Bubble Bobble has been an interesting franchise over the years, starting with the original arcade game. The two dragons Bub and Bob are almost as notable for the Puzzle Bobble series than the one they came from. After many spin offs across several generations of hardware, there is now an official fourth entry of this classic series. After all these years can the traditional Bubble Bobble formula still be fun?

For starters, there isn’t much of a story here. It also isn’t very clear on what is actually happening. It seems that Bub and Bonner the fairy are toys in a bed, and Bub is whisked away to a series of levels based on a child’s bedroom. Look, the cutscenes are pretty unclear if they’re toys come to life, or if Bub is always a dragon now. It feels removed from what little story there is from previous games. Not that the story matters here. You’re taking your dragon pals Bub and Bob and capturing enemies in bubbles you spit at them. If you’re coming to this game looking for a deep narrative then this really isn’t the game for you. 

Bubble Bobble 4 Friends remains fairly similar to the original Bubble Bobble, you’re still capturing enemies in a bubble then having to pop them before they escape. If you’re not familiar with the series, each level takes part in an enclosed arena. You need to clear out the cute enemies by capturing them in bubbles, then you have to pop them by either using your head or butt stomping on them (a new way of disposing of them). To get around the levels you’ll need to make good use of the bubbles. They can also be used to act as a platform, or lift you up to higher platforms. Most levels seem to involve a defined path, whether it’s by how the layout makes you follow it to defeat all the enemies or by the enemies themselves restricting your way forward and funneling you through a path. The level is only cleared once you pop every enemy. When you pop each one they leave food behind for you to collect for points that go towards your score. If you pop enemies trapped in bubbles at the same time it starts a chain, and you can net more valuable foods if you’re really chasing a high score. When you pop all the enemies there is a limited time to collect some larger high value foods to further bolster that score. For the first 50 levels it’s pretty easy going, it’s usually a case of following the intended path through the obstacles. Further in the difficulty goes up slightly as the direction of the airstream can be all over the place, meaning bubbles will follow those instead of just floating up. It’s a nice addition that means you also have to pay attention to the whole level.

Each collection of levels contain nine levels and one boss battle. The boss battles are a bit different from the usual enemies, they’re supersized and take a lot of bubbles to defeat while dodging attacks. When you beat each boss you’re given a new ability, ranging from further bubbles to controlling the direction of the airstream for bubbles. The idea is that you’re going to use these abilities to tackle particularly tough levels, only they’re never really needed. The only time I ever found them useful was to get in some extra shots with an extended range of bubbles on the bosses. Throughout each section there are letters that appear for a limited time through some of the levels to spell EXTEND. Collect EXTEND and beat the boss and you’ll get an upgrade for one of the abilities.

Once you complete the first 50 levels, there is another 50 in a ‘remixed’ harder mode. It definitely increases the difficulty, but it still feels familiar. While the extra challenge is great, after breezing through the first half of the game these levels slow it right down. It’s hard to not feel like you’re being ripped off a little with them not being proper new levels, if the original game wasn’t included this would be a much harder sell. This also depends on how much you want the original game whether this is good value for money, or how much you want to play original Bubble Bobble on the Switch. If you do want to see the whole game through but the one hit kills make it too difficult to progress, there is fortunately unlimited continues. You will lose your accumulating score, but it doesn’t really impact on anything. If you die too many times you’ll even be able to play the level with invincibility which is always nice to offer. As for the arcade classic, It plays as well as you could hope for a game that’s over thirty years old. It’s still a good game, and could potentially keep you busier longer than the new levels. 

Visuals are colourful and capture the look of Bubble Bobble in 2.5D over the classic sprites. It doesn’t do anything too fancy with the visuals, it looks like it could’ve come out anytime in the last decade. Not that it looks bad, but I wouldn’t be surprised if you told me that this was a port from a GameCube version. It doesn’t really matter, the game looks fine, runs smoothly and is still very much a Bubble Bobble game. Any issues there are with the visuals aren’t about the quality. I did find the airstreams can be difficult to see properly, especially when it changes a lot throughout the level. It doesn’t really impact on the gameplay, it’s just something that could’ve been easier to see. The sound is similar to the visuals, it’s cutesy and does the job. That’s not to discount the music, it just feels like it suits a Bubble Bobble game.

While Bubble Bobble 4 Friends is partly because it’s the fourth game in the series (Puzzle Bobble games aside), it is also a game to be played with friends. Up to four players can take part in the 100 new levels, each as a different dragon. You can each choose a different ability to take into the levels. You could either coordinate and select different abilities so you’re covered for every situation, or pick what ability you enjoy using. The only issue is that it’s hard to justify having four players, half of the game is fairly easy playing solo and the other half ups the difficulty in a way where it’s crowded for more than two. I’m not going to criticise the fact there is multiplayer, Bubble Bobble has been a series where co op is easy to drop in and play. It is a let down that a lot of levels are built to be more linear with narrow entrances 

I’d be lying if I said it wasn’t good to have more Bubble Bobble in the world. While it feels like a game from a simpler time, in video games it still has life in it. It is a shame that half of the game is a remix of the levels you’ve played before, it feels like a game that should be at least half the price it is. It’s a nice addition to have the arcade original included, without it this would be a much less enticing proposal. The game isn’t bad, it all works how it should, it’s even enjoyable. It’s just not enough to recommend full price. 

Review code provided by Taito