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{{Cleanup|June 2007}}
{{Header Nav|game=Bubble Bobble}}
{{subpage}}
{{Game
{{Header Nav|game=Bubble Bobble|num=1}}
|completion=3
{{Infobox
|image=Bubble Bobble Box Artwork.jpg
|title=Bubble Bobble
|title=Bubble Bobble
|image=Bubble Bobble Box Artwork.jpg
|developer=[[Taito]]
|developer=[[Taito]]
|publisher=[[Taito]], [[Romstar]]
|publisher={{colist|Taito Corporation|Romstar}}
|year=1986
|systems={{syslist|arcade|sms|fds|nes|gb|gbc|gg|dos|c64|amiga|appleii|msx2|atarist|x68000|bbc|fmt|zx|cpc|gba|mobile|wii}}
|ratings={{CERO|A}}{{ESRB|E}}{{PEGI|3}}{{OFLC|G}}
|title1=Arcade Archives Bubble Bobble
|developer1=[[Taito]]
|publisher1=[[Hamster Corporation]]
|year1=2016
|systems1={{syslist|ps4|switch}}
|designer=Fukio Mitsuji
|designer=Fukio Mitsuji
|released={{sys|arcade}}{{rd|1986}}
{{sys|x68k}}{{jp|1986}}
{{sys|amiga|apple II}}{{sys|c64|msx}}{{sys|atari st}}{{rd|1987}}
{{sys|sms}}{{jp|1988}}{{au|1992}}
{{sys|dos}}{{na|1989}}
{{sys|gb}}{{jp|1990|December 7}}{{na|1991}}
{{sys|gg}}{{na|1994}}
|genre=[[Platform]]
|genre=[[Platform]]
|modes=Up to 2 players simultaneously
|players=1-2
|systems=[[Arcade]], [[Sega Master System]], [[FM Towns]], [[Game Boy]], [[Game Gear]], [[MS-DOS]], [[Commodore 64]], [[Amiga]], [[Apple II]], [[MSX]], [[Atari ST]], [[Sharp X68000]], [[BBC Micro]], [[FM Towns]], [[ZX Spectrum]], [[Amstrad CPC]], [[Mobile]], [[GameTap]], [[Wii Virtual Console]]
|modes=[[Single player]], [[multiplayer]]
|series=Bubble Bobble
|series=Bubble Bobble
|series2=Arcade Archives
|pcgamingwiki=Bubble Bobble
}}
}}
{{series disambig}}{{game disambig||the [[NES]] and [[Famicom Disk System]] version|[[Bubble Bobble (NES)]]}}
{{Nihongo|'''Bubble Bobble'''|バブルボブル|Baburu Boburu}} is an [[arcade]] game by [[Taito Corporation|Taito]], first released in [[1986]] and later ported to numerous home computers and game consoles. The game, starring the twin Bubble Dragons {{nihongo|'''Bub''' ''(Bubblun)''|バブルン|Baburun}} and {{nihongo|'''Bob''' ''(Bobblun)''|ボブルン|Boburun}}, is an action-platform game in which players travel through one hundred different stages, busting and pushing bubbles, avoiding enemies and collecting a variety of items. The game became very popular and led to a long series of sequels and spin-offs. The main goal of the game is to rescue Bub and Bob's girlfriends from monsters. It is also notable for being an early example of a game with multiple endings, which depended on the player's skill and discovering secrets.
'''Bubble Bobble''' is an [[arcade]] by [[Taito]], first released in 1986. It was ported soon for numerous home computers and game consoles. The game features two Bubble Dragons, '''Bub''' (Japanese "Bubblun"), who is green with yellow spikes/horns and '''Bob''' (Japanese "Bobblun"), who is blue with cyan spikes/horns. Together, they journey through the Cave of Monsters to rescue their girlfriends. They move over a system of platforms, busting and pushing bubbles, avoiding enemies and collecting a variety of power-ups.


