The cast of Bubbaruka. Beware of spoilers.
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The Bubbies
In General
The titular pets. There are three of them- Tomo, Miibo, and Flou.
- Back from the Dead: They manage to recover from their deaths just in time to save the player from being infected by Creature.
- Cruel and Unusual Death: Tomo is relatively lucky in that he “just” gets sliced in half; Miibo gets his legs pulled off and a spear in his face, while Flou is slowly Squashed Flat.
- The Dog Bites Back: After getting gruesomely murdered by Creature, they come Back from the Dead and put him through the same fates he did to them.
- Player Character: For each of their respective worlds.
- Suddenly Speaking: For most of the main game, they are silent; but in the endings, Tomo will start speaking to the player via text boxes, and in the post-game, whichever ones you are not playing as will have plenty of lines.
Tomo
The first pet. He is a little blob with two antennas.
- Half the Man He Used to Be: He dies by getting the upper half of his body cut off.
- The Smart Guy: As shown in the post-game, he is a virologist who works in the Bubbyville Hospital and is the one who is able to come up with the cure for the Warn virus.
Miboo
The second pet. He is a head with two stick-like legs.
- Commonality Connection: In the post-game, his physical similarities to Arti lead to him considering the now-purified robot a brother of sorts.
- Voluntary Shapeshifting: In his minigame, he can turn himself into objects like trees and houses to blend in with actual objects, and you have to find him in a specific area.
Flou
The third pet. He is a small humanoid sunflower.
- Plant Person: A humanoid sunflower.
The Predators
In General
The three enemies of the game.
- Back for the Finale: They show up in the Onaga battle as attacks of his.
- Evil Counterpart: To the Bubbaruka, as they hunt them down and each correspond to a different Bubby.
Mow-Mow
The predator of Bubby Ski Time. It is a cat-like square creature.
- Arc Villain: The antagonist of Bubby Ski Time, the first area, as it stalks and tries to kill Tomo in the Haunted House.
- Cats Are Mean: It is a cat-like creature that tries to kill Tomo.
- Evil Counterpart: It is Tomo's predator, and in contrast to Tomo's round blob, Mow-Mow has a rectangular shape.
- Heel–Face Turn: In the post-game, Flou is able to release it from Creature’s control, so it becomes a normal cute cat.
- Hive Mind: There are actually several identical bodies it has running around, indicating it is this.
- Starter Villain: It is the first predator you encounter, quite a bit before the actual Big Bad shows up, and is the first major indicator that the game is much darker than it seemed.
- Tragic Monster: Like Arti and the Warn infectees, it is ultimately a victim of Creature's corruption. Once freed in the post-game, it becomes a normal cat who wanders around Bubbyville harmlessly.
- Warmup Boss: It is the first boss of the game and introduces the player to the first-person segments that will be used in subsequent battles.
Arti
The predator of Bubby Spy Time. It is a robot head with legs that can transform into more threatening forms.
- A.I. Is a Crapshoot: In-universe, it is a robot that used to be one of the playable Bubbies. It was taken out of the game, but rebelled and found its way back inside.
- All in the Eyes: When the lights turn out at certain segments, Arti will stalk the player with his glowing eyes being the only way to tell where he is.
- Arc Villain: The antagonist of Bubby Spy Time, as it haunts the office and tries to kill Miboo.
- Evil Counterpart: It is Miboo's predator and, like Miboo, a head with two feet, odd-looking eyes, and shape-shifting abilities. Minor notes this in the post-game:Miboo: I think me and Arti are connected somehow. We've been good buddies since Flou fixed him, but both of us have noticed some similarities. Both of our eyes are different from the others, and we both have minor shape shifting abilities, though he is much better at it than me.
- Face–Heel Turn: Arti is unique in that he used to be a playable Bubby before being scrapped by Akarai. Then it turned resentful, and now haunts the game, having been corrupted by Creature.
- Heel–Face Turn: In the post-game, he has been fixed by Flou and serves as the Weapons shop owner.I'm really sorry about everything I did. It was like I was constantly seeing red, and I just moved instinctively. I never meant to hurt anyone. After Flou fixed my wiring, it was like a fog was lifted. I remembered everything I did, what I became, what he told me to do. Now, he's out of my head, thankfully.
- One-Winged Angel: His initial form is a Waddling Head robot, but he can turn into a humanoid shadow-like monster and a giant head with teeth.
