Bubble Bobble Revolution

Nintendo exclusive

Originally released as an arcade game by Taito in 1986, Bubble Bobble starred two dinosaurs - Bub and Bob who co-operate to make their way through a hundred levels to rescue their girlfriends. This addictive two player game went on to be released on most console formats. Now the game is reborn on the Nintendo DS with all new graphics, split screen action and the classic gameplay. 100 new exciting levels to explore.

Released: 24 November 2005
Platforms: Nintendo DS
Genres: Adventure Platformer Puzzle
Developers: —
Publishers: Taito
Perspective: Side view
Themes: Action Fantasy
Country: Japan
Age ratings: ESRB E PEGI 3

About

Bubble Bobble Revolution is a 2D platform game for the Nintendo DS. Developed by Dreams, it was released in Japan on 24 November 2005 by Taito as Bubble Bobble DS (バブルボブルDS, Baburu Boburu DS), in Europe on 2 December by Rising Star Games (distribution handled by (Atari Europe) and in North America on 3 October 2006 by Codemasters.

Bubble Bobble Revolution received a strongly negative reception after its release, because of poor graphics and level design, and the presence of a major software bug in the North American version that prevented the game from being completed.

Keywords

gravity
mascot
high score
impossible 100% completion

Media

The articlegameplay, story, development, reception

Gameplay

There are two primary gameplay modes in Bubble Bobble Revolution: "Classic", and "New-Age".

"Classic" mode is a conversion of the original Bubble Bobble to the DS hardware. Gameplay is nearly identical to the original game: players must control either Bub or Bob through 100 single-screen levels, in which they must defeat a certain number of enemies in order to proceed; being hit by an enemy results in a loss of a life. Enemies are defeated by blowing bubbles to trap them and then colliding with them; each enemy produces a food item that can be collected for extra points. The original two player co-op multiplayer mode is also implemented; if each player owns a copy of the game, they can use the DS' Multi-Card Play feature to play together.

Reception

The game received "generally unfavorable" reviews according to the review aggregation website Metacritic. In Japan, Famitsu gave it a score of one seven and three sixes, while Famitsu Cube + Advance gave it a score of three sixes and one five. 411Mania gave it an unfavorable review, nearly two months before it was released Stateside.

Common criticism was directed at the game's dated visuals and level design. Reviewers also heavily criticized the game's number of odd glitches (such as enemies failing to spawn in levels, as well as levels being skipped entirely), which were described by Frank Provo of GameSpot as "strange" and "bizarre". Many critics also made note of the level 30 glitch, which Craig Harris of IGN claimed "makes a bad game worse". John Walker of Eurogamer began his review off by giving praise for the original game before harshly criticizing the "new-age" remake. Reviewers also made note of the drastic redesigns of the original characters, which were described as "stupendously ugly".