Puzzle Bobble Walkthrough

Puzzle Bobble (also known as Bust-a-Move in North America) is a spinoff of the arcade game, Bubble Bobble. Like Bubble Bobble, Puzzle Bobble was developed and published by Taito. It was released in arcades (often as a selection on Neo-Geo arcade machines) in 1994. This classic game was ported to numerous consoles and elements of its gameplay was copied by many other games such as Magical Drop, Bubble Shooter, and Frozen Bubble. This Flash version of Puzzle Bobble captures the essence of the classic game, but omits the two-player mode of the original.

The objective of Puzzle Bobble is to clear all of the bubbles from the screen. Causing bubbles to touch in groups of three or more will make the bubbles pop. Any bubbles that were attached beneath the popped cluster will fall harmlessly off of the stage. If the bubbles fall sink the line towards the bottom of the screen, the game is lost. When all bubbles are removes from the stage, you will advance to the next level. If you clear the bubbles fast enough, you will earn a time bonus at the end of the level.

This Flash version of Puzzle Bobble uses a keyboard control scheme. Press enter to start the game or continue the game in the event of loss. The arrow keys are used to aim your pointer and the spacebar shoots the bubble that is currently loaded. If you do not shoot fast enough, the bubble will automatically launch, just like in the original arcade game. The controls in this Flash port are smooth and emulate those of the classic game well; just be sure to click the Flash applet a few times with your mouse to make sure that the keystrokes register in the game.

Puzzle Bobble is an excellent port of the original arcade game. The only problems that I can note are the small size of the Flash applet, the lack of two-player mode, and the lack of lines to help players target on the first two levels that were present in the original. Despite these minor flaws, this Flash version of Puzzle Bobble is an excellent alternative to downloading a ROM if you want to play this classic game!