- Tin-Can Robot: His basic form is a boxy robot head with two blinker eyes and boxy legs.
- Tragic Monster: Like Mow-Mow and the Warn infectees, he is ultimately a victim of Creature's corruption. In the post-game, Flou fixes him and he becomes a friendly shopkeeper.
- Waddling Head: His most basic form is a Tin-Can Robot head with legs, though he can transform into more threatening forms.
Warn
The predator of Bubby Garden Time. It is a four-armed floating virus that infects and possesses whatever it comes into contact with.
- Arc Villain: The antagonist of Bubby Garden Time, as the virus that possesses animals and chases down Flou.
- Demonic Possession: Anyone it infects becomes a mutated monstrosity it controls.
- Evil Counterpart: It is Flou's predator, and whereas Flou is a Plant Person, representing health and life, Warn is a sentient virus, representing disease and death.
- Evil Laugh: When it chases you as Bow-wow and Bubboo, the sounds it makes resemble wicked laughter.
- Puzzle Boss: Unlike the first two who were pretty straightforward, fighting it require you to go through a point-and-click section and collect the items needed to enter Hikaru’s room.
- The Virus: It is a sentient virus that infects anyone it comes into contact with and possesses them.
Developers
Onaga Yamazaki
Did you think I wouldn't find you? I know you Akarai. You can't run from us forever.
One of the developers of the game, as the main artist. He was the first to fall to Creature and became his most devoted follower.
- Abusive Parents: Under the influence of Creature, he would often yell at Hikaru and wrote in one note that they should get rid of his worthless toys. This culminated in him beating Hikaru to death and pushing his body down the stairs.All of these TOYS are worthless. we [sic] need to get rid of them. Anita says no but I don't give a fuck what Anita thinks. She's not the boss around here. He is. And I am not going to disobey him. hes [sic] wasting our space and time and energy aannd I won't stand FOR IT ANY LONGER YOU LAZY FREELOADING PIECE OF GARBAG
- Anti-Villain: He was once a good man who was Driven to Madness by Creature and turned into his pawn.
- Domestic Abuse: Under Creature's influence, he threw his wife down the stairs when she attempted to seize the photo of Creature's face from him.
- The Dragon: He is the most devoted follower of Creature and the one who posted his picture around to drive people to insanity.
- Final Boss: He is the last opponent Creature puts in your way. Creature himself is more of a Post-Final Boss.
- Offing the Offspring: He killed his son Hikaru on the orders of Creature, despite really not wanting to.
- Sequential Boss: First, he fights you in a similar way to the Predators for three phases, then he takes you on in a unique battle with several attacks.
- Tactical Suicide Boss: The only way to damage him is to deflect his lighting bolt attack or either of the attacks where he shoots balls at you.
- Too Many Mouths: He has a big mouth across his face, but also several on other parts of his body like his chest.
- Tragic Villain: Some part of him still wants to maintain his humanity, but Creature forces him to do evil on his behalf. For instance, killing his beloved son Hikaru because Creature made him do it. By the time you meet him, he is little more than a mindless Humanoid Abomination. Stabbing him in the end is practically a Mercy Kill.I can't stop seeing that damn face. It speaks to me, commands me to do things. I feel I have to choice but to Obey. It controls what I see, what I hear. I have nightmares of what will happen to me if I don't follow his commands. He reduces me to a catatonic state and leaves me like that for the rest of my life. I think he gives me these dreams as warnings. He said he caused Masaki's death, and he would do the same to me. I don't want to end up like Masaki.
- Was Once a Man: The humanoid monstrosity with Too Many Mouths that you fight as the Final Boss was once a normal human game developer, but was twisted into something inhuman by Creature.
Akarai Okamoto
Are you doing okay? We're friends above all, so please don't feel afraid to open up to me if something is going on. And please remove Mow Mow when you get the chance
The director of the game, who took over after Masaki stepped down. He was known for being very bossy and particular about which content should be in the game, and this got him into conflicts with the other developers, particularly Masaki. Eventually it all went wrong and he fled into the forest to escape Onaga.
