen is visible at all times. The player can only move horizontally or vertically. Bomberman, as his name suggests, can drop bombs at the player’s command. Bomberman will drop a bomb that pulses for a few seconds, giving the player time to escape it. These bombs can destroy obstacles and enemies.
Super Bomberman Main Characters
©NintendoComplete / Produce! – License
Many classic video games, especially from the late-’80s and early to mid-’90s focus on simple gameplay that doesn’t allow for elaborate storytelling or character development. Most of these style games do have a plot and ongoing story, but they tend to keep it simple. Super Bomberman follows this trend by focusing on a basic plot, a few heroes, and a few villains to bring everything together.
- White Bomberman: Bomberman, also known as “White Bomberman” is one of the main protagonists of Super Bomberman. This is the character the player starts with and he also fills the role of the Bomberman that Carat Diamond tries to kidnap and replicate. Although the series goes on to feature many Bombermen, White Bomberman is the main protagonist of the series and usually the playable character of the games. Bomberman is a cheerful character who spends most of his time saving Peace Town from utter destruction. He can create bombs in his hands, which he can drop to destroy objects and defeat enemies. All Bombermen have this ability.
- Black Bomberman: Black Bomberman is another Bomberman who looks almost identical to White Bomberman. The only difference is, of course, his color pallet. White Bomberman is white and wears white pants and Black Bomberman is black and doesn’t have white pants. Early on, Black Bomberman is shown to be something of a rival to White Bomberman and often does things just to oppose him. Throughout the series, the two eventually see eye-to-eye and become friends. In Super Bomberman, Black Bomberman learns of Diamond and Mook’s plans and confronts the fake Bomberman. The decoy defeats him and takes his castle, but he’s able to escape and warn White Bomberman. Together, they must defeat Diamond and Mook’s robot army to save Peace Town.
- Carat Diamond: Carat Diamond is the main antagonist of Super Bomberman. Diamond, in association with Dr. Mook, set up a Robot Tournament in Diamond City to lure White Bomberman out of Peace Town. The tournament is a cover to kidnap White Bomberman and steal his advanced assault tech. Diamond also manages to create a fake Bomberman and send him to Peace Town, where he assumes the identity of the real Bomberman. Diamond’s creation defeats Black Bomberman, giving Diamond enough time to send a massive robot army toward Peace Town and attempt an invasion.
- Dr. Mook: Dr. Mook works closely with Carat Diamond and is the game’s secondary antagonist. He specializes in the creation and modification of robotics, which allows him to adjust existing tech (like Bomberman) and build new bots for their nefarious purposes. Dr. Mook is one of the few characters in the game who can’t make bombs, which forces him to rely more on his robots than anyone else. He does have the ability to summon skulls that cause various negative effects for enemies, though.
Bomberman Titles in the Series
The Bomberman series was established in the early 1980s and has been ongoing ever since. The newest game in the series, Super Bomberman R 2, came out in 2023, proving how long-lasting the franchise is. Bomberman did exist under some other names before Super Bomberman, but most of them have been renamed to match the title character.
- Bomberman (1983)
- 3-D Bomberman (1984)
- Bomberman NES version (1985)
- Bomber King (1987)
- Bomber Boy (1990)
- Bomberman (1990)
- Bomberman – arcade game (1991)
- Bomberman II (1991)
- Bomber King: Scenario 2 (1991)
- Bomberman World – arcade game (1992)
- Bomberman ’93 (1992)
- Super Bomberman (1993)
- Bomberman ’94 (1993)
- Super Bomberman 2 (1994)
- Bomberman GB (1994)
- Mega Bomberman (1994)
- Bomberman: Panic Bomber (1994)
- Super Bomberman: Panic Bomber W (1995)
- Super Bomberman 3 (1995)
- Bomberman GB 2 (1995)
- Panic Bomber (1995)
- Super Bomberman 4 (1996)
- Saturn Bomberman (1996)
- Bomberman GB 3 (1996)
- Bomberman B-Daman (1996)
- Super Bomberman 5 (1997)
- Neo Bomberman (1997)
- Atomic Bomberman (1997)
- Bomberman 64 (1997)
- Saturn Bomberman Fight!! (1997)
- Pocket Bomberman (1997)
- Bomberman World PS1 version (1998)
- Bomberman Wars (1998)
- Bomberman Hero (1998)
- Bomberman Fantasy Race (1998)
- Bomberman Party Edition (1998)
- Bomberman Quest (1998)
- Bomberman B-Daman Bakugaiden: The Road to Victory (1999)
- Bomberman 64: The Second Attack (1999)
- Bomberman Max (1999)
- Bomberman B-Daman Bakugaiden V: Final Mega Tune (2000)
- Bomberman Land (2000)
- Bomberman Tournament (2001)
- Bomberman Online Dreamcast version (2001)
- Bomberman Kart (2001)
- Bomberman 64 (2001)
- Bomberman Max 2 (2002)
- Bomberman Generation (2002)
- Bomberman Jetters: The Legendary Bomberman (2002)
- Bomberman Jetters (2002)
- Bomberman Online (2003)
- Bomberman Land 2 (2003)
- Bomberman Jetters Game Collection (2003)
- Net de Bomberman (2004)
- Bomberman Hardball (2004)
- Bomberman (2005)
- Bomberman: Panic Bomber (2005)
- Bomberman Land 3 (2005)
- Bomberman Land Touch! (2006)
- Bomberman (2006)
- Bomberman: Act Zero (2006)
- Bomberman Land (2007)
- Bomberman Story DS (2007)
- Bomberman Land (2007)
- Bomberman Live (2007)
- Bomberman Land Touch! 2 (2007)
- Bomberman Blast (2008)
- Bomberman 2 (2008)
- Bomberman Ultra (2009)
- Bomberman Blitz (2009)
- Bomberman Live: Battlefest (2010)
- Bomberman Dojo (2010)
- Super Bomberman R (2017)
- Super Bomberman R Online (2020)
- Amazing Bomberman (2022)
- Super Bomberman R 2 (2023)
Super Bomberman Cheats, Passwords, and Secret Items
©NintendoComplete / Produce! – License
Super Bomberman came out during a period when most games had hidden secrets or cheats that made the game easier. Many games featured cheats for infinite lives or more time on the clock. Unfortunately, Super Bomberman doesn’t support these types of game-breaking cheats. That said, some passwords will help players get to a specific section of the game or a specific boss, making completing the game much easier.
Boss Passwords
- 7575 – Boss 1-8
- 2072 – Boss 2-8
- 0475 – Boss 3-8
- 2174 – Boss 4-8
- 7272 – Boss 5-8
- 2675 – Boss 6-8
Level Passwords
1 – World 1:
- 5555 – Part 1
- 7503 – Part 2
- 5543 – Part 3
- 0513 – Part 4
- 5522 – Part 5
- 7564 – Part 6
- 3535 – Part 7
2 – World 2:
- 0055 – Part 1
- 4005 – Part 2
- 0043 – Part 3
- 5012 – Part 4
- 7024 – Part 5
- 5064 – Part 6
- 0034 – Part 7
3 – World 3:
- 5453 – Part 1
- 7402 – Part 2
- 3444 – Part 3
- 0412 – Part 4
- 2423 – Part 5
- 0464 – Part 6
- 4434 – Part 7
4 – World 4:
- 6154 – Part 1
- 4103 – Part 2
- 7144 – Part 3
- 5114 – Part 4
- 1122 – Part 5
- 4164 – Part 6
- 0135 – Part 7
5 – World 5:
- 5252 – Part 1
- 7204 – Part 2
- 5244 – Part 3
- 6213 – Part 4
- 4224 – Part 5
- 1264 – Part 6
- 3232 – Part 7
6 – World 6:
- 0652 – Part 1
- 3605 – Part 2
- 7645 – Part 3
- 5615 – Part 4
- 7623 – Part 5
- 4665 – Part 6
- 1635 – Part 7
- 5672 – Part 8
Shrunken Bomberman Password
- 5656 – Shrunken Bomberman
Secret Items in the Game
| World Stage & Level | Secret Item | How to Get Item |
| World 1-2 | Ice Cream | Bomb the exit gate |
| World 1-3 | Popsicle | There are two ways to get this item: 1: Hit 3 enemies in one explosion 2. Kick 3 enemies in a row |
| World 1-4 | Cake | Stand on exit for 21 seconds |
| World 1-5 | Secret (?) | Place a bomb on all 4 corners |
| World 1-7 | Heart | Stand on exit for 21 seconds |
| World 2-2 | Onigiri | Pause game |
| World 2-4 | Secret (?) | Open all the items in the exit area but don’t take any of them |
| World 2-7 | Heart | Punch nothing 5 times |
| World 3-3 | Apple | Achieve a score that ends in 20 (for example: 15,320) |
| World 3-4 | Kendama | Be on Bomberman’s final life |
| World 3-6 | Fire Extinguisher | Place 6 bombs on the screen |
| World 3-7 | Heart | Bomb the Exit |
| World 4-1 | Popsicle | Place a bomb on all 4 corners |
| World 4-4 | Secret (?) | There are two ways to get this item: 1: Hit 3 enemies in one explosion 2. Kick 3 enemies in a row |
| World 4-5 | Fire Extinguisher | Be on Bomberman’s final life |
| World 4-7 | Heart | Stand on exit for 21 seconds |
| World 6-2 | Cake | Take a hit from a punched bomb |
| World 6-4 | Apple | Achieve a score that ends in 20 (for example: 15,320) |
| World 6-5 | Ice Cream | Punch nothing 5 times |
| World 6-7 | Heart | Pause Game |
Super Bomberman Cheats FAQ
When Googling “Super Bomberman” or “Super Bomberman cheats”, the FAQ search results are mostly asking about other games in the Bomberman series. Most of these questions refer to the much more modern Super Bomberman R, which isn’t helpful for this guide.
The image featured at the top of this post is ©NintendoComplete / Produce!.