Bubble Bobble: Double Shot
Score: 59% ESRB: Everyone Publisher: Ignition Entertainment USA Developer: Marvelous Entertainment Inc. Media: Cartridge/1 Players: 1 - 3 Genre: Platformer (2D)
Graphics & Sound: I can't say much about the graphics in Bubble Bobble: Double Shot that you probably didn't already guess from seeing dozens of iterations of this game before. Cute little cartoon dinosaurs blow bubbles while hopping around on bright, colorful backgrounds. Levels are made up of repeating block patterns in a way that dates back a few decades ago, though admittedly it's been given a bit of a facelift. Between levels, there is some cheerful artwork that tells the story. Other than that, this is all classic gaming that wouldn't tax the Gameboy Advance's power, much less the DS. The music and sound is, again, very retro. It's the same classic Bubble Bobble theme we've heard since the game arrived in arcades in 1986. So call it nostalgic, or perhaps be glad they didn't choose to license Kenny G's greatest hits as the background music (actually that sounds pretty hilarious.) Either way, all the sound and graphics in this game will be very familiar.
Gameplay: In Bubble Bobble: Double Shot, you play as three dinosaurs who set off on a journey after finding an old map hidden in their grandfather's house. The journey consists of the classic gameplay of Bubble Bobble with a few twists. The classic game consists of you playing as a dinosaur that blows bubbles. You trap enemies in the bubbles, then pop them in order to finish them off. It actually gets pretty complicated, as you also need to find a safe route through the often complex map, often using your bubbles as stepping stones to get where you need to go. Double Shot adds power-ups to the mix, though they seem pretty familiar. You can shoot lightning bolts, cause floods, and release a spreading line of fire. The level itself is still one of your biggest enemies here, and the game remains pretty familiar. Unfortunately, multiplayer requires a copy of the game in each DS, so I wasn't able to test this out. It's really a shame, given how simple this game is, that it doesn't utilize download play.
Difficulty: I ran into a lot of "I hate this game, I hate this game" moments. Ah, classic platformer action. Bubble Bobble: Double Shot requires you to have eyes all over both screens, and will keep you on your toes. It doesn't help that the sprites are pretty small for the dinos and the enemies. As always, the time limit is always looming over your head, with deadly consequences if you don't finish a level at a speed demon's pace. Selectable difficulty is available, but even the easiest difficulty level gets tough to manage after a few levels. There are some things that make the game more difficult than seems fair. For one, you fall faster than enemies, so you will probably find your little dino buddy committing suicide by freefall a few times. But once you're used to the way things work in this world, the main obstacles are the puzzles presented in each level. You have to combine everything you know and adapt to new maps. Either way, this is familiar stuff for fans of the Bubble Bobble series. Thankfully there is a generous continue system in place. After you lose your 3 lives, you are given a mini-game to complete. The games are simple: one requires you to pop matching bubbles, one requires you to draw circles over and over. After you complete them, you're put back in the same level you left off in. But while you can continue as much as you like, the game doesn't get any easier or give you help if you need it.
Game Mechanics: Again, there's not much in Bubble Bobble: Double Shot that you haven't had a chance to see in the previous games. A few tweaks do make it a slightly different game though. Bub and Bob, the Green and Blue dinosaurs, are joined by Bubu. They blow elemental bubbles, and you'll have to switch between them to take out certain elemental enemies. They also determine the power-ups you can get during boss battles, adding an element of strategy, but not a big one. The main game is entirely controlled by the regular controls, not the touch-screen. As mentioned before, you are given unlimited continues in the form of mini-games. Complete the mini-game, and you are given a continue. These games are very easy, and after a while, they're just repetitive tasks that take you out of the game. I really am baffled by the lack of any kind of save system though. Even the NES game gave you codes as you advanced through the levels, so at least you could jump ahead if you picked up the game later. You'll need a whole lot of time to sit down and complete this game if you're not a super-player, and even then, you'll probably wish you could just take a dang break and turn your DS off every once in a while. In the end this is Bubble Bobble, the cute, but often frustrating platformer that you remember from years back. Marvelous Entertainment played it safe here, to say the least. Without a simple single-cart multiplayer option, and with no save feature at all, it's hard to recommend this title.
-Fights with Fire, GameVortex Communications AKA Christin Deville
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