{{Continue Nav}}
In the game, each player controls one of the two Bubble Dragons, Bub and Bob. The player can move along platforms, as well as jump to those above and to the side, similar to most platform games. The dragons can blow bubbles. These can trap enemies, who are defeated if the bubble is then burst by the player's spiny back. The bubbles also float for a time before bursting, and can be jumped on, allowing access to otherwise inaccessible areas. Players progress to the next level once all enemies on the current level are defeated. Enemies turn "angry"—becoming pink-colored and moving faster—if they are the last enemy remaining, escape from a bubble after being left too long, or a certain amount of time has been spent on the current level. After a further time limit expires, an additional invincible enemy appears for each player, actively chasing them using only vertical and horizontal movements. Contact with enemies and their projectiles is deadly, resulting in the loss of a life.
{{ToC}}


===Moon Water storyline===
The popularity of ''Bubble Bobble'' led Taito (or its licensees) to port to many home computers and game consoles. Ports of the game were released for the [[Commodore 64]], [[Sinclair ZX Spectrum]], [[Amiga]], [[Atari ST]], [[MSX2]], [[Amstrad CPC]], [[Sharp X68000]], [[PC]] ([[MS-DOS]]), [[Apple II]], [[FM Towns]], [[Sega Master System]], [[Game Boy]], [[Nintendo Entertainment System]], [[Famicom Disk System]], and [[Sega Game Gear]]. A version also exists for the [[BBC Micro]] as public domain though never officially released. The [[Sega Master System]] features two hundred stages. In 1996 Taito announced that they lost the original source code. As [[Probe Entertainment]] was in charge of the home conversions, Taito sent them a ''Bubble Bobble'' arcade board so they could play the original game and reproduce its mechanics. This led to the release of ''Bubble Bobble also featuring [[Rainbow Islands]]'' for [[Sega Saturn]], [[PlayStation]] and [[PC]] ([[MS-DOS]]) in 1996. 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. At the end of 2006 a new port for mobile phones in Europe and Japan was released. On December 31, 2007, the NES version of Bubble Bobble was released on Nintendo's [[Virtual Console]] service for the [[Wii]]. It costs 500 Wii Points.
On the original Game Boy version of ''Bubble Bobble'', and ''Classic Bubble Bobble'' for the Game Boy Color, there is a storyline in which only Bub is involved in the gameplay.


In this uncommon storyline, Bob (as a human) has an unknown sickness, so Bub has to pass through the hundred levels to defeat Super Drunk and get the Moon Water. There is no mention of the "Cave of Monsters" in this version.
<gallery>
File:Bubble Bobble arcade title.png|Title screen
File:Bubble Bobble ARC Round001.png|Game play
</gallery>


In ''Classic Bubble Bobble'' for the Game Boy Color, Bob (as a bubble dragon) has the unknown sickness. Bub has to go through a number of levels (lesser than the arcade or Game Boy, etc versions) and defeat the ''Darkness Drunk'' in order to gain the Moon Water. Again, there is no mention of a "Cave of Monsters".
{{ToC}}
 
{{Bubble Bobble}}
==Legacy==
''Bubble Bobble'' inspired many sequels, including:
*''[[Rainbow Islands|Rainbow Islands - The Story of Bubble Bobble 2]]'' (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|Bubble Memories - The Story of Bubble Bobble III]]'' (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 ''[[Puzzle Bobble|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]].
===Clones===
''[[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. [http://www.twingalaxies.com/index.aspx?c=22&pi=2&gi=3665&vi=673]
* 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.
==External links==
*[http://web.archive.org/web/20060215093458/http://www.bubandbob.com/ BubandBob.com] through the Internet Archive Wayback Machine
**[http://web.archive.org/web/20030323023415/http://www.bubandbob.com/ Last best version], also through the Wayback Machine
*[http://web.archive.org/web/20060430014833/http://taito.overclocked.org/index.html Bubble Bobble HQ - Taito.Overclocked.org] also through the Wayback Machine
*[http://www.klov.com/game_detail.php?game_id=7222 Bubble Bobble] at KLOV
*[http://dmoz.org/Games/Video_Games/Platform/Bubble_Bobble_Series/ ''Bubble Bobble'' Series]
[[Category:Arcade]]
[[Category:MAME]]
[[Category:BBC Micro]]
[[Category:Sega Master System]]
[[Category:MS-DOS]]
[[Category:FM Towns]]
[[Category:Game Boy]]
[[Category:Sega Game Gear]]
[[Category:Commodore 64/128]]
[[Category:Commodore Amiga]]
[[Category:Apple II]]
[[Category:MSX]]
[[Category:Atari ST]]
[[Category:Sharp X68000]]
[[Category:Sinclair ZX Spectrum]]
[[Category:Amstrad CPC]]
[[Category:GameTap]]
[[Category:Wii Virtual Console]]
[[Category:Taito Corporation]]
[[Category:Taito Corporation]]
[[Category:Hamster Corporation]]
[[Category:Platform]]
[[Category:Platform]]
[[Category:Single player]]
[[Category:Single player]]
[[Category:Multiplayer]]
[[Category:Multiplayer]]
[[Category:MAME]]

Latest revision as of 06:30, 29 December 2022

Table of Contents

Gameplay

Bubble Bobble logo

Arcade Walkthrough
NES Walkthrough
SMS Walkthrough
Appendices

This is the first game in the Bubble Bobble series. For other games in the series see the Bubble Bobble category.

