Puzzle Bobble

Puzzle Bobble

Box art for the Japanese Neo Geo CD release
Developer(s) Taito Corporation
Publisher(s) Taito Corporation
Designer(s) Seiichi Nakakuki
Composer(s) Kazuko Umino
Platform(s) Arcade, Neo Geo, 3DO, Neo Geo CD, Game Gear, SNES
Release date(s) Arcade
  • JP June, 1994
Neo Geo
  • JP December, 1994
Genre(s) Puzzle
Mode(s) Up to 2 players simultaneously
Cabinet Upright
Arcade system Neo Geo (and later systems)
Display Raster, standard resolution

Puzzle Bobble (Japanese: パズルボブル Hepburn: Pazuru Boburu), also known as Bust-a-Move in North America, is a 1994 tile-matching arcade puzzle video game for one or two players created by Taito Corporation. It is based on Taito's popular 1986 arcade game Bubble Bobble, featuring characters and themes from that game. Its characteristically cute Japanese animation and music, along with its play mechanics and level designs, made it successful as an arcade title and spawned several sequels and ports to home gaming systems.

Versions

Two different versions of the original game were released. Puzzle Bobble was originally released in Japan only in June 1994 by Taito Corporation, running on Taito's B System hardware (with the preliminary title "Bubble Buster"). Then, 6 months later in December, the international Neo Geo version of Puzzle Bobble was released. It was almost identical aside from being in stereo and having some different sound effects and translated text.

When set to the US region, the Neo Geo version displays the alternative title "Bust a Move" and features anti-drugs and anti-littering messages in the title sequence. The Bust-a-Move title was used for all subsequent games in the series in the United States and Canada, as well as for some (non-Taito published) console releases in Europe.

Gameplay

At the start of each round, the rectangular playing arena contains a prearranged pattern of coloured "bubbles". (These are actually referred to in the translation as "balls"; however, they were clearly intended to be bubbles, since they pop, and are taken from Bubble Bobble.) At the bottom of the screen, the player controls a device called a "pointer", which aims and fires bubbles up the screen. The colour of bubbles fired is randomly generated and chosen from the colors of bubbles still left on the screen.

The fired bubbles travel in straight lines (possibly bouncing off the side walls of the arena), stopping when they touch other bubbles or reach the top of the arena. If a bubble touches identically-colored bubbles, forming a group of three or more, those bubbles—as well as any bubbles hanging from them—are removed from the field of play, and points are awarded.

After every few shots, the "ceiling" of the playing arena drops downwards slightly, along with all the bubbles stuck to it. The number of shots between each drop of the ceiling is influenced by the number of bubble colors remaining. The closer the bubbles get to the bottom of the screen, the faster the music plays and if they cross the line at the bottom then the game is over.

The objective of the game is to clear all the bubbles from the arena without any bubble crossing the bottom line. Bubbles will fire automatically if the player remains idle. After clearing the arena, the next round begins with a new pattern of bubbles to clear.

Scoring system

As with many popular arcade games, experienced players (who can complete the game relatively easily) become much more interested in the secondary challenge of obtaining a high score (which involves a lot more skill and strategy). Puzzle Bobble caters to this interest very well, featuring an exponential scoring system which allows extremely high scores to be achieved.

"Popped" bubbles (that is, bubbles of the same color which disappear) are worth 10 points each. However, dropped bubbles (that is, bubbles that were hanging from popped bubbles), are worth far more: one dropped bubble scores 20 points; two score 40; three score 80. This figure continues doubling for each bubble dropped, up to 17 or more bubbles which scores 1,310,720 points. It is possible to achieve this maximum on most rounds (sometimes twice or more), resulting in a potential total score of 30 million and beyond.

Bonus points are also awarded for completing a round quickly. The maximum 50,000-point bonus is awarded for clearing a round in 5 seconds or less; this bonus then drops down to zero over the next minute, after which no bonus is awarded.

Two player mode

There are no rounds in the two player game. Both players have an arena each (both visible on screen) and an identical arrangement of colored bubbles in each arena. When a player removes a large group (four bubbles or more) some of those removed are transferred to the opponent's arena, usually delaying their efforts to remove all the bubbles from their individual arena. In some versions, the two player game can also be played by one player against a computer opponent.

Connections with Bubble Bobble

The characters and theme of the game are based on the 1986 platform arcade game Bubble Bobble. An arrangement of the original Bubble Bobble BGM is played in the game's end credits.

The two dinosaurs operating the pointer are called Bub and Bob (or Bubblun and Bobblun in Japan). Their graphics and animation are based directly on the original Bubble Bobble, only larger (very similar to Bubble Symphony which was released less than a month later). Less obvious is the fact that Puzzle Bobble also features all the enemies from Bubble Bobble, which are trapped inside the bubbles and fly out when the bubbles pop. Inspecting the bubbles closely, one can see the enemies twitching inside the bubbles.

