Bubble Bobble Game by Taito Reviewed by Philip "Pocket Squirrel" Wesley Save: Passwords/ 8 Characters Released: 1994 Works with: Game Gear ESRB Rated: N/A Rating Descriptions: N/A Quick Opinion: Own. **************************************************************************** Opening Snide Remarks: Bubble Bobble is a great arcade game that was released in 1986 by Taito. It was designed by Fukio Mitsuji (1960-2008) and is notorious for the co-op play that the game provides. Bubble Bobble has been ported over to several game systems. This is the Game Gear version and we need to know if it lives up to the beloved Arcade Game. NOW IS THE BEGINNING OF A FANTASTIC STORY!! LET'S MAKE A JOURNEY TO THE CAVE OF MONSTERS!! GOOD LUCK! **************************************************************************** Gameplay Description: The premise of Bubble Bobble is pretty easy to explain. You see, you were once a boy who loved a girl. That girl was stolen away by evil monsters and it is now your quest to save her! Unfortunately, the evil monster that stole her away from you has discovered a novel way to prevent you from charging into the CAVE OF MONSTERS with swords and guns blazing. You have been turned into a fat little dragon that can only blow bubbles. (Is this awesome? Yes/No) This is the WORST. POSSIBLE. THING. Luckily, you are a pretty smart dragon! You have discovered that you can blow those bubbles to trap your enemies in them and then use the spikes on your head and back to impale those bubbles! You can also hold the jump button to bounce off of bubbles or you can use your feet to pop the bubbles. There are also power-ups that let you breath fire, skip levels, cause floods, summon black holes, shoot energy bolts behind you, run faster, and enter bonus rounds. You will need those powers as even the slightest tickle from the monsters in the CAVE OF MONSTERS will kill you until you are dead. When you start up the game, you get a choice between 1P START and 2P LINK. If you have the Game Gear System Link Cable, two copies of Bubble Bobble, and two Game Gears; you can play the game in a co-operative way to clear levels much more quickly. You will also be competing for points in the 2P LINK mode. The 1P START mode is the normal game. There are 200 levels to clear of monsters. When you start a level, a number of enemies appear and you have to kill all of them to proceed to the next level. There are also boss characters that require you to nab special power items in the room and use them to burn, zap, and then trap those evil boss characters! You hop around inside the level, dealing with varied, maze like arenas that take place on a single screen. Occasionally power ups, fruit items, and other such things appear randomly on the screen. The game is pretty simple, but each room requires you to figure out how to best kill the enemies. You also have a bit of a time limit where an enemy that you can not kill will chase you viciously around the room until you kill the other enemies. Each enemy has a unique behavior and all of them tend to chase you around the room, throw fireballs or mirrors, or fly. Sometimes the arena is so full of bubbles and enemies that -due to the line limit on the Game Gear- some enemies may end up being invisible for short spurts of time. This makes the game pretty tough at times. Liked: It gets pretty intense at times, yet still manages to be fun. The co-op mode is similar to the arcade where you can actively communicate with someone near you in an effort to clear the enemies out the fastest. Hated: 2P Link mode is difficult to set up. The line limit in the graphics can lead to frustration. **************************************************************************** Graphics Description: Everything is nice and colorful in this game. While the level of detail is below the arcade version, you can clearly see everything that is going on. Unless too much is on the screen at once and the line limit of the Game Gear kicks in. The backgrounds and arenas are pretty simplistic, but you can tell all of the enemies apart from each other and the overall look of the game is pretty cute. Liked: Cute design that is only a notch below the arcade. Bub (the green dragon) looks like he should. Everything is just the right size. Not too large and not too small. The game is easy to see. Hated: That flickering line limit is coupled with simplistic black backgrounds and simple designs. **************************************************************************** Sound/Music Description: The sound effects are appropriate to the action on screen and they neither add nor detract to what is going. There is only ONE real song in the entire game. It loops after about 30 seconds and it will become stuck in your head regardless of your opinion of it. Liked: That song is pretty cool when you first hear. Hated: Several levels later, you may end up turning that volume all the way off. A little variety every few levels would be nice. **************************************************************************** Play Control/Game Design: Bubble Bobble is intended to be played in short arcade style sessions and is best played in co-op mode. The design is pretty cute and I love the originality of the game. This is a simplified port of the arcade game and it is just as fun as the original. The screen is locked, which is a change from the Game Boy Bubble Bobble: where the screen scrolls up or down depending on where you are. The concept is simple, yet challenging. The graphic and music complaints do detract from the gameplay, but not from the game design or play control. Liked: A fairly original game with good play control and an interesting concept. Hated: No complaints. **************************************************************************** Improve: Every ten levels, a change in music would be cool. RIYL: The Bubble Bobble arcade game or side view, fixed arcade games like Joust or Mario Bros. **************************************************************************** Final Words: If you can track down this game for your Game Gear, go ahead and buy it! This is a pretty good port that captures the same feel as the arcade game. Although it does have some problems with flickering. **************************************************************************** Score Gameplay: **** Graphics: **** Sound/Music: *** Play Control/Game Design: *** Value: *** Star Total: 51 Personal Opinion Merit: 18 Final Score: 69% Letter Grade: C ****************************************************************************