Box artwork for Bubble Bobble.
Box artwork for Bubble Bobble.
Bubble Bobble
Developer(s)Taito
Publisher(s)Taito Corporation, Romstar
Year released1986
System(s)Arcade, Sega Master System, Family Computer Disk System, NES, Game Boy, Game Boy Color, Sega Game Gear, DOS, Commodore 64/128, Commodore Amiga, Apple II, MSX2, Atari ST, Sharp X68000, BBC Micro, FM Towns, Sinclair ZX Spectrum, Amstrad CPC, Game Boy Advance, Mobile, Wii
SeriesBubble Bobble,
Arcade Archives
Designer(s)Fukio Mitsuji
Genre(s)Platform
Players1-2
ModesSingle player, multiplayer
Rating(s)CERO All agesESRB EveryonePEGI Ages 3+OFLC General
Arcade Archives Bubble Bobble
Developer(s)Taito
Publisher(s)Hamster Corporation
Year released2016
System(s)PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch
Neoseeker Related Pages
LinksBubble Bobble at PCGamingWikiBubble Bobble ChannelSearchSearch

Bubble Bobble (バブルボブル Baburu Boburu?) is an arcade game by Taito, first released in 1986 and later ported to numerous home computers and game consoles. The game, starring the twin Bubble Dragons Bub (Bubblun) (バブルン Baburun?) and Bob (Bobblun) (ボブルン Boburun?), is an action-platform game in which players travel through one hundred different stages, busting and pushing bubbles, avoiding enemies and collecting a variety of items. The game became very popular and led to a long series of sequels and spin-offs. The main goal of the game is to rescue Bub and Bob's girlfriends from monsters. It is also notable for being an early example of a game with multiple endings, which depended on the player's skill and discovering secrets.

In the game, each player controls one of the two Bubble Dragons, Bub and Bob. The player can move along platforms, as well as jump to those above and to the side, similar to most platform games. The dragons can blow bubbles. These can trap enemies, who are defeated if the bubble is then burst by the player's spiny back. The bubbles also float for a time before bursting, and can be jumped on, allowing access to otherwise inaccessible areas. Players progress to the next level once all enemies on the current level are defeated. Enemies turn "angry"—becoming pink-colored and moving faster—if they are the last enemy remaining, escape from a bubble after being left too long, or a certain amount of time has been spent on the current level. After a further time limit expires, an additional invincible enemy appears for each player, actively chasing them using only vertical and horizontal movements. Contact with enemies and their projectiles is deadly, resulting in the loss of a life.

The popularity of Bubble Bobble led Taito (or its licensees) to port to many home computers and game consoles. Ports of the game were released for the Commodore 64, Sinclair ZX Spectrum, Amiga, Atari ST, MSX2, Amstrad CPC, Sharp X68000, PC (MS-DOS), Apple II, FM Towns, Sega Master System, Game Boy, Nintendo Entertainment System, Famicom Disk System, and Sega Game Gear. A version also exists for the BBC Micro as public domain though never officially released. The Sega Master System features two hundred stages. In 1996 Taito announced that they lost the original source code. As Probe Entertainment was in charge of the home conversions, Taito sent them a Bubble Bobble arcade board so they could play the original game and reproduce its mechanics. This led to the release of Bubble Bobble also featuring Rainbow Islands for Sega Saturn, PlayStation and PC (MS-DOS) in 1996. 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. At the end of 2006 a new port for mobile phones in Europe and Japan was released. On December 31, 2007, the NES version of Bubble Bobble was released on Nintendo's Virtual Console service for the Wii. It costs 500 Wii Points.

  • Title screen

    Title screen

  • Game play

    Game play

Table of Contents

edit

Gameplay

Bubble Bobble logo

Arcade Walkthrough
NES Walkthrough
SMS Walkthrough
Appendices
view · edit
Bubble Bobble series
Sub-series:
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