BUBBLE MEMORIES
Dear Retro Gamer, About 36 years ago I discovered
Bubble Bobble. The graphics were cute, and the music was catchy and never annoying (it was my ringtone for a while a few years back). Twelve-year-old me (and occasionally a friend) would pump out those bubbles and would gradually get further and further without dying. But those last few levels evaded me, and so I would lapse, and my skills in the game would wane.
More recently, I got my daughter to play as Bob to my Bub. She’s 14 and not really experienced in games that offer some serious frustrations. So, armed with infinite continues (I can’t think how many 10ps I would have pumped into an arcade for these sessions), we spent a few weeks slowly getting better and better until… finally… we zapped Super Drunk. After much highfiving, I did break it to my kid, that the true ending would require us to beat the game again – but that happened just a few days later (and in a much shorter time).
To celebrate this achievement, I thought I would put myself through some more pain and get a couple of bubble-blowing brontosauruses on my arms. I’ve attached the photo of my shaved arms, fresh on the chair at the tattooist. My daughter loves my new arm art, and I can finally put this game to bed. Now to find
Rainbow Islands on a modern console!
Keep up the fine work on the magazine.
Nick Thierry
Nice tats, Nick! They look great and what a great way of preserving an amazing bonding experience with your daughter. Just make sure you tell her Rainbow Islands is a single-player game only. We’ll send out a book that you can both enjoy.