Bubble Bobble is an arcade game by Taito, first released in 1986 and later ported to numerous home computers and game consoles. The game, starring the twin Bubble Dragons Bub (Bubblun) and Bob (Bobblun), is an action-platform game in which players travel through one hundred different stages, blowing and bursting bubbles, dodging enemies and collecting a variety of items. The game became very popular and led to a long series of sequels and spin-offs. The main goal of the game is to rescue Bub and Bob's girlfriends from the Cave of Monsters.
Bubble Bobble (NES version)
It is an early example of a game with multiple endings, which depend on the player's performance and discovery of secrets.
'Baron Von Blubba' has kidnapped the brothers' Bubby and Bobby girlfriends and turned the brothers into Bubble Dragons, Bub and Bob. Bub and Bob have to finish 100 levels in the Cave of Monsters in order to rescue them.
In the game, each player controls one of the two dragons. The player can move along platforms, as well as jump to those above and to the side, similar to most platform games. Each level is limited to a single screen, with no scrolling.
The player can also blow bubbles. These can trap enemies, who are defeated if the bubble is then burst by the player's spiny back. Bubbles that contain enemies can be popped at the same time resulting in different foods being projected around the level. Each enemy trapped in a bubble equates to a different food. Food is consumed and transferred to points (an increasing scale of 1000 points is awarded for each enemy burst in tandem with another meaning: one enemy burst equals one food item worth 1000 points, two enemies burst equals two food items worth 1000 and 2000 points, three enemies burst equals three food items worth 1000, 2000 and 4000 points, and so on), which results in earning lives. These same bubbles also float for a time before bursting, and can be jumped on, allowing access to otherwise inaccessible areas. Players progress to the next level once all enemies on the current level are defeated.
Enemies turn 'angry' — becoming pink-colored and moving faster — if they are the last enemy remaining, escape from a bubble after being left too long or a certain amount of time has been spent on the current level. A monster will also become angry if either player collects a skull (the only negative item in the game), and the monster is hit by the resulting comet crossing the screen (however, this is a rare occurrence).
After a further time limit expires, an additional invincible enemy appears for each player, actively chasing them using only vertical and horizontal movements. These do not need to be defeated to complete the level, and disappear once a player's life is lost.
Contact with enemies and their projectiles (rocks, lasers, fireballs, etc.) results in death.
On level 100 you face the final boss, the 'Super Drunk' (an enlarged version of one of the games monsters the 'Drunk'). It has to be defeated by catching a 'Lightning Potion' that allows you to shoot lightning bubbles and in turn burst them to deal damage to the boss.
The game was one of the first video games to feature multiple endings. If the player completes the game in single player mode, they will get the 'Bad ending', with the remark: 'Try again with your friend'. If it is finished with two players, they get the 'Good' ending, where the brothers are changed back and reunited with their girlfriends. Also a code is revealed that has to be deciphered that enables 'Super' mode. 'Super' mode is enabled by inputting a special code (Start - jump - Bubble - Left - Right - Jump - Start - Right) at the title screen. On the US version it can be accessed directly from the title screen. 'Super mode' is effectively a faster and more difficult version of the game. Completed in 'Super' mode with two players, on top of the results of the 'Good' ending, the players get the 'True' ending, in which it turns out that the final boss of level one-hundred, the Super Drunk, was Bub and Bob's parents under a spell. They are released and everyone lives happily ever after (at least until the events of Rainbow Islands)
More details about this game can be found on
Wikipedia.org.
Find digital download of this game on
GOG
or
Steam.
Game controls:
The NES version of Bubble Bobble was originally controlled via the NES controller with a cross-shaped joypad and two action buttons. The basic description of game controls is summarized in the table below. Detailed description of how to play this game can be found a in the attached game manual. Please note that individual
gamepad buttons are emulated by different keys on your PC keyboard depending on the settings of your online emulator (see the table next to the game).
Use the D-pad to direct the movements of Bubblun and Bobblun. Press left or right to make the dinos run in either direction. Up and down are not used in the game, but are used to select letters when entering a password.
Press A button to make your dino jump up. Jumping can be performed in conjunction with moving. Your dino will jump the same height no matter how long you press the jump button for. Note that it is possible to make your dino jump on top of bubbles without popping them by holding the jump button down.
Press B button to make your dino spit bubbles. The speed, rate, and distance of the bubbles can be improved by collecting items throughout the game.
Use SELECT button to navigate in the main menu.
Begins game, pauses action during game. Press START and then SELECT to have Bob join the game during play.
Videogame Console:
This version of Bubble Bobble was designed for the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES), which was an eight-bit video game console manufactured
by Nintendo in the years 1983 - 2003. In that time, it was the best-selling video game console for which more than 700 licensed games and a number of non-licensed
games were created. Worldwide, approximately 62 million units of this console were sold at approximately price $ 100 per unit. More information about the
NES console can be found here.
Recommended Game Controllers:
You can control this game easily by using the keyboard of your PC (see the table next to the game). However, for maximum gaming enjoyment, we strongly recommend using a USB gamepad that you simply plug into the USB port of your computer. If you do not have a gamepad, buy a suitable USB controller on Amazon or AliExpress or in some of your favorite online stores.
Available online emulators:
6 different online emulators are available for Bubble Bobble. These emulators differ not only in the technology they use to emulate old games, but also in support of various game controllers, multiplayer mode, mobile phone touchscreen, emulation speed, absence or presence of embedded ads and in many other parameters. For
maximum gaming enjoyment, it's important to choose the right emulator, because on each PC and in different Internet browsers, the individual emulators behave differently. The basic
features of each emulator available for this game Bubble Bobble are summarized in the following table:
If you like Bubble Bobble you'll probably like also some of the similar games in the overview below. The games you see here
are selected based on title similarity, game genre, and keywords. However, the list is generated automatically and can therefore be very 'subjective'
especially for some specific games. To find a particular game, please use our search form.
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This version of Bubble Bobble was designed for the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES), which was an eight-bit video game console manufactured
by Nintendo in the years 1983 - 2003. In that time, it was the best-selling video game console for which more than 700 licensed games and a number of non-licensed
games were created. Worldwide, approximately 62 million units of this console were sold at approximately price $ 100 per unit. More information about the
NES console can be found 
