ININ Games’ relationship with Taito hasn’t been bad in the least. In fact, thanks to this little partnership, we’ve gotten a terrific Bubble Bobble revival, along with a remake of The Ninja Warriors from the world of SNES, with awesome results.
Now we have Puzzle Bobble, aka Bust-a-Move!, getting a turn with Everybubble!, a cute and highly enjoyable remake with modern visuals and fun bubble shooting goodness for players of all ages. And it’s not just a quick glossover, either. There are some great modes here for you and your friends, while the gameplay retains the vintage goodness we’ve come to expect from the Taito classic. If you’ve enjoyed the prior Taito releases, you shouldn’t be without this one.
Pop, Pop, Pop
So the general gameplay idea involves popping bubbles. The goal is to clear each stage of bubbles that appear in random layouts. You can pop them if they line up three or more, shooting them out of a cannon driven by Bubble Bobble stars Bub and Bob, among others available within the game.
It’s fairly easy at first, but later stages become challenging. Fortunately, there are some neat power-ups available to help you clear the screen, although you still need to avoid crucial mistakes.
There are tons of great modes here, including ones you can play with friends, along with the single player story mode and the ability to practice stages. But it’s with the multiplayer that the true magic arrives, with lots of different variations, including a neat twist on Space Invaders that works pretty well. If you prefer, however, traditional versus works wonderfully, too. Plus there are online features, a nice little bonus here.
Overall, Puzzle Bobble Everybubble! comes with options galore. Single player does have slightly iffy AI at times (it’s weird), but the core gameplay and multiplayer options will keep you popping more and more.
Oh, Yeah, It’s a Bit Cute
Along with the gameplay, Puzzle Bobble Everybubble! also keeps most of the original’s presentation intact, but with some modern twists. For instance, the hand-drawn visuals that worked so well in the past Bubble Bobble game is present, with nice touches and artwork that really lights up the screen. It might be a bit cute for some of you out there, but overall it’s still a real treat to look at.
Oh, but the sound is even more adorable, with character voices that go borderline cute on you (especially Bub and Bob), along with bouncy music and sound effects that reflect the original almost down to a science. If you’re a fan, you’ll recognize some grooves here.
Yep, it looks and sounds great. It doesn’t redefine the franchise, but, then again, it doesn’t really need to.
This Bubble Bursts Delightfully
No matter how you’re playing – on your own or with bubble buddies – you’ll want to check out Puzzle Bobble Everybubble! It’s surprisingly addictive and has stages galore, along with neat new options and a chipper presentation that will brighten up your rainy day.
The rate this partnership between ININ Games and Taito is going, I kind of don’t want it to end. Now let’s see some modern remakes of Growl and Cadash already.
GAMERHUB RATING: 4.5/5
