History VideoGame / BubbleBobble

* ''Parasol Stars: [-The Story of Bubble Bobble III-]'' (UsefulNotes/TurboGrafx16) (1991)
* ''Bubble Bobble 2'' ([[UsefulNotes/NintendoEntertainmentSystem NES]], (1993) released in the west as ''Bubble Bobble Part 2'', apparently takes place '''after''' ''Symphony''
* ''Bubble Bobble Junior'' (UsefulNotes/GameBoy) (1993) released in the west as ''Bubble Bobble Part 2''

* ''Classic Bubble Bobble'' ([[UsefulNotes/GameBoyColor GBC]]) (1999) released in Japan as ''Taito Memorial: Bubble Bobble''
* [-''Bubble Bobble Revolution'' ([[UsefulNotes/NintendoDS DS]]) (2005) released in Japan as ''Bubble Bobble DS'', includes the same classic game's port as in 2002's ''[[VideoGameRemake Bubble Bobble: Old & New]]'' for [[UsefulNotes/GameBoyAdvance GBA]].-]

* [-''Bubble Bobble Evolution'' ([[UsefulNotes/PlayStationPortable PSP]]) (2006) released in Japan as ''Bubble Bobble: Magical Tower Daisakusen!!''-]

* [-''Bubble Bobble Plus!'' (UsefulNotes/{{Wii}}) / ''Bubble Bobble Neo'' (UsefulNotes/Xbox360) (2009) the former released in Japan as ''Bubble Bobble Wii'', approx. half a [[VideoGameRemake recreation]] of the arcade original-]

* [-''Bubble Bobble Double'' ([[UsefulNotes/IOSGames iOS]]) (2010) which apparently includes the GBA/DS port as well as a new {{Retraux}} sprite filled game mode where the touch screen is used.-]
* [-''Bubble Bobble 4 Friends'' (UsefulNotes/NintendoSwitch) (2019) / ''Bubble Bobble 4 Friends: The Baron is Back!'' (Nintendo Switch, [[UsefulNotes/PlayStation4 PS4]]) (2020) which includes a port of the arcade game; [[DownloadableContent DLC]]/[[UpdatedRerelease rerelease]] features the return of Baron von Blubba and one hundred new stages-]

* AmericanKirbyIsHardcore: For no apparent reason, the boxart of the UsefulNotes/SegaSaturn and UsefulNotes/PlayStation versions of ''Bust-A-Move 2'' both have a bald guy ''[[EyeScream shoving matchsticks into his eyelids.]]'' [[http://pics.mobygames.com/images/covers/large/1156717413-00.jpg The cover in question.]] Maybe it's because the game is "so addictive it should be illegal" (as per the blurb), so the bald guy still feels the urge to play the game despite needing sleep, and he uses the matches to keep his eyes open.

* BetaCouple: Kululun and Cororon, the orange and magenta female companions (respectively) in ''Bubble Symphony''. And Peb and Pab, their counterparts in ''Bubble Bobble Plus!'' (UsefulNotes/WiiWare).

** ''Bubble Bobble'' also has the introductory quote that's featured at the top of this page. It has been fixed in the DS and UsefulNotes/WiiWare re-releases by including the first "the".

* LevelEditor: The upcoming UsefulNotes/{{Steam}} version of ''Bubble Bobble 4 Friends'', "''The Baron's Workshop''", will feature an exclusive Workshop Mode.

* TertiarySexualCharacteristics: Basically any female character wears a large or small bow across the top of their head (Kulun and Coron of ''Bubble Symphony''), on one side of their head spike (Peb and Pab in ''Bubble Bobble Plus! (UsefulNotes/WiiWare)'') or straight on, on the corner of their heads [[spoiler:(three of the eleven [[TheAlcatraz Alcatraz]] victims in ''Rainbow Islands)'']]. Whether the characters in question have a tooth or not doesn't really apply anymore, as Kululun and Cororon have no tooth compared to Bubblun and Bobblun, and later Peb and Pab, who have a tooth.

