Bust a Move DS

[djbeatmongrel]

After playing Bust a Move 4 on the dreamcast i have found another game in the series that has been as polished and well executed until now.

Although i havent had time to really run it through its paces i am already impressed. Let me explain the controls since they have a slight twist from the norm. Instead of the hand crank used in all the old puzzle bobble/bust a move games it is replaced with a slingshot that rests on the top edge of the touch screen. Basically you just drag the sling back and to any angle needed to shoot the colored bubbles to the top screen where the puzzle resides. next to the sling is a speciel bubble you can switch when the time calls for it (they are normally star, explosive, or metal bubbles). The slingshot control is real simple but it feels natural within the first minute or so of playing.

you have the option of changing it to manual control but i personally think the touch control works in this titles favor more.

the regular favorite bust a move modes are there: puzzle, endless, and vs. they all play well and are just as fun as normal. they multiplayer shines due to its 2-5 player multi cart and single cart play (would like to get a first hand experience asap though).

The combo system feels akin to bust a move 4s which is a plus in my book. The characters are just like our favorites from past iterations, luckily no lame neo bust a move types like in Super bust a move.

The graphics are crisp, clear and bright and the sound is cute and quirky.

really for any bust a move fan with a DS, i think this title is a must. for $20 you cant go wrong

[max 330 mega]

i ordered this 2 days ago, cant wait to try out the new control element, as soon as i found out about it i knew i couldnt wait to find it locally, so i got it for $22 shipped :D
another interesting thing is that puzzle bobble DS and bust a move DS are totally seperate games, they were released only like 2 months apart from one another, but are completely different games. reviews say that BAM DS is just slightly better than PB DS, mainly because of the new slingshot control.

[davidbrit2]

The control takes some getting used to at first, so stick with it. Also, the music is really, really well done.

[JWKobayashi]

Sweet! I've been looking forward to this one, but I guess I didn't realize that it was already out.

Christmas present for me! (A cheap one!)

What sort of multiplayer options does it have? Any single card stuff?

[djbeatmongrel]

it has single card play for up to 5 people

[JWKobayashi]

One more question:

Are there any "puzzle mode" options? I always loved the "you get 3 shots to finish the puzzle" modes in BAM.

Strange that BAM DS and PB DS are two different games. I wonder why?

[THATinkjar]

I'm just about to order this... and while any opinions might come a little too late for my credit card, I would like to hear what some others thought of the game?

And for the few that posted with the game already, hows it holding up?

[max 330 mega]

i received and was extremely dissapointed. in the past games, when you would lose a round you would get a dotted guider line to help you know where the bubbles will go before you shoot them. Well, in this game that arrow never turns off, or if it does i sure as hell couldnt figure out how, and it takes away all the difficulty for me. :/

[Slimedog]

I've only played about 3 or 4 different version of Bust a Move, but this one was by far my favorite. I love the actual slingshot feeling you get launching the balls and the stylus let me get more percise shots than a digital control ever could. I thought the dotted lines were sort of necessary since you are launching across the screen divide, but an option to turn them off would have been nice. It was kind of easy, but I've never had a very hard time with any version of Bust a Move that I've played. A great game overall that I still pop in every now and then.

[cyberfluxor]

I currently don't own a DS handheld, mainly because I wasn't sure how this system was going to turn out. A few months ago, looking over all the games that had come out for it I was amazed at the many titles that looked very charming. It made me think it's near time to buy the system, but I rarely play handhelds because I can't play while driving (maybe some of you can), and am always in classes, work, or studying on other things. But to any extent, I know when I graduate sometime in the future I will most likely end up needing a handheld to play on the porch of my apartment or house (depending on my pay out of college). The system I've been pointing towards now is the DS for these very reasons...

Bust-a-Move is one of my absolute favorite puzzle series, I even have the PC version installed on the school's network so I can play it in the computer lab. I don't know if I'm allowed to do that, but I own the game for the Saturn so I at least have something backing me for playing it at school. But to hear they have done a new method of play on it, this sounds like genious work. Taito hasn't let me down much and I'm sure this is a title I'll pick up for the DS whenever I get one. Shoot, I might just buy the title and sit it on a shelf until I purchase the system to make sure I don't loose a chance to find it new (new meaning I know some of the profit is going to the team that wrote it and the publisher).

BTW, my favorite BAM is the second one for the Saturn, arcade edition. I just love playing my Saturn! Cheers for more Bust-a-Move games!

