Puzzle Bobble Everybubble! – Bub and Bob are back (Picture: ININ)
Taito’s comeback tour continues its slow but steady progress as the puzzle game previously known as Bust-A-Move gets a reboot.
Our love for the Bubble Bobble and Rainbow Islands franchise is one that we rarely get the chance to consummate. Taito’s bubble-blowing and rainbow-throwing heroes have been semi-retired for decades, barely even getting re-released as retro titles, but in recent years publisher ININ has helped to coax Taito into making new games, including the surprisingly good Bubble Bobble 4 Friends. The idea of trying to remake or create a sequel to Rainbow Islands is something they seems sensibly hesitant about and so they’ve instead focused on the third pillar of the franchise: Puzzle Bobble.
Known for most of its console career as Bust-A-Move – we suspect because it sounded a bit less twee to American marketeers – Puzzle Bobble has a history that stretches back to 1994 and involves over a dozen iterations and four numbered sequels. None of them are very different from each other but the biggest problem for the franchise is that, over the years, it’s been cloned and copied by a legion of smartphone games, to the point where most people likely have no idea of the concept’s origins.
Combine that with the fact that puzzle games are no longer considered something you would spend anything close to full price on and it feels like there’s no real way back for the series. That may well be true in terms of sales but that didn’t stop us from having lots of fun with this quasi-reboot.
There is a story underpinning Puzzle Bobble Everybubble, but despite having pored over Elden Ring descriptions for hours on end, and convinced ourselves we understand what’s going on, we cannot say the same for Everybubble. It has something to do with a dragon-esque character called Miniroon, who didn’t used to be able to blow bubbles but now can and has covered the Rainbow Islands with them… and there are loads of clones of him for some reason, or… we really don’t know.
The cut scenes aren’t very gripping narratively, but they are relatively well orchestrated, sticking closely to the original character designs and adding a few new ones that fit right in. This isn’t a triple-A release, but it also doesn’t feel like a cheap cash grab, which is reassuring.
Story might not matter but gameplay definitely does and while there are a number of new gimmicks, they’re not allowed to overwhelm the game. Importantly, the basics are the same as always: you sit at the bottom of the screen and various groups of bubbles loom above you, as they’re slowly pushed down the screen. Differently coloured bubbles appear at random, one at a time, for you to shoot up the screen and if you attach three of the same colour together then they pop and fall away. Clear out the whole screen and you’ve won.
It really is as simple as that but interestingly Everybubble tries to live up to the name Puzzle Bobble more than arguably even the original game. Although there are multiple game modes the main story one presents itself as a series of short puzzle scenarios where you try to complete each one as quickly and efficiently as possible and are ranked accordingly – essentially borrowing the same structure as Candy Crush Saga.
Although there are clear similarities with games like Columns, and other seminal puzzle titles, including Tetris, an important difference in Puzzle Bobble is that you can never be 100% sure where a bubble is going to go. There’s an arrow at the bottom of the screen, that gives a general indication, but you have to eyeball it yourself and you will get it wrong occasionally, inevitability creating new problems for yourself as a result.
Puzzle Bobble Everybubble! – up to four friends are welcome (Picture: ININ)
Theoretically, most stages can be beaten in just a few minutes, but Everybubble keeps things interesting by introducing a variety of different rules and obstacles, including bubbles that constantly change colour or when you hit them at another bubble. But there’s also a range of other items to interrupt your machinations, including crates, planks, rocks, and bombs, that are mixed in with the bubbles. These fall away with gravity but create lots of interesting tactical decisions before you remove them and are more interesting than the range of traditional Bubble Bobble power-ups we were expecting.
In addition to story mode there’s also an unlockable endless mode, where you simply try and last as long as possible before the bubbles envelop you, and a peculiar mash-up with fellow Tatio classic Space Invaders. The latter works largely the same as any other puzzle stage, except you’re dealing with a large block of bubbles that gradually move down the screen and occasionally fires bullets at you. You can see tiny Space Invaders in the bubbles but otherwise, in terms of both visuals and gameplay, it’s not different enough from regular Puzzle Bobble to make much of an impression.
What has more longevity is the multiplayer options, which allow you to play with up to four others either locally or online (you can also do so in story mode, surprisingly). Puzzle Bobble is a lot of fun with other people but much less so when playing with the AI, which alternates between superhuman competence and cat-like indifference seemingly every few seconds.
You won’t find any significant new ideas in Everybubble, and it is unwisely expensive, but as a comeback for Puzzle Bobble, and a restatement of everything that made the series great, this works very well. It was always one of the best match-three puzzlers and its greater reliance on hand-to-eye coordination still makes it relatively unique – if you don’t count all the smartphone clones.
That means Taito now has two successful Bubble Bobble-related reboots in the bag, so we wait with bated breath to see if they’ll try to perform the same magic with Rainbow Island and Parasol Stars. Ordinarily we wouldn’t be optimistic but Puzzle Bobble Everybubble is good enough that we’re actively looking forward to what may come next…
Puzzle Bobble Everybubble review summary
In Short: Decades of sub-par copycats haven’t dulled the appeal of Puzzle Bobble and while there’s too few new ideas this is an effective reboot for what remains a classic match-three puzzler.
Pros: The original gameplay still shines brightly and there are plenty of different modes to experience it in various different forms – including multiplayer. Some unusual new item additions.
Cons: Not enough new ideas and quite expensive. Poor artificial intelligence.
Score: 7/10
Formats: Nintendo Switch
Price: £34.99
Publisher: ININ
Developer: Taito
Release Date: 23rd May 2023
Age Rating: 3
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Taito’s comeback tour continues its slow but steady progress as the puzzle game previously known as Bust-A-Move gets a reboot.