Puzzle Bobble 3

Puzzle Bobble 3 (also known as Bust-A-Move 3) is the second sequel to Puzzle Bobble. It was released into arcades in September 1996 and later ported to the Sega Saturn, Sony PlayStation, Game Boy, Nintendo 64 and Microsoft Windows. It would be the final appearance of Puzzle Bobble on the Sega Saturn. Like its predecessors, the player is tasked with shooting balls at groups of balls, creating groups of 3 or more, which are then removed from play. A European remake is entitled Bust-a-Move 3 DX released in America as Bust-a-Move '99.

Gameplay

The game completely abandons the idea of previous titles that the playfield is being pushed down by some sort of mechanical device and instead attaches groups of bubbles to nodes that move downwards. When a node is no longer connected to any bubbles, it will disappear and when all nodes in a level have vanished the level is complete. One result of this change that may appear strange to players of previous versions is that shooting a bubble to the top of the visible playfield without striking any bubbles causes it to bounce and start travelling back downwards. The player is not penalised if such bubbles again leave the playing field without attaching to anything (except for adding to the number of moves until the field is pushed down by one empty line). Despite this some versions include a reimplementation of the Puzzle Bobble 2 levels now built around nodes (entitled Version 2.5).

Puzzle Bobble

Puzzle Bobble (Japanese: パズルボブル, Hepburn: Pazuru Boburu), also known as Bust-a-Move in North America, is a 1994 tile-matching arcade puzzle video game for one or two players created by Taito Corporation. It is based on Taito's popular 1986 arcade game Bubble Bobble, featuring characters and themes from that game. Its characteristically cute Japanese animation and music, along with its play mechanics and level designs, made it successful as an arcade title and spawned several sequels and ports to home gaming systems.

Versions

Two different versions of the original game were released. Puzzle Bobble was originally released in Japan only in June 1994 by Taito Corporation, running on Taito's B System hardware (with the preliminary title "Bubble Buster"). Then, 6 months later in December, the international Neo Geo version of Puzzle Bobble was released. It was almost identical aside from being in stereo and having some different sound effects and translated text.

When set to the US region, the Neo Geo version displays the alternative title "Bust a Move" and features anti-drugs and anti-littering messages in the title sequence. The Bust-a-Move title was used for all subsequent games in the series in the United States and Canada, as well as for some (non-Taito published) console releases in Europe.

Puzzle Bobble 2

Puzzle Bobble 2 is the first sequel to "Puzzle Bobble". It was entitled in Europe and North America as Bust-A-Move Again on the arcade and Bust-A-Move 2 on the home consoles. Released into the arcades in 1995, PlayStation, Sega Saturn, Nintendo 64 and PC conversions followed. The game was included in Taito Legends 2, but the US arcade version was included on US PS2 version instead. The game is a spin-off from Bubble Bobble.

The game builds on the original by adding a tournament style variation on the two player game for play against the computer and by adding a branching map to the one player game, allowing the player to periodically select one of two groups of five levels to play next, leading to different game endings. Some of the contestants in the new tournament mode are based on characters from Bubble Bobble, including variations on a Monsta and a Mighta.

Some versions of the game, including the PlayStation, feature time trial competitions in which a single player attempts to finish simple rounds quickly enough to beat previous time records or two players simultaneously attempt to beat the records and each other.

Puzzle Bobble 4

Puzzle Bobble 4 (also known as Bust-a-Move 4 in North America and Europe) is the third sequel to the video game Puzzle Bobble and is the final appearance of the series on the Arcade, PlayStation and Dreamcast. The game is also the final title to be recognizably similar in presentation to the original.

Building upon the success of Puzzle Bobble 3, the game adds a pulley system that requires two sets of bubbles, attached to either side of a rope hanging across two pulleys. The game contains a story mode for single player play.

In total, the game features 640 levels. The console version features a level editor to either create and save a level, set a succession of levels, or to create an unlimited amount of extra levels and stages. It also has an alternative "story mode".

Story

On the planet Bubbleluna live the twins Bub and Bob. One day, the sun fails to rise because the Fairy of the Night, Cleon, has stolen the light source known as the Rainbow for Full-Moon Madame Luna. She splits this rainbow into 7 light bubbles. Bub and Bob then set off to retrieve these bubbles and restore the light and peace to their planet.