Bubble Bobble

The Good
Bubble Bobble...I LOVE this game to absolute pieces. I first encountered this back when the arcade game had come out, and then later on when it hit the shelves, I received this for Christmas one year for my (then) shiny new 286 PC.

I fell even more in love with the game when I got it at home.

In a cute little intro, you see your main characters; two little dinosaurs named Bub and Bob (or if you play the Japanese version, Bubby and Bobby), as they are about to take a fascinating journey through a world filled with monsters. Their weapons? Bubbles. Yes, that's right...these pudgy little dinos spit bubbles at their enemies. But they're not any ordinary bubbles! These bubbles can encase their enemies, rendering them helpless. Once an enemy is trapped, they can pop the bubble, sending their hapless foes flying and bringing forth a TON of treasures, including lots and lots of food, diamonds for tons of points, and Power-Ups, including Sneakers (faster running), Candies to enhance your bubbles, and the almighty Parasol to send you flying past a few levels! Even though the game may seem simple, just play it for five minutes. After five minutes, you'll end up playing for five more minutes. Then ten. Then twenty. Then before you know it, you'll have been playing for hours, just wanting to burst more and more baddies. It's addictive as hell, and that just makes it all the more fun!

Now, as this is an arcade port, how did everything port over to the PC? Surprisingly well, actually! The graphics look great even with less colors (great compensation was used to get the graphics to look accurate in EGA), and the sounds and music are very close to the arcade. The music deserves a little special mention, as it was composed by Taito's in-house band, Zuntata. It's very cute and goes perfectly with the action of the game! Plus, the song is so catchy that it'll be with you for years on end, playing in your mind when you least expect it.

The Bad
It's Bubble Bobble, dammit! You do not question Bubble Bobble! ^_^

The Bottom Line
Bubble Bobble, even now, is still so damn playable and fun that I'd gladly tell anyone to grab it if they can find it. Plus, Taito had also created a special compilation pack of the original Bubble Bobble and its sequel, Rainbow Islands, for Windows9x/NT and the PSX, meaning that there's just no excuse to miss out on Bubble Bobble now!