Bub and Bob have returned, and they’re now blowing bubbles on machines that hadn’t been invented when the pair got started.
Bubble Bobble, Taito’s arcade platformer, can now be played on Nintendo Switch 2 and PlayStation 5. There was no trailer campaign and no countdown clock; the re-release simply appeared. Anyone still carrying a soft spot for retro arcade titles will find that low-key arrival worth a look.
The game debuted in arcades back in 1986 before making its way onto seemingly every piece of hardware ever manufactured: the NES, the Sega Saturn, the original Game Boy, the Amiga. In 1999 the Game Boy Color received its own version, Classic Bubble Bobble. With the series now approaching its 40th anniversary, it has landed on current-gen consoles once more.
The company behind it makes a habit of this
Responsibility for the re-release falls to Hamster, the Japanese studio whose entire reputation rests on digging up older games that would otherwise be left to gather dust. It is hardly the outfit’s first go at this. Hamster has spent years returning classic titles to circulation, and Bubble Bobble simply joins the end of that list.
The price is $7.99, and it’s available through the PlayStation Store and Nintendo eShop for PlayStation 5 and Switch 2. Owners of a Nintendo Switch or PlayStation 4 aren’t left out either — they can pick it up through Hamster’s Arcade Archives line.
Yes, there’s a CRT filter
A handful of modern conveniences have been folded in by Hamster. Buttons can be remapped, progress can be saved, and the display is yours to adjust. Among the visual options sits a CRT-style filter that recreates the look of an old television set.
Those display settings exist precisely for players who want Bubble Bobble to feel and look closer to the original. Several screen layouts are on offer, and the CRT filter layers on even more old-school atmosphere.
The plot is exactly as ridiculous as you remember
Bub and Bob are a pair of friends who have been transformed into bubble-blowing dragons. The wizard Baron von Blubba has abducted their girlfriends, Betty and Patty. The resulting rescue mission stretches across 100 levels.
Measured against today’s releases, the premise is basic and the gameplay uncomplicated. Yet the formula remains immediately identifiable decades on, which is a claim very few 1986 games can make.
Enemies get trapped inside bubbles, you pop them, you scoop up whatever items tumble out, and you grind through stages that grow steadily tougher. Simple to grasp. Unexpectedly punishing once you’re several stages deep. That is arcade design working as intended.
Who’s this actually for
It’s a reasonable question whether a newcomer with no attachment to the genre will get as much out of it. The appeal is far more obvious for those who grew up with the game. Its colorful characters, the bubble mechanic and that arcade-style difficulty explain why it endures as one of Taito’s most recognizable classics.
The 40th anniversary timing certainly doesn’t hurt. Bubble Bobble has, admittedly, resurfaced on modern platforms before, but this new Console Archives release gives PlayStation 5 and Nintendo Switch 2 owners a crack at it of their own.
Two dragons, 100 levels, eight bucks and a wizard called Baron von Blubba. There are far worse ways to spend it.