Puzzle Bobble: Difference between revisions
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Revision as of 05:44, 29 March 2007
| Puzzle Bobble | |
|---|---|
| Puzzle Bobble screenshot | |
| Developer(s) | Taito |
| Publisher(s) | Taito |
| Designer(s) | Seiichi Nakakuki |
| Platform(s) | 3DO, Arcade, Game Gear, Mobile phone, Neo Geo Pocket, PC, PS2, PSP, SNES, VG Pocket Caplet, Wonderswan, Xbox, Nintendo DS,Playstation 1 |
| Release | 1994 |
| Genre(s) | Puzzle game |
| Mode(s) | Up to 2 players simultaneously |
| Arcade system | Neo-Geo (and latter systems) |
Puzzle Bobble (also known in the United States, Canada, and sometimes in Europe as Bust-a-Move) is an arcade puzzle game series created by Taito and contains elements of Sega's Columns and Atari's Breakout.
At the top of the rectangular playing arena, a number of balls (intended to be bubbles) of various colours are placed in a prearranged pattern at the start of the level. At the bottom of the screen, the player controls the angle of a fixed cannon that fires semi-randomly coloured balls in a straight line. The ball, when fired, travels in straight lines, possibly bouncing off the side walls of the arena, before eventually coming to rest either touching one or more of the balls, or at the top of the arena.
If the ball manages to come into contact with identically coloured-balls, thus forming a group of three or more, those balls, and any balls hanging only from them, are removed from the field of play, and points are awarded depending on how many balls are removed from the screen at once.
An exponential scoring system is used, leading to large rewards for removing many balls at once.
As the game proceeds, the top of the playing arena, and all the balls, move down the screen from time to time, as a certain number of balls is cleared before the playing arena is pushed down. Therefore, the player must remove every ball from the arena before a ball passes a line at the bottom of the arena.
As well as typically cute Japanese animation (the characters from Bubble Bobble operate the cannon) and music, the game's mechanics and level design were beautifully balanced, and the game was terrifically successful at the arcades, spawning several sequels.
One or two players can play the game. In the single-player puzzle game, the goal is simply to clear the arena of balls. The two player game pits two players against each other. Both players have an arena each (both visible on screen) and an identical arrangement of coloured balls in each arena. When a player removes a large group (four balls or more) some of the balls removed percolate over to the opponent's arena, usually frustrating his efforts at trying to remove all the balls from the arena. The two player game can also be played by one player against a computer opponent.
Some animations of Bub and Bob are based off the original Bubble Bobble arcade game, except Bub and Bob are larger than they were in Bubble Bobble. (Their signs are the same size.) This note only applies to inserting coins in the middle of the game (if a dip switch was set to have "intrude play" enabled), as well as losing a game. (They are "button mashing" (rather, pressing a button (symbolizing the 1- or 2-player button) repeatedly) and saying "Thank you!" while briefly blowing out kiss hearts (as in Bubble Bobble). Also, the death animations are used briefly when the player loses.)
Puzzle Bobble Online
An online version, called Puzzle Bobble Online, was created with support for up to 6 players and several team modes. This version, originally intended for the Japanese market, proved popular enough with English-speaking people that a second server and point ladder had to be created for use outside of Japan. In 2005, the game's servers were shut down, and as of Feb 2007, the game's website is unavailable.
Game Series
- Puzzle Bobble (a.k.a. Bust-a-Move) - 1994
- Puzzle Bobble 2 (a.k.a. Bust-a-Move 2 in Europe, Bust-a-Move Again in North America) - 1995
- Puzzle Bobble 2X (Christmas Edition, with a Christmas animation and a special mode with new levels) - 1995
- Puzzle Bobble 3 (a.k.a. Bust-a-Move 3 in Europe, Bust-a-Move '99 in North America) - 1996
- Puzzle Bobble 4 (a.k.a. Bust-a-Move 4) - 1997
- Super Puzzle Bobble (a.k.a. Super Bust-a-Move) - 1999
- Super Puzzle Bobble 2 (a.k.a. Super Bust-a-Move 2) - 2002
- Super Puzzle Bobble All-Stars (a.k.a. Super Bust-a-Move All Stars in Europe, Bust-a-Move 3000 in North America) - 2003
- Puzzle Bobble Mobile (on various mobile devices) - 2003
- Puzzle Bobble VS (on Nokia N-Gage) - 2003
- Puzzle Bobble Pocket (on PlayStation Portable) - 2004
- Ultra Bust-a-Move (on Xbox) - 2004 in USA, 2005 in Japan
- Puzzle Bobble DS - 2005
- Hippatte!! Puzzle Bobble (a.k.a. Bust-a-Move DS) - 2006
- Ultra Puzzle Bobble Pocket (a.k.a. Bust-a-Move Deluxe in USA, Bust-a-Move Ghost in Europe) - (on PlayStation Portable) - 2006