Bubble Bobble

Download Bubble Bobble and relive the iconic arcade experience! Pop bubbles, clear levels, and defeat enemies in this charming, addictive platformer. Ready to burst into fun? Play now!
a game by Taito, and Acclaim
Genres: Action, Arcade Classics, Puzzles & Words
Platforms: Sega Master SystemSega Master System, Playstation, NESNES, GameGear, GameBoy
Editor Rating: 7.9/10, based on 9 reviews, 10 reviews are shown
User Rating: 7.3/10 - 33 votes
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See also: Arcade Games, Retro Games, Games Like Super Mario Bros.

What happens when you take a couple of friendly dragons, throw in an endless array of bubbles, and combine them with fruits, candies, and a vast assortment of the strangest beasties to ever inhabit a video game cartridge? You're playing Bubble Bobble.

You and a friend take control of Bub and Bob, two bubble blowin' dragons headed on a fantastic voyage to save their sweethearts, held captive by Baron von Blubba. There are over 100 rounds of challenge before the evil Baron is finally confronted.

Take care, your only weapons are your bubbles, but at least you have an endless supply. All you have to do is trap the beasties in your bubbles and pop them using your spiny back, sending these evil critters into oblivion! Be sure and watch where they land...you'll be treated to some very tasty fruit which adds various amounts of points to your score.

During each round, be sure to pay close attention to the different items that appear. A shoe, for instance, increases your overall speed. By eating candles you can increase your bubbleblowing capacity. Many other objects also appear, giving you the ability to shoot fireballs, or flood the screen with water. In turn, you are rewarded with some nice diamonds to enrich your score.

ProTip: Sometimes the best strategy is to let the beasties come right at you... but several beasties have special weapons and running away from them is your best defence.

Be sure and study all the bubbles on'the screen...on some rounds bubbles containing letters float randomly about. If you are lucky enough to pop the letters that spell EXTEND, you will exit the round and be treated to an extra Bub or Bob.

Each round presents a different pattern of openings and ledges to provide movement in your underground quest. Each round is more difficult and fascinating than the last. To add to the challenge, there are quite a few "hidden" rounds for you to locate. These hidden rounds add to your fun and your score!

The real challenge of Bubble Bobble is to try to maximize your points. In order to get the most points for trapping and popping the enemies, try to pop as many of the creatures together as you can. Let them float together to a central point on the screen, then pop the group...point values can increase to as much as 64,000 for a popped beastie and 9,000 points for the leftover fruit.

Bubble Bobble is original, challenging, and fun, with great graphics and music... there is no game quite like it.

  • Grab every magic bonus you can get..you'll need them to outwit the beasties!
  • Get to round 20 on your first Bub for a hidden treat.
  • Use fire, thunder, and water bubbles to burst several beasties in one blow.

Download Bubble Bobble

Sega Master System

System requirements:

  • PC compatible
  • Operating systems: Windows 10/Windows 8/Windows 7/2000/Vista/WinXP
Playstation

System requirements:

  • PC compatible
  • Operating systems: Windows 10/Windows 8/Windows 7/2000/Vista/WinXP
NES

System requirements:

  • PC compatible
  • Operating systems: Windows 10/Windows 8/Windows 7/2000/Vista/WinXP
  • P-200, 32 MB RAM
GameGear

System requirements:

  • PC compatible
  • Operating systems: Windows 10/Windows 8/Windows 7/2000/Vista/WinXP
Gameboy

System requirements:

  • PC compatible
  • Operating systems: Windows 10/Windows 8/Windows 7/2000/Vista/WinXP

Game Reviews

The dinosaur stars of Bust-A-Move 2 return in an updated version of their first game. Bubble Bobble. This game debuted in the arcade years ago, then popped up on the NES and PC formats. Bubble Bobble is a mix of puzzle and action elements. Players control the dinosaurs Bobbie and Bobbie, who can blow bubbles at the enemies that populate each level (players will recognize these enemies from the Bust-A-Move games). The bubbles surround each bad guy and leave him helpless. The dinosaurs can then rush up and pop the bubble-encased enemies, turning them into fruit. Each level is cleared once all the fruit lies been nabbed. The dinos will have to be careful, though. If they run into an enemy that's not in a bubble, they'll become extinct.

The popular Bubble Bobble game, originally for the 8-Bit Nintendo system, is now on the Game Gear format! Hooray!! To tell you the truth, I've never played Bubble Bobble before, so I've never understood how addictive it was. However, once I started playing it, I began to understand the addiction of this game. The great thing about it is that it's so simple anyone can play it, from young to old. This is a perfect game to be put on the Game Gear format, I'm just surprised it took so long. The game play is great and graphics are clean and defined. If you want a fun and addictive game with hours and hours of game play, pick up Bubble Bobble for the Game Gear. It's loads of fun!

