''Bust-a-Move Universe'', known in Japan as , and in the PAL region as ''Puzzle Bobble Universe'', is a

puzzle video game Puzzle video games make up a broad genre of video games that emphasize puzzle solving. The types of puzzles can test problem-solving skills, including logic, pattern recognition, Sequence, sequence solving, Spatial ability, spatial recognition, ...

developed by

Taito is a Japanese company that specializes in video games, Toy, toys, arcade cabinets, and game centers, based in Shinjuku, Tokyo. The company was founded by Michael Kogan in 1953 as the importing vodka, Vending machine, vending machines, and Juk ...

and

Arika is a Japanese video game developer and publisher. It was formed in 1995 by former Capcom employees. It was originally known as ARMtech K.K, but was later named Arika. The name of the company is the reverse of the name of the company's founder, ...

and published by

Square Enix is a Japanese Multinational corporation, multinational holding company, video game publisher and entertainment conglomerate. It releases role-playing video game, role-playing game franchises, such as ''Final Fantasy'', ''Dragon Quest'', and '' ...

for the

Nintendo 3DS The is a foldable dual-screen handheld game console produced by Nintendo. Announced in March 2010 as the successor to the Nintendo DS, the console was released originally on February 26, 2011 and went through various revisions in its lifetime, ...

. It was released in Japan as a launch title on February 26, 2011, and was released in North America on March 27.

Gameplay

''Bust-a-Move Universe'' is similar to its predecessors in that the goal is to connect three bubbles of the same color to make them disappear. Different modes of play include boss battles, 100-second, 300-second, or Challenge Mode. Bubble dragon duo Bub and Bob travel the universe in a spaceship as doors open on planets, which release bubbles that turn into space debris. Bub must save Bob from being captured.

Development

First shown at Nintendo World 2011, it was later revealed to be a Japanese launch title.

Reception

The game received "generally unfavorable reviews" according to the

review aggregation A review aggregator is a system that collects reviews and ratings of products and services, such as films, books, video games, music, software, hardware, or cars. This system then stores the reviews to be used for supporting a website where user ...

website

Metacritic Metacritic is an American website that aggregates reviews of films, television shows, music albums, video games, and formerly books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created ...

. ''

Nintendo Life Gamer Network Limited (formerly Eurogamer Network Limited) is a British digital media company based in London. Founded in 1999 by Rupert and Nick Loman, it owns brands—primarily editorial websites—relating to video game journalism and ot ...

'' said that the game was "a disappointingly thin package as it offers virtually nothing new to the series or long-time fans." In Japan, ''

Famitsu , formerly , is a line of Japanese Video game journalism, video game magazines published by Kadokawa Game Linkage (previously known as Gzbrain), a subsidiary of Kadokawa Corporation, Kadokawa. ''Famitsu'' is published in both weekly and monthly f ...

'' gave it a score of all four sixes for a total of 24 out of 40.

Notes

References

External links

*
Bust-a-Move Universe (YouTube)
2011 video games Arika games Bubble Bobble Multiplayer and single-player video games Nintendo 3DS games Nintendo 3DS-only games Puzzle video games Square Enix games Taito games Video games developed in Japan {{puzzle-videogame-stub