is a 1986

platform Platform may refer to: Technology * Computing platform, a framework on which applications may be run * Platform game, a genre of video games * Car platform, a set of components shared by several vehicle models * Weapons platform, a system or ...

arcade game An arcade game or coin-op game is a coin-operated entertainment machine typically installed in public businesses such as restaurants, bars and amusement arcades. Most arcade games are presented as primarily games of skill and include arcade v ...

developed and published by

Taito is a Japanese company that specializes in video games, toys, arcade cabinets and game centers, based in Shinjuku, Tokyo. The company was founded by Michael Kogan in 1953 as the importing vodka, vending machines and jukeboxes into Japan. It b ...

. It was distributed in the United States by

Romstar Romstar Inc. was a video game distribution company based in Torrance, California that started operations in 1984. They originally started as the first American distribution arm for SNK (before SNK of America was founded in 1987). They were known ...

, and in Europe by Electrocoin. Players control Bub and Bob, two dragons that set out to save their girlfriends from a world known as the Cave of Monsters. In each level, Bub and Bob must defeat each enemy present by trapping them in bubbles and popping, who turn into bonus items when they hit the ground. There are 100 levels total, each becoming progressively more difficult. ''Bubble Bobble'' was designed by Fukio "MTJ" Mitsuji. When he joined Taito in 1986, he felt that Taito's game output was of mediocre quality. In response, he decided to make a game that was fun to play and could rejuvenate the company's presence in the industry. Mitsuji hoped his game would appeal to women, specifically couples that visited arcades. As such, he decided to make ''Bubble Bobble'' focus largely on its two player co-operative mode. He made bubbles the core mechanic as he thought they would be a fun element that girls would enjoy. ''Bubble Bobble'' became one of Taito's biggest arcade successes, and is credited with inspiring the creation of many similar screen-clear platform games that followed. It was acclaimed by critics for its character design, memorable soundtrack, gameplay, and multiplayer, and is often listed among the

greatest games of all time This is a list of video games that multiple reputable video game journalists or magazines have considered to be among the best of all time. The games listed here are included on at least six separate "best/greatest of all time" lists from differ ...

. ''Bubble Bobble'' was followed by a long list of sequels and successors for multiple platforms; one of these, ''

Puzzle Bobble internationally known as ''Bust-a-Move'', is a 1994 tile-matching puzzle arcade game developed and published by Taito. It is based on the 1986 arcade game ''Bubble Bobble'', featuring characters and themes from that game. Its characteristically ...

'', has become successful in its own right and spawned its own line of sequels.

Story and gameplay

In the game's plot, "Baron Von Blubba" has kidnapped the brothers Bubby and Bobby's girlfriends and turned the brothers into Bubble Dragons, Bub and Bob. Bub and Bob have to finish 100 levels in the Cave of Monsters in order to rescue them. In the game, each player controls one of the two dragons. Players can move along platforms, fall to lower ones, and jump to higher ones and over gaps. Each level is limited to a single screen, with no left/right scrolling; however, if a screen has gaps in its bottom edge, players can fall through these and reappear at the top. Each level has a certain number of enemies that must be defeated in order to advance. The players must blow bubbles to trap the enemies, then burst these bubbles by colliding with them. Each enemy defeated in this manner turns into a food item that can be picked up for extra points. Defeating multiple enemies at once awards higher scores and causes more valuable food items to appear. All bubbles will float for a certain length of time before bursting on their own; players can jump on these and ride them to otherwise inaccessible areas. Magic items appear from time to time and grant special abilities and advantages when picked up. Special bubbles occasionally appear that can be burst to attack enemies with fire, water, or lightning. Furthermore, if a player collects letter bubbles to spell the word EXTEND, a bonus life is earned and both players immediately advance to the next level. A player loses one life upon touching any free enemies or their projectiles (rocks, fireballs, lasers, bottles). Enemies turn "angry"—turning pink in color and moving faster—if they escape from a bubble after being left too long or the players spend a certain amount of time on the current level. They return to normal if either player loses a life. After a further time limit expires, an additional invincible enemy appears for each player, actively chasing them using only vertical and horizontal movements. These disappear once the level is cleared, or when a player loses a life. When there is only one enemy left, it immediately becomes angry and remains in this state until defeated. In the 100th and final level, players face a

boss Boss may refer to: Occupations * Supervisor, often referred to as boss * Air boss, more formally, air officer, the person in charge of aircraft operations on an aircraft carrier * Crime boss, the head of a criminal organization * Fire boss, a ...

