Thursday, January 27, 2011

Bubble Bobble on the brain

I can't imagine the following admission will be a surprise to anyone: I've got Bubble Bobble on the brain.

After all, I've published a number of posts about this Fukio Mitsuji-designed title in the last few weeks. (Here's one, here's one and here's another one.)

What may surprise at least a couple of you: I've been playing more than just the arcade and the Famicom Disk System/NES versions of this all-time classic. I've also been playing the GameBoy Advance--which is part of the Bubble Bobble: New & Old release--and the Game Gear versions of the game.

Although the GameBoy Advance iteration of Bubble Bobble is interesting and noteworthy--mainly because it's arcade-perfect, with the exception of the oddly remixed background music--the Game Gear iteration is both of those things and then some.


The reason: All of the game's stages--but not Bob, Bub and their enemies--have been shrunk so they can fit on Game Gear's tiny screen. As a result, it often feels like you're controlling Bobzilla as you tear through each level.

Sure, Bubble Bobble for Game Gear is a good bit less strategic than other versions--and a number of its minuscule stages just don't work as well as their full-sized brethren--but it's no less fun.

Which means, I guess, that I may have to buy a Game Gear--along with a copy of this title and a copy of Mitsuji's Magical Puzzle Popils, too--sooner rather than later.

6 comments:

  1. That sounds like something I'd like to try. Bobzilla...how cute! I'm picturing Tokyo in a bubble...

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  2. That's great. I always like hearing good-news Game Gear stories. Not that I've picked up a GG in years, but I thought it was a really nice machine when I was a kid, and I had a lot of fun playing Sonic and Dragon Crystal.

    "Bobzilla." Awesome. :)

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  3. Justin: You *should* try it out. I think you'd get a kick out of it :)

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  4. IvaNEC: Yeah, I've always liked the GG, too. Not as much as the GameBoy and DS, mind you, but still.

    If you ever pick up a GG in the future, you *have* to try Magical Puzzle Popils, which was also made by Mitsuji.

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  5. I did an exhaustive gallery of every one of the 100 stages in this game a while back. Man, it's a tough game! Great fun though, and addictive as hell :)

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  6. I saw those galleries, RetroKingSimon -- they were great! Like you said, it's definitely a tough, though fun, game :)

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