Enemy characters in Puzzle Bobble bubbles
Bubble color Enemy Japanese name
Red Super Socket Invader
Yellow Hullaballoon (a.k.a. Boaboa) Pulpul
Green Willy Whistle (a.k.a. Bonner) Drunk
Blue Bubble Buster (a.k.a. Benzo) Zen-Chan
Purple Beluga (a.k.a. Blubba) Monsta
Orange Coiley (a.k.a. Bonnie-bo) Banebou
Black Incendo Hidegonsu
White Stoner (a.k.a. Boris) Mighta

Reception

Electronic Gaming Monthly gave the Super NES version a 7.8 out of 10, calling it "a thoroughly enjoyable and incredibly addicting puzzle game". They considered the two player mode the highlight, but also said that the one player mode provides a solid challenge.[1] GamePro gave it a generally negative review, saying it "starts out fun but ultimately lacks intricacy and longevity." They elaborated that in one player mode all the levels feel the same, and that two player matches are over too quickly to build up any excitement. They also criticized the lack of any 3D effects in the graphics.[2]

Game series

  1. Puzzle Bobble (a.k.a. Bust-a-Move) – 1994
  2. Puzzle Bobble 2 / Puzzle Bobble 2X (a.k.a. Bust-a-Move 2 / Bust-a-Move 2X in Europe, Bust-a-Move Again in North America) – 1995
  3. Puzzle Bobble 3 (a.k.a. Bust-a-Move 3 in Europe, Bust-a-Move '99 in North America) – 1996
  4. Puzzle Bobble 4 (a.k.a. Bust-a-Move 4) – 1997
  5. Super Puzzle Bobble / Super Puzzle Bobble All-Stars (a.k.a. Super Bust-a-Move / Super Bust-a-Move All Stars) – 1999/2003
  6. Puzzle Bobble Mini (on Neo Geo Pocket Color) – 1999
  7. Bust-a-Move Millenium (a.k.a. Puzzle Bobble Millenium) – 2000
  8. Super Puzzle Bobble 2 (a.k.a. Super Bust-a-Move 2) – 2002
  9. Azumanga Daioh Puzzle Bobble (Spin-off based on the characters of Azumanga Daioh, Arcade) - 2002
  10. Puzzle Bobble Mobile (on various mobile devices) – 2003
  11. Puzzle Bobble VS (on N-Gage) – 2003
  12. Bust-a-Move Deluxe (on PlayStation Portable) – 2004
  13. Ultra Bust-a-Move (on Xbox) – 2004 in US, 2005 in Japan
  14. Puzzle Bobble DS – 2005
  15. Hippatte!! Puzzle Bobble (a.k.a. Bust-a-Move DS) – 2006
  16. Ultra Puzzle Bobble Pocket (a.k.a. Bust-a-Move Deluxe in US, Bust-a-Move Ghost in Europe) – (on PlayStation Portable) – 2006
  17. Bust-A-Move Bash! (on Wii) – 2007
  18. Bust-a-Move Online – 2007
  19. Bust-a-Move Mobile! (on Mobile phones) – 2008[3]
  20. Space Puzzle Bobble[4] (a.k.a. Space Bust-a-Move in North America, Puzzle Bobble Galaxy in Europe) (Nintendo DS) - 2008[5]
  21. Puzzle Bobble Plus! (a.k.a. Bust-A-Move Plus!) (on WiiWare) - 2009
  22. Puzzle Bobble Live (Xbox Live Arcade) – 2009
  23. Puzzle Bobble (a.k.a. Bust-A-Move) (iOS) - 2009
  24. Puzzle Bobble Disney Edition (Mobile Phones Japan Only) - October 15, 2010
  25. New Puzzle Bobble (a.k.a. New Bust-A-Move) (iOS) - February 4, 2011
  26. Puzzle Bobble 3D (a.k.a. Bust-a-Move Universe) (Nintendo 3DS) - February 26, 2011
  27. Puzzle Bobble Online[6] (with Neowiz Games) - 2011
  28. LINE Puzzle Bobble (a.k.a Bust-A-Move Islands) (iOS, Android) - December 9, 2013 (Notes: This game not to be confused by Bubblen March)
  29. Bubblen March (iOS, Android) - 2014 (Notes: This game was published by Taito Games)[7]

Clones

Many popular clones of Puzzle Bobble have been produced, including:

References

  1. ↑ "Review Crew: Bust A Move". Electronic Gaming Monthly (EGM Media, LLC) (68): 34. March 1995.
  2. ↑ "ProReview: Bust-A-Move". GamePro (IDG) (69): 68. April 1995.
  3. ↑ "Bust-A-Move coming to mobile, Blast Magazine". Archived from the original on 2007-10-16. Retrieved 2011-05-24.
  4. ↑ "Space Puzzle Bobble (NDS) - A Review". 2008-12-29. Retrieved 2009-01-23.
  5. ↑ "Japan - Space Puzzle Bobble officially dated, flash demo online". 2008-11-24. Retrieved 2009-01-23.
  6. ↑ "Taito and Neowiz Games Launch Puzzle Bobble Online". Retrieved 2011-08-25.
  7. ↑ "株式会社タイトー｜ケータイネット｜バブルンマーチ". Taito (in Japanese).

External links