** The original is remade for UsefulNotes/WiiWare, [[SpritePolygonMix with the characters rendered in 3D]], and brand new levels with four player support. The female Beta Couple, Peb and Pab, may or may not be Kululun and Cororon.

It also spawned a spinoff, ''Puzzle Bobble'', which has [[VideoGame/PuzzleBobble its own page.]]

* EveryTenThousandPoints: The original ''Bubble Bobble'' provides extra lives at many different point plateaus. Rainbow Islands by default provides two point-based extra lives.

And it spawned a spinoff, ''Puzzle Bobble'', which has its ''own'' sequels:

[[folder:Puzzle Bobble/[=Bust-A-Move=] series]]
* ''Puzzle Bobble'' / ''Bust-A-Move'' (1994)
* ''Puzzle Bobble 2'' / ''Bust-A-Move 2'' aka Again (1995)
** ''[[UpdatedRerelease Puzzle Bobble 2x]]'' ([[NoExportForYou Japanese]], 1995) [[invoked]]
** ''Bust-A-Move 2: Arcade Edition'' (1998)
* ''Puzzle Bobble 3'' / ''Bust-A-Move 3'' (1996)
** ''Puzzle Bobble 64'' / ''Bust-A-Move '99'' / ''Bust-A-Move 3 DX'' (1999)
* ''Puzzle Bobble 4'' / ''Bust-A-Move 4'' (1997)
* [-''Bust-A-Move Millennium'' (GBC) (2000)-]
* ''Super Puzzle Bobble'' / ''[[AmericanKirbyIsHardcore Super Bust-A-Move]]'' ([=PS2=], GBA) (2000)
** [-''Super Puzzle Bobble'' / ''Bust-A-Move All Stars'', aka ''Bust-A-Move 3000'' (UsefulNotes/{{GameCube}})-]
* [-''Azumanga Daioh Puzzle Bobble'' ([[NoExportForYou Japanese]], arcade - based off of ''Manga/AzumangaDaioh'') (2001)-] [[invoked]]
* [-''Super Puzzle Bobble 2'' / ''Super Bust-A-Move 2'' ([=PS2=]) (2002)-]
* [-''Puzzle Bobble DS'' ([[NoExportForYou Japanese]], DS) (2005)-] [[invoked]]
* [-''Bust-A-Move DS'' / ''Hippatte Puzzle Bobble'' (DS) (2005-06)-]
* [-''Bust-A-Move Bash'' (Wii) (2007)-]
* [-''[[RecycledInSpace Space]] Puzzle Bobble'' / ''Space Bust-A-Move'' / ''Puzzle Bobble Galaxy'' (DS) (2008-09)-]
* [-''Puzzle Bobble Wii'' / ''Puzzle Bobble Plus!'' / ''Bust-A-Move Plus!'' (Wii) (2009)-]
* [-''Puzzle Bobble Universe'' ([[UsefulNotes/Nintendo3DS 3DS]]) (2011)-]
* [-''Puzzle Bobble'' ([[MobilePhoneGame Mobile]][=/=]Website/{{Facebook}}) (2014)-] [[invoked]]
* [- ''Puzzle Bobble Journey'' / ''Bust-A-Move Journey'' ([[MobilePhoneGame Mobile]]) (2017)-]
* [-''[[Franchise/TouhouProject Touhou]] Spell Bubble'' (UsefulNotes/NintendoSwitch) (2020)-]
* [-''Puzzle Bobble 3D: Vacation Odyssey'' / ''Puzzle Bobble VR: Vacation Odyssey'' ([[UsefulNotes/PlayStation4 PS4]], [[UsefulNotes/PlayStation5 PS5]], UsefulNotes/OculusQuest) (2021)-]
* [-''Puzzle Bobble Everybubble!'' (UsefulNotes/NintendoSwitch) (2023)-]
[[/folder]]

** Also happens in ''Space Puzzle Bobble'' when Bob, an unlockable character, is about to lose.

** In the Western releases of ''Space Puzzle Bobble/Space [=Bust-A-Move=]'', Gunman is renamed Cowboy.

** ''VideoGame/SonicBlastMan'' appears as a playable character in ''Puzzle Bobble 3''. In the VS CPU mode, he is represented with his "Real Puncher" arcade machine (MakesJustAsMuchSenseInContext).

