Bubble Bobble Revolution

Bubble Bobble Revolution is a 2D platform game for the Nintendo DS. Developed by Dreams, it was released in Japan on November 24, 2005 by Taito as Bubble Bobble DS, in Europe on December 2, 2005 by Rising Star Games and Atari and in North America on October 3, 2006 by Codemasters.

This article is about the Nintendo DS video game. For the PSP video game, see Bubble Bobble Evolution.
Bubble Bobble Revolution
European cover art
Developer(s)Dreams
Publisher(s)
SeriesBubble Bobble
Platform(s)Nintendo DS
Release
  • JP: November 24, 2005
  • EU: December 2, 2005
  • NA: October 3, 2006
Genre(s)Platform
Mode(s)Single-player, multiplayer

Bubble Bobble Revolution received a strongly negative reception after its release, because of poor graphics, level design, and the presence of a major software bug that prevents the game from being completed.

Gameplay
Main article: Bubble Bobble § Gameplay
Typical gameplay screenshot in Bubble Bobble Revolution.

There are two primary gameplay modes in Bubble Bobble Revolution: "Classic", and "New-Age".

"Classic" mode is a conversion of the original Bubble Bobble to the DS hardware. Gameplay is nearly identical to the original game: players must control either Bub or Bob through 100 single-screen levels, in which they must defeat a certain number of enemies in order to proceed; being hit by an enemy results in a loss of a life. Enemies are defeated by blowing bubbles to trap them and then colliding with them; each enemy produces a food item that can be collected for extra points. The original co-op multiplayer mode is also implemented; if two players own copies of the game, they can use DS Download Play to play together.[1]

"New-Age" plays similarly to the original game, with several key differences. Characters and levels are larger (spanning the DS's dual screen), and enemies and projectiles are faster. There are additionally boss fights every tenth level, and Bub and Bob can now take three hits instead of one before dying and have several new types of bubbles. Fans are also scattered around levels, and can be spun by blowing into the DS's microphone. Rather than a co-op mode, "Revolution" includes a four-player competitive mode in which players compete for the most points in ten different levels.[2]

Level 30 bug

All levels beyond #30 in the North American version are unplayable due to a programming error that causes the boss of that level not to spawn.[3] This was an often criticized aspect of the game.[1] Codemasters ultimately responded by releasing a fixed version of the game, which included a free copy of Rainbow Islands Revolution.[4]

Reception

The American release of Bubble Bobble Revolution received scathing reviews from critics, and currently holds a Metacritic score of 38/100 based on 19 reviews.[5]

Common criticism was directed at the game's dated visuals and level design. Reviewers also heavily criticized the game's number of odd glitches (such as enemies failing to spawn in levels, as well as levels being skipped entirely), which were described by Frank Provo of GameSpot as "strange" and "bizarre".[2] Many critics also made note of the level 30 glitch, which Craig Harris of IGN claimed "makes a bad game worse".[1] Gamesradar was heavily critical of the title as well, stating "If you're looking for a fresh update to a classic arcade game, this is not it."[7] John Walker of Eurogamer began his review off by giving praise for the original game before harshly criticizing the "new-age" remake.[6] Reviewers also made note of the drastic redesigns of the original characters, which were described as "stupendously ugly".[1]

Despite the negative criticism, some did praise the game's inclusion of the original Bubble Bobble. Provo called the game "a genuine classic" and "enjoyable", and praised the multiplayer modes as well.[2] However, Harris referred to them as "unacceptable" for requiring two copies of the game,[1] a statement echoed by Walker.[6]

On release, Weekly Famitsu scored the game a 25 out of 40.[8]

References
  1. "Bubble Bobble Revolution - IGN". web.archive.org. 2019-06-03. Retrieved 2020-09-28.
  2. Provo, Frank (11 October 2006). "Bubble Bobble Revolution Review - GameSpot.com". GameSpot. Retrieved 23 April 2012.
  3. GoNintendo » Blog Archive » Bubble Bobble Revolution DS production issues confirmed *UPDATE*- What are you waiting for?
  4. McCracken, Harry. "Bizarre Bugs: Nine of the Strangest Software Glitches Ever". PCWorld. Retrieved 14 March 2017.
  5. "Bubble Bobble Revolution Critic Reviews for DS at Metacritic.com". Metacritic. Retrieved 23 April 2012.
  6. Walker, John. "Bubble Bobble Revolution". Eurogamer. Retrieved 10 March 2017.
  7. "Bubble Bobble Revolution review". Gamesradar. Retrieved 10 March 2017.
  8. "バブルボブルDS まとめ [DS]". Famitsu (in Japanese). Retrieved 29 May 2020.
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