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''Bubble Bobble'' is an Arcade Game by Taito , first released in 1986 . It features two cute dragons, '''Bub''' (Japanese "Bubblun"), who is green with yellow spikes/horns and '''Bob''' (Japanese "Bobblun"), who is blue with cyan spikes/horns. They move over a system of platforms, busting and pushing Bubble s, avoiding enemies and collecting a variety of Power-up s. GAME MECHANICS The original arcade game, despite its 1986 release date and its apparent simplicity, features some rather complicated and convoluted game mechanics, one of the main reasons that many computer or game console ports of the game, even when released several years after the original, can seem lacking and incomplete in some aspects. Levels Each level (or ''round'') consists of exactly one screen, with no Scrolling or flipping. The dragons can move around the levels by walking on platforms, falling through empty space, jumping through platforms from below and (in some levels) falling through holes at the bottom of the level in order to reappear at the top, or even vice versa (see gameplay techniques below). Apart from jumping, the characters can blow bubbles. Bubbles also float in from the top or bottom of the screen in many levels. They pop after a certain amount of time, when they hit the dragon's spiked back, if they're squashed against a wall or another dragon or if they're fallen upon. By holding down the jump button, it's possible to bounce on top of bubbles, which is sometimes necessary to reach platforms. The main objective of the game is to trap enemies in bubbles, then burst the bubble, thus destroying the enemy. Each round also features invisible air currents and custom bubble physics, causing all bubbles to move in predetermined trajectories like converging to a certain point, moving very quickly or very slowly, rising too fast, being pulled down as if by gravity, etc., usually with notable effects on a level's difficulty. Some levels have very short bubble popping times, meaning that bubbles pop almost as soon as they emerge. This is extreme to the point of only being able to kill monsters by "kissing" them in later levels - which means blowing a bubble in such a way that it's immediately squashed against the dragon causing instant death to an enemy. Very short time limits are also used to make the game more difficult, with two rounds having no time limits and a few of them being almost impossible to finish under certain conditions (single player, lack of certain bonuses etc.). It's important to note that when you run out of time, you do not instantly die, but rather an invincible "Skel" enemy appears (two if there are two dragons playing) - for more information on the Skel enemy, see below. Enemies There are a variety of enemies that move about in different patterns. Contact with an enemy (or the missiles fired by some) will kill a dragon. The dragons' job is to complete the level by killing all enemies in it. If this is not achieved within a time limit, the message "Hurry up!" will flash across the screen. When this happens, enemies become "angry" (making them red and move faster thus making them more dangerous). Approximately ten seconds later, one or two Skel enemies appear on screen. Enemies also become "angry" if they escape from a bubble that is not burst quickly enough by one of the dragons. They calm down when one of the dragons dies (although probably only when the Skels (see below) appear and your character touches an angry enemy). When in Super Mode, enemies get swapped with a counterpart, e.g. Boa-Boa's replace Monstas and viceversa. There are 7 kinds of normal enemies, plus the final Boss and two kinds of invincible monsters that appear after the "hurry up" limit, each with their own names. Roughly, in order of appearance, they are:
Weapons and bonuses The dragons' main weapon is their ability to blow bubbles. After being blown, they shoot forward for a short distance, then float upwards slowly. It is possible to jump on bubbles to reach otherwise inaccessible areas. An enemy hit by a forward-shooting (not floating) bubble will be trapped in it. The bubble can then be popped, killing the enemy and turning it into an item that can be collected for bonus points. If left floating, it will become angry and escape the bubble after a while. In some levels, there are special bubbles that appear by themselves:
The main power-ups are:
Secret rooms If a player can survive until stage 20 without losing a life, a door icon appears that, if collected in time, transports Bub and/or Bob to one of three secret rooms. Along with 36 diamonds, there is a coded message written on a plaque at the bottom of each room. The first line of this indicates the alphabet ( = A, = B etc. ) and the text that follows is a cryptic message explaining various game tips, although those "tips" are relatively obvious and Poorly-translated . Transliterating the messages, they read as (spelling and grammar as they appear in the game): :First Secret room ''(with a Grumple Gromit statue (with his eyes struck out))'': '''"If you want to become the old figure, use the power of your friendship, and fight with me!"'''. Explanation :Second Secret room ''(with a big broken Lightning bottle)'': '''"I enclose these magical medicine here, because those are my worst fears...."'''. Explanation :Third Secret room ''(with a heart under a glass pane)'': '''"If you want to get back your love of truth you must help each other until the last...."'''. Explanation This coded alphabet is used to display the "Super Mode" code (after finishing the game with two players in 'standard' mode), and appears in several other Taito games, like Rainbow Islands and the Puzzle Bobble series. Secret doors appear on levels 20, 30 and 40, with one that skips you forward 20 levels if you make it to stage 50 without dying. {Link without Title} Secret rooms trivia
Techniques A relatively unknown and obscure part of Bubble Bobble gameplay has always been the way the various bonuses appear. While most of them may appear completely random, the game actually keeps a series of internal (and unseen) counters about events such as number of jumps, jumps over bubbles, bubble bursts, bubbles blown etc. during a round or in the whole game, maximum number of monsters blown in a certain round etc. and these events are actually used to determine which bonuses will appear, and to a certain extent ''when'' they will appear. Some known events and the effect they have on bonuses are: The number of ''distinct'' EXTEND bubbles that will appear on a round depend on the maximum number of monsters killed during the round, or on a previous round if said previous round didn't have "openings" for EXTEND bubbles to fly in, or was completed before they could appear. In general, killing N+1 monsters will make '''N''' distinct EXTEND bubbles appear. Since the game actually can have only 7 monsters per round, killing 7 monsters in a single bubble cluster will make all 6 EXTEND letters appear. In Taito's PC port, however, killing N monsters will cause the '''N-th''' letter of the word to appear - making the N extremely hard to get because there's only few levels where you can easily pop five enemies simultaneously. This is probably a bug. Another known event-triggered event is the appearance of ''candy cane'' bonuses: if a player rides a bubble more than 20 times, then a candy cane will surely appear in that round. Other bonuses can be made to appear in similar manners, and there are lists of events and effects around the internet. For a special bonus on the NES version, a player must enter the password HIJID, select 2 player continue, and finish round FO (last level) with both players alive. After the entire ending has run and the player is prompted to press start, the player will receive a reward. The reward is a sound test for the whole game. Playing techniques and styles ''Bubble Bobble'' is a game heavily relying on Gameplay and precise Technique rather than graphics, and it features a series of special techniques and tricks a player can perform to maximize his or her score, make some rounds of the game easier or faster to finish or just to be able to survive or even finish a round. Some of these techniques have special nicknames, which may differ from player to player and from country to country.
