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, ...

released in arcades 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 ...

in February 1998. It features characters from Taito games ''

Rainbow Islands is a 1987 arcade video game developed and published by Taito, with the arcade version licensed to Romstar for North American manufacturing and distribution. The game is the sequel to ''Bubble Bobble'' from the previous year, and it is the second ...

'', '' Kiki Kaikai'', ''

Don Doko Don is a platform arcade game developed and released by Taito in 1989. In the game, the player(s) control two lumberjacks, Bob and Jim, with the objective being to clear the screen of all the enemies. Bob and Jim use their mallets to stun the enemi ...

,'' and ''

The NewZealand Story is a platform game developed and released in arcades by Taito in 1988. The concept and setting were inspired by a holiday trip in New Zealand by one of the Taito programmers. The player controls , a kiwi who must save his girlfriend and sever ...

''. The game was ported to the

PlayStation is a video gaming brand owned and produced by Sony Interactive Entertainment (SIE), a division of Japanese conglomerate Sony. Its flagship products consists of a series of home video game consoles produced under the brand; it also consists ...

and

Game Boy Color The (GBC or CGB) is an 8-bit handheld game console developed by Nintendo. It was released in Japan on October 21, 1998, and to international markets that November. Compared to the original Game Boy, the Game Boy Color features a color TFT scre ...

. The Game Boy Color version was also released in

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere, Northern and Western Hemisphere, Western hemispheres. North America is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South Ameri ...

with

Yogi Bear Yogi Bear is an anthropomorphic animal character who has appeared in numerous comic books, animated television shows, and films. He made his debut in 1958 as a supporting character in ''The Huckleberry Hound Show''. He was created by Hanna- ...

characters, under the title ''Yogi Bear: Great Balloon Blast''.

Gameplay

Gameplay is a hybrid of ''

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 characteristicall ...

,'' ''

Arkanoid is a 1986 Block kuzushi, 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 blo ...

,'' and ''

Space Invaders is a 1978 shoot 'em up video game developed and published by Taito for Arcade video game, arcades. It was released in Japan in April 1978, with the game being released by Midway Manufacturing overseas. ''Space Invaders'' was the first fixed s ...

''. Rows of coloured balloons advance down the screen, and the player must shoot their own balloons at them. When three balloons of the same colour match up, they disappear.

Ports

The game was released in

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

and

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

for the

and

. Both the PlayStation and Game Boy Color versions added additional characters from other Taito games, such as Bubblun from ''

Bubble Symphony , also known as , is an Arcade game, arcade video game in the ''Bubble Bobble'' series developed by Taito in 1994. While being a new ''Bubble Bobble'' for a new generation, it takes place after ''Parasol Stars''. Story For this adventure, Bubbl ...

'', Ptolemy from ''

The Fairyland Story is a platform arcade video game developed and published by Taito in 1985. In the game, the player controls the witch Ptolemy, and the objective is to clear the screen of all enemies. Ptolemy can use her wand to turn the enemies into large cakes, ...

'', Chack'n from '' Chack'n Pop'', Hipopo from '' Liquid Kids'', and Drunk from ''

Bubble Bobble is a platform game series originally developed and published by Taito. The first entry in the series, '' Bubble Bobble'', was released in 1986 as an arcade cabinet. In most entries in the series, players control two dragons named Bub and Bob. Th ...

''. Chack'n, Hipopo and Drunk are hidden in the PlayStation version, but initially playable in the Game Boy Color version. A Microsoft Windows version was developed by Dreams and was released in the UK by Vektorlogic Ltd., and in Japan by CyberFront around. It does not include the secret characters of the PlayStation version.

''Yogi Bear: Great Balloon Blast''

''Yogi Bear: Great Balloon Blast'', a port of ''Pop'n Pop'', was released for the

in North America on December 17, 2000. It features playable characters

Boo-Boo Bear Boo-Boo Bear is a Hanna-Barbera cartoon character on ''The Yogi Bear Show''. Boo-Boo is a shorter anthropomorphic bear who wears a blue bowtie. Boo-Boo is Yogi Bear's constant companion (not his son, as sometimes believed), and often acts as his ...

, and

Cindy Bear Cindy Bear is a cartoon character created by Hanna-Barbera. She is one of the primary supporting characters of the Yogi Bear franchise as well as a regular in the stable of frequently appearing Hanna-Barbera animated personalities. Cindy was orig ...

, characters from

Hanna-Barbera Hanna-Barbera Cartoons, Inc. ( ; formerly known as H-B Enterprises, Hanna-Barbera Productions, Inc. and H-B Production Co.), simply and commonly known as Hanna-Barbera, was an American animation studio and production company, which was acti ...

's animated television series ''

The Yogi Bear Show ''The Yogi Bear Show'' is an American comedy animated television series, and the first entry of the ''Yogi Bear'' franchise, produced by Hanna-Barbera Productions. A spin-off of '' The Huckleberry Hound Show'', the show centers on the adventu ...

''. Gameplay is similar to ''Pop'n Pop'', but the setting has been changed to the fictional location of the series,

Jellystone Park Yogi Bear is an anthropomorphic animal character who has appeared in numerous comic books, animated television shows, and films. He made his debut in 1958 as a supporting character in ''The Huckleberry Hound Show''. He was created by Hanna-B ...

. This version includes link cable support for multiplayer interaction.

Legacy

A version was also announced 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 regions of the world. It is Nintendo's fifth major home game console, f ...

console for release in Europe in 2007, according to the Q2 Update posted by

Nintendo of Europe is a Japanese multinational video game company headquartered in Kyoto. It develops, publishes, and releases both video games and video game consoles. The history of Nintendo began when craftsman Fusajiro Yamauchi founded the company to p ...

. However, in common with other planned updates of

franchises such as '' KiKi KaiKai 2'', Taito appear to have withdrawn their license for unknown reasons, and the game was reworked and released under the name '' Balloon Pop'' in North America and ''Pop!'' in Europe. The original arcade version also appeared in the

Xbox Xbox is a video gaming brand that consists of four main home video game console lines, as well as application software, applications (games), the streaming media, streaming service Xbox Cloud Gaming, and online services such as the Xbox networ ...

and

Microsoft Windows Windows is a Product lining, product line of Proprietary software, proprietary graphical user interface, graphical operating systems developed and marketed by Microsoft. It is grouped into families and subfamilies that cater to particular sec ...

versions of ''

Taito Legends 2 ''Taito Legends 2'' a compilation of Taito arcade video games and the follow-up to ''Taito Legends''. It was published for Xbox (console), Xbox, PlayStation 2, and Microsoft Windows. As with the former collection, it is derived from the Japan exc ...

'', though missing the arcade and PlayStation's 15 kHz scan-lined video output (they feature upscaled graphics instead), and to date has not been collected in any of the Japanese ''

Taito Memories ''Taito Memories'' is a series of video game compilations published by Taito in Japan. A total of five collections were released from 2005 to 2007 — four on the PlayStation 2, and one on the PlayStation Portable. The PlayStation 2 entries each ha ...

'' compilations. The PlayStation version was re-released on the

PlayStation Network PlayStation Network (PSN) is a digital media entertainment service provided by Sony Interactive Entertainment. Launched in November 2006, PSN was originally conceived for the PlayStation video game consoles, but soon extended to encompass smartp ...

on January 13, 2009, in Japan.

References

{{Bubble Bobble series 1998 video games Arcade video games BAM! Entertainment games CyberFront games Game Boy Color games Multiplayer and single-player video games PlayStation (console) games PlayStation Network games Puzzle video games Taito arcade games Victor Entertainment games Video games based on Yogi Bear Video games developed in Japan