- Control Freak: As studio director, in game notes suggest he was very particular about what was allowed into the game, mostly in the name of maintaining a family-friendly image for the game. This resulted in the removal of hospitals (which he felt were too scary for kids), the skull-and-crossbones “sick” symbol being ditched in favor of a more sanitized symbol, and the scrapping of the predators. This got his employees, Masaki in particular, very mad at him.Fine. OK, here's what I say. Draw it up, whatever you want. But, if I look at it and I think that it's too much, then it's gone. Got it?
- Corrupt Corporate Executive: Zigzagged. Akarai is established as a Control Freak who, according to Masaki, would scream at his employees for not working overtime and scrap content willy-nilly, but he still attempted to shut down Bubbaruka and stop all production upon realizing that the Creature was inside of the game that was soon to be distributed to children across the world.
- Mean Boss: He wanted the game developed his way, and would not tolerate any dissent. He scrapped a whole slew of content, got into fights with the other developers about it, and yelled at his employees to make them work overtime.
- Posthumous Character: It is suggested by Creature that he was ultimately killed by Onaga before the events of the game.
Nanako Uchida
I can't get that picture out of my god damn head.
One of the developers of the game.
- Driven to Madness: Upon being infected by Creature, she slowly lost her sanity until it reached the point that she had to be institutionalized.Nanako didn’t take much to snap. The tension in the studio was already so high, I don’t know if she even realized that she saw it. She fought him at first, but her fear proved to be her downfall. She stayed in line for a while, but eventually she disobeyed him, as most attempt to. Creature had to punish her. I don’t know what he makes her see, but her screams told me enough. I don’t know which institution holds her nowadays, but I don’t think it really matters that much.
- The Smurfette Principle: The only woman in the dev team, and the only major female character (as Anita is a minor character).
Masaki Otsuka
Everyone in this damn building is going insane.
One of the developers of the game. He was the previous director before stepping down and letting Akarai take over. Despite this, the two had disagreements over the direction the project was going.
- Creator Backlash: When Akarai made him remove Arti, his creation, he grew to hate the entire game.We had to scrap him. The robot one. Fucking stupid programmers. They don't know how to make their own god damn game.
- Only Sane Employee: One hidden note in his office has him bemoan how everyone around him has gone insane due to the influence of Creature.Everyone in this damn building is going insane. I don't think it is normal business conduct to get into screaming matches with your employees when they don't want to work overtime anymore. Something is seriously wrong here.
Others
John
I know it's a bit strange for me to Email you out of the blue, but I thought you'd be interested in this.
A friend of the player who bought a laptop on eBay with a copy of Bubbaruka. He decides to email you a copy to check out for yourself.
- The Ghost: He never appears in the game itself- his only presence is via an email he sends you in the game description.
- Small Role, Big Impact: He only appears in a blurb in the game's description rather than the game itself, but he's the reason that the player has access to the game in the first place, as he found a copy in a laptop he got on eBay.
Anita Yamazaki
The wife of Onaga.
- Driven to Suicide: She hanged herself after her son died.
- The Ghost: We only hear her mentioned in notes by Onaga.
Hikaru Yamazaki
The child of Onaga and Anita.
- And I Must Scream: As a “reward” to Onaga for being obedient, Creature trapped Hikaru’s soul inside the game to preserve him, forever leaving him helpless.
- Big Good: As the soul trapped inside the game, he helps the player and the Bubbies fight against Creature.
- Chekhov's Gunman: Initially he just seems to be yet another victim of Creature who is only mentioned by Onaga. Turns out his soul has been trapped inside the game by Creature, and he has been acting as the Big Good.
- Posthumous Character: He was killed by Onaga prior to the start of the game.
- Two Aliases, One Character: It is heavily implied in the post-game that he is the human soul who shows up in the true ending to help the player fight Creature.
Warn Infectees (Bow-wow, Bubboo, Nubby, and Prubble)
Four NPCs who show up in Bubby Garden Time. They feel sick and ask Flou for Bubby medicine, but when they get it, they are killed and possessed by Warn, becoming hideous creatures.
- Bat Out of Hell: Bubboo is an oversized bat that crawls in the caves, and flies after the boat upon escaping the caves.
- Heel–Face Turn: In the post-game, once they are cured of the Warn virus, they become friendly NPCs in Bubbyville, with all but one opening up shops.
- Impaled with Extreme Prejudice: All of them get skewered, splitting their insides.
- We Hardly Knew Ye: In the main game, they only briefly appear before getting possessed by Warn. Subverted in the post-game where they are cured and become NPC characters in Bubbyville.