. This is one of the first games to feature multiple endings. Completing Level 100 in single-player mode reveals a message stating that the game has not truly ended and a hint to the player: "Come here with your friend." If two players complete the game, they see a "happy end", in which the brothers are transformed to their human selves and reunited with their girlfriends. This ending also includes a code that, when deciphered, allows the game to be played in the faster and more difficult "super" mode. If this mode is completed with two players, a second "happy end" is displayed in which Super Drunk (the defeated boss) is revealed to be the brothers' parents under the control of some outside influence. The brothers return to normal and are reunited with their parents and girlfriends. Also, if the player(s) reach levels 20, 30, or 40 without losing a life, a doorway will appear in each of those levels, transporting the player to a secret room and displaying a coded message that, once decoded, gives the player a major hint / spoiler on how to beat the game.

Development and release

''Bubble Bobble'' was designed by

Fukio Mitsuji , also known as "MTJ", was a Japanese game designer and artist. Mitsuji is best known for his work at Taito, where he created popular arcade platform game ''Bubble Bobble'' and its follow-up ''Rainbow Islands''. He later ran a game design school, ...

, a Japanese game designer at

. A fan of arcade games by

Namco was a Japanese multinational corporation, multinational video game and entertainment company, headquartered in Ōta, Tokyo. It held several international branches, including Namco America in Santa Clara, California, Namco Europe in London, Na ...

, specifically ''

Xevious is a vertically scrolling shooter video game developed and published by Namco for arcades in 1982. It was released in Japan and Europe by Namco and in North America by Atari, Inc. Controlling the Solvalou starship, the player attacks Xevious for ...

'', Mitsuji felt that Taito's output by comparison were lackluster and of poor quality, hoping that he could help push the company to produce higher-quality arcade titles. His first game was the four-screen racer ''Super Dead Heat'' in 1985, followed by the shoot'em up ''

Halley's Comet Halley's Comet or Comet Halley, officially designated 1P/Halley, is a short-period comet visible from Earth every 75–79 years. Halley is the only known short-period comet that is regularly visible to the naked eye from Earth, and thus the o ...

'' the same year. After work on these two games was completed, Mitsuji set out to make his next project a platform game, featuring cute characters and a more comical setting compared to his previous works. Mitsuji wanted the game to be exhilarating and to appeal towards a female audience. Thinking about what kind of things women like to draw or sketch, Mitsuji created an extensive list of over 100 ideas, and after a process of elimination selected bubbles as the core game mechanic. He liked the idea of the screen being filled with bubbles, and thought that popping them all at once would provide a thrilling sensation to the player. His initial idea was to have the player control a robot with a spike on its head to pop bubbles — Mitsuji disliked it for not being "cool", instead preferring dinosaurs with ridges along their back. He liked to write down ideas on paper as soon as he thought of them, often flooding his office with stacks of paper filled with potential ideas for game mechanics. Mitsuji constantly tried to think of new ways to make the game better than it was before, saying to have lost sleep while trying to figure out how he could improve it. He often worked on holidays and late at night to come up with new ideas for the game and to perfect it. Several of the enemies were taken from ''

Chack'n Pop is an Platform game, platform arcade game developed and released by Taito in 1984. In the game, the player controls a small yellow creature, Chack'n, with the objective being to retrieve hearts from a cave, all while avoiding the enemies contained ...

'' (1983), an older Taito game that is often considered a precursor to ''Bubble Bobble''. Mitsuji intended the game to be played by couples, leading to the creation of the multiple endings, which differ based on player performance.Mitsuji, Fukio (28 July 2005). ''Taito Memories Jōkan — Fukio Mitsuji Interview''.

. Retrieved 25 August 2019. ''Bubble Bobble'' was first published in Japan on June 16, 1986, followed by a wide release in Japan in September 1986 and internationally in October 1986. Alongside ''

Arkanoid is a 1986 block breaker arcade game developed and published by Taito. In North America, it was published by Romstar. Controlling a paddle-like craft known as the Vaus, the player is tasked with clearing a formation of colorful blocks by deflect ...