THE GOOD

The hours of fun you will have playing this game! It's addictive!

THE BAD

The older people might be apprehensive about playing a game like this.

THE UGLY

Your social life after playing this game. You'll never leave the house!

  • MANUFACTURER - TAITO
  • DIFFICULTY - MODERATE
  • THEME - ACTION/PUZZLE
  • NUMBER OF PLAYERS - 1 or 2
  • NUMBER OF LEVELS - 80

People say:

8

Boy this sure brings back some memories for me. Bubble Bobble is a great game for the Game Gear. It translates well to the small semen, and the graphics are simp'o enough to keep you from straining your eyes. The game plays very good considering the small screen, though the lizard tends higher than you think. A few of the levels get a little cheap, too. Overall, it's a game that's meant to be fun.

8

I used to play this game a long time ago and this version is surprisingly faithful to the original! All of the platform fun has been retained and it s portable, too! The Two-player. Option is a good idea to let the second player join m Although the graphics are simpts fun to play and that's what malces a game good. This platform classic may be old, but it's still got the fun to keep you coming back for more.

7

This game is such a pleasant surprise! What Bubble Bobble doesn't offer in great graphics and super 16-Bit sound, it makes up for in a simple concept. It is very reminiscent the old games when the emphasis was on good game play end fun. Sometimes it's better. Just stick to simplicity rather than lust pretty graphics. The Link Option is also a big plus for an already good game. It's well done.

8

I was addicted to the arcade game and mastered it. I have to say they did a very good job on the portable pialtorm.They put in the levels characters, and power-ups that the nicade game a classic. Tho game isn't heavy on sounds but the cute graphics and fun game play make it a top-notch game With a two-player link you can have even more fun as a tag team. Portable fans should check this out.

  • Manufacturer: Taito
  • Machine: NES

Berick Partridge of Washington, Iowa, has given us a way to choose where you want to start in the first world of this wild game. If you use the password D D D D B, you can use A or B from the IP Continue selection to pick the desired level. Nice find, Berick.

  • Manufacturer: Taito;
  • Machine: Nintendo

There are hardly any "cute" games anymore. Whatever happened to the days of Pac-Man, Q*Bert, Frogger and Donkey Kong? It seems that we're inundated with nothing but commandos, karate men and killer robots in video games these days.

Just when I started worrying about the future of video games, a new Game Pak comes out for the NES called Bubble Bobble - the only video game I've seen that focuses on bubble-blowing dinosaurs.

As with virtually all cute video games, the story line behind Bubble Bobble reads like an idea that was thought up by someone staring at a TV screen for too long. I guess "weird" would be the best adjective to describe the premise of this one - but that doesn't mean that Bubble Bobble is a bad game. On the contrary, its weirdness is what makes it unique.

The undeniably cute Bub and Bob - the bubble-blowing dinosaurs, you see - are out on a mission to save their brontosaur's babes from the clutches of the evil Baron von Blubba, a guy who looks like an albino whale on a bad day. Bub and Bob have to go through two worlds, containing 113 screens, and defeat von Blubba's motley crew of beastie buddies on every level. The dinosaur duo accomplish this by blowing bubbles at von Blubba's henchmen, trapping them and popping the bubbles by jumping or ramming into them before their enemies can escape. Bursting the bubbles with a beastie inside changes it to a piece of fruit or other prize that Bub or Bob can eat for extra points.

I don't expect any of the above to make much sense. But in the computer-generated world of video games, nothing has to - nor should it. Video gaming is a surrealistic experience, and Bubble Bobble exploits this fact wonderfully. However, the bizarre nature of this game might turn off a number of NES addicts used to moving electronic Rambos on the television screen. Pity them.

But that doesn't mean that Bub and Bob don't have special weapons. On the contrary, they have a large assortment to choose from. Candy, parasols, treasure boxes, shoes and necklaces are just a few of the items possessing powers available for the dinosaurs to use against von Blubba's beasties. No, you won't find a machine gun or grenade here - but there is a bomb for those of you with a militaristic thirst to quench.

Not only is Bubble Bobble one of those NES games best played with two people, you almost have to play it in pairs in order to successfully finish it. This is not for the video-gaming loner but rather those looking for a simultaneous two-player challenge. If you're searching for such a game, then Bubble Bobble should fit your bill.

