Bubble Bobble

Quite simply, Bubble Bobble is my favorite video game. I can't count the number of hours I have spent playing this with my brother and friends.

This review is for the release of the classic arcade game for the NES. Players take on the roles of dinosaur brothers Bub and Bob in a quest to save their girlfriends across more than 200 platform levels.

Basic game play sees Bub and Bob attempt to clear a level by disposing of all of the various "beasties" (enemies) on the screen. This is usually done by blowing bubbles to enclose said beasties and popping them, which releases a reward of some sort (often edible). There are a couple of time limits in play: if bubble-entrapped beasties are not popped in a timely fashion, they will pop out of the bubble in an agitated, red and fast state. Furthermore, if you take too long in clearing a level, a "Hurry Up!" message will appear, and after a few more seconds, the invincible grim reaper Baron Von Kluppa will come to dismiss you, increasing in speed the longer you are able to avoid him.

Players collect various weapons which help to clear levels, and accrue points for disposing of enemies and collecting other goodies which lead to extra lives at various thresholds. If 3 or more beasties are dispelled at once, a series of letter bubbles which spell "Extend" appear, and collecting them all awards the recipient an extra life.

One of the reasons I love the game so much is that players develop different skills through the collection of weapons, the various beasties faced, and game-within-the-game challenges that arise at various points. For example, collecting shoes makes a player's running and jumping speed increase (in some levels this can increase the difficulty). In addition, some levels are impossible to clear unless the players master the skill of bubble-hopping, in which Bub and Bob blow bubbles upon which to bounce, while other, floorless levels require players to hone their falling skills in order to continue. Bubbles filled with water, fire, and lightning bolts also appear during some levels, which likewise require skills such as bubble-hopping and careful timing in order to be effectively wielded.

The various beasties encountered in the game also help you develop various skills to defeat them:

Bubble Buster: a mechanical robot which walks and jumps
Stoner: a ghost which moves more quickly, jumps, and throws rocks
Beluga: a whale which flies diagonally across the level
Hullaballoon: my personal favorite, a doughy, beanie-propelled beastie who flies more slowly than Beluga but at various angles
Coiley: a spring-jumping monster with boxing gloves
Incendo: a hairy monster which moves and jumps quickly and releases a high-speed flame
Willy Whistle: a drunken, bottle-projecting monster which moves and jumps in a less predictable fashion
Super Socket: a space robot which moves left and right, descending through platforms and firing lasers downward

After clearing some 100 levels, the players face off against Grumple Grommit, a supersized Willy Whistle, who only succumbs after 60 blasts from lightning bubbles. After this stage is complete, an entire second quest is opened up with the same levels featuring different beasties, culminating in a face-off with a more formidable Grumple Grommit who now requires 80 lightning blasts to be defeated. Passwords allow players to start the game at any level.

The above summary highlights the detail of the game as well as the breadth of skills required to complete it, but this review is woefully incomplete without praising the feeling of playing Bubble Bobble, which is a huge part of why it is so addictive. The bouncy, 8-bit theme of the levels is a real earworm, and the bright colors of the levels, characters, and items set against a black background create a beautifully vivid world. The interplay when playing with a second player is well-rounded, and indeed, ultimately required. The competition for gluttonously gobbling rewards and weapons is set against the self-sacrificial capacity of a player to transfer a life to the other player, which can become necessary as the game can not be completed unless BOTH players are alive after Grumple Grommit is defeated for the second time. The gloriously glistening soundtrack and hypercolor celebration that follows when a player collects all of the EXTEND bubbles is so thrilling that it offers great incentive beyond a mere extra life, to the point where I feel just as happy if my co-player is the one to collect the reward. The rush of riding in water bubbles as they weave through the levels and destroy all beasties in their wake, the satisfaction of the buzzing bolt that is released from a lightning bubble, and the earth-shaking CHUG when a bomb is set off to clear the stage are a few of the experiences that make the game a lot of fun.

The game also ends on a real high-point, as the final level is very likely my favorite level of any game I have played. The music is so frantic and the movements are so high-paced that it heightens the intensity. The immense thrill of falling down a quickly assembled column of bubble-hopped lightning bubbles in tag-team fashion and freezing Grumple Grommit with a large number of bolts, complete with the hefty sizzling sound effects is so helplessly addictive that I often let him out of the bubble angry and in hyperspeed just to experience the thrill again, even (especially?) if it means I'm not successful and have to attempt it again.

As I by and large stopped purchasing new games in around 1993, I'm sure there are games which are far more intricate and all-encompassing than Bubble Bobble. Nonetheless, Bubble Bobble packs an impressive amount of detail and diversity into its 8-bit experience, and it is well worth holding the title as my favorite video game.