Puzzle Bobble 3
 | This article needs additional citations for verification. (October 2017) |
| Puzzle Bobble 3 | |
|---|---|
| File:Bust-A-Move 99 PS.jpg North American PlayStation cover art | |
| Developer(s) | Taito Corporation |
| Publisher(s) | |
| Platform(s) | Arcade, Saturn, PlayStation, Game Boy, Nintendo 64, Windows, PlayStation Network |
| Release | Arcade
Game Boy Nintendo 64 Windows
|
| Genre(s) | Puzzle |
| Mode(s) | Up to two (four on the N64) players simultaneously |
| Arcade system | Taito F3 System |
Puzzle Bobble 3 (also known as Bust-A-Move 3) is the second sequel to Puzzle Bobble. It was released for arcades in September 1996 and later ported to the Sega Saturn, PlayStation, Game Boy, Nintendo 64 and Microsoft Windows. Like its predecessors, the player is tasked with shooting balls at groups of balls, creating groups of three or more, which are then removed from play. A European remake is entitled Bust-a-Move 3 DX and released in America as Bust-A-Move 99.
Gameplay
The game completely abandons the idea of previous titles that the playfield is being pushed down by some sort of mechanical device and instead attaches groups of bubbles to nodes that move downwards. When a node is no longer connected to any bubbles, it will disappear and when all nodes in a level have vanished the level is complete. As a result, shooting a bubble to the top of the visible playfield without striking any bubbles causes it to bounce and travel back downwards. The player is not penalised if such bubbles again leave the playing field without attaching to anything (except for adding to the number of moves until the field is pushed down by one empty line). Despite this, some versions include a reimplementation of the Puzzle Bobble 2 levels now built around nodes (entitled Version 2.5).
Gameplay is further varied by the implementation of new scrolling playfields that are several times as high as the screen and must be conquered as an endurance event. Each scrolling playfield occupies the same space on the world map as five previous levels.
This game also marks the introduction of rainbow bubbles into the series - bubbles that are initially transparent and filled with a rainbow. If an adjoining bubble is burst, the rainbow bubbles switch to the colour of the burst bubble,[3] allowing the player to build up chain reactions.
The ability to choose a character was introduced, but only to the VS Computer mode. As in Bubble Bobble, the first player controls Bub, and the second player controls Bob. In the Nintendo 64 version, a four-player-simultaneous option is available.
Reception
Next Generation reviewed the Saturn version of the game, rating it four stars out of five, and stated that "it's arguable that the formula Taito and Natsume hit on with the Bust-A-Move series needs no major improvements and is sure to please any puzzle fanatic. A must-have classic game."[4]
References
- ^ a b "Bubble-Bursting Fun To The Nintendo 64 and PlayStation This April" (in Japanese). Acclaim Entertainment. Archived from the original on November 24, 2012. Retrieved November 27, 2013.
{{cite web}}:|archive-date=/|archive-url=timestamp mismatch; April 29, 1999 suggested (help) - ^ "Computer and Video Games #195" (195). Computer & Video Games. February 1998: 71. Retrieved October 11, 2017.
{{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires|journal=(help) - ^ "Coin-Operated". Sega Saturn Magazine. No. 15. Emap International Limited. January 1997. p. 94.
- ^ "Finals". Next Generation. No. 36. Imagine Media. December 1997. p. 168.