This video game's only setback is its musical soundtrack. Though there are many good sound effects that add to the overall game play, the same theme plays over and over again through all 226 screens, even when you pause it. After hearing the same tune being cranked out like a repeating music box, I turned off the TV's volume and listened to my Walkman while playing. I'll admit that this is more of a personal gripe, but, to tell the truth, I honestly couldn't find anything else to complain about.

Every once in a while, a new video game comes along that completely denies us critics the opportunity to trash it. Bubble Bobble is such a game; anybody who doesn't like it probably doesn't like video games in general.

  • Manufacturer: Taito;
  • Machine: Nintendo

These are two hungry dinomights and they've got bubble fight'n fun down tight.

Bubble Bobble is totally addictive action. Computer Entertainer Magazine says "it's impossible to resist... you want to play over and over again". Bubble Bobble has been Europe's #1 game for over 3 months. You'll scramble through 100 screens of laughs as your brontosaurus buddies. Bub and Bob, blow you away with endless action. If you're lookin' for fun, these dudes are the ones.

For more arcade quality fun at home, grab Taito's other action packed hits for the Nintendo Entertainment System. Operation Wolf, the awesome prisoner rescue mission and the world's number 1 arcade game Renegade, the fast paced street-style Karate brawl. And coming soon, Sky Shark, the arcade's meanest air battle.

Blow Bubbles To Battle Bad Guys ...

Occasionally a game will come along that doesn't readily fit into one of the normal groupings (shooter, maze game, etc.); a game that is in a class all by itself. Bubble Bobble is just such a game. Although it enjoyed limited exposure as an arcade title a few years back, the vast majority of Bubble Bobble's cult following was generated when the game was introduced for home computers last year.

While it doesn't fit into any normal mold, it definitely has all of the elements that are found in four star hits.

Either one or two players can battle the bubble-keepers and wizards who populate each of the game's 100 different maze-like layouts. The basic premise is to guide Bub or Bob (the two dinosaur heros of Bubble Bobble) through each land, blowing bubbles that can trap the bad guys. Each bubble will take shape and slowly float to the top of the screen. If you're lucky enough to hit one of the nasties with your bubbles, then the bubble, with the enemy imprisoned within, will also rise upward where the other bubbles congregate. Jumping up and breaking the bubble with the monster inside will eliminate the meanie and turn him into any one of the different fruits or prizes that award extra points when successfully captured.

Bubble Bobble takes this interesting premise and quite effectively builds it into a challenging and addictive contest of strategy and skill. As the screens are filled with enough bubbles to keep Lawrence Welk in heaven, the ghoulies become quicker and break out of the bubbles faster. Each pattern also becomes progressively difficult, with fewer ways to escape.

Bonus prizes will also appear on certain screens, awarding enhancements like faster speed, longer shooting distance, etc. You can also acquire special bubbles that make you invulnerable or give you bonus Bubs and Bobs!

Bubble Bobble is an enchanting game that is supported brilliantly! The theme is unique, yet simple enough to grasp and challenging enough to hold your interest throughout each of the game's 100 levels of play (but you must defeat each of the rounds twice to reach a happy ending). It's a great adaptation of a game that didn't receive fair treatment in the arcades. A definite winner for the action-oriented crowd!

"Beyond some visual shortcomings, Bubble Bobble is one of the most entertaining games available for the Nintendo. The game play is appealing and the action is definitely non-stop. It is straightforward enough for novices, yet contains enough variety, hidden strategies, and challenge to keep the best of us coming back for more."

Bubble Bobble is totally addictive action. Computer Entertainer Magazine says "it's impossible to resist... you want to play over and over again". Bubble Bobble has been Europe's #1 game for over 3 months. You'll scramble through 100 screens of laughs as your brontosaurus buddies, Bub and Bob, blow you away with endless action. If you're lookin' for fun, these dudes are the ones.

Black in the olden days, all we had to play with were dinosaurs. Bub and Bob to be precise.These Jurassic Juveniles are the heroes ofTaito's now gnarled and ancient Bubble Bobble coin-op.They are also featured in Puzzle Bobble, the popular Tetris-style puzzle game.

Bubble Bobble features some pretty radical action as you (and a pal, in two-player mode) attempt to imprison rogue bad guys in your bubble-icious spit. Once imprisoned, the bad guys can be popped out of existence and out of your hair. It gets better, though. Since Bubble Bobble is a remarkably simple game. Acclaim has taken the liberty of including a couple of little treats, not the least of which is a fully playable version of Rainbow Islands, the brilliant sequel.This is quite early, so expect it to get even better.

Snapshots and Media

Playstation Screenshots

NES/Famicom/Dendy Screenshots

Sega Master System Screenshots

GameGear Screenshots

GameBoy Screenshots

See Also

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