Arcade classic won’t burst your bubble
BUBBLE BOBBLE 4 FRIENDS (PEGI 3)
Switch
★★★★★
BUBBLE BOBBLE was one of the first games I can remember playing in an arcade. From the catchy chiptune music, the adorable little waddle on Bub and Bob and the deceptively tricky game play, I was hooked, nagging my poor nan for more and more shiny coins to feed the machine.
When I got my Atari, Bubble Bobble was the first game I tracked down, driving my parents bananas with the chirpy theme music blasting out of my bedroom hour after hour.
Taito’s 1986 classic is regularly voted one of the best games of all time for a reason – it is addictive, and kawaii to the nth degree.
Now, finally, a whole new generation of gamers will be able to fall in love with Bub and Bob as Bubble Bobble 4 Friends arrives on the Switch.
This marks the second new release from Taito this year, which is a very good thing as the creator (now owned by Square Enix) has sadly been largely dormant in recent years.
This game is being billed as a sequel to the original, seeing Bub and Bob joined by two new dragons, Peb and Pab.
After 33 years, the dino-duo has had a bit of a makeover.
Souped-up graphics look divine on the new-generation console and the music, now heard through a far superior sound system, still has that wonderful 8-bit chirpiness to it.
There are 100 new levels to make your way through, packed with cute baddies, tough bosses and giant food to chow down on and rack up the points.
A new skill tree has been added to gameplay, allowing you to activate and upgrade Bub and Bob’s skills – something you will need as you progress through the levels.
While the skills are new, the method of collection is not, as you must burst the letter bubbles to spell out EXTEND. Collect all six letters, and beat the boss, then you can either win an upgrade or a new skill such as the ability to dash through a baddy unscathed or a bomb bubble which kills off all the enemies around it.
Chaining together moves means, quite literally, bigger rewards – including triggering the drop of a cupcake the size of a small car.
It’s a colourful rush of fun, tinged with a serving of nostalgia that makes the game irresistible to gamers of all ages.
While playing co-op was always fun, this new iteration allows you to play as a foursome – adding Peb and Pab to the mix.
It might look new and shiny, but the same challenges and frustrations are there – riding a bubble to the top of the screen only for it to burst just short of the ledge and plunging you back to the floor, and trying to catch a bouncing villain in a bubble, only for it to turn the tables and splat you.
And don’t forget that rush of panic as you try to pick off that final, elusive baddy, the music speeding up and the little rotter turning an angry shade of pink.
On a personal note, the absolute best part for me is the inclusion of the original 1986 coin-op version, which instantly took me back to that seaside arcade.
Taito has some of the best games ever made sitting in its back catalogue. That Bubble Bobble has been revived gives me hope that others may soon follow suit.
Come on Rainbow Islands!
■ Buy it: £35.99 from nintendo.co.uk Special Edition: Including key rings, postcards and special packaging – £45.99 from amazon.co.uk