"Bust-a-Move" redirects here. For other things called "Bust a Move", see Bust a Move.

Puzzle Bobble (also known in the United States, Canada, and sometimes in Europe as Bust-a-Move) is an arcade puzzle game series created by Taito and contains elements of Sega's Columns and Atari's Breakout.

At the top of the rectangular playing arena, a number of balls of various colours are placed in a prearranged pattern at the start of the level. At the bottom of the screen, the player controls the angle of a fixed cannon that fires semi-randomly coloured balls in a straight line. The ball, when fired, travels in straight lines, possibly bouncing off the side walls of the arena, before eventually coming to rest either touching one or more of the balls, or at the top of the arena.

If the ball manages to come into contact with identically coloured-balls, thus forming a group of three or more, those balls, and any balls hanging only from them, are removed from the field of play, and points are awarded depending on how many balls are removed from the screen at once.

An exponential scoring system is used, leading to large rewards for removing many balls at once.

To make life more difficult, as the game proceeds, the top of the playing arena, and all the balls, move down the screen from time to time. This imposes a time limit, as the player must remove every ball from the arena before a ball passes a line at the bottom of the arena.

As well as typically cute Japanese animation (the characters from Bubble Bobble operate the cannon) and music, the game's mechanics and level design were beautifully balanced, and the game was terrifically successful at the arcades, spawning several sequels.

One or two players can play the game. In the single-player puzzle game the goal is simply to clear the arena of balls. The two player game pits two players against each other. Both players have an arena each (both visible on screen) and an identical arrangement of coloured balls in each arena. When a player removes a large group (four balls or more) some of the balls removed percolate over to the opponent's arena, usually frustrating his efforts at trying to remove all the balls from the arena. The two player game can also be played by one player against a computer opponent.

An online version, called Puzzle Bobble Online, was created with support for up to 6 players and several team modes. This PC title, originally intended for the Japanese market, proved popular enough with English speakers that a second server and point ladder were setup just for them. In 2005, the game's servers were shut down, and as of 2006, the game's website is unavailable.

Some animations of Bub and Bob are based off the original Bubble Bobble arcade game, except Bub and Bob are larger than they were in Bubble Bobble. This note only applies to inserting coins in the middle of the game, and/or pressing the 1-player or 2-player start buttons. (They are "button mashing" (rather, pressing a button (symbolizing the 1- or 2-player button) repeatedly) and saying "Thank you!" while briefly blowing out kiss hearts.)

Game Series

1. Puzzle Bobble (a.k.a. Bust-a-Move) - 1994
2. Puzzle Bobble 2 (a.k.a. Bust-a-Move 2 in Europe, Bust-a-Move Again in North America) - 1995
3. Puzzle Bobble 2X (Christmas Edition, with a Christmas animation and a special mode with new levels) - 1995
4. Puzzle Bobble 3 (a.k.a. Bust-a-Move 3 in Europe, Bust-a-Move '99 in North America) - 1996
5. Puzzle Bobble 4 (a.k.a. Bust-a-Move 4) - 1997
6. Super Puzzle Bobble (a.k.a. Super Bust-a-Move) - 1999
7. Super Puzzle Bobble 2 (a.k.a. Super Bust-a-Move 2) - 2002
8. Super Puzzle Bobble All-Stars (a.k.a. Super Bust-a-Move All Stars in Europe, Bust-a-Move 3000 in North America) - 2003
9. Puzzle Bobble Mobile (on various mobile devices) - 2003
10. Puzzle Bobble VS (on Nokia N-Gage) - 2003
11. Puzzle Bobble Pocket (on Sony Playstation Portable) - 2004
12. Ultra Bust-a-Move (on Xbox) - 2004 in U.S., 2005 in Japan
13. Puzzle Bobble DS - 2005
14. Hippatte!! Puzzle Bobble (a.k.a. Bust-a-Move DS) - 2006
15. Ultra Puzzle Bobble Pocket (a.k.a. Bust-a-Move Deluxe in U.S., Bust-a-Move Ghost in Europe) - (on Sony PlayStation Portable) - 2006

See also

• Frozen Bubble
• Pengupop
• Snood (game)

External links

• series''}}
• at The Killer List of Video Games
• Arcade-History.com entry
• open directory project: Bubble Bobble Series
• Flash Port

Neo Geo CD games | Neo-Geo games | 1994 arcade games | 1994 computer and video games | Puzzle computer and video games | Arcade games | PC games | Game Gear games | 3DO games | Super NES games | WonderSwan games | Mobile phone games | Taito games | Bust a Move | Puzzle Bobble