The twelfth installment in the Bomberman series, it was first released in Japan on July 19, 1996, in Europe in May 1, 1997, and in North America in September 4, 1997.

Saturn Bomberman utilises Dinosaur helpers, which are initially found as eggs released upon the destruction of a soft block.

Saturn Bomberman has a story mode which can be played single player or two-player.

Upon entering the exit, Bomberman will do a victory pose, then a short cut scene takes place.

The cut scene shows a piece of scenery moving out of the way, then Bomberman walks through, and something closes up the way he came from.

It received enthusiastic reviews from Electronic Gaming Monthly's four-person "review crew", Saturn Power's Dean Mortlock, and Sega Saturn Magazine's Matt Yeo, who were particularly impressed with the ten-player capability[9][13][14] and the numerous modes and options.

[13][14] Yeo also praised the game's accessibility, remarking, "Mastering power-ups and building on that initial buzz certainly adds to the game's broad appeal but the fact that players can simply pick up a joypad and leap straight into the thick of things with the minimum of tuition is the real winning factor.

"[14] However, a reviewer for Next Generation and Jeff Gerstmann of GameSpot both felt the game failed to break out from the shadow of Super Bomberman 2.

"[11] Critics were also not wholly sold on the 10-player feature, as most noted that the screen size used for ten players makes powerups and characters too small to discern on all but the largest television sets.

"[13] GamePro noted that the screen is much less confusing if there are eight players or fewer, and commented, "If you don't have a Sega multitap, Saturn Bomberman offers the perfect excuse to get one.

[11] Critics generally remarked that the graphics and music are very limited and fail to advance the Bomberman series in any way.