So we jumped the gun a little on our last story, but to be fair we weren’t the only ones who thought the teaser images that showed up on the Taito Facebook page were for Bubble Bobble. Turns out, it’s actually Bust-a-Move (aka Puzzle Bobble), the few people in the comments who noticed the launcher in the screenshot of sprites were right.
So here are the two images again, the first one shows Bub and an Apple “together at last":
The second image posted to the Facebook page was a much more revealing screenshot of several of the Bust-a-Move sprites:
Bust-a-Move, also known as Puzzle Bobble outside of North America and some European countries, is an arcade puzzle game originally released in 1994. Like Bubble Bobble, Bust-a-Move has had its fair share of ports and sequels, with over 23 different titles in the series ranging from the original arcade release, to the XBOX Live Arcade and now the iPhone. The game is a match-3 variant:
At the start of each round, the rectangular playing arena contains a prearranged pattern of coloured “bubbles". At the bottom of the screen, the player controls a device called a “pointer", which aims and fires bubbles up the screen. The fired bubbles travel in straight lines (possibly bouncing off the side walls of the arena), stopping when they touch other bubbles or reach the top of the arena. The objective of the game is to clear all the bubbles from the arena without dying.
Here is a gameplay video from the 1994 version of the game:
It’s unclear right now whether Taito is going to give the same treatment to Bust-a-Move as they did to Space Invaders with Space Invaders Infinity Gene [App Store] or if it is going to be a faithful remake of the original. Regardless, if the quality of the game is in line with Infinity Gene, it’s going to be very hard to pass up.
I'm a little dissappointed at this news. Bubble Bobble would be a much better idea than Bust a Move. Bust a Move is an ok game, not much longevity though. Bubble Bobble has much more long term appeal and playability.
dude, i couldn't be more psyched about this - i had a neo geo arcade cabinet in my fraternity house with bust a move on it... many a night of procrastination playing this game... can't wait!
I wasted countless hours playing Bubble Bobble and zero hours playing Bust-A-Move/Puzzle Bobble. In fact, I forgot that game even existed until now. And now I'm disappointed they aren't putting Bubble Bobble on the iPhone! How else am I supposed to pass the time?! Grrrr...
BOOO. There are already tons of these on the app store. Yes, this is the original version that got people hooked but how many Bubble Bobble games are there on the app store? I'm totally dissapointed plus I've never been into the aim and shoot puzzle games like Peggle so I'll pass up on this one even if they give it a sweet makeover like Infinity Gene.
YES
YEAH
I'm excited it's this and not bubble bobble! love bust a move
What the hell? Make Bubble Bobble, not boring Bust-A-Move! Bubble Bobble is a billion times better!
Oh, I see. Well I'm still kind of excited, I guess.
OMG! Spent many hours on the original PlayStation, playing Bust-A-Move '99. Can't wait for this! :D
I got tired of waiting for Bust-a-move and picked up Bubble Bash instead. No regrets! And it's got a storyline! FWIW, it's a Gameloft title, though I know there are fans and bashers of Gameloft out there.
ow sad… i though tit was the real bubble bobble !!!
Another game i would really live to have is Pang (Buster Bros.) from Capcom… Please !
im far less excited about this than bubble bobble really as i already have the actual arcade machine lol
however taito are treating the idevice with respect and showing some of the other major players how its done. fair play to em :)
No.....F*****......Way......
BUBBLE BOBBLE FTW!!!
I played this nonstop on my GBA, can't wait.
My favorite variation on this was always Splume (it's a web game) because of the rubbery physics with balls sticking to each other and bobbing in chains due to gravity. "iSplume" is free on the app store, but it's really not the same.
Bust-A-Move 4 is one of my favorite games of all time. The original Bust-A-Move is good too, and I just picked up its remake for the Wii. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that this is more than just a port of the WiiWare game and incorporates some of the ideas from the sequels...
RETRO-HEAVEN.