Moon Water storyline On the original Game Boy version of ''Bubble Bobble'', and ''Classic Bubble Bobble'' for the Game Boy Color, there is a storyline in which only Bub is involved in the gameplay. In this uncommon storyline, Bob (as a human) has an unknown sickness, so Bub has to pass through the hundred levels to defeat Super Drunk and get the Moon Water. There is no mention of the "Cave of Monsters" in this version. In ''Classic Bubble Bobble'' for the Game Boy Color, Bob (as a bubble dragon) has the unknown sickness. Bub has to go through a number of levels (lesser than the arcade or Game Boy, etc versions) and defeat the ''Darkness Drunk'' in order to gain the Moon Water. Again, there is no mention of a "Cave of Monsters". PORTS The popularity of ''Bubble Bobble'' led Taito (or its licensees) to Port to many Home Computer s and Video Game Console s. Ports of the game were released for the Commodore 64 , ZX Spectrum , Commodore Amiga , Atari ST , MSX , Amstrad CPC , X68000 , PC ( MS-DOS , 1989 and 1996), Apple II , Sega Master System , Game Boy , Game Boy Color , Game Boy Advance , Nintendo DS , PlayStation , Sega Saturn , Nintendo Entertainment System , Famicom Disk System , Sega Game Gear , Mobile Phone ( Sprint PCS ), and UltraCade 's Taito Arcade Classics. In October 2005 , a version was released for the Xbox , PlayStation 2 , and PC as part of the '' Taito Legends '' compilation of Classic Arcade Games . Game mechanics in conversions and ports ''Bubble Bobble'' has been widely regarded as one of the most Playable games of all time, owing much of its success to its previously described game mechanics, which are only apparently simple, and its many hidden features and secrets. Also, most Bubble Bobble players usually manage to master techniques such as riding bubbles, 'bubbling' oneself through the screen or 'kissing' monsters, and expect them to work all the time. Some ''Bubble Bobble'' ports however, from the date of release of the arcade version up today, have been heavily criticized for their mechanics deviating significantly from the arcade version, adversely affecting the gameplay. For example, in many versions of the game the two-digit trick to make extra bonuses appear at the end of the stage just doesn't work, or the score and bonus awarding system is entirely different, in part due to the complexity of the original one, and most of the aforementioned techniques can be much harder or impossible to reproduce, thus completely changing (arguably ruining) the gaming experience. Examples include even comparatively recent versions such as the (1996) PC / PlayStation / Sega Saturn versions by Acclaim : they either have different game mechanics (too fast dropping speed, barely working shoes, bubbles going through walls, different jumping physics and many non-implemented techniques) or different behaviour for some monsters (especially the time-up monster). Another example is the early 1989 PC version by Novalogic , which had the possibility of diagonal jumps with a single keystroke (thus enabling players to go through walls), lacked completely the ability of kissing monsters, and had different rules governing the appearance of some bonuses (most notably the orange-yellow sweet). The various Nintendo NES and Game Boy ports and sequels are very different, often featuring scrolling screens, different enemies, and the ability for the dragons to fly. In general, there are as many variations to the game mechanics as there are versions, with some being more faithful to the arcade version than others and some resulting in noticeably different gameplay experience. Although that is a general rule regarding ports of any game, in Bubble Bobble it can become very noticeable and annoying because of the game relying primarily on its fast paced and trick-filled gameplay. One of the few versions having game mechanics and gameplay very close to the arcade is the Sega Master System version, despite its introduction of extra gameplay elements. Moreover, the version included in ''Taito Legends'' for the Xbox, PS2, and PC should be a near-perfect copy of the original arcade version, as it supposedly features the original ROM running under Emulation . Screenshots of different ports |
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| "http://wwwinformationdelightinfo/encyclopedia/entry/Commodore_64" class="copylinks">Commodore 64 port |
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| "http://wwwinformationdelightinfo/encyclopedia/entry/Nintendo_Entertainment_System" class="copylinks">NES port |
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| "http://wwwinformationdelightinfo/encyclopedia/entry/MSX" class="copylinks">Master System port |
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