Sometimes Classics Get Old
Remember Bub and Bob, those cute little dinos that became so popular in the eighties arcades? How could we forget? We’ve seen them plenty of times in video game history, including numerous other remakes of Bubble Bobble and Puzzle Bubble (a.k.a. Bust-a-move). Many of you old-school lovers might be able to appreciate this new addition to the DS library, which doesn’t only bring back the old game but also new single player levels, multiplayer action, and a new playable character.
So what’s not to love about Bubble Bobble: Double Shot? It’s probably the fact that the game hasn’t really been updated to please current puzzle / platform fans. It’s just been remade to cash in on the franchise one more time, while remaining too similar to the classic. It’s true that it has a couple of new things to offer, but barely anything to make it worth your time.
In Bubble Bobble players create bubbles with the push of a button, and the goal is trapping enemies inside them. The enemies will then be vulnerable, and just one hit will make them disappear and turn into a colorful and possibly “delicious” item like bananas, cherries, and even a piece of cake. You’ll have to pick up these items to build up your score. Once you’ve taken care of all the bouncy enemies on the screen, your dinosaur will be launched to the next stage, where it’s back to square one. After playing a few stages, you’ll start facing a few more challenging enemies. Some of them carry a colored star that means they’re only vulnerable to one of the three colored bubbles: green, blue or red.
Bub and Bob have a cousin called Bubu. He’s a red dinosaur with the same ambitions and bubble-making abilities as the green and blue guys. Each of these dinos only make bubbles of their color, which means you’ll have to use them strategically when facing tougher enemies. By hitting L or R you’ll swap between the three characters. The other buttons are used for jumping and making bubbles; of course, you’ll move Bub, Bob or Bubu with the D-pad. I would have liked to play with the stylus; maybe the gameplay would have felt more innovative that way. However, you’ll only make use of the stylus controls when playing the overly-simplistic mini-games you’re challenged with when you’ve lost all your lives.
Instead of just selecting “yes” to continue playing, the game makes you take on a small challenge. If you lose the mini-game, you’re out of luck and will start again from Level 1. On the other hand, if you beat the mini-game (which you should because they’re pretty easy), you’ll be allowed to continue playing in the same stage where you left it. The problem is there aren’t many of these mini-games, and I found myself playing the same ones numerous times without being able to discover what other “goodies” might be hidden in the game. One of them makes you tap the dino’s feet alternatively to make him run away from a monster. Another one makes you select a bubble that matches the one shown on the screen above. As you may imagine, these mini-games are not very fun or challenging. They’re more of a pain in the butt because if you accidentally lose, you’ll be doomed to start the game from the beginning. That is, if you’re still up for it.
The environments look too bland and outdated for today’s standards; the characters have been made with almost the same amount of pixels as the classic arcade; and the mini-games look as simple as the ones on Wario Ware, except that this is no Wario Ware game. Sometimes there are cute drawings on the top screen while the game explains the simple story. Other than that, I can’t say this game is an upgrade from the original or the numerous other remakes to be found in the numerous home consoles.
Same thing happens with the sound. The classic tunes have been updated a little bit, but they still sound just like they used to: very arcade-ish and simple. Sometimes there’s no need for more, especially when it comes to arcade-style games, but I feel as if the game was rushed and they didn’t mind just giving us more of the same thing.
Luckily, if you and your friends still love this game, you can play the multiplayer mode. The only problem here is that all of you need a game cartridge in order to play together. The co-op is played from the first level. You can’t really drop in and out at will, like it used to be on the old arcade. Also, if you only have one more friend to play with, the third dinosaur still has to be selected with L or R every time you need to catch an enemy of the third color. It’s not a big deal, but it’d be nice to leave the two-player gameplay with just Bub and Bob, like in the original.
There’s really not much fun to be had here, and if you’ve played Bubble Bobble before, don’t expect this title to be innovative at all; it’s just more of the same. It’s only $20, but just because it’s outdated and uninspired. If you really need to play this classic again, I’m sure you can rent it and satisfy your thirst in one hour’s worth of play.
RATING OUT OF 5 RATING DESCRIPTION 3.0 Graphics
Bubble Bobble is stuck in the past. Nothing looks updated, although it still works fine. The random drawings on the top screen are cute though. 2.6 Control
Inexistent touch controls could have made it innovative. Button-based controls are fine but will never equal the feel of the classic arcade with the joystick. 3.0 Music / Sound FX / Voice Acting
Remade tunes will remind you of the classic and make you feel right at home. 2.5
Play Value
You’ve played Bubble Bobble over and over again on the arcade and / or home consoles. If you still miss it, here’s another remake. The few additions don’t make it worth your time though.
2.7 Overall Rating – Average
Not an average. See Rating legend above for a final score breakdown.
Game Features: