Bust a Move on the Sega Game Gear is a great version of the classic puzzle game from Taito.
Puzzle games are often overlooked in the world of video games. Usually everyone looks to first person shooters, platformers or action adventure games as the big system sellers that are the must have on every platform. One genre that doesn’t get enough recognition is the puzzle game, so starting with today’s discussion, I’ve decided to take a look at some of best and some of the worst puzzle games out there.
The obvious choice to start with would be Tetris, but instead I’ve gone for the game that first got me addicted to the puzzle game genre, Bust a Move. Also known as Puzzle Bobble in Japan…well also in west too. The first version I got was Puzzle Bobble on the PC, but then all the sequels I got were Bust a Move 2, 3, 4 etc.
Some may dispute this, but I think this may be the best example of a spin off game which is actually better than the series it spun off from. Yes, if you didn’t know, Bub and Bob, the two mascot dinosaurs that star in Bust a Move, is a spin off from Taito’s platformer series Bubble Bobble.
Yes Bubble Bobble is a legendary game, and whilst I’ve played it, it never captured my imagination as the addictive Puzzle Bobble or Bust a Move has. Bub and Bob add a amount of charm to the game that is often lacking from other puzzle games, although I’d say many added mascots to the puzzle games around this time, perhaps in response to Bub and Bob.
In the game, Bub and Bob help move your bubble launcher, and you aim to shoot randomised coloured bubbles, and then you have to connect three or more of the same colour. Do this and the bubbles will disappear.
There are two main modes in the game, story mode and challenge mode. Challenge mode will be more the cup of tea who like to play endless Tetris. You keep shooting bubbles whilst avoiding the well they fall down in filling up. Every so often a new row of bubbles will appear at the top of the screen and shift the bottom row further down the well towards being full.
This is a mode like the main mode on Tetris and lots of other puzzle games where you can just play endlessly and for me is the most addictive mode to come back to again and again.
I’m sure many of us will know the feeling of having played for a long time on an endless challenge mode and then be facing either that you feel you’re doing too well and you want it to end because you need to be somewhere or do something soon, or that you’re doing so well, and are starting to feel nervous that at some point you’re going to mess up and never do this well again.
The other main mode on the game sees you having to clear stages and for this most part these are very easy on the Sega Game Gear version. There will be a set number of bubbles and you’ll have to clear them all to beat the stage. Take too long and the top of the stage will be pushed lower and lower towards the bottom of the well.
There’s something about this game where it’s the combination of having to I’m your shot like in snooker or archery, combined with the manicness of trying to do it fast that makes it such a compelling game to play. Add to this the strategy of choosing where to shoot next. Sometimes you’ll have bubbles that don’t match any colours you can reach on screen. You’ll either have to shoot these off somewhere out of the way to deal with later, or you could be daring and attach these useless bubbles onto the bottom of others you’re about to get rid of. Doing this kills two bubbles with one stone…or two birds with one bubble…you know what I mean.
There are also occasional special bubbles which are kinda like power ups. Although these are use once. This includes ones with lightning bolts in that take out everything under the lightning bubble going across the screen, the fire bombs which explode loads of bubbles at once and the water bubbles which change the colours of a bunch of bubbles to all be one colour.
The game isn’t like Tetris or Columns or others where you have direct control over the puzzle pieces you’re aiming to get rid of, and whilst there have been loads of clones of this formula now, it was an exciting new spin on the match three puzzle game when it first launched.
Puzzle games have always felt best on handhelds to me, and whilst the Game Gear does have Columns, this is maybe my favourite puzzler on Sega’s portable console that I’ve currently played.
There are of course, a ton more puzzle games out there, and in this series, I plan to play all kinds of games on all sorts of different platforms. There definitely will be more from Bub and Bob and the Puzzle Bobble/Bust a Move franchise coming up, as these are some of my favourites. It’ll also be interesting to see how the later entries in the Bust a Move series evolves the games with new ideas and modes.
What would you rate this game?
You can get loads more Video Game articles in the Gaming section of the site, and don’t forget to check out all our gaming videos on the Geek Battle YouTube Channel and the Geek Battle comedy panel show on the Extreme Improv XStreamed YouTube Channel