* CheckPointStarvation: In ''[=Space Puzzle Bobble/Space Bust-a-Move=]'', ''unlike'' other/previous ''[=Puzzle Bobble/Bust-A-Move=]'' games, when you continue, you start from the first of the group of five levels all over again. And out of all available reviews, only Nintendo Power's Sept 2009 issue is most outright in pointing out that flawed change.
** In a more straight example, ''Rainbow Islands'' does not allow continuing past [[spoiler: the seventh island]] unless the Book of Continues is obtained in its secret room.

* ContinuingIsPainful: Continuing in Puzzle Bobble [1,] 2, and 3 will reset the score to 0. See also Check Point Starvation above.

* CriticalExistenceFailure: Implied in ''Puzzle Bobble[=/=]Bust-a-Move'' with the use of the bubble dragons' dizzy-dead and stunned sprites when the player loses.
* CrushBlush: In the ''Puzzle Bobble[=/=]Bust-a-Move'' series, Bub appears to have a crush on Woolen. It's very notable in her pre-battle cutscene in ''Puzzle Bobble 2: Arcade Edition'' where she instantly flirts with Bub by sweetly winking at him. Bub responds by shyly facing away from her and plays with his fingers as hearts start shooting out of him. A similar moment occurs in the arcade version of ''Super Puzzle Bobble'', where Bub starts getting very flustered when Woolen decided to join him on his adventure.

* DescendingCeiling: In ''Puzzle Bobble'' and ''Puzzle Bobble 2'', which tries to push the stacked bubbles toward the character and past the "lose" line. Replaced with floating nodes since ''3'', which act the same way.

* EarlyInstallmentWeirdness: ''Puzzle Bobble/Bust-A-Move'' is the only game in the spinoff series for arcades to have twin Bubs/Bobs. The pointer machinery has been kept throughout, though.

* MarathonLevel: ''Puzzle Bobble 3'' has "tower" levels that are several screen heights tall. They take the place of a normal set of five levels. Clearing everything currently on the screen will award a bonus and scroll in the next several rows if not at the end of the level.
* MarketBasedTitle: ''Puzzle Bobble'' is titled ''Bust-a-Move'' in North America and sometimes Europe. Whether it was titled that way because of the popular Young MC song "Bust a Move" remains unknown to this day.[[note]]It's probably just a coincidence.[[/note]]
%%* MatchThreeGame: ''Puzzle Bobble''/''Bust-a-Move'' and its own sequels.

* MirrorMatch: They're not fighting against themselves, but in the first ''Puzzle Bobble/Bust-A-Move'', twin Bubbluns or Bobbluns blow-shoot and carry bubbles, and turn the crank respectively. [-And if you lose... one spins out and dizzy-dies as in ''Bubble Bobble'', the other gets stunned.-]
** Played straight in ''Puzzle Bobble 3'''s VS CPU mode: If Bubblun is selected, he faces himself in the first round. [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5icxwqK_I30#t=11s Yes, the green bubble dragon himself.]] Averted if only player 2 (Bobblun) is playing; he faces Bubblun.

** ''[=Puzzle Bobble/Bust-A-Move=] 2'': Joke endings are assigned to each letter at the end of the triangle path map of rounds.
** Story vs mode in ''Puzzle Bobble/Bust-A-Move 3'' and ''4'' are based on which character you defeated Drunk/Dreg with.

** ''Puzzle Bobble/Bust-A-Move'': The SNES version has 100 levels and the FinalBoss Super Drunk to face as opposed to 30 levels in the arcade and subsequent arcade installments.

* PaletteSwap: Besides Bubblun and Bobblun, many palette swap bubble dragons skip around during ''Puzzle Bobble 3''[='=]s credits.

* PinballScoring: Scores can get into the hundreds of millions of points in ''Puzzle Bobble 2'' and onward.

%%* RecycledInSpace: Space Puzzle Bobble/Space Bust-A-Move.

** ''Puzzle Bobble 3'''s extended levels feature a set of bubble designs based on the helmets of the heroes from ''Series/HimitsuSentaiGoranger''. These levels are also marked by [[{{Retraux}} classic enemy sprites]].
** The intro to ''Puzzle Bobble 3'''s VS CPU mode's 1st round shows the opponent Bubblun arriving at the first ''Bubble Bobble'' level with Zen-chans that get knocked out immediately, despite its title screen showing up as ''Puzzle Bobble 3''.
*** The subsequent opponents' intros show off other Taito properties.
** [[GenreThrowback Classic sprites]] appear at each last stage of the single-player mode of ''Puzzle Bobble 2'', the stage map of ''Puzzle Bobble 3'', and in the background of [=DreamCat1's=] world in ''Space Puzzle Bobble/Space Bust-A-Move'' where retro Zen-chans are being remade into a newer style in a factory.
%%* SinisterSilhouettes:
%%** Hyper Drunk in ''Bubble Symphony'''s intro.
%%** The mecha in ''Puzzle Bobble 2'' after completing the three-level-only mode.

* SnotBubble: For a series revolving around bubbles, the closest the spinoff series ever shows one is the first ''Puzzle Bobble'''s arcade ending.

* TheStarscream: Clurion/Cleon from ''Puzzle Bobble 4'' is shown to not really like working for [[BigBad Madame Luna]]. If you finish Story vs mode as her, [[spoiler: she overthrows her mistress and uses the magic of the rainbow bubbles to create chaos and mischief wherever she goes.]]
* StoryBranching: The single-player modes in ''Puzzle Bobble 2'' and onward, with groups of levels laid out in a triangle and the player being able to go left or right at each junction. ''Bubble Symphony'' also generally works this way with the ability to go "left" or "right" through a triangle of areas [[note]]Except after going through the penultimate tier, where there is just one common final world [[spoiler:assuming the player grabbed all the keys]]. The first world also has three paths through it.[[/note]] though it is not as obvious unless one uses a [[GuideDangIt guide]].

* SweatDrop:
** Flying sweat drops when anyone is stunned or killed. They are often in pairs, but go by really quickly. They are more apparent (both flying and dripping sweat) in ''Symphony''[='=]s cutscenes, which are anime-styled.
** The twin Bubbluns/Bobbluns sweat quite a lot while they blow air through the pipe and spin the mechanism's wheel in the first ''Puzzle Bobble[=/=]Bust-A-Move'' game.
* SweetSheep: Woolen from the spinoff series ''Puzzle Bobble'' and ''Bust-A-Move'' is a cheerful, playful, and cute humanoid female sheep with pink wool. She's very close friends with Bub and is [[PuppyLove frequently seen flirting with him]] in some of the games (notably in ''Puzzle Bobble 2: Arcade Edition'' and ''Super Puzzle Bobble'').
* TarotMotifs: Used in both ''Puzzle Bobble 3'' and ''Puzzle Bobble 4.''
** ''Puzzle Bobble 3'' has playable character Lunaluna shout the name of Tarot cards out when bubbles drop down rather than being popped; The Star for one or two bubbles, The Moon for three or four, The World for five or more.
** Story mode in ''Puzzle Bobble 4'' is centred entirely on Tarot cards with your task being to seal the arcana inside each card by solving the puzzles for each level. Your reward for doing this is an automated Tarot reading function on the main menu.

** In ''Puzzle Bobble 2'', Bubblun, seen from the side, gets X eyes when getting freaked out by a red jack-in-the-box character with a giant round metal scissor blade on his head.

* [[DamselInDistress Damsels in Distress]]: Bubby and Bobby's girlfriends. [[spoiler:And, for some reason, their parents.]]

