Bubble Bobble

Bubble Bobble
Genre(s)	Platform game
Year of Release	1986
Platform(s)	Arcade machine with many later ports
Developer(s)	Taito
Publisher(s)	Taito, Romstar

Bubble Bobble is a platform video game developed by Taito and published by both Taito and Romstar. It was originally released in 1986 as an arcade machine, but has since been ported to a large number of systems.

Plot

Two humans, Bub and Bob, have been transformed into bubble-breathing dinosaurs by Baron von Blubba. The Baron has also captured their two girlfriends, and the two dinosaurs must battle their way through 100 levels of monsters in order to finally rescue them.

Gameplay

The game consists of 100 levels, each of which consists of a single screen. On this screen is a number of platforms and a number of creatures. Players take control of a dinosaur which can move left and right around the level, and can also jump. The dinosaur starts each level in the bottom-left corner of the screen, however in two-player mode the second player begins in the bottom-right corner. Players are able to jump through platforms in an upwards direction in order to move higher up within the level, however they must fall in order to move down the screen. At the bottom of most screens are gaps, and falling through these gaps will take the player to the top of the screen. The creatures also move around the screen following similar rules, however only some of them can jump. Should the player touch a creature at any point then they will die, lose a life and be returned to their starting position.

In order to complete a level the player must kill all of the creatures and there are two ways to do this. The simplest, but most difficult, way to do this is to press the fire button when directly next to the creature. This will 'bite' the creature and it will die, however it requires precise timing otherwise the creature will touch the player. The more common method is to use the dinosaur's bubble breath. When the player presses the fire button the dinosaur will shoot a bubble for a short distance. If this bubble hits a creature before it comes to a stop then it will capture the creature within the bubble. The player can then pop the bubble causing the creature to die.

Once bubbles have reached the end of their firing range they enter a predefined movement path which varies from level to level. All bubbles follow this path, whether they are full or empty. Also on some levels bubbles will appear from the edges of the screen, and these also follow these paths. After existing for a certain amount of time a bubble will pop on its own, and should it contain a creature the creature will be released however it will now be 'angry'. Angry creatures can be distinguished from other creatures by their red colour, and they move at approximately double the speed of all other creatures. Once there is only one creature left, this creature also becomes angry.

Bubbles can be popped by the player in a number of ways. The dinosaurs have spikes on their backs, and if a bubble floats into these spikes the bubble will pop. The player can also jump into the bubble in such a way as the spikes touch it, or they can jump on top of the bubble in order to pop it. Should the player move into a bubble in a forwards motion they will push the bubble, and pushing a bubble into a wall is another way to pop a bubble. Also, if any other bubbles are touching a bubble that is popped, they will also pop in a chain-reaction.

Each level has two time limits. Once the first time limit has expired the words "Hurry Up!" will flash onto the screen, the music will change and all of the remaining creatures become angry. Once the second time limit has expired a sound effect will appear and one Baron von Blubba creature will appear for each player that is alive. These creatures move in a precise, predictable fashion that chases the player and cannot be killed. When a player dies their Baron von Blubba will disappear, all of the creatures will stop being angry, and the time limits will restart.

Power-ups and special bubbles

At various points in the game items will appear throughout the level. There are two types of items. The first, known as 'points items' are simply there to give points. Most of these take the form of food, however some higher-value items take the form of diamonds or jewellery. Also, when a creature is killed it will turn into a points item.

The other types of items, 'special items', are power-ups which can enhance the abilities of the dinosaurs or cause things to happen. For example the yellow sweet increases the speed at which the dinosaurs can shoot bubbles, the purple lantern causes an explosion killing all of the creatures on the screen, and the blue candy cane causes a giant blue lolly to appear at the end of the level for massive points.

The appearance of these special items appears at first to be random, however they all have a very specific reason for their appearance. The game keeps a number of counters running throughout the game, and when these counters reach a certain point they spawn a special item and reset. For example the yellow sweet appears after a dinosaur jumps 51 times. These counters are not reset when the game begins or ends, only when the machine is turned off. Therefore it is not uncommon for a very high counter to 'tick over' during the first level.

As well as items, there are also special bubbles that float into some levels. Each of these has a special function:

• When a fire bubble is popped flames will fall out of it and onto the ground below, where they will stay for a few seconds. Should a creature touch this fire they will be killed.
• When a lightning bubble is popped a lightning bolt will shoot out of the tail of the dinosaur, passing through walls and creatures. Any creatures it touches will be killed.
• When a water bubble is popped a stream of water will fall out. This water will keep moving along the platforms, falling off when it reaches an edge, until it falls off of the bottom of the screen. Any players caught in this water stream will be swept along with it, and any creatures caught in the water stream will be killed.
• When a player pops a fire breath bubble they will start shooting fire bolts instead of bubbles. These bolts will shoot straight through multiple creatures and through walls, and any creatures caught in their path are instantly killed. The fire breath will last for five levels or until the player is killed.
• There are a group of letter bubbles that each have one of the letters from the word EXTEND. If the player manages to collect all of the letters in this word they will skip to the next level and gain an extra life.