Bubble Bobble/Ports

The popularity of Bubble Bobble led Taito (or its licensees) to port to many home computers and video game consoles. Ports of the game were released for the Commodore 64, ZX Spectrum, Commodore Amiga, Atari ST, MSX, Amstrad CPC, Sharp X68000, PC (MS-DOS, 1989 and 1996), Apple II, FM Towns Marty, Sega Master System, Game Boy, Game Boy Color, Game Boy Advance, Nintendo DS, PlayStation, Sega Saturn, Nintendo Entertainment System, Famicom Disk System, Sega Game Gear, mobile phone (Sprint PCS), and UltraCade's Taito Arcade Classics. An version also exists for the BBC Micro on public domain though never officially released. At the end of 2006 a new port for mobile phones in Europe was released.

In October 2005, a version was released for the Xbox, PlayStation 2, and PC as part of the Taito Legends compilation of classic arcade games.

Recently, a version for the TI-83 graphing calculator was released.

Game mechanics in conversions and ports

Bubble Bobble has been widely regarded as one of the most playable games of all time, owing much of its success to its previously described game mechanics, which are only apparently simple, and its many hidden features and secrets. Also, most Bubble Bobble players usually manage to master techniques such as riding bubbles, 'bubbling' oneself through the screen or 'kissing' monsters, and expect them to work all the time.

Some Bubble Bobble ports however, from the date of release of the arcade version up today, have been heavily criticized for their mechanics deviating significantly from the arcade version, adversely affecting the gameplay.

For example, in many versions of the game the two-digit trick to make extra bonuses appear at the end of the stage just doesn't work, or the score and bonus awarding system is entirely different, in part due to the complexity of the original one, and most of the aforementioned techniques can be much harder or impossible to reproduce, thus completely changing (arguably ruining) the gaming experience.

Examples include even comparatively recent versions such as the 1996 PC/PlayStation/Sega Saturn versions by Acclaim: they either have different game mechanics (too fast dropping speed, barely working shoes, bubbles going through walls, different jumping physics and many non-implemented techniques) or different behaviour for some monsters (especially the time-up monster).

Another example is the early 1989 PC version by Novalogic, which had the possibility of diagonal jumps with a single keystroke (thus enabling players to go through walls), lacked completely the ability of kissing monsters, and had different rules governing the appearance of some bonuses (most notably the orange-yellow sweet).

The various Nintendo NES and Game Boy ports and sequels are very different, often featuring scrolling screens, different enemies, and the ability for the dragons to fly.

In general, there are as many variations to the game mechanics as there are versions, with some being more faithful to the arcade version than others and some resulting in noticeably different gameplay experience. Although that is a general rule regarding ports of any game, in Bubble Bobble it can become very noticeable and annoying because of the game relying primarily on its fast paced and trick-filled gameplay.

One of the few versions having game mechanics and gameplay very close to the arcade is the Sega Master System version, despite its introduction of extra gameplay elements. Moreover, the version included in Taito Legends for the Xbox, PS2, and PC should be a near-perfect copy of the original arcade version, as it features the original ROM running under emulation. However, even this version lacks accurate emulation of an MCU in the original hardware that handled monster behavior and other things. As of 2007, fully accurate emulation is implemented only in MAME (versions 0.107u3 and up).

Legacy

Bubble Bobble inspired many sequels, including:

• Rainbow Islands (1987)
• Rainbow Islands Extra Version (1988)
• Final Bubble Bobble (1988 Sega Master System)
• Parasol Stars (1991 originally released for NEC PC-Engine (Japan only), converted for Famicom (Japan only), Super Famciom (Japan only), Amiga, Atari ST, and Game Boy
• Bubble Bobble Part 2 (1993 Nintendo Famicom, Nintendo Entertainment System, Game Boy)
• Bubble Bobble II (World) / Bubble Symphony (Europe, Japan, U.S.) (1994 Arcade, Sega Saturn (Japan only))
• Bubble Memories (1995 Arcade)
• Rainbow Islands - Putty's Party (2000 Bandai Wonderswan)

There are a couple of previous Taito games which sort of anticipated the Bubble Bobble legacy because of their inclusion of characteristic common elements or even monsters (e.g. the Mighta and Monsta both appeared first in the game Chack'n Pop, and in fact level 29 of Bubble Bobble is a direct copy of level 1 of Chack'n Pop):

• Chack'n Pop (1983)
• Fairyland Story (1985)

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, GameCube, Dreamcast, PlayStation 2, Xbox and even the N-Gage, along with computer and arcade versions. This spin-off franchise became more popular than Bubble Bobble itself, and has (so far) outlived it.

Similar games, spinoffs, and clones

Bubble Bobble's successful gameplay has inspired not only many official sequels and spinoffs by Taito, but also a number of games with very similar gameplay elements. The most important of them include:

• The non-scrolling platformer action.
• Dividing the game into many levels (typically above 30).
• Defeating enemies by trapping them somehow instead of killing them right away.
• Collecting bonuses and finding secret ways of increasing their value.
• Collecting letters to gain an extra life.

Some examples of successful non-Taito video games resembling Bubble Bobble in some or even all of the above aspects are:

• Rodland by Jaleco (1989).
• Snow Brothers and its sequels by Toaplan (1991).
• Tumblepop and Diet Go Go by Data East.

Ultra Balloon (1996), by SunA Corporation (also manufacturer of Hard Head series), is an evident Bubble Memories copy and the only Bubble Bobble-inspired arcade game to actually copy the bubble-blowing and popping system.

Bubble Bobble also inspired a few software publishers to publish derivatives of the game for the PC and Mac. Such titles include Bubble Bobble World, Bubble Bobble Quest, Bubble Bobble Nostalgie, Bub & Bob, and The Bub's Brothers. Such games are marketed online.

Trivia

• This was one of the first games to feature multiple endings.
• In 1996, Taito announced that they lost the original source code program to Bubble Bobble following a reorganization - when it came to the recent ports and sequels, they had to work from program disassembly, playing the game and (mainly) the various home computer ports.
• The game forbids the initials "SEX" on the high score table. If you try, it gets changed it to "H.!". In Japan, the letter H is occasionally used as a slang term for perverts.
• Tom Gault holds the official record for this game with a maximum possible 5,823,600 points on March 4, 1988.
• The NES cover band "The Advantage" covers two songs from Bubble Bobble on their self-titled album.
• Games with an "improved", though actually slightly modified, arcade mode were released for the Game Boy Advance and Nintendo DS, respectively called Bubble Bobble Old and New, in July 2002, and Bubble Bobble Revolution in September 2006.
• Bubble Bobble Revolution was developed by Codemasters. Wireless multiplayer functionality was included for the DS version. However, in the beginning of October 2006, the game cartridge was officially deemed "faulty" by Nintendo of America due to the fact that the New Age mode did not have a boss in Round 30, so players could not advance to the next level.