'', Taito licensed the game to

for distribution in the United States, and to Electrocoin Automatics for Europe.

Conversions

''Bubble Bobble'' was ported to many home video game consoles and computers, including the

ZX Spectrum The ZX Spectrum () is an 8-bit computing, 8-bit home computer that was developed by Sinclair Research. It was released in the United Kingdom on 23 April 1982, and became Britain's best-selling microcomputer. Referred to during development as t ...

Commodore 64 The Commodore 64, also known as the C64, is an 8-bit home computer introduced in January 1982 by Commodore International (first shown at the Consumer Electronics Show, January 7–10, 1982, in Las Vegas). It has been listed in the Guinness ...

Apple II The Apple II (stylized as ) is an 8-bit home computer and one of the world's first highly successful mass-produced microcomputer products. It was designed primarily by Steve Wozniak; Jerry Manock developed the design of Apple II's foam-m ...

Amiga Amiga is a family of personal computers introduced by Commodore in 1985. The original model is one of a number of mid-1980s computers with 16- or 32-bit processors, 256 KB or more of RAM, mouse-based GUIs, and significantly improved graphi ...

Famicom Disk System The commonly shortened to the Famicom Disk System or just Disk System, is a peripheral for Nintendo's Nintendo Entertainment System, Family Computer home video game console, released only in Japan on February 21, 1986. It uses proprietary flopp ...

Nintendo Entertainment System The Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) is an 8-bit third-generation home video game console produced by Nintendo. It was first released in Japan in 1983 as the commonly known as the The NES, a redesigned version, was released in America ...

MSX2 MSX is a standardized home computer architecture, announced by Microsoft and ASCII Corporation on June 16, 1983. It was initially conceived by Microsoft as a product for the Eastern sector, and jointly marketed by Kazuhiko Nishi, then vice-p ...

and

Sega Master System The is an 8-bit third-generation home video game console manufactured by Sega. It was originally a remodeled export version of the Sega Mark III, the third iteration of the SG-1000 series of consoles, which was released in Japan in 1985 and ...

— the last of these has two hundred levels as opposed to the arcade version's 100 levels, and was released in Japan as ''Final Bubble Bobble''. A version for the

Sharp X68000 The is a home computer created by Sharp Corporation. It was first released in 1987 and sold only in Japan. The initial model has a 10 MHz Motorola 68000 CPU, 1 MB of RAM, and lacks a hard drive. The final model was released in 1993 wit ...

was developed by Dempa and released in 1994, which includes a gamemode paying homage to Mitsuji's later arcade game ''

Syvalion is an arcade shooter video game released by Taito in 1988 and designed by Fukio Mitsuji, creator of ''Bubble Bobble''. The player controls a golden metal dragon which flies around, breathing fire at its enemies while collecting power-ups to rech ...

'', titled ''Sybubblun''. Conversions for the

Game Boy The is an 8-bit fourth generation handheld game console developed and manufactured by Nintendo. It was first released in Japan on April 21, 1989, in North America later the same year, and in Europe in late 1990. It was designed by the same ...

and

Game Boy Color The (commonly abbreviated as GBC) is a handheld game console, manufactured by Nintendo, which was released in Japan on October 21, 1998 and to international markets that November. It is the successor to the Game Boy and is part of the Game ...

were respectively released in 1991 and 1996, the GBC port being named ''Classic Bubble Bobble''. A version of ''Bubble Bobble'' was also produced for the unreleased Taito WOWOW console. In 1996, Taito announced that the source code for ''Bubble Bobble'' had been lost, leading to all subsequent home conversions to be reverse-engineered from an original arcade board.

Reception

In Japan, ''Game Machine'' listed ''Bubble Bobble'' on their November 1, 1986 issue as the second most successful

table arcade cabinet An arcade cabinet, also known as an arcade machine or a coin-op cabinet or coin-op machine, is the housing within which an arcade game's electronic hardware resides. Most cabinets designed since the mid-1980s conform to the Japanese Amusement Ma ...

of the month, after Taito's ''

''. It went on to be the fifth highest-grossing table arcade game of 1987 in Japan. In the United Kingdom, ''Bubble Bobble'' was the top-grossing arcade game for three months in 1987, from April to June. The home conversions were also successful in the United Kingdom, where the game appeared on the sales charts for several years. The ZX Spectrum budget re-release topped the UK charts in July 1991. The arcade game received positive reviews from ''

Computer and Video Games ''Computer and Video Games'' (also known as ''CVG'', ''Computer & Video Games'', ''C&VG'', ''Computer + Video Games'', or ''C+VG'') was a UK-based video game magazine, published in its original form between 1981 and 2004. Its offshoot website ...

