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[img width=550 height=788]http://www.rfgeneration.com/images/games/U-060/bf/U-060-S-00300-A.jpg[/img]
When I was in Junior High I had a neighborhood friend who had the NES port of Bubble Bobble. And it had remained pretty much my sole exposure to the game until just recently. In February the Together Retro game club over at Racketboy.com had Bubble Bobble on their calendar. I was actually pretty excited to delve back into this one. The NES game was a really solid puzzle-platformer that offered an excellent co-op experience. Indeed I remember spending many hours as either Bub or Bob and capturing enemies and bursting their bubbles as my friend Jason and I traversed our way through those hundred levels. But this time out I’d be delving into the Saturn port which promised to be much closer to the original arcade experience.
Here’s what I found out: Bubble Bobble is really hard you guys. Compared to the NES version the computer AI was extremely aggressive. And though I didn’t spend a massive amount of time playing, I did put a fair share of effort. No matter how much I tried I could never seem to beat level 15 by myself. Although “by myself” probably illustrates the biggest issue I took with this game. Bubble Bobble is the sort of game that begs for co-op. Unfortunately my wife and I were gearing up for a big move, which meant we had pretty limited time for things like video games. And never once did we get to give this game a go together considering I wasn’t even sure which box my spare Saturn controller had ended up in. So more than anything I just found Bubble Bobble really frustrating. Though you can’t hate on the music which is still stuck in my head a month later.
[img width=640 height=480]http://img.gamefaqs.net/screens/7/d/7/gfs_88267_2_1.jpg[/img] [img width=640 height=480]http://img.gamefaqs.net/screens/d/f/f/gfs_88267_2_10.jpg[/img]
Luckily enough the Saturn release of Bubble Bobble also includes the sequel Rainbow Islands. I had actually never played this one before, and was actually pleasantly surprised by this one. Instead of dragons you play as little humans (who I think I’ve read are actually Bub and Bob in human form… or something?) who have the power to make little rainbows. The rainbows can be used to contain enemies much like the bubbles were used in Bubble Bobble, but they can also create little platforms for you to ascend each stage. The whole thing is really colorful and bright and just a whole lot of fun. Though I didn’t have as much time as I would have liked to spend on it this month, I’d gladly re-visit Rainbow Islands again in the near future.
[img width=640 height=480]http://img.gamefaqs.net/screens/e/9/f/gfs_88267_2_12.jpg[/img] [img width=640 height=480]http://img.gamefaqs.net/screens/a/f/1/gfs_88267_2_26.jpg[/img]
This disc also contains a third game. But the third game is also my major complaint about this particular release. Bubble Bobble Also Featuring Rainbow Islands includes a sort of remake of Rainbow Islands. But why? Why bother with such a superfluous inclusion when the compilation could have been made totally amazing by adding in Parasol Stars? For those who aren’t familiar, Parasol Stars was the third game in the Bubble Bobble series, and to this day my favorite of the trilogy. Parasol Stars was one of the few TurboGrafx-16 games I owned back in the day and it sort of combined all the good stuff from both Bubble Bobble and Rainbow Islands into one incredibly awesome game. Sadly, it’s nowhere to be seen here though. Oh well
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Great review. I love this game to death and am glad to own the Saturn port!
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Playing Bubble Bobble single player is like trying to play Contra without a fire button, or playing Smash Bros Brawl on the Wiimote, or drinking Malta Goya when not on a dare, or messing with Crabmaster, or owning an NES without Silent Service. There are some things you just don't do.
Seriously. You can't even get the good ending. Stop being silly.
Also, co-op greatness on a disc, this collection. Placed atop a stack next to Saturn Bomberman, Guardian Heroes, and the crop of great Capcom 2D fighters, and at least one good friend, and you have a great gaming night ahead.
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Awesome game. I own both the NES and PSX port, and even have the Bubble Bobble theme as a ringer or my wife (though it is the C64 port, not the NES). Nice thing about having kids is that if the wife doesn't want to play (which is frequent), one of the kids will.
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What a trippy cover. 0_0
Aah, this one is close to the arcade? I had some good fun with the arcade a few years ago on GameTap, so I'm totally adding this to my Saturn wishlist.
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Man, now I have to go find this.
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