"Puzzle Bobble" and "Bust-A-Move" redirect here. For the iOS game, see Bust-A-Move (iOS). For the series in which this game is a part of, see Puzzle Bobble (series).
Puzzle Bobble (パズルボブル Pazuru Boburu?), also known as Bust-A-Move, is an arcade game developed by Taito. It is the first game in the Puzzle Bobble (series). Puzzle Bobble is a puzzle spin-off of the Bubble Bobble series. The game is a tile-matching puzzle game, in which Bub and Bob must shoot bubbles into pairs of three.
Gameplay[]
In Puzzle Bobble, Bub and Bob must shoot bubbles out of a Bubble Launcher up at the top of the screen. The duo must make groups of three identically colored bubbles, which pop when they are matched. After a certain amount of bubbles are shot, the ceiling descends down toward the bottom of the screen very slightly. If they player does not shoot a bubble after a certain amount of time, the bubble is shot automatically.
In the SNES version of Puzzle Bobble, several new features are introduced, such as Special Bubbles which when popped, can remove other bubbles, depending on their type. Other features added in the SNES release include a Vs. Mode and a final boss.
Unreleased "US" B-System Version[]
While the original Taito B System version was only released in Japan. Taito America planned to release Puzzle Bobble even in the US still for the Taito B System, under the title "Bubble Buster". During the location test, apart the translated text, some drastic changes were made, such the removal of every Bubble Bobble reference, graphic text and title screen were changed, music and sound effects were changed and the ending which they planned a sweepstakes contest, with a riddle. Sadly, this version was never released to the public.
While this version was remain hidden for the public for a long time, Nonetheless, in 2021, a prototype B-System board was found containing this unreleased US version.
Curiously, a similar set of changes would be later made to the US Taito F3 System version of Puzzle Bobble 2, under the title of Bust-A-Move Again which get released in the US.
Ports[]
| Platform | Release | Features |
|---|---|---|
| Taito B-System | June 1994(JP, US (Unreleased)) |
|
| Neo-Geo MVS | December 12, 1994(WW) |
|
| Super NES | January 13, 1995(JP) 1995(EU) March 1995(NA) |
|
| Neo-Geo CD | May 2, 1995(JP) April 27, 1995(EU) |
|
| 3DO | November 22, 1995(JP) 1995(NA) |
|
| Game Gear | August 2, 1996(JP) 1996(NA) |
|
| DOS | March 15, 1997(NA) |
|
| Wonderswan | July 1, 1999(JP) |
|
| Windows | 1999(NA) |
|
| Nintendo Switch | December 20, 2018(WW) |
|
| PlayStation 4 | December 20, 2018(JP) January 3, 2019(NA) |
|
| Xbox One | December 20, 2018(JP) |
|
Characters[]
Playable characters[]
Non-playable characters[]
- Chack'n
- Zen-chan (SNES version only)
- Maita (SNES version only)
- Monsta (SNES version only)
- Pulpul (SNES version only)
- Banebou (SNES version only)
- Hidegons (SNES version only)
- Drunk (SNES version only)
- Invader (SNES version only)
- Skel-Monsta (SNES version only)
- Rascal (SNES version only)
- Catch (Cameo, SNES version only)
Bosses[]
- Super Drunk (SNES version only)
Bubbles[]
- Normal Bubble
- Thunder Bubble (SNES version only)
- Water Bubble (SNES version only)
- Fire Bubble (SNES version only)
- Special Bubble (SNES version only)
Trivia[]
- The game forbids the initials 'SEX' on the high score table. If you try, it gets changed to 'AAA'.
- While Bubble Buster was never released for unknown reasons, it is assumed that, Taito America decided to focus more on the localization of Puzzle Bobble for the Neo Geo MVS.
- Unscrambling the message in the Bubble Buster's sweepstakes contest, we get the following message: TAITO... THE ONLY GAME IN TOWN!