- Zero-Effort Boss: In the post-game, Prubble makes no attempt to fight back, unlike Bow-wow and Bubboo; instead, he hides somewhere in Onaga’s House, and if you find him he cannot fight back.
The Creature
You are a very obedient one. I appreciate your cooperation.
The mysterious entity responsible for the corruption in the game and the deaths of many innocent people. Anyone who sees his face becomes infected by him and goes insane. His victims are then assimilated into himself.
- The Assimilator: His M.O. is to assimilate his victims after he has shown them his true face and caused their death.
- Asteroids Monster: After being killed in the main game, his digital corpse splits into various smaller monsters who continue to haunt the levels of the game. The post-game is spent hunting them down and killing them, among other tasks, to purge his influence for good.
- Big Bad: He is the one who corrupted the game and is responsible for the disappearance of the developers.
- Brown Note Being: His true face infects anyone who sees it with his being, and he will haunt the person who sees it until they are driven to insanity.
- The Corruptor: Anyone who sees his face will have their mind infiltrated by his presence, where he is able to convince anyone to slowly give control over to him. Onaga and the predators are among those who befell this fate.
- Death by Irony: He winds up killed in the exact same ways he offed the three Bubbys and Onaga- sliced in half, pulled apart by two hands, Squashed Flat, and finally his true face stabbed with a knife, respectively.
- Eldritch Abomination: He is... something that haunts the game but definitely did not originate from it. His face alone is enough to drive people insane, and his origins are never explained.
- Extra Eyes: His soul has two red irises and grows an additional two in the last phase of his fight, and his weak point is a hidden fifth eye that pops out when the other two are hit.
- Evil Laugh: Gives one periodically.
- Faux Affably Evil: He speaks rather cordially to the player, apologizing for the Predators going crazy and expressing his desire for the player to beat the game... but it is skin deep, as he compliments you for your obedience and tells you that he appreciates your cooperation while flashing a Slasher Smile and making it very clear he intends to do something bad.
- For the Evulz: His only real motive seems to be a sadistic love of killing and tormenting people.
- Go for the Eye: His eyes are his weak points. You have to attack the ones he has open until they shut and his hidden eye will open, and then hit that to damage him.
- Not Quite Dead: Even his Rasputinian Death at the end of the main game was not enough to truly kill him, as part of him still remains to become the True Final Boss.
- Obviously Evil: He tries to present himself as an ally for most of the game, but his unsettling Slasher Smile and Evil Laugh make it very clear he is not on your side.
- Post-Final Boss: At the end of the main game, he chases you down through various corridors after beating Onaga, but he is easy to outrun.
- Rasputinian Death: He suffers all three of the deaths he inflicted upon the Bubbies- sliced in half, pulled apart by hands, and Squashed Flat- and even then, it takes stabbing his true face several times to finally kill him. And even then, he somehow still survives and splits off into various monsters that scatter throughout the game world, necessitating the Bubbies to slay the monsters and the soul of Creature- and even then, only part of him is dead, but he still remains in the minds of Nanako and his other victims.
- Red Eyes, Take Warning: His soul has creepy red eyes to accentuate his eldritch nature.
- Sealed Evil in a Can: He was trapped inside the game by the human soul, and can only show his true face to those who have beaten the game.
- Slasher Smile: His default expression is a very toothy grin. And that is not even his real face.
- True Final Boss: In the post-game, after all the tasks are completed, he reappears one last time to fight the player.
- Villainous Breakdown:
- In the True Ending, upon realizing that the player deleted the picture of his true face from the game files, he goes from calm and Faux Affably Evil to screaming maniac:YOU WORTHLESS CRETINS
YOU'VE RUINED EVERYTHING.
IT DOESN'T MATTER
I WILL TEAR YOU APART AND REBUILD MY FACE PIXEL BY PIXEL - And again once he catches up to you:NO MORE RUNNING
I PUT MYSELF BACK TOGETHER FOR YOU
NOW WE CAN BE TOGETHER AS ONE.
(gets stabbed)
W h a-
- In the True Ending, upon realizing that the player deleted the picture of his true face from the game files, he goes from calm and Faux Affably Evil to screaming maniac:
- You Have Outlived Your Usefulness: He has the player fight and kill Onaga, his most loyal follower, to become Onaga's successor since he no longer needs Onaga.
