Pitch: Compete against your rivals in the bubble-popping puzzle action!
When I was a kid we had a shareware game on our Mac called Snood (which I think did get some sort of official release eventually) and I didn't know it at the time but it was just Bust-a-Move with little faces on the balls. I had a lot of fun playing Snood. This is perhaps the first time playing proper Bust-a-Move but I don't think so. I think I did play an actual arcade cabinet of one of the games in the series but I can't remember for sure.
Anyway, Bust-a-Move is fun! You shoot colored balls from the bottom of the screen to match with a collection of balls stuck in the top of the screen. Matches of three or more cause the balls to disappear and anything connected to just those balls will fall off the screen, netting you a nice bonus. In Vs Mode you try to outlast your opponent (either computer or human). Bigger matches and drop bonuses cause extra balls to go to the other side. First player to have balls cross the bottom line loses. In Puzzle mode you have to clear all the balls but the longer you take the more the top of the screen pushes the balls down. If you have to continue a level in Puzzle Mode, the game gives you a dotted line showing exactly where the balls will land, which is really nice but it lasts for just that level. This game is like pool in that it's all about geometry, how the balls bounce (including off the walls). But it holds up! Bust-a-Move is still fun! I'm pretty sure the arcade version used a wheel for its controller and that would be cool to try.
Comments
Cary Woodham
02/19/2022 at 08:23 AM
Bust-A-Move/Puzzle Bobble is one of my top three favorite puzzle games of all time, right up there with Super Puzzle Fighter 2 Turbo and plain ol' Tetris. I think they must've made Bust-A-Move Again to appeal to US audiences, since they removed any traces of Bubble Bobble characters in this one. Snood did get a release on a handheld console, I believe. Not sure if it was the GBA or DS. There's also a bunch of Puzzle Bobble rip-offs on mobile devices. Puzzle Bobble just had a new game in the series and it went 3-D and you can even use VR with it! I reviewed it here;
It's amazing how much personality the game loses with the removal of the Bubble Bobble characters turning the wheel at the bottom. I'm glad the series has survived to today.
The Last Ninja
02/19/2022 at 10:26 AM
The correct term would be bubbles, not balls. Anyways, Bust-a-Move is great! I've beaten the SNES version, it was really addicting, had exactly 100 levels. It's kinda similar to the Magical Drop games, which I also like.
daftman
02/19/2022 at 11:47 AM
Well escuuuuuuuse me! Lol. Is that SNES version on Switch Online? I might play that if it is.
The Last Ninja
02/20/2022 at 01:22 AM
No it's not. But NSO has Panel de Pon and Magical Drop II, both very good.
KnightDriver
02/19/2022 at 11:40 AM
I like this. One of the Bust-A-Move games is on Xbox. I've been tempted to get it.
daftman
02/19/2022 at 11:47 AM
That's not a bad temptation!
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Comments