User manual GAMES SEGA DREAMCAST BOMBERMAN ONLINE

Thank you for purchasing Bomberman Online. Please note that this software is designed only for use with the Dreamcast console. Be sure to read this instruction manual thoroughly before you start playing Bomberman Online. CONTENTS STORY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 STARTING THE GAME . . . . . . . 3 CONTROLS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 ITEMS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 RULES OF THE GAME . . . . . . . 8 GAME MODES . . . . . . . . . . . . 13 NORMAL GAME . . . . . . . . . . . 14 BATTLE GAME . . . . . . . . . . . . 15 NETWORK . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19 EXTRAS BOX . . . . . . . . . . . . 24 OPTIONS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26 Bomberman Online is a memory card [sold separately] compatible game. With this game, at least 6 blocks of free memory spaces are required to save game file. While saving or loading, never turn the Dreamcast power OFF, attempt to remove the memory card or disconnect the controller containing the memory card. 6~ STORY There is a small island on the southern sea of the planet Bomber, called "Quintet Island." Once every four years, a large-scaled Bomber Battle Festival is held on this island. They call it the "BOMB-A-LYMPICS." The Champion of the planet is decided for each of five Bomber Events, and the winner is given a Sacred Gold Medal. ...Deep inside the forest of this island, you see a sight of Bomberman training hard under the waterfall. To prepare himself for the new battle... "When one gains all Sacred Gold Medals, a way to Master Bomberman shall open." Believing in the ancient legend of the island, Bomberman challenges 5 Champion Teams all by himself... STARTING THE GAME SETTING UP Bomberman Online is a one to four player game. For 1P play (Normal Game) and menu control, connect the Dreamcast Controller to the control port A. With Battle Game (p.15) you may connect the controllers for other players in any vacant ports, but with online play you must connect them in order. CAUTION Never touch the Analog Thumb Pad or the Triggers L/R while turning the Dreamcast power ON. Doing so may disrupt the controller initialization procedure and result in malfunction. MEMORY CARD The game data is saved to and loaded from the memory card inserted to the Expansion Socket 1 of the Dreamcast Controller, connected to the Control Port A. The save file will not be created if the memory card is not connected there. JUMP PACKTM To use the Jump Pack (sold separately) when playing, please make sure to insert it into Expansion Socket 2 of the Dreamcast Controller. DREAMCAST KEYBOARD You can use the Dreamcast Keyboard (sold separately) to chat with other participants online. To use the Dreamcast Keyboard, connect it as the last peripheral of the order. 2 3 CONTROLS DREAMCAST CONTROLLER X BUTTON Punch/Line Bomb A BUTTON Set a bomb Power Glove Enter Selection B BUTTON Cancel selection Kick stop Y BUTTON Not Used CONTROLLING BOMBERMAN START BUTTON Pause the game Use the Analog Thumb Pad/D-Pad to move your character on the field. The basic object of the game is to place the bomb on the field and blast your opponents. D-PAD Control your character Select menu/stage Anywhere on the field, press A to place a bomb. The bomb will explode after a given period of time, horizontally and vertically in a given length. ANALOG THUMB PAD Control your character If there is a soft block in the way of an explosion, it will be destroyed, making an open space for the player to move around. Some of the soft blocks may contain a power up item (p.6). TRIGGER R Adjust power for Bomber Karate Mini Game Display names during Online Play TRIGGER L Not Used Don't place the bombs recklessly though. You may wind up blasting yourself. The button assignments shown above are default setting. You can reconfigure button assignments in the Options setting. To soft-reset the Dreamcast and return to the title screen during gameplay, simultaneously press and hold the A, B, X, Y and START buttons. PAUSE MENU During the game, press the Start Button to pause the game and display a Pause Menu. Either select Return or press the Start Button again to resume the game. Select Exit Game to quit the game. 4 5 ITEMS The following power up (down) items may appear whenever you destroy a soft block. BOUNCING BOMB When you either kick or throw this bomb, the bomb will bounce around randomly until it explodes. FIRE The area where your bomb explodes increases. SKULL Your character becomes stricken with one of the following sicknesses for a given amount of time. SPRINT SICKNESS . . . . . . . Radically increases Bomberman's speed. SLUGGISH SICKNESS . . . . Radically decreases Bomberman's speed. DIARRHEA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Sets bombs uncontrollably. PARALYSIS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Disallows the setting of bombs. MINIMAL SICKNESS . . . . . . Decreases the range of explosion to the minimum. CAN'T STOP SICKNESS . . Bomberman will not