2005 · Lancarse · Puzzle · Arcade

Puzzle Bobble DS

Nintendo exclusive

Puzzle Bobble DS is a puzzle video game developed by Taito Corporation and released in 2005 for the Nintendo DS handheld console. This title is part of the famous Puzzle Bobble series, known for its addictive gameplay and colorful design. Puzzle Bobble DS retains the essence of its predecessors, focusing on the arcade-puzzle genre where players must launch colored bubbles to form groups of at least three bubbles of the same color, causing them to burst and disappear from the game board.

Released: 25 August 2005
Platforms: Nintendo DS
Genres: Puzzle Arcade
Developers: Lancarse
Publishers: Taito
Modes: Multiplayer Single-player
Age ratings: CERO A

About

Puzzle Bobble, released internationally as Bust-A-Move, is a 1994 tile-matching puzzle video game developed and published by Taito for arcades. It is a spin-off of the 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 systems.

Media

The articlegameplay, story, development, reception

Gameplay

At the start of each round, the rectangular playing arena contains a prearranged pattern of colored "bubbles". At the bottom of the screen, the player controls a device called a "pointer", which aims and fires bubbles up the screen. The color of bubbles fired is randomly generated and chosen from the colors of bubbles still left on the screen.

The objective of the game is to clear all the bubbles from the arena without any bubble crossing the bottom line. Bubbles will fire automatically if the player remains idle. After clearing the arena, the next round begins with a new pattern of bubbles to clear. The arcade version of the game consists of 30 levels.

Reception

In Japan, Game Machine listed the Neo Geo version of Puzzle Bobble as the second most popular arcade game of February 1995. It went on to become Japan's second highest-grossing arcade printed circuit board (PCB) software of 1995, below Virtua Fighter 2. In North America, RePlay reported the Neo Geo version of Puzzle Bobble to be the fourth most popular arcade game of February 1995.

Reviewing the Super NES version, Mike Weigand of Electronic Gaming Monthly called it "a thoroughly enjoyable and incredibly addicting puzzle game". He considered the two player mode the highlight, but also said that the one player mode provides a solid challenge. GamePro gave it a generally negative review, saying it starts out fun but that ultimately lacks intricacy and longevity. They elaborated that in one player mode all the levels feel the same, and that two player matches are over too quickly to build up any excitement.

Legacy

The simplicity of the concept has led to many clones, both commercial and otherwise. 1996's Snood replaced the bubbles with small creatures and has been successful in its own right. Worms Blast was Team 17's take on the concept. On September 24, 2000, British game publisher Empire Interactive released a similar game, Spin Jam, for the original PlayStation console.

Mobile clones include Bubble Witch Saga and Bubble Shooter. Frozen Bubble is a free software clone. For Bubble Bobble's 35th anniversary, Taito launched Puzzle Bobble VR: Vacation Odyssey on the Oculus Quest and Oculus Quest 2, later coming to PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5 as Puzzle Bobble 3D: Vacation Odyssey in 2021.