'' and ''

Crash Crash or CRASH may refer to: Common meanings * Collision, an impact between two or more objects * Crash (computing), a condition where a program ceases to respond * Cardiac arrest, a medical condition in which the heart stops beating * Couch su ...

''. ''

Mean Machines ''Mean Machines'' was a multi-format video game magazine published between 1990 and 1992 in the United Kingdom. Origins In the late 1980s '' Computer and Video Games'' (''CVG'') was largely covering the outgoing generation of 8-bit computers l ...

'' gave the Game Boy port of the game a score of 91%, noting that, while some changes had been made, the game played identical to the original arcade port and "provides much addiction and challenge". The four reviewers of ''

Electronic Gaming Monthly ''Electronic Gaming Monthly'' (often abbreviated to ''EGM'') is a monthly American video game magazine. It offers video game news, coverage of industry events, interviews with gaming figures, editorial content and product reviews. History The m ...

'' stated that the Game Gear version is a faithful conversion of the original which works well in portable form. They particularly praised the simplicity of the gameplay concept and the graphics, and the two-player link option. ''Bubble Bobble'' has been listed by numerous publications among the

greatest video games of all time This is a list of video games that multiple reputable video game journalists or magazines have considered to be among the best of all time. The games listed here are included on at least six separate "best/greatest of all time" lists from differ ...

. ''

Your Sinclair ''Your Sinclair'', or ''YS'' as it was commonly abbreviated, was a commercially published and printed British computer magazine for the Sinclair range of computers, mainly the ZX Spectrum. It was in circulation between 1984 and 1993. History The ...

'' magazine ranked the ZX Spectrum version at #58 in their "Top 100 Games of All Time" in 1993 based on reader vote. In 1996,

GamesMaster ''GamesMaster'' is a British television programme which originally aired on Channel 4 from 1992 to 1998. In 2021, it returned for a new series on YouTube and E4. It was the first UK television programme dedicated to video games. Dominik Diam ...

rated the game 19th on its "Top 100 Games of All Time." ''

Yahoo! Yahoo! (, styled yahoo''!'' in its logo) is an American web services provider. It is headquartered in Sunnyvale, California and operated by the namesake company Yahoo Inc., which is 90% owned by investment funds managed by Apollo Global Man ...

'' ranked it at #71 in their "100 Greatest Computer Games Of All Time" in 2005 for its charming premise and cute character designs. ''

Stuff Stuff, stuffed, and stuffing may refer to: *Physical matter *General, unspecific things, or entities Arts, media, and entertainment Books *''Stuff'' (1997), a novel by Joseph Connolly (author), Joseph Connolly *''Stuff'' (2005), a book by Jere ...

'' magazine listed it as part of their "100 Greatest Games" in 2008, while ''

GamesTM ''GamesTM'' (styled as ''gamesTM'') was a United Kingdom, UK-based, multi-format video games magazine, covering video game console, console, handheld game, handheld, PC game, PC and Arcade games. The first issue was released in December 2002 and t ...

'' magazine listed it in their "Top 100 Games" in 2010. '' Stuff.tv'' ranked it at #47 in their ''Top 100 Games'' in 2009, saying "today’s kids might laugh, but this was gold in 1986". ''

GamesRadar+ ''GamesRadar+'' (formerly ''GamesRadar'') is an entertainment website for video game-related news, previews, and reviews. It is owned by Future plc. In late 2014, Future Publishing-owned sites ''Total Film'', '' SFX'', ''Edge'' and '' Computer ...

'' ranked it at #95 in their "100 Best Games Of All Time" list in 2011, praising its multiplayer and secrets. ''GamesRadar+'' also labeled it the 24th greatest

of all time in 2012 for its advancements over other games of its genre and its usage of multiple endings. IGN named it the 23rd best NES game. ''Hardcore Gaming 101'' listed it in their book ''The 200 Best Video Games of All Time'' in 2015. ''

Game Informer ''Game Informer'' (''GI'', most often stylized ''gameinformer'' from the 2010s onward) is an American monthly video game magazine featuring articles, news, strategy, and reviews of video games and associated consoles. It debuted in August 1991 w ...