be able to stop moving until he runs into an obstacle. REVERSE SICKNESS . . . . . Reverses the control of Bomberman. SHORT FUSE SICKNESS . . Causes the time it takes for a set bombs to explode to decrease. LONG FUSE SICKNESS . . . Causes the time it takes for a set bombs to explode to increase. BOMB The amount of bombs you can place increases by one. SPEED The speed of your character increases. KICK Run into the bomb to kick it. The bomb will slide until either it hits an obstacle (soft block, hard block, wall, bomb or other player) or when you press B. POWER GLOVE After you place a bomb (when you and the bomb are on the same space), press A to hold the bomb up, and release A to throw the bomb to the direction you are facing. While holding the bomb, you can also move around the field. PUNCH Stand next to the bomb, facing it, and press X to punch the bomb 3 spaces ahead. LINE BOMB After you place a bomb (when you and the bomb are on the same space), press X to place as many bombs you can place in the direction you are facing (up to the place where there is an obstacle such as soft block, hard block, wall, bomb or item. 6 7 RULES OF THE GAME There are five different battle rules in this game. HYPER BOMBER RULE Collect three "target panels" hidden inside the various soft blocks, and enter the center gate to win. When your opponents collect the "target panels", use the bomb to blast them, and they will release them on the battlefield. In this rule, when you are blasted, you do not lose; you are simply sent back to the starting position, but you lose all your items. SURVIVAL RULE It's an all-time favorite, classic Bomberman rule, where you place a bomb on the field and blast your opponents to win. There are item panels hidden inside some of the soft blocks. Collect them to power Bomberman up. Time Remaining Time Remaining Number of Matches Won Center Gate Number of Matches Won Target Panel 8 9 SUBMARINE RULE The field is divided into two sides; your side and your opponents'. The bomb will be transported to your opponents' side just before exploding. If the destination where the bomb is being transported is occupied, the bomb will be sent back to your side. Grasp the positions of the bombs to defeat your opponents. This rule is for Team match only. PANEL PAINT RULE Blast the bomb, and paint the field with your color. At the end of game, the player with the most spaces in his/her color wins. With this rule, when you are blasted, you will not only be sent to the starting position, you will also lose all your painted spaces. Be careful not to be blasted near the end of the game. On Team match, the players will compete with the total of the team's colors. Time Remaining Number of Matches Won Time Remaining Number of Matches Won/ Panels Painted Player Side (Normal Game) (Battle Game) CPU Side (Normal Game) (Battle Game) Unpainted Panels Painted Panels Team COOL Side Team HEAT Side 10 11 RING MATCH RULE Blast as many opponents in this small field, and compete in total points. When a bomb is placed, the areas in danger will turn red, so run to a safe area. You will gain 2 points for blasting each opponent, but will lose 1 point for being blasted. On Team match, the game is competed for total points of the team. GAME MODES Press the Start Button during the Title Screen to open a Main Menu. Use the D-Pad *@ to select from the following modes. Time Remaining Number of Matches Won/ Points Gained Safe Area Danger Area NORMAL GAME BATTLE GAME NETWORK EXTRAS BOX OPTIONS p.14 p.15 p.19 p.24 p.26 One-Player Story Mode game. Play with up to 4 players for free battle. Play an online battle. Not all battle rules are available online. Change character/name for online battle; view Collection Panel. Change various settings. Number of Points Gained Displayed above each player. 12 13 NORMAL GAME Play against the computer players in this story mode game. After you select this mode, you will be asked to select either New Game or Load Game. After selecting the file number, the game begins. BATTLE GAME Play against the computer or with other players. Up to 4 players can play. First, use the D-Pad $^ to select the rule to play. Press A to advance, and B to return to the Main Menu screen. Use the D-Pad to select a stage to play. Each stage is played according to the preselected rule (p.8). You can start from any stage in the game. Next, use the D-Pad *@ to select between the Single Match or Team Match. Press A to advance, and B to return to the previous screen. Next, use the D-Pad to select the area within the stage to play. Each stage is divided into 3 areas which you must play a 2-Point Match in order. By clearing all three areas, you gain the right to compete in the Championship Battle (1-Point Match) against the Stage Boss.. You can play the areas you have already played over again. You can now select options for the game to be played. Use the D-Pad *@ to select the menu item, and $^ to adjust settings. Some of the menu items (or selection for the menu item) may not be available depending on the Game Rule or the Controller connection. For detailed descriptions of each menu items, see p.17. Press A to advance and B to return to the previous screen. 