[davidbrit2]

Well, in this game that arrow never turns off, or if it does i sure as hell couldnt figure out how, and it takes away all the difficulty for me. :/

Yes, but that guide line is considerably shorter, and merely serves to keep you oriented while firing across two screens. This game would be a nightmare without it. Heh.

[JWKobayashi]

Has anyone found this at a B&M store? I haven't seen it anywhere. :(

[sisko]

Has anyone found this at a B&M store? I haven't seen it anywhere. :(

I picked mine up at a Toy's R Us (actually I got all 4 of their copies). Ironically, one that was shutting down. Yay for 30% off liquidation sales!

[THATinkjar]

My copy arrived on Friday, and I'm pretty pleased. The gameplay is just as good as ever, very fun and addictive. Using a slingshot via the stylus is really quite good and the guide line stops at just the right point to make it difficult. Someone thought the music was well done... it's okay, certainly, but nothing more.

The real kicker is the looks and layout. It just doesn't feel very polished. Menus are sparse, level themes are bland (a stretched background wallpaper of some flowers, anyone?). Other than that, gameplay is as good as ever. I found it cheap, as I wouldn't pay full whack for this.

[Xexyz]

The real kicker is the looks and layout. It just doesn't feel very polished. Menus are sparse, level themes are bland (a stretched background wallpaper of some flowers, anyone?). Other than that, gameplay is as good as ever. I found it cheap, as I wouldn't pay full whack for this.

Exactly my thoughts. I didn't mind paying $20 for this game, but if the MSRP was $30, I would have avoided it. On top of these aspects that lack polish, there is no high score save for Endless Mode... WTF???

[jdc]

I bought it the day it came out since I was in the shop when the shipment arrived. It's a bit short, but the stylus usage is great....and hey, it's portable Bust A Move, so what's not to love?

[PapaStu]

I also got mine from a TRU. However its not shutting down, so no supurb bonus prices for me, but hell 20 bucks isnt anything to scoff at for a good puzzler.

I've seen it (as a display case) at an EB as well.

[meancode]

This is a game on my wish list, that is for sure. I played a friend's copy and was instantly hooked.

[Daniel Thomas]

I've been having a lot of fun with this game. It's good for a quick twenty minutes or whenever I want to get Animal Crossing out of my system for a little while (those big fish keep getting away!). I've found the stylus control to be excellent, and the music is wonderfully catchy.

Oh, the game does keep high scores for the puzzle and endless modes; they flash by after the title screen is on for a few seconds. It would have been nice to have a high score table somewhere on the options menu, but it's pretty minor. It's a really great puzzler for the DS.

[THATinkjar]

I've been having a lot of fun with this game. It's good for a quick twenty minutes or whenever I want to get Animal Crossing out of my system for a little while (those big fish keep getting away!).

That is the reason I would have loved the DS Lite to have two DS slots. There are games we want to play for 5-30 minutes, and games we can get sucked into for hours (Meteos, Prime Pinball, Animal Crossing, etc).

I'd have given up a GBA slot for a second DS slot.

[Daniel Thomas]

I've always just stuck a couple extra carts in my coat pocket. I'm a bit surprised that there are no containers made for them, but I haven't had any trouble yet. If nothing else, you could always get a ziploc bag.

My GBA slot is always used by the rumble pak, but no games apart from Metroid Pinball use it yet. Wonder what the deal is with that...

I've solved a little more than a tenth of the game. It takes forever to work through 500 puzzles. What I really like is the variety in the challenge from board to board. An extremely difficult puzzle (the second one on 5-E, the "Breakout" board, was especially vicious) is often followed by an easy one. And the strategies change around a lot, from finding the one weak point to slowly burrowing through the entire mess to endless crazy bank shots.

My only complaint is that it doesn't offer online play. I need to find other DS owners around here to play against, but any handheld I see is a PSP. What's the deal on that?

[Abman]

I love that game. I was at Gamestop and I was looking around and I found a copy of it for 20$ usely DS game are 35 or something around there. Since I have never played a Bust a Move game I decided to buy it. At first I could not play it right and I considered it the dumbest idea for a puzzle game I have ever played. Then I played it agian and got use to it then it became so much fun. I am planning on buying one for another system too I think there is one for Gamecube. Well anyway I agree with you Bust a Move is an awesome game.