Puzzle Bobble - Which is the Best?

[majinbuu]

Hiya

To those that play Puzzle Bobble which version do you think is best? There are 4 versions on my MAME setup (1 to 4), and before I get too deeply into one of the games I'd like some peoples opinions of the different versions. I don't care about gfx, all I care about is gameplay.

Please help :)

Sam

[VACRMH]

While i'm not sure if the console versions are the same as the arcade ones, i've heard that 4 is the best.

[roushimsx]

I absolutely love 4's gameplay. The cast of characters and the combo system are fantastic. It does a killer job of building on the third game's base and damn near perfecting it. The PS1 port was pretty good, though I've never gotten my hands too dirty with tearing it apart and seeing just how closely it compares to the arcade version. Either I dumped a hell of a lot of money into it at the arcades and wound up playing it quite a bit with my roommate at the time.

The first two are a bit too basic for me anymore and the third one, while still great, just feels like 4-lite.

quick edit - Did a quick google and found out that it came out on the Dreamcast, too. Woot?

[cyberfluxor]

Out of what I've played my #1 favorite is Bust-A-Move 2.

My reason: I just love it! I can put one quarter into the machine at the arcade and get 45 minutes of play out of it, mainly because I beat it and get the #1 score. I'd have to go back and check but the machine hasn't been reset in nearly a year (even after being moved!) and my top score was over 10,000,000 points.

But to know what I'm matching this up against, I've played:
Bust-A-Move 2 on the Saturn (favorite console port), arcade and N64.
Bust-A-Move 3 on the Saturn.
Bust-A-Move '99 on the N64.
Bust-A-Move 4 on the PSX.
Puzzle Bobble 1 & 2 emulated with Neo-Geo AES (really smooth too)

Actually, I saw BAM2 PSX [long case] for $7 today and may go back for it simply because I have the N64 and Saturn versions. Maybe it'll play well on my Namco stick. ;)

[djbeatmongrel]

easily Bust a move 4 on dreamcast. best 2 player availible

[klausien]

If it were easier to find someone else to play with, the PSP version is ace. I am also personally fond of the first PS2 game (Super) due to its characters, and of course, the chaining mayhem of 4.

1000th POST!!!!! :D

[Chuplayer]

I like Bust a Move 2 on the N64. I also have Bust a Move 99 on the N64, but I don't like it as much. I don't like the NGPC version because I'm colorblind. I can only play Bust a Move when I can see the characters inside the bubbles. I have the PC version of the first two games. The first one's great, but the second one runs horribly on my PC.

There was an interesting version of Bust a Move 2 at an arcade at Seaside, NJ. It ran on Taito's own board, and it didn't have any Bubble Bobble characters. It had different music, too. I found a ROM for a different version of this version, but the music faded out after a few seconds. The one at Seaside had the music play throughout the entire game.

My favorite Bust a Move tune is the first game's song, though. It's so catchy.

[roushimsx]

I don't like the NGPC version because I'm colorblind. I can only play Bust a Move when I can see the characters inside the bubbles.

You'd probably get a kick out of playing the Wonderswan version in an emulator, then. On the real hardware the blurring on the screen when you fire could get a bit annoying, but I'm sure via Oswan it'd be quite playable.

[majinbuu]

ok, so Puzzle Bobble 4 it is. I found a faq at http://www.gamefaqs.com/portable/gbcolor/file/575393/5907 so I can learn how to play it (granted it is for the GB color version). Is this accurate or is there another resource for this game?

[Chuplayer]

You'd probably get a kick out of playing the Wonderswan version in an emulator, then. On the real hardware the blurring on the screen when you fire could get a bit annoying, but I'm sure via Oswan it'd be quite playable.

Does it have the characters inside the bubbles?

I just remembered, in BAM99, there are bubbles that don't have characters inside of them in certain rounds. In those rounds, I pause, play with the TV's color settings till they get really whacked out, and then I unpause and play. If I can distort the colors enough, I can discern them, oddly enough.

[roushimsx]

Does it have the characters inside the bubbles?

No, but it's a monochrome game optimized for the Wonderswan's screen (which is why I recommended it!)

Here's some screenshots for you that I just snapped in Oswan real quick:
http://images.roushimsx.com/Puzzle%20Bobble%20%5b0025%5d%5b000%5d.pnghttp://images.roushimsx.com/Puzzle%20Bobble%20%5b0025%5d%5b001%5d.pnghttp://images.roushimsx.com/Puzzle%20Bobble%20%5b0025%5d%5b002%5d.pnghttp://images.roushimsx.com/Puzzle%20Bobble%20%5b0025%5d%5b003%5d.png

Bump the window size up to 3x (or just hit F3 to enter full screen) and you've got a pretty playable game right there.


ok, so Puzzle Bobble 4 it is. I found a faq at http://www.gamefaqs.com/portable/gbcolor/file/575393/5907 so I can learn how to play it (granted it is for the GB color version). Is this accurate or is there another resource for this game?

Looks like enough to get you started. Not sure where you could find more strategy information though :(

[Rob2600]

I prefer Bust-A-Move '99 for Nintendo 64. The sound is much better than it was in Bust-A-Move 2 and it features a four player mode.

[cyberfluxor]

I forgot about my NGPC version, shame on me!

It's a decent game, the downfalls are no back light and a few of the colors are hard to distinguish (orange and yellow). Besides that it's pretty solid.

I also purchased the PSP release which hasn't been opened yet because I don't own a PSP unit!

[Bloodreign]

There was an interesting version of Bust a Move 2 at an arcade at Seaside, NJ. It ran on Taito's own board, and it didn't have any Bubble Bobble characters. It had different music, too. I found a ROM for a different version of this version, but the music faded out after a few seconds. The one at Seaside had the music play throughout the entire game.


Sounds like Bust A Move Again, the game they accidentally slipped onto Taito Legends 2 PS 2 US instead of Puzzle Bobble 2, it's music would fade out (more like just shut off) and it had none of the BAM characters from any of the other games.

[Chuplayer]

Sounds like Bust A Move Again, the game they accidentally slipped onto Taito Legends 2 PS 2 US instead of Puzzle Bobble 2, it's music would fade out (more like just shut off) and it had none of the BAM characters from any of the other games.

That's right, Bust a Move Again. A rose by a different name...

But this version I played had the music the entire time you played. There was one good track, too.

[cyberfluxor]

There was one good track, too.
I don't understand what this is all about, every track is good.



Well, truthfully whenever I play BAM (any version) it drives my family nuts if they hear it because they find it too cutesy.

[Chuplayer]

I don't understand what this is all about, every track is good.



Well, truthfully whenever I play BAM (any version) it drives my family nuts if they hear it because they find it too cutesy.

Bust a Move Again had a completely different soundtrack. There was one song in particular that was particularly epic.

My family has never commented on the cutesiness of Bust a Move or Bubble Bobble. In fact, my dad liked Bubble Bobble a lot. I never thought the music in Bust a Move was particularly cutesy, though. At least not in the first game. It was like calypso music or something. Upbeat and happy.

[Jorpho]

And then there's the NGAGE version, on which even people who aren't colorblind can't match things up correctly.

Anyway, each Bust-A-Move game also came out on the PC. You can even still buy the fourth one in a two-pack with EWJ 3D.
http://www.nothingbutsoftware.com/catalog_type.asp?ProductCode=32109