This has minor spoilers for game progression! Granted, we think 99.99% of people know Bubble Bobble's "twist" in its game progression by this point.

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Probably some of the most fun a video game's multiplayer is compared to how fun it is to play alone, and that's literally by design. The NES version has a lot to love, but also uh, a bit holding it back from being THE definitive Bubble Bobble video game to us.

On the one hand, we adore the bubble physics in this version the most--in most other Bubble Bobbles, if you are blowing a bubble and touch it as it's coming out, it pops; not so in this one! This allows you to effectively pseudo wall-jump with zero wall clearance if you get the timing down, which is paramount in making a few levels MUCH easier than they're intended to be (cough cough 57). And there's a few actual original levels, which are (mostly) really fun!

On the other hand... Some of those original levels are not all winners; for example, NES Level 57 is INFAMOUS amongst anyone who's touched a Bubble Bobble. The running shoes that're usually a great item are kneecapped HARD by also increasing your jump and fall speeds--good luck bubble jumping with those on! And also, uh, the elephant in the room--the Crystal Ball item in this version.

You didn't heed the spoiler warning, so we assume you're fine when we say that you usually need 2 players to beat Bubble Bobble. That's kind of its gimmick--the co-op centric game will only let you see its good ending if you bring a buddy or cheesily summon a player 2 at the last moment you monster. NES Bubble Bobble throws a wrench into that, as you ALSO need to get the crystal ball--an item that only appears on Level 99, can only be gotten by cooperation from players 1 and 2, and despawns if you take too long to get it. Ahem.

Why though.

Like, we get that's how ALL special items work in Bubble Bobbles, but we really, really dislike how unnecessarily strict the timing is on the crystal ball? Either it should've been hardcoded to last longer than other items, or heck, maybe it shouldn't despawn at all to signify it's important. As it stands, if you miss out, you basically need to wipe out all your lives and use one of your infinite continues, but feel overwhelming shame for it.

...that being said, your reward for getting the Crystal Ball isn't JUST seeing the good ending if you have a buddy, but you actually get a few more levels--some from the original Arcade version that the NES levels replaced, and some truly wacky original NES levels. And we have to say, they're a fun time overall! If you and a buddy can take care of the Level 99 Crystal Ball, there's nothing in these that can stand in your way--it's basically your victory lap.

All our moaning and groaning about that Crystal Ball aside, it's still a version of Bubble Bobble that contains proper co-op. If you and a friend are looking for strange co-op games to play, Bubble Bobble is VERY high on that list if you ask me, and even if NES isn't the "best" version of it, it's also one of the most accessible and is just good enough that we can heartily recommend it without much hesitance; just a little caution that you are, indeed, playing an NES game that can be deceptively tricky at times.

~Bub and Bob are dinosaurs who frolic in the nude~~

Sorry it's that Everytime I think of Bubble Bobble, I think of the Brentafloss song where he adds music. The music is absolutely captivating, but so does the gameplay.

For 30 years I have played this game, and it never ever gets old. Trying to get to level 100 and save those girlfriends.....ONLY TO FIND OUT YOU'LL NEED TO DO IT AGAIN?! LOL. Classic video game debauchery right there. But that doesn't take away on how fun it is.

+Colorful visuals
+Simple yet difficult
~Only two soundtracks
~Final Boss is very hard without exploit
-Game requires odd set of rules to get better endings

This game is really simple in concept, but it's so much fun, especially in 2 players. Bubble Bobble is a cute platformer with 100 levels in it.

The art of this game is really appealing, with the cute dragons and enemies. the background is really really simple and doesn't have much. However with some designs of certain levels, they do some nods to others games release before it. Those are cute Easter eggs.

The music is really catchy and the short music loop can get stuck in your head for a while.

The gameplay is really simple : catch the enemies with the bubbles that your dragon spits and burst that bubble afterwards. However, the charm of it comes from how the the stage is designed. It's a still screen, however, if there's a hole at the bottom of the screen, you can jump in it and fall from the hole at the top of the screen. This makes the game feel like a puzzle game. The bubbles creates can also be used as platforms. This gameplay is really clunky and is kind of hard to be consistent with it.

The game is fun, but can be redundant with 100 levels. it's a good thing that sometimes you can skip levels when collecting stuff. Also, just has a heads up, you can only have the real ending if you beat it with two players.

Game #34 of my challenge

Pros: That THEME SONG, is so catchy, and it just makes ya happy! The gameplay is actually pretty addicting too, it's a simultaneous co-op game (always a good time on NES) where, kind of like Ballon Fight, you're on single screen arenas with a friend, trying to knock out each bad guy to reach the next screen. To do that, you shoot bubbles to trap the enemies in, to then pop them to collect little goodie drops. Simple, fun.

Cons: Simple, I mean it's fun, but it's pretty dang simple, and it lacks the variety that Balloon Fight has with its additional mode. Still a good time, but can't imagine playing this one for very long before just calling it quits.

What it means to me: Not much, this was one of those obscure grabs back as a kid, and played it a little bit with my bro, and liked it well enough. But mostly, I just loved that music!