14 15 Next, select who is going to control each of the four available characters. Use the D-Pad *@ to select the player, and $^ to select who controls the player: Human, Computer or OFF (disable this player). Press A to advance and B to return to the previous screen. Note that the selection Human is available only if a Controller is connected to the assigned Control Port. OPTIONS FOR THE MATCH You can adjust various settings for the match to be played. Here are the descriptions for each option menu items. Computer Adjusts the strength level of the computer controlled players. Select from Weak, Normal and Strong. If you have selected Team Match, you will next select the team members. Use the D-Pad *@ to select the player, and $^ to select the team to be on. There must be at least one member on the team, as you cannot have all four players on one team. Press A to advance and B to return to the previous screen. Games Per Match Adjusts the points needed to win the Match, from 1 to 5. Times Up! Adjusts the time limit for each battle, from 1 minute to 5 minutes. On Survival, Hyper Bomber, and Submarine Rules, if no winner is decided when the time runs out, the battle is declared a Draw. With Panel Paint and Ring Match Rules, the winner of the battle is declared by the total earned points at the end of the game. If the points are the same, the game is declared a Draw. Finally you will select the stage to be played. Use the D-Pad $^ to select the stage. Press A to start the game and B to return to the previous screen. Level Select the difficulty of the stages from Beginner, Normal, and Advanced. As the level of difficulty is raised, the stage maps become more technical. Sudden Death Select the settings for the Pressure Blocks that fall near the end of battle time. This option is available only with Survival Rule. OFF The Pressure Blocks only fall on the outer two rims of the playfield. ON The Pressure Blocks fall all the way to the center of the playfield, appearing in same order every time. Random The Pressure Blocks fall all the way to the center of the playfield, appearing randomly. After the match, if the Mini Game option (p.18) is enabled, you have a shot at Bomber Karate. Use R to adjust the power and press A to break the bricks. The item you have gained will be equipped at the start of the next match. Pressure Blocks Random Position You can select whether to have the player start at different locations on the playfield. Select ON to enable this feature, or OFF to disable (the player appears at the same location each time). 16 17 Skull Bomb OFF ON If an explosion hits the Skull Panel, it will disappear. Also, the effect of Skull Panel will wear out after a given period of time. The Skull Panel will not disappear if an explosion hits it. Also, the effect of Skull Panel will remain until either you pick up another item panel or when you touch another player (the effect will be transferred to that player). NETWORK Connect to the network server for online play. Use the D-Pad *@ to select the menu item, and press A to enter. Press B to return to the Main Menu screen. Net Battle Connect to the game server to play online game. Server Config Change Server Configuration. Mini Game You can enable or disable the Mini Game (Bomber Karate) after the set Match finishes. Note: this option is only available in Survival Rule. Miso Bomb You can enable or disable the Miso Bomb feature. When enabled (ON or Super), after you are blasted, you will become a Miso Bomb and will be sent to the outer rim of the stage. You can control your character to obstruct the field players. If this is set to Super, you can switch places with the player on the field by blasting him/her. Note that this feature is available only with Survival and Submarine Rules. (With other rules, you will restart from the starting position after being blasted. Thus you cannot become a Miso Bomb). NOTES BEFORE YOU PLAY ONLINE Before you connect online for network battle, you will need to set up a Character Name (which is going to be your user handle on the network). Please see p.24 on how to set up the Character Name. Also, if you have not already configured ISP settings to your Dreamcast, use your Dreamcast browser disc to do so. Refer to the Dreamcast Browser instruction manual for details. WARN ING: If you press A on a Warning overlay screen you will be brought back to the Dreamcast Title screen and not the Bomberman Online Title screen. NET BATTLE A Warning Notice and Operation Rules will be displayed. Read the message thoroughly and select Accept to advance. Select Decline to return to the Main Menu screen. Miso Bomb Next, select the number of players joining the online play. To have more than one player join the online play, you must connect the Dreamcast Controller in order from A, B, C, D. Use the D-Pad *@ to select the number of players, and press A to advance. Press B to return to the Main Menu screen. Note that if you have a memory card with Bomberman Online game data on the Dreamacast Controller connected to the Control Port other than A, that player, too, can play with a registered character. 