Bubble Bobble

Bubble Bobble is the name of an arcade game by Taito, first released in 1986. It featured two cute dragons, Bub and Bob, who moved over a system of platforms, busting and pushing bubbles, avoiding bad guys and collecting a variety of power-ups. The game featured 100 levels, each with intriguing puzzles and twists.

Versions of the game were released for several home computer or game systems, including the Commodore 64, the Commodore Amiga, the Atari ST, and the Nintendo Entertainment System. A sequel to Bubble Bobble called Bubble Bobble 2 was also released for the NES, as well as Rainbow Islands, a sequel to the first two games. Rainbow Islands was later remade for the Sega Genesis.

Game Mechanics
Each level consisted of exactly one screen, with no scrolling or flipping. The dragons could move around the levels by walking on platforms, falling through empty space, jumping through platforms from below and (in some levels) falling through holes at the bottom of the level in order to reappear at the top.

There was a variety of enemies that moved around in different patterns. Contact with an enemy (or the missiles fired by some) would kill a dragon. The dragons' job was to complete the level by killing all enemies in it. If this was not achieved within a time limit, the enemies would become "angry" (making them faster and thus more dangerous and harder to kill) and one or two skulls appeared that would home in towards the dragons to kill them.

The dragons' main weapon was their ability to breathe bubbles. After exhalation, these would shoot forward for a short distance, then float upwards slowly. It was possible to jump on bubbles to reach otherwise inaccessible areas. An enemy hit by a forward-shooting (not floating) bubble would be trapped in it. The bubble could then be popped, killing the enemy and turning it into bonus points. If left floating, it would become angry and escape the bubble after a while.

In some levels, there were special bubbles that appeared by themselves:
 * Bubbles with letters that yielded an extra life when one had collected a complete set.
 * Water-filled bubbles that could be popped to release a stream of water that would flow down and drown enemies.
 * Bubbles containing lightning blots that would, when the bubble was popped, shoot sideways (even through walls) and kill any enemies they hit.

The main Power-ups were:
 * Boots than enables faster walking and jumping
 * A red lamp that increased the shooting range of bubbles
 * A yellow lamp that increased tha rate at which bubbles could be breathed.

Legacy
Bubble Bobble inspired many sequels, including:
 * Rainbow Islands - The Story Of Bubble Bobble 2
 * Rainbow Islands Extra Version
 * Parasol Stars
 * Bubble Symphony
 * Bubble Memories - The Story Of Bubble Bobble III

Bub and Bob also appeared in Puzzle Bobble, otherwise known as Bust a Move in the United States. Bust a Move was followed by many sequels, for many consoles, including PlayStation, Nintendo 64, Game Boy, Game Boy Color, Game Boy Advance, Nintendo GameCube, PlayStation 2, and even the N-Gage, along with computer and arcade versions. It became more popular than the original Bubble Bobble game itself.