Taito 1988

Action / Platformer

NES

1 Player | 2 Player Co-op

 

Bubble Bobble

You and your two brontosaurus buddies, Bub and Bob, are up to your brows in bubble troubles. You've got to battle battalions of bullies by blowing and bursting billions of bubbles. It's a fast-paced bubble banquet through over 100 screens of slap happy suds. Got an appetite for fun? Then get blowin'.

In Bubble Bobble, you blow bubbles with the [B] button to capture beasties then collide with them at high speed to knock them out. After being defeated, they will leave a piece of food that you can collect for extra points. All bubbles will cling together whether they're empty or not. You can even stop a bubble by lightly touching it and then push it around into others to create groups. When one bubble pops, every one attached will pop along with it. By stringing together huge clumps of bubbled beasties, you can trigger explosive results. Popping one beastie at a time is worth 1000 points, but this number doubles for every extra one attached to the stack. This can increase up to 64,000 points for a cluster containing 7 beasties. The [A] button isn't just used for jumping. By holding it down, you can bounce on top of any bubble, including your own, to reach the top of the stage. Bubbles last for a limited time and will pop after turning red. If a beastie is contained inside, it will break free and be in a frenzied state with greatly increased speed. The last enemy left will also become frenzied. When there's a lot of beasties roaming around, it may be best to let them simply come to you. By waiting around a corner, you can capture them one by one as they cycle through. Bub and Bob begin their adventure with 3 lives and will lose one life each time they are touched by a beastie. A total of 5 extra lives can be earned at 30,000, 100,000, 200,000, 400,000 and 1,000,000 points.

Just like you, beasties can jump up to a platform that's above, but can't jump down. Exiting at the top of the stage will allow you to re-enter at the bottom to get the drop on your target, just make sure they don't do the same to you. Besides food, there's a huge amount of items that can be found. Some will give Bub and Bob powered up abilities that last until their next life, while others will unleash magical attacks against the baddies. If you take too long on a stage, a warning message saying 'Hurry Up' will appear. After that, a skeletal whale named Baron von Blubba will enter and relentlessly chase you. Even though a bubble's path may seem random, they are carried by air currents around the stage. Observe where these currents are to predict where bubbles will go. There are 2 worlds with 113 levels each. Being able to reach the true boss and the second world depends on being able to grab the Crystal Ball that appears on level 99. By collecting all of the special EXTEND bubbles, you will be awarded an extra life along with being taken to the next level. These bubbles will appear whenever 3 or more beasties are defeated at once. Have a friend join you to help lock down the beasties and grab items. Pressing [Select] while the game is paused will allow you to share a life to bring them back into the game, even in single player mode.

Game Genie Codes

AUOIAIEY	Invincibility	Game Genie
SLUSZTVS	Unlimited Lives	Game Genie
PAUKEZLA	Start With 1 Life	Game Genie
TAUKEZLA	Start With 6 Lives	Game Genie
PAUKEZLE	Start With 9 Lives	Game Genie
AAUILSPP	More Bubble Power	Game Genie
PAUSXX	Lightning Bubbles	Game Genie
AANSIGTA AESIPGTA	Turbo Shoes	Game Genie
ZANEAGPA NNEEAKVN	Faster Enemies	Game Genie
LANEAGPA NNEEAKSN	Very Fast Enemies	Game Genie
LANEIGZA SNEEIKVN	Faster Angry Enemies	Game Genie
ZAUGEZPE	Start on Level 10	Game Genie
PPUGEZPE	Start on Level 25	Game Genie
ZLUGEZPA	Start on Level 50	Game Genie
LGUGEZPE	Start on Level 75	Game Genie
PEVKPYAA PENGYYAA	Pause Doesn't Effect You	Game Genie

 

Bubble Bobble
This arcade-style action game pits two spiky dinosaurs named Bub and Bob against groups of enemies on a single screen. Instead of jumping on them or smashing them with a hammer, you have the ability to breathe bubbles to trap your unfortunate targets. Once encased, you can pop them with your spikes to send them flying. When you first start playing, you'll notice it's very chaotic, and you'll wonder what's going on. After a while, it will still be chaotic, and you'll still wonder what's going on, but it's a lot of fun. Even though the platforming itself is a bit iffy, the ability to jump on bubbles, including your own, is very unique. Because you can blow bubbles to generate your own bouncy platforms anywhere, you can use them to quickly navigate each stage.

The layout of the later stages creates deadly bottlenecks that makes approaching secluded enemies perilous from certain directions; figuring out how to reach them can feel almost like a puzzle. Despite the increased difficulty of these later stages, infinite continues and a simple level password system will keep players of all skill levels in the game. You can play this alone, but it's really designed for two. Having a second player to fend off advancing enemies or to grab a quickly disappearing items (like the Crystal Ball) can make this a very different experience. You might find that while Bubble Bobble may seem like an average single-player game, it's actually an exceptional multiplayer one. Anyone looking for a solid platformer might want to pass on this, but if you're looking for a unique, if not hectic, action game and one of the best multiplayer experiences on the NES, be sure to add Bubble Bobble to your library.