I should state that anything I say about a new Taito game should be viewed with the understanding of how rabidly supportive I am of them. They broke out of the late 2000s-early 2010s dark ages for mid-sized Japanese developers, abandoned the security of the Square Enix partnership, and said goodbye to mobile games. They're now attempting to survive on console projects in a crowded marketplace, begging for their tiny, scattered fanbase to carry them through this challenging period.
I think everyone likes Puzzle Bobble. It's one of the most straightforward puzzle games out there. If you haven't been told how to play Tetris or Puyo Puyo, it takes a couple of games to figure out what you're supposed to do, and to become confident enough to start getting better, but Puzzle Bobble's pretty easy to grasp if you have even the barest idea of what a puzzle game is. Match the colours. Point and shoot. There's advanced techniques, with wall bouncing and everything, but it's almost Space Invaders levels of simplicity. It makes sense for Taito to focus on this as their big game for the year, but there's a lot of alternatives these days, and a bunch of the earlier titles that are just as readily available for less. It's hard to pin down what a new game ought to be.
Everybubble strives to appeal to that core fanbase. The people who have opinions about individual entries in the series. I don't know if there's a lot of us, but I can appreciate the intention. We're getting a full brand revival, digging into the most recognisable iconography of both Puzzle and Bubble Bobble, and presenting that as the face of the franchise. The effect is something of a New Super Mario Bros approach, with very on-model representations of the characters, while sacrificing a lot of the weirdness and scruffy charm of the earlier games. On top of this, we've got modes focused on appealing to the most dedicated players, with online versus, a ranked endless mode and a lengthy, challenging campaign, exploring a lot of the game's advanced techniques.
Everybubble comes off a little confused. The presentation is quite stiff and saccharine, while the gameplay focuses almost exclusively on high-level players. It's neat to see rival characters from Bust-A-Move 2 make a return, since the series has never really held onto any of its theming in previous sequels, but lacking that weirdness of the nineties games, they're a little unrecognisable in their new toddler-friendly forms. The series has held onto its jointed 2D rigs for character animation as introduced in 2010s mobile releases of Puzzle Bobble (as well as the odd chibi "Miniroon" characters that I've never been all that fond of), and hold nothing of the personality or human touch of the peppy, exciting animation seen in the early games. I understand every decision made here, but I don't know if it's very effective in appealing to any branch of the audience. It's kind of sweet to see Taito insist on hanging onto cartoony character names established in old NES manuals for their western localisations, but few folk who are this into Puzzle Bobble won't know what the Japanese names are.
It's digging past that unimposing facade and seeing who the game was really made for where you can find its value. This is the big new Puzzle Bobble platform, with its most devoted players in mind. This isn't a vanilla reboot of a legacy franchise. It's a distinct, interesting new entry that treats the fans who may have bought dozens of Puzzle Bobble games already.
The central campaign doesn't play all that much like a standard single-player puzzle game. There's not a lot of space for varied techniques. I call on this comparison too frequently to describe a branch of games design, but they play like VR Missions; strictly defined levels that rely on a deep understanding of each of the game's mechanics to get through. You have to figure out how the game wants you to play them before you can make your way through them. Wall-bounces, special bubbles and bombs all play a crucial part in these levels, though you're never explicitly told which approach you'll need to adopt. It adds an extra layer of puzzle to the proceedings, as you attempt to interpret the designers' intent in each level design. Not bad at all, just maybe not necessarily what you're looking for. It doesn't really feel like it ought to be the central mode in a friendly-looking puzzle game, but there's moments of great tension, strategy and surprise throughout the generous campaign, and the new special bubbles give the game additional depth and variety.
Those looking for a more classic Puzzle Bobble experience will likely have a better time with the Versus mode. There's a local mode that allows you to play against friends or a CPU rival, though it's fairly limited in scope, and doesn't feature the customisation options of a more robust game, or the sense of drive and character of a dedicated arcade mode. Online games are fun, cut-throat and fast, with the board changing dramatically within seconds. It's my favourite mode in the game, and it's great to finally get an idea of how well I do against other dedicated players. Games are formed of best-of-three matches, and there's a great balance of trying to keep your cool, while scouting out the opportunities on the board as your opponent floods you with garbage. There's also a ranking attached to your profile, and a display of your current win streak, further encouraging long-term investment. Matchmaking at launch has been surprisingly easy, given how niche a game this is. I'm a little anxious about the game's ability to hold onto an active online playerbase, months into the future, and temporarily opening up the playerbase to those trying out the free demo gives a false impression of its long-term viability.
Despite its muddled attempts at approachable appearance, the soft-reboot approach is filled with deeplore references for Taito buffs. Taking place on Rainbow Island, saving Chack'ns, and as stiff as the dialogue is, it's at least built on character traits established in Bubble Symphony promotional material. The game's pleasant aesthetic also reins in a lot of Zuntata's ambition for the soundtrack, with mainly twee, forgettable BGM, though there are more exciting tracks buried in the later sections.
Everybubble isn't ideal. 90s Taito fans are going to want something weirder and edgier. Sadly, I think a lot of that stuff is stuck in the past. That charm that came from artists just throwing something in because they had an idea and it made the devs laugh. I can't picture what the development of a modern Parodius would look like. Can't see anyone putting a secret Dog Ending onto a new triple-a horror game, or filling a Nintendo device with scribbled-on photos of the staff. It's all sanded-down, and market focused. Everybubble is the sanitised future of Demolition Man. Sensible and practical, but I want Bub to smoke a cigarette.
