Hey Bomberman fans! With the anticipated release of Bomberman Live: Battlefest, we want to feature one of our most dedicated fans.  Jeff McGraw, creator of Saturn Bomberman Tournaments, has been nice enough to share some of his thoughts and opinions about Bomberman, as well as his inspiration for his Bomberman tournaments.  Starting out as a Thanksgiving tradition, Jeff’s Bomberman tournaments have been going strong for 8 years, and now he’s expanding it so that there are multiple tournaments per year. His Saturn Bomberman Tournaments site even records all the achievements and accolades for participants. We caught up with Jeff recently, and here’s what he shared with us:

 

How long have you been playing Bomberman?
The first Bomberman game I ever played was on the TurboGrafx-16. Somehow I missed it on the NES. But, I preferred the TG-16 versions over the SNES and Genesis versions due to the 5 player option (1 more player than SNES or Genesis).

It looks like you still play the classic Bomberman. Have you had the chance to play newer versions? If so, what do you like/not like about them?
I have owned just about every Bomberman game possible from TG-16 all the way through the current gen systems. I absolutely love the DS versions. But to be honest, Saturn Bomberman is still my favorite. While I like all the new versions of Bomberman, several things about Saturn Bomberman stand out for me. First, I prefer choosing from the vast array of Hudson characters instead of different colored Bombermen. Second, I still like the old battle fields. And by that I mean a straight top down view as opposed to a slightly 3D tilted appearance. I think the Tyras (dinosaurs) are a great idea. And most importantly, the eight player option is terrific! I would love to see the return of a multitap to the new systems.

What inspired you to start these tournaments?
I had read along time about how many people considered Saturn Bomberman to be the best of all the Bomberman games. So, I decided to track down a Saturn and the game. Once I did that, I searched for 10 controllers and 2 multitaps. After playing a bit I realized that this would be the ultimate party game. At the time, Thanksgiving was coming up. And since we always have everyone over for Thanksgiving, I thought it would be the perfect time to try it out. No one there had ever played the game before. Some hadn't even played Bomberman. But, everyone loved it and had a great time.

 

Why a Bomberman tournament? How come not another game?
Easy question. Bomberman is a very simple game to understand. Avoid bombs, trap others by dropping bombs. You use the d-pad and one button (mostly). It takes one minute to tell people who have never played the game, how to actually play. I had one person play Saturn Bomberman in a casual setting who said that while he liked the game, he thought that a certain FPS was a better multi-player game. I politely told him why I disagreed. Someone who has never played a FPS would have no chance and no fun playing against experienced players. There are way too many controls to remember for a first-time player. The beauty of Bomberman is its simplicity. Anyone can sit down and play for the first time against experienced players and still have fun. They aren't going to win (at least not often) but their experience will be enjoyable.


With whom do you mostly play? Family, friends, relatives?
Well, since 8 of our 9 tournaments have been on Thanksgiving, I would have to say family. Right now we have 2 tournaments: The Thanksgiving Invitational (which is mainly family) and the new May Day Open (which is open to anyone and everyone). We started the second tournament so we could include a wider variety of people. We might even add a third tournament this year before Thanksgiving. I would love to have 4 tournaments every year. A sort of Grand Slam of Bomberman.

How much participation do you get from random people you don't know for these tournaments?
The tournament we held on May 1st was the first open tournament. Through Twitter and Facebook I received quite a few inquiries about playing, but most people lived too far away. Even though we have been doing this since 2002, we have only recently thought about turning this into something bigger. Last year I started our website to keep track of the history and the records. Hopefully in the next year we can grow this into something big. This year we had 1 person from Germany and 1 person from Brazil participate. They were both here for a short time but were able to play. So we had people from 3 different continents playing Saturn Bomberman! Not bad.

What is the typical format/game type for these tourneys?
For tournaments with more than 8 participants, we go to a 3 round format. Every round is always 21 battles. 7 using Stage 1 (the most traditional stage) and then the other stages are each used twice. The reason for using Stage 1 more times than the others is that it is the purest form of Bomberman. It is less gimmicky, and more likely to let the best players win these battles. The top 4 players from rounds 1 and 2 face-off in the championship round (8 total players). As far as rules, Time is 3:00, Shuffle is on, No Draw is off, Devil is off, Mad Bomber is on and Bonus Game is off. On our website you can actually watch the entire championship round including the selecting of the rules. I wanted to include that so everyone could see what rules we go by.

You have a records section on your site.  Any records that are particularly noteworthy?
Yes. Shaun McGuire has won 6 of the 9 tournaments. He is kind of the Babe Ruth of Saturn Bomberman so far. The other 3 tournaments were won by 3 different people. With the youngest being 7 years old (Nathan McGraw). People tend to take these tournaments very seriously. Everyone wants to win. For a 7 year old to win was quite amazing (by the way, we have had a small number of kids play, none have ever come close to winning except for Nathan). We also have a rankings section. That will be updated after every tournament.


Are you excited for the new Bomberman Live: Battlefest?
Yes! I'm anxious to see what is new. I like the idea of people being able to use their own avatars. I would love to see tournament style stats added to online Bomberman games.

What is your favorite Bomberman game? Character/color? Map? Power-up?
Obviously, Saturn Bomberman is my favorite. Bonk is a great character. But for some reason I always play as White Bomberman. My favorite map is from Saturn Bomberman: the Soccer Stage. I love how you can kick the ball into the goals for screen wide explosions. The most dangerous stage out there! I also like the Jungle stage. I think it is pretty cool the way you can lay low and kind of hide behind some of the trees.

Do you play with any special rules for your tournaments? (e.g. for Bomberman LIVE, a lot of the "pro" players turned off dangerous bombs, thinking they were unbalanced and/or not classic).
As far as rules, Time is 3:00, Shuffle is on, No Draw is off, Devil is off, Mad Bomber is on and Bonus Game is off. We play 21 stages (7 of the classic stage and 2 each of the other 7 stages) for each of the 3 rounds. The Draw or No Draw rule has changed here and there in our tournaments. But we have finally settled on No Draw being off. That way it sets up a classic battle between the final players in a very small battle area (by this time in the game, weights have covered the outer edges of the stage).

Any last thoughts?
I've always thought that Bomberman would make a great game in professional video game leagues. The rules are simple. Anyone can play. But you truly need to be skilled if you ever want to win. What I would like to see out of new Bomberman games is tournament options. One of the best things about Saturn Bomberman was that you could set up actual tournaments with rules, stages, stats and awards. When we play, everyone wants to see their stats between each round. Stats like number of kills, who killed who and of course the current standings. It really adds a lot to the Bomberman experience.

Jeff McGraw, a true Bomberman fanatic! Are there any other Bomberman fans out there with stories like this? Let us know by commenting on our Facebook page or messaging us on Twitter.