'' placed it in their "Top 300 Games of All Time" in 2018 for its long-lasting appeal and multiplayer.

Legacy

Re-releases

The game has had at least 30 official ports to a large array of computers and consoles throughout the decades. In October 2005, a version was released for the

Xbox Xbox is a video gaming brand created and owned by Microsoft. The brand consists of five video game consoles, as well as applications (games), streaming services, an online service by the name of Xbox network, and the development arm by the na ...

PlayStation 2 The PlayStation 2 (PS2) is a home video game console developed and marketed by Sony Computer Entertainment. It was first released in Japan on 4 March 2000, in North America on 26 October 2000, in Europe on 24 November 2000, and in Australia on 3 ...

, and Microsoft Windows as part of the ''

Taito Legends ''Taito Legends'' is a compilation of 29 arcade games released for the PlayStation 2, Xbox, and Microsoft Windows. The games were originally developed by Taito. The European release was published by Empire Interactive, who had licensed the games f ...

'' compilation. At the end of 2006, a new port for mobile phones in Europe and Japan was released. On December 24, 2007, the NES version of ''Bubble Bobble'' was released in North America on Nintendo's

Virtual Console A virtual console (VC) – also known as a virtual terminal (VT) – is a conceptual combination of the keyboard and display for a computer user interface. It is a feature of some Unix-like operating systems such as Linux, BSD, illumos, Unix ...

service for the

Wii The Wii ( ) is a home video game console developed and marketed by Nintendo. It was released on November 19, 2006, in North America and in December 2006 for most other Regional lockout, regions of the world. It is Nintendo's fifth major ho ...

. The Famicom Disk System version of ''Bubble Bobble'' was also released for the

Nintendo eShop The Nintendo eShop is a digital distribution service powered by the Nintendo Network for the Wii U and Nintendo 3DS, and by a dedicated online infrastructure for the Nintendo Switch. Launched in June 2011 on the Nintendo 3DS, the eShop was en ...

on October 16, 2013, for the

Nintendo 3DS The is a handheld game console produced by Nintendo. It was announced in March 2010 and unveiled at E3 2010 as the successor to the Nintendo DS. The system features backward compatibility with Nintendo DS video games. As an eighth-generatio ...

and on January 29, 2014, for the

Wii U The Wii U ( ) is a home video game console developed by Nintendo as the successor to the Wii. Released in late 2012, it is the first eighth-generation video game console and competed with Microsoft's Xbox One and Sony's PlayStation 4. The W ...

. On November 11, 2016, the game was included in the

NES Classic Edition NES Classic Edition is a dedicated home video game console by Nintendo, which emulates the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES). It launched on November 10, 2016 in Australia and Japan, and November 11, 2016 in North America and Europe. Aesthet ...

Sequels

*'' Rainbow Islands: The Story of Bubble Bobble 2'' (1987) *'' Rainbow Islands Extra Version'' (1988) *''

Parasol Stars is a video game by Taito released in 1991. It is a sequel to ''Rainbow Islands'' and the third game in the ''Bubble Bobble'' series. Gameplay Bubby and Bobby (the characters' human names) star once again as the main characters, retaining their ...

'' (1991 originally released for TurboGrafx-16, converted for NES (Europe only), Amiga, Atari ST, and Game Boy (Europe only)) *'' Bubble Bobble Part 2'' (1993 Nintendo Entertainment System, Game Boy) *'' Bubble Bobble II'' (worldwide) / '' Bubble Symphony'' (Europe, Japan, U.S.) (1994 Arcade,

Sega Saturn The is a home video game console developed by Sega and released on November 22, 1994, in Japan, May 11, 1995, in North America, and July 8, 1995, in Europe. Part of the fifth generation of video game consoles, it was the successor to the succ ...

