SUPER PUZZLE BOBBLE<P>Well basically what I did was count up the votes from all the message boards I frequent, so some of you may get a bit shortchanged with your votes. But don't worry, I'll give impressions of all 3 games eventually. And besides, if you get upset at this, then you've got bigger problems. ^_^ Just teasin'!<P>So let's talk about Super Puzzle Bobble. I know what you're thinking. "Hey, wait a minute, isn't it called Bust-A-Move?" Well, yes, that's the name that SNK or Acclaim or whoever gave it when they brought it over to America. But the name Puzzle Bobble makes more sense! It's a puzzle game with Bubble Bobble characters! The name Bust-A-Move is reserved for lame dancing games, anyway! <P>Well I'll get off my soapbox now. Anyway, the best puzzle games have plenty of gameplay modes, and Super Puzzle Bobble is no exception. In one player mode, you can do the standard puzzle levels. I swear there's like over 500 puzzles in this mode! When I completed a set of 50 puzzles, (you know, cuz you can do that branching path thing), it gave me a code for another world of puzzles! You can also do classic puzzle sets from the older Puzzle Bobble games. There's also a one player CPU battles, but I've always found these near impossible to beat.<P>Gameplay is the same as always. In fact, if you have a good version of Puzzle Bobble on another system, like 3 or 4 on the PSX or on Dreamcast, you may not need to even play PS2 Super Puzzle Bobble. I bought it, though, because I don't have a good home version of Puzzle Bobble (I know, shame on me), and I wanted one I can play split screen on my TV and everything. I have Puzzle Bobble Pocket for SNK's Neo Geo Pocket Color, but that doesn't count.<P>So what's new in Super Puzzle Bobble's one player mode? Well there are bigger bubbles you can pop with Chack'n Pop inside of them that turn all other bubbles that same color. Some stages let you shoot teeny tiny bubbles that can fit in small places before they get big again. Other stages have conveyor belts along the wall, which affect your trajectory when you're trying to bounce bubbles. Some stages even let you move your arrow from one side of the screen to the other. And stages aren't confined to wells or block shapes. <P>In two player mode, you can choose between regular or chain reaction mode, al la Puzzle Bobble 4. The chain reaction mode is less cheezified this time around, though, so matches are more even.<P>The high res graphics are the best for any Puzzle Bobble game, and the music is awesome, too. As old and annoying and repetitive as it is, I kinda miss the old Puzzle Bobble theme song, though. Another cool thing is the characters you can pick. Bub and Bob are still in the game, but they kind of take a back seat to the playable characters. One other thing I like is that the characters inside the bubbles aren't shapes anymore, but they are the enemies from Bubble Bobble, like what was in the first Puzzle Bobble game, too.<P>I swear the characters were either designed by a drug addict, or a five-year-old. I can't describe them all here, but I suggest you go over to Acclaim's Web site and see them for yourself. Here's the link:
<A HREF="http://www.acclaim.com/games/superbam/c ... index.html" TARGET=_blank>http://www.acclaim.com/games/superbam/c ... ex.html</A> <P>My favorite characters are Pukadon, Catch, and Tom & Yam. Pukadon is a robot who barfs and farts and other nasty things I can't say here. Tom & Yam are cool because they look like demented Muppets. Yamcha pointed out to me that Catch is actually one of Taito's mascots. You can even see 'Catch' on Taito's Japanese Web site:
<A HREF="http://www.taito.co.jp" TARGET=_blank>http://www.taito.co.jp</A> <P>In Super Puzzle Bobble, Catch even says "Catch the Heart" and his winning phrase is TAITO!!!<P>I guess the only bad thing I have to say about Super Puzzle Bobble is that the loading times are way too long for such a simple game. Plus the crazy backgrounds change color all the time. It's hard enough to discern the colors of the bubbles with my color blind self. <P>I like that Chack'n Pop makes cameo appearances. One time I was playing the game with my mom and Jeff and I saw Chack'n Pop fly in the background for the first time and I yelled out, "LOOK, IT'S CHACK'N POP!" My mom and Jeff were like, "What're you talking about?" The intro is a bit weird, too. Still, an excellent game in the series!<P>--Klonoa<P>
Super Puzzle Bobble!
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BakaBakeNeko
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Yamcha Hibiki
- Cartoon Hero
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I love puzzle games, too. It's probably my favorite genre. But no puzzle game comes close to topping MAgical Drop 3 in my humble opinion. Death is bad ass!<P>------------------
Yamcha Hibiki:
<A HREF="http://yamcha.keenspace.com" TARGET=_blank>Shinkutokimekisempukaku</A> - It's not just a gamer comic, it's a space gamer comic!
<A HREF="http://kane.keenspace.com" TARGET=_blank>Sub-Culture</A> - A mouse, a fox, and a whole lot of nothing.
<A HREF="http://comicollage.keenspace.com/" TARGET=_blank>Comicollage</A> - Proving that even 7 people put together can't make a decent comic. :p
Yamcha Hibiki:
<A HREF="http://yamcha.keenspace.com" TARGET=_blank>Shinkutokimekisempukaku</A> - It's not just a gamer comic, it's a space gamer comic!
<A HREF="http://kane.keenspace.com" TARGET=_blank>Sub-Culture</A> - A mouse, a fox, and a whole lot of nothing.
<A HREF="http://comicollage.keenspace.com/" TARGET=_blank>Comicollage</A> - Proving that even 7 people put together can't make a decent comic. :p