Puzzle Bobble Everybubble!
Puzzle Bobble is a series that I have played for years it may just be my favourite puzzler of all time and I’ve played it on numerous systems over the years. So, I was super excited to try out Puzzle Bobble Everybubble!
Just in case you are unfamiliar with the series, Puzzle Bobble consists of you shooting coloured bubbles to match three or more which then disappear. The aim of the game is to clear all the bubbles as quickly as possible and you have a set amount of time to aim your bubble otherwise it will automatically shoot. You get a game over if the bubbles cross the line at the bottom of the screen, you can kind of think about it as a reverse Tetris.
Puzzle Bobble Everybubble! offers three game modes to play. Story mode, VS and Puzzle Bobble VS Space Invaders.
Story Mode
Story mode allows you to blast your way through with up to four players cooperatively and the puzzles scale in size depending on how many players are present. You can opt to play four-player coop or have the remaining slots filled in using AI.
There’s a star system present depending on performance, you’ll notice a bar gradually ticking down in the top left corner of the screen which is essentially a timer. The quicker you clear the level, the higher the star rating out of three. I love the inclusion of rating systems like this in games and they add a lot of replayability which is especially important as puzzle games tend to be a little on the shorter side. My only minor gripe with these types of reward systems is I’m the kind of person who will repeat a level over and over again until I get a three-star rating.
Completing an area with a three-star ranking in all stages allows you to unlock EX stages which are far more challenging and not for the faint-hearted.
Progression throughout the game is pretty good with new mechanics and bubble types being introduced well into the game. Each section ends with a fairly difficult puzzle to complete and gets pretty tricky later, especially with you are relying on AI to help you out.
While competent most of the time, the AI players do have a bad habit of getting in the way, there was one level in particular where there is a finite amount of bomb powerups needed to progress and the computer-controlled players completely wasted them meaning I had to retry the level and try to grab the powerups before the AI did. This happened a few times through my playthrough and it was a little frustrating. My solution was to briefly switch to solo play as these moments arised and all was good in the end!
VS Mode
VS Mode is essentially the classic Puzzle Bubble I grew up playing except with the addition of Online play instead of only Local. It’s you vs an opponent either human (if you have friends) or AI. The AI difficulty l has three different difficulty levels to choose from depending on how vicious you want them to be.
The aim of VS mode is to clear bubbles as quickly as possible to send them to your opponent’s screen. The system is somewhat reminiscent of how the VS mode works in a Puyo-Puyo game with victory usually depending on just how many bubbles you can fill your opponent’s screen with.
A series first for Puzzle Bobble Everybubble! Is the inclusion of a 2 on 2 mode. You and a buddy, or AI can pit off against two other players. This mode in particular is a lot of fun but much like the Story mode, will inevitably cause arguments if you play with people you know.
Puzzle Bobble VS Space Invaders
The last included mode is Puzzle Bobble VS Space Invaders which once again takes advantage of having four players. You can play this solo but it’s nearly impossible so I would recommend at least bringing three AI companions along with you.
As the name suggests, it’s down to you to stop the Space Invaders which are represented by bubbles with the Space Invaders sprites on them. They move back and forth while slowly descending on the players. A catchy remix of the classic Space Invaders theme plays as you shoot bubbles directly upward while avoiding enemy fire. There’s no diagonal shooting here and it can get a little hectic at times, especially with multiple players.
It’s a fun score-attack style game with winners and losers proudly displayed at the end of the game. Although a lot of fun, I did find Puzzle Bobble VS Space Invaders a little short as there are only three waves before the game is over (Unless I’m missing something?).
The presentation of Puzzle Bobble Everybubble! is what I had the issue with the most. The game does look good with cartoonish artwork for all the characters and backgrounds, it really does ‘pop’ on the OLED switch. All in-game designs, UI etc are really clean looking but I found gave the game somewhat of a ‘mobile game’ feel. Personally, I would have much rather preferred pixel-style graphics and sprites, but that could just be me.
In the options, there are a few options to adjust how vivid the game looks and a couple of options for how patterns are displayed in each type of bubble which I would imagine is very helpful for something with limited sight or anyone with colour blindness.
The music, while pretty good was missing some of the classic Puzzle Bobble tracks apart from a very clever homage to the original theme in the sounds the menu makes as you select options etc. I did however really enjoy the ‘Go’ and of course the ‘Payonpah!’ vocal sound effects.
Conclusion
Puzzle Bobble Everybubble! is a solid collection of puzzly goodness. I do fear it will cause more arguments than it’s worth at times, but that’s how all good couch coop games should be. I love the inclusion of Puzzle Bobble VS Space Invaders and the package as a whole would make a great addition to anyone who enjoys a good party game, although I would be a little more cautious if you plan to play entirely solo as the AI can be more of a hindrance then helpful at times.
7
Nintendo Switch review code kindly provided by PR Hound
Physical copy available over at Strictly Limited Games