18 19 A confirmation screen will be displayed. The controller with no memory card will have a message "VM nothing" above the controller icon. Press A to connect to the network. Press B to return to the previous screen. Arena Menu Inside the Arena, press the Start Button to display the Arena Menu. The following menu items are available. Enter Room Enter existing Game Room, or create a new one. Leave Arena Leave the current Arena and return to the Arena Select screen. Logout Log out of the network. Server Login When you are successfully connected to the Network, a Select Arena window will be displayed. The window lists the available Arenas (lobbies), current number of users/maximum capacity of the Arena, and the number of rooms available in the Arena. Use the D-Pad *@ to select the Arena, and A to enter. Press Y to update the list. Press B to logout from the Network. Inside the Arena, a large Chat Window is displayed at the top left, and an Arena User Window is displayed at the right side. You can use the Software Keyboard or the Dreamcast Keyboard to chat with other members in the Arena. Game Room When Enter Room is selected, a list of available Game Rooms (with current number of participants/maximum capacity) will be displayed. Use the D-Pad *@ to select the Room. Press A to enter the Room, X to display information (list of current members in the Room), and Y to update the list. Or you can press the Start Button to make a Room. Press B to return to the Arena. When creating a room, you will need to enter the Room name, and select the Room capacity (2~8). Select OK to create, and CANCEL to stop. Once the Room is made, you become the Room Master with the privilege to set up the rules of the game. Software Keyboard Use the D-Pad to select the key. Press A to type in the selected key. Either select the Backarrow Key or press B to backspace (delete a letter). Press X to toggle the Shift Key. Either select the Enter Key or press Y to send the message. Once inside the Game Room, the Room Members can chat with each other. Use the chat to discuss the rules of the battle to be played. Also, press the Start Button to display a Room Menu. The Room Menu differs from the Room Master and the other members. 20 21 Room Menu (Room Master) The Room Master has the privilege to set up the battle rule, as well as to keep the Room in order. The following menu items are available to the Room Menu. Set up Rule Set up the rule for the battle. Start Battle When everyone is ready, select this to start the battle. Kick Out Send a room member out of the Game Room to the Arena. Lock Room Lock the Room to disallow further entry. Exit Room Leave the Room and return to the Arena. Log Out Log out of the network. The following options are available to set up the rule of the battle: Battle Type Select either the Survival Rule or Hyper Bomber Rule. Games per Match Select the number of games needed to win the match (1~5). Time's Up Select the time limit (2:00~5:00) Random Position Enable/disable the random starting position. Select Stage Select the type of stage to play the match. SERVER CONFIG You can change the server to which you will connect on Network play. Normally you do not need to make changes with this menu. Upon necessity, the information may be given over the web page. ONLINE PLAY In order to play this game online, you must have a valid SegaNet subscription. If you do not already have an account, you can subscribe to SegaNet for only $9.95 a month and clash with fellow console gamers from around the planet. Your SegaNet subscription gives you unlimited access to the extensive SegaNet network of game servers - including Bomberman Online, Sega Sports online titles, and many other top-notch console games. Join tournaments and ladders, get ranked, showcase your trophies, and get other exclusive features. All you need is an Internet Service Provider (ISP),* a Dreamcast, and a credit card, and you're all set to subscribe to SegaNet. You must be 18 or older to subscribe - if you're under 18, please ask your parents to sign up for you. For more information, please visit our web site at www.sega.com/bomberman. *SegaNet service is available to all Dreamcast-compatible ISPs. There are known connectivity problems with some ISPs, such as America Online. Please check with your ISP to ensure compatibility with SegaNet. Room Menu (Room Members) The Room Members have the following menu items for the Room Menu. Check Rule View and verify the rules the Room Master has selected. Agree Rule Select this when you agree to the rules. Exit Room Leave the Room and return to the Arena. Log Out Log out of the network. Room Member Window The Room Master will have an "M" icon next to his/her name on the Room Member Window. When the Room Master leaves the room, a new Room Master will automatically be selected. You can check who is the new Room Master by the location of the icon. Also, when the Room Member