I think everyone likes Puzzle Bobble. It's one of the most straightforward puzzle games out there. If you haven't been told how to play Tetris or Puyo Puyo, it takes a couple of games to figure out what you're supposed to do, and to become confident enough to start getting better, but Puzzle Bobble's pretty easy to grasp if you have even the barest idea of what a puzzle game is. Match the colours. Point and shoot. There's advanced techniques, with wall bouncing and everything, but it's almost Space Invaders levels of simplicity. It makes sense for Taito to focus on this as their big game for the year, but there's a lot of alternatives these days, and a bunch of the earlier titles that are just as readily available for less. It's hard to pin down what a new game ought to be.
Everybubble strives to appeal to that core fanbase. The people who have opinions about individual entries in the series. I don't know if there's a lot of us, but I can appreciate the intention. We're getting a full brand revival, digging into the most recognisable iconography of both Puzzle and Bubble Bobble, and presenting that as the face of the franchise. The effect is something of a New Super Mario Bros approach, with very on-model representations of the characters, while sacrificing a lot of the weirdness and scruffy charm of the earlier games. On top of this, we've got modes focused on appealing to the most dedicated players, with online versus, a ranked endless mode and a lengthy, challenging campaign, exploring a lot of the game's advanced techniques.
Everybubble comes off a little confused. The presentation is quite stiff and saccharine, while the gameplay focuses almost exclusively on high-level players. It's neat to see rival characters from Bust-A-Move 2 make a return, since the series has never really held onto any of its theming in previous sequels, but lacking that weirdness of the nineties games, they're a little unrecognisable in their new toddler-friendly forms. The series has held onto its jointed 2D rigs for character animation as introduced in 2010s mobile releases of Puzzle Bobble (as well as the odd chibi "Miniroon" characters that I've never been all that fond of), and hold nothing of the personality or human touch of the peppy, exciting animation seen in the early games. I understand every decision made here, but I don't know if it's very effective in appealing to any branch of the audience. It's kind of sweet to see Taito insist on hanging onto cartoony character names established in old NES manuals for their western localisations, but few folk who are this into Puzzle Bobble won't know what the Japanese names are.
It's digging past that unimposing facade and seeing who the game was really made for where you can find its value. This is the big new Puzzle Bobble platform, with its most devoted players in mind. This isn't a vanilla reboot of a legacy franchise. It's a distinct, interesting new entry that treats the fans who may have bought dozens of Puzzle Bobble games already.
The central campaign doesn't play all that much like a standard single-player puzzle game. There's not a lot of space for varied techniques. I call on this comparison too frequently to describe a branch of games design, but they play like VR Missions; strictly defined levels that rely on a deep understanding of each of the game's mechanics to get through. You have to figure out how the game wants you to play them before you can make your way through them. Wall-bounces, special bubbles and bombs all play a crucial part in these levels, though you're never explicitly told which approach you'll need to adopt. It adds an extra layer of puzzle to the proceedings, as you attempt to interpret the designers' intent in each level design. Not bad at all, just maybe not necessarily what you're looking for. It doesn't really feel like it ought to be the central mode in a friendly-looking puzzle game, but there's moments of great tension, strategy and surprise throughout the generous campaign, and the new special bubbles give the game additional depth and variety.
Those looking for a more classic Puzzle Bobble experience will likely have a better time with the Versus mode. There's a local mode that allows you to play against friends or a CPU rival, though it's fairly limited in scope, and doesn't feature the customisation options of a more robust game, or the sense of drive and character of a dedicated arcade mode. Online games are fun, cut-throat and fast, with the board changing dramatically within seconds. It's my favourite mode in the game, and it's great to finally get an idea of how well I do against other dedicated players. Games are formed of best-of-three matches, and there's a great balance of trying to keep your cool, while scouting out the opportunities on the board as your opponent floods you with garbage. There's also a ranking attached to your profile, and a display of your current win streak, further encouraging long-term investment. Matchmaking at launch has been surprisingly easy, given how niche a game this is. I'm a little anxious about the game's ability to hold onto an active online playerbase, months into the future, and temporarily opening up the playerbase to those trying out the free demo gives a false impression of its long-term viability.
Despite its muddled attempts at approachable appearance, the soft-reboot approach is filled with deeplore references for Taito buffs. Taking place on Rainbow Island, saving Chack'ns, and as stiff as the dialogue is, it's at least built on character traits established in Bubble Symphony promotional material. The game's pleasant aesthetic also reins in a lot of Zuntata's ambition for the soundtrack, with mainly twee, forgettable BGM, though there are more exciting tracks buried in the later sections.
Everybubble isn't ideal. 90s Taito fans are going to want something weirder and edgier. Sadly, I think a lot of that stuff is stuck in the past. That charm that came from artists just throwing something in because they had an idea and it made the devs laugh. I can't picture what the development of a modern Parodius would look like. Can't see anyone putting a secret Dog Ending onto a new triple-a horror game, or filling a Nintendo device with scribbled-on photos of the staff. It's all sanded-down, and market focused. Everybubble is the sanitised future of Demolition Man. Sensible and practical, but I want Bub to smoke a cigarette.