* DefeatMeansFriendship / GoKartingWithBowser: If one thinks about [[http://www.vazcomics.org/mamend/png/pbob0007.png this Puzzle Bobble 2 ending]] and/or one of the good endings of ''Bubble Symphony'' with the premise of having to bubble and pop these enemies to turn them into food and items and then move on... Okay, it's a MindScrew.
* DegradedBoss / DiscOneFinalBoss: Super Drunk in the first ''Bubble Bobble'' returns in ''Bubble Symphony'', a lot easier and the first boss. He appears in ''2'' (NES) as well, but only {{Save Scumm|ing}}ers will [[NintendoHard ever know for sure.]]

* FireballEyeballs: Super Drunk (first boss) after being damaged quite a bit in ''Bubble Symphony''.

* GoldenSnitch: See Socialization Bonus.

* LateArrivalSpoiler: Arcade sequels to ''Bubble Bobble'' show that [[spoiler:the characters are humans]] in their Attract Mode or first round. [[spoiler:They were ''already'' humans in the first place]], but the game writers use...

* LineageComesFromTheFather: Implied with ''Bubble Symphony''. See Generation Xerox above.

* TheManBehindTheMan: See Hijacked by Ganon above.

* [[ManOnFire Bubble Dragon on Fire]]: If a player character is hit by enemy weapons such as the Invaders' lasers, Hidegons's fire breath, or a fire-based weapon from the multitude of ''Bubble Symphony''[='=]s enemies[[note]]Such as Japanese lanterns, spaceships with Invaders' lasers, robot fish missiles, and female Dranko's molotovs[[/note]], they '''will''' be incinerated on the spot.

* MatchThreeGame: ''Puzzle Bobble''/''Bust-a-Move'' and its own sequels.

* NoFinalBossForYou: ''Bubble Symphony'' and ''Bubble Memories'', unless conditions are met.
* NostalgiaLevel: See Shout Out below.

* {{Precap}}: The [[AttractMode Attract Modes]] of ''Bubble Symphony'',[[note]]even going so far as to contradict the inside left side of its own flyer (subverting AllThereInTheManual as stated above; see also SinsOfOurFathers below).[[/note]] ''Bubble Memories'', and ''Puzzle Bobble/Bust-A-Move 2''.

* RecycledInSpace: Space Puzzle Bobble/Space Bust-A-Move.

* SequelNumberSnarl: See Title Confusion below.

* SinisterSilhouettes:
** Hyper Drunk in ''Bubble Symphony'''s intro.
** The mecha in ''Puzzle Bobble 2'' after completing the three-level-only mode.

* StalkedByTheBell: "Hurry up!"

* SuperDeformed: It's a very common trait among the characters.
* SuperDrowningSkills: The protagonists in ''Rainbow Islands''.

* TitleScream: ''Bubble Symphony'' aka ''Bubble Bobble 2'' (arcade).
* TrappedInAnotherWorld: The characters in ''Bubble Symphony''.

* KillItWithFire: Fire bubbles kill enemies and stun protagonists, enemy fireballs/lasers [[ManOnFire incinerate protagonists]]. ''Obviously, don't touch the latter!''
** PlayingWithFire: The red cross allows a protagonist to blow fireballs for the current level. Which thankfully [[FriendlyFireproof don't incinerate the partner.]]

* KillItWithIce: The player characters via contact with a snowball. See InstantIceJustAddCold.

* PlotCoupon / '''GottaCatchThemAll''' : [[spoiler:Big diamonds, then mirrors]] in ''Rainbow Islands''. [[spoiler:Crystal orbs, a candle, and mirrors]] in the SMS port of ''Bubble Bobble''. [[spoiler:Star cards for a key in a particular world]] in ''Parasol Stars''. [[spoiler:Music note cards for giant keys, and a rod]] in ''Bubble Symphony''. [[spoiler:Potions]] in ''Bubble Memories''. A bunch of stuff in ''Bubble Bobble Plus!''s "Arrange mode". Another bunch of stuff in ''Rainbow Islands: Towering Adventure''. [[GuideDangIt You need them, and they do exist.]]