agrees on the rules set up by the Room Master an "OK" mark will be displayed next to his/her name. The Room Master should check this before starting the game. 22 23 EXTRAS BOX Here, you can change the appearance of the character and the name when you play the Network battle, as well as to view the Collection Panels you have collected so far. Use the D-Pad *@ to select the menu item, and press A to enter. Either select Back or press B to return to the Main Menu screen. Inside each sub-modes, use L/R to move to the previous/next submode. COLLECTION PANEL You can view the Collection Panels you have collected so far. Use the DPad to select the Panel you wish to view. What are Collection Panels? Collection Panels are special item panels that appear, when the conditions are met, on each stage of the Normal Game. By itself, there are no effects. But by collecting them, the number of body parts selection for the character to use with the Network battle increases. CHARACTER DESIGN You can change the appearance of the character for the Network battle. Use the D-Pad $^ to select the parts of the body, and *@ to select from the available selections of each part. According to the number of Collection Panels collected (p.25), the number of available body parts will increase. Press X to rotate the character to view it from a different angle, and Y to view the character's walking animation. When done, press B to return to the Extras Box Menu screen. There are four Collection Panels hidden inside each Area of each Stage. Rarely during the Net battle, however, it may appear by destroying any soft block. CHARACTER NAME You can enter the designed Character's name with the software keyboard or the Dreamcast Keyboard. You MUST have a Character Name to play online in Network Battle. ATTENTION The Character Name is your handle for Network battle. Please do not use any words or language for your character name that may be offensive to other players. 24 25 OPTIONS You can adjust various settings, and listen to the music/sound effects used in the game. Use the D-Pad $^ to select the menu item, and press A to enter. Press B to return to the Main Menu screen. AUDIO Here you can adjust the sound output. Use the D-Pad $^ to select STEREO or MONAURAL, and press A to enter. Press B to cancel selection. SOUND TEST SCREEN ADJUST If you have difficulty seeing the edges of the game field, select this to adjust the screen position. Use the D-Pad *@$^ to adjust the screen. Press X to bring the screen to the default position. Press A to enter, or B to cancel and return to Options Menu. You can listen to the background music and sound effects used in the game. Use the D-Pad *@ to select between BGM and SE, and $^ to select the music/sound effects selection number. Press A to listen to the music/sound effects. Press B to return to the Options Menu. CONTROL BUTTON SETTING You can change button assignments for each port. The Menu for each ports with the Dreamcast Controller connected will be active, so configure separately. First, press A to activate the menu for each Port. Use the D-Pad *@ to select the menu item, and press the button you wish to assign the game command to. Select DEFAULT to bring the setting back to the default setting. Select OK to enter the configuration. When done, press B to return to the Options Menu. JUMP PACK SETTING You can enable or disable the Jump Pack. Use the D-Pad $^ to select ON or OFF, and press A to enter. Press B to cancel selection. 26 27 CREDITS The following credits list the staff responsible for the localization, marketing and manual development for the U.S. version of Bomberman Online. Credits for the original development staff of the game are listed in the credits of the game itself. Product Development Vice President of PD Jin Shimazaki Localization Manager Osamu Shibamiya Localization Producer Jason Kuo Network Architect Takashi Kosaka Lead Tester Nestor Protacio Jr. Assistant Lead Testers Davidson Talag Ray Murakawa Testers Joseph Amper, Robert Anthony, Seth Benson, Marvin Blanton, Daniel Chang, Derrick Chin, Mabel Chung, John Diamonon, Antonio Eco, Alan Hsu, Berjes Enriquez, Jason Jensen, Walter Kim, Chester Lee, Christina Mendez, Jason Mercer, Joshua Pfeiffer, Derek Wong, Catherine Yu, John Yu Marketing Director of Product Marketing Mike Fischer Product Manager Rich Briggs Associate Product Manager Noah Musler Public Relations Gwen Marker Teri Higgins Creative Services Director of Creative Services Robert Schonfisch Project Manager Angela Santos Project Coordinator Arianne Pitts Special Thanks Peter Moore Sandy Castagnola Paulita Escalona Kuroki Koji Mike Rhinehart Sega.com SegaNet Producer Arthur Datangel Lead Network Analyst Jason Nolen DC Server Operations Douglas Land Eric Fehr Director of Games Jerome Markota QA Manager Lancelot Nelson QA Analysts Nicolas J. Azizian, Darren Nagtalon, Josh Simpson, Clifford Wilhelm Network Support Team Britt Morris, Gary Crumback, Sami Tabikh, Scott Foe, Kevin Kwan Business Development Keitaro Shigemasa Rie Wani Special Thanks Ryoichi Shiratsuchi Eugene Archibald 28