(Japan only)) *'' Bubble Memories - The Story of Bubble Bobble III'' (1995 Arcade) * ''Packy's Treasure Slot'' (1997 Medal Game) * ''Bubble'n Roulette'' (1998 Medal Game) * ''Bubblen No KuruKuru Jump!'' (1999 Medal Game) *''Rainbow Islands - Putty's Party'' (2000 Bandai WonderSwan) *''Bubble Bobble EX'' (2001 Pachislot) *''Bubble Bobble Old & New''* (

remake A remake is a film, television series, video game, song or similar form of entertainment that is based upon and retells the story of an earlier production in the same medium—e.g., a "new version of an existing film". A remake tells the same ...

, 2002 Game Boy Advance) *'' Bubble Bobble Revolution'' (2005

Nintendo DS The is a handheld game console produced by Nintendo, released globally across 2004 and 2005. The DS, an initialism for "Developers' System" or "Dual Screen", introduced distinctive new features to handheld games: two LCD screens working in tan ...

, called ''Bubble Bobble DS'' in Japan) *''

Rainbow Islands Revolution ''Rainbow Islands Revolution'', known in Japan as , is a platform game for the Nintendo DS. It is an update of the original game, ''Rainbow Islands''. Unlike in the original, the main character, Bub, rides in a bubble, and the player has to guid ...

'' (2005

) *'' Bubble Bobble Evolution'' (2006

PlayStation Portable The PlayStation Portable (PSP) is a handheld game console developed and marketed by Sony Computer Entertainment. It was first released in Japan on December 12, 2004, in North America on March 24, 2005, and in PAL regions on September 1, 2005, ...

) *'' Rainbow Islands Evolution'' (2007

) *'' Bubble Bobble Plus!'' (2009,

WiiWare WiiWare was a service that allowed Wii users to download games and applications specifically designed and developed for the Wii video game console made by Nintendo. These games and applications could only be purchased and downloaded from the Wii S ...

on the Wii) also known as '' Bubble Bobble Neo!'' (2009

Xbox Live Arcade Xbox Live Arcade (XBLA) is a digital video game download service available through the Xbox Games Store, Microsoft's digital distribution network for the Xbox 360. It focuses on smaller downloadable games from both major publishers and independent ...

on Xbox 360) *'' Rainbow Islands: Towering Adventure'' (2009

) *''Bubble Bobble Double'' (2010 iOS) *''Bubble Bobble for Kakao'' (iOS, Android) - June 15, 2015 (this game was published for KakaoTalk messaging app and fully Taito licensed) *''

Bubble Bobble 4 Friends ''Bubble Bobble 4 Friends'' is a platform arcade game developed and published by Taito in Japan, and published by ININ games worldwide. The game is part of the ''Bubble Bobble'' arcade series. The game's reception had been mixed when it was first ...

'' (2019,

Nintendo Switch The is a hybrid video game console developed by Nintendo and released worldwide in most regions on March 3, 2017. The console itself is a Tablet computer#Gaming tablet, tablet that can either be docking station, docked for use as a home video ...

in Europe; February 20, 2020 in Japan; March 31, 2020 in North America; November 19, 2020

PlayStation 4 The PlayStation 4 (PS4) is a home video game console developed by Sony Interactive Entertainment. Announced as the successor to the PlayStation 3 in February 2013, it was launched on November 15, 2013, in North America, November 29, 2013 in ...

in Japan) *''Puzzle Bobble VR'' (2021 Oculus Quest) *Many of the characters and musical themes of ''Bubble Bobble'' were used by Taito in a

tile-matching video game A tile-matching video game is a type of puzzle video game where the player manipulates tiles in order to make them disappear according to a matching criterion. In many tile-matching games, that criterion is to place a given number of tiles of the ...

'' (also known as ''Bust-a-Move'') and its sequels.

Notes

References

External links

*
''Bubble Bobble''
for the Atari ST at Atari Mania * {{Authority control 1986 video games Amiga games Amstrad CPC games Apple II games Arcade video games Atari ST games Commodore 64 games Cooperative video games DOS games Famicom Disk System games Game Boy Color games Game Boy games Game Gear games Mobile games MSX2 games Nintendo Entertainment System games Nintendo Switch games FM Towns games Platform games PlayStation (console) games PlayStation 4 games Romstar games Master System games Sharp X68000 games Video games scored by David Whittaker Video games scored by Tim Follin Virtual Console games for Wii U ZX Spectrum games Square Enix franchises Video games with alternate endings Taito arcade games Hamster Corporation games NovaLogic games Video games developed in Japan