Bust-A-Move 2: The Arcade Edition is a game that I’ve never played, but I remember seeing the advertisements. It is also one of the games that I remember seeing on store shelves when I was in high school. This was probably sitting next to Beyond the Beyond, WCW vs. The World, and WCW Nitro.
I only remember seeing the PS1 advertisements. It felt like they were in every magazine that I flipped through, and they did a piss poor job of explaining what the game was. They were memorable enough for me to remember seeing them, but not good enough to make me want to play this game.
Originally released in the arcades in 1995, Bust-a-Move 2 was ported to just about everything. I remember the PS1 game’s advertisements from 1996, and I don’t remember anything about the 1998 N64 release. If I wasn’t playing through the puzzle games on the N64, then I wouldn’t have known it was on this console.
Needless to say, I’ll be looking at the N64 version of this game. I haven’t played any of the Bust-a-Move games, or as they’re known in other regions, Puzzle Bobble. All I’m hoping for is a fun and challenging puzzle game. Let’s get into it and see what this game has to offer.
TLDR: A simple and fun arcade puzzle game.
Bust-a-Move and Bubble Bobble
The arcade version of Bust-a-Move was developed by Taito. Acclaim handled the release in North America, and the name was changed. I don’t really get this. Puzzle Bobble is a much better name than Bust-a-Move, which sounds like a DDR knockoff. I’m aware that DDR was released several years after the first game in the Puzzle Bobble series.
The connections between Taito’s two series are through the characters. Unlike some other puzzle games, Bust-a-Move isn’t an unrelated game with a new coat of paint. It is closer to SNK or Capcom putting characters from one series into a different one.
In this case, Bust-a-Move 2: The Arcade Edition has some characters from Bubble Bobble. This includes the enemies and player-controlled characters. It is a pretty cool use of the Bubble Bobble property. It’ll be interesting to see if this continues with the next game in the series.
Taito really seemed to struggle with creating a franchise of games outside of the arcades. They have a lot of arcade hits, which was great in the 1970s and 1980s, but they didn’t have the same success when things changed in the 1990s.
Narrative
I don’t believe that Bust-a-Move 2: The Arcade Edition has a story to it. I didn’t see one in the game, and the manual didn’t have a story either. This isn’t a big deal, but I think they could’ve done something fun with this game. You have all these cute cartoon characters, and they’re just there
Gameplay
Bust-a-Move has pretty good gameplay. I’m not entirely sure how to categorize it, since it isn’t really a tile match, match-three, or a Tetris-like game. You shoot colored balls from the bottom of the screen, and they pop the other balls of the same color. I’ve seen plenty of games like this when ads appear on my phone.
The colored bubbles only pop if there are three or more of them. When they pop, any bubbles connected to the bottom of them will fall off the screen. It is a fun visual, and rather satisfying. It made me feel like I outsmarted the game at times.
The game does have a few game modes, including something close to a story mode. It is fun to see this in the game, and it makes me wonder why others neglected to include one. It can get a little repetitive because in every mode, you’re basically playing the base game.
There is a time element to the game. You’ll see this in other puzzle games that have something descending from the top of the screen. The bubbles that you have to destroy will move down if you take too long. It is similar to how Space Invaders works, which isn’t too surprising because Taito made both games.
You can bounce the bubbles off of the side walls. So, if you aim them right, then you can get around some of the obstacles in the middle of the screen. This is particularly helpful because the bubbles will stick to each other regardless of their color.
Overall, I really enjoy this game. It can be frustrating at times, but it isn’t overly so. While this isn’t the type of puzzle game that I normally like, it is a very fun game to play. I can see why this take on the genre has been able to last as long as it has.
Visuals
I really like the graphics. Bust-a-Move 2 is a bright and colorful game, which is what you’d expect from something like this. It is easy to know what you have to do and how to do it.
The colors are easy to see. Everything is bright and cartoonish. Even when things get a little frantic in battle mode, it is easy to tell what is going on. I never had an issue knowing how close I was to winning or losing.
If there is one thing I don’t like about the game is that everything looks the same. The graphics are very repetitive. Aside from the goofy cutscenes, the playfield is a little too boring for my liking.
Using the Bubble Bobble characters was a great decision. They go well with the cartoonish approach to this game. I also like how adorable they are.
Overall, the graphics are very good. For a puzzle game, it delivers on everything that I want. It is a bright and colorful game; it is easy to see what’s happening, and you can instantly identify what you need to do. The graphics enhance instead of hindering the gameplay.
Reviews for Bust-a-Move at the Time
There weren’t too many reviews for Bust-a-Move on the N64. It doesn’t help that this game was three years old at the time, and had been on other consoles for a few years. I looked at three publications for this.
IGN gave the game an 8/10. There isn’t too much to gather from this review, as it appears to lean heavily into being funny. They really like the game, but suggested you either “find the game at a good bargain price,” or get it on “another console.” Both of which make a lot of sense.
GameSpot gave the game a 7.1/10. The reviewer liked the game, but did mention that it had been around for a while by the time it was released for the N64. They called it a “totally addicting game even for the inexperienced.”
N64 Magazine gave the game an 80/100. If you look at the scores this reviewer gave for the different sections, then it is hard to figure out how they got there. They didn’t like the graphics, sound, or gameplay. The review ends by calling this “one of the best puzzle games in the world.”
I’ve read some baffling reviews over the years. By the time Bust-a-Move was released on the N64, it was three years old. The game’s graphics look much better than what these reviews at the time thought. If anything. They’ve aged much better than the other games on the N64 and PS1.
8/10. Bust-a-Move is one of the best puzzle games on the N64. If there were more to the game, then I’d give it a higher score. The graphics are great, the controls are good, and it is an easy game to learn to play.
Pros
- Good Graphics
- Easy to Learn
- Fun gameplay
Cons
- I don’t like the time limit
- A little repetitive
Conclusion
I’m glad that I circled back to play this game. The ads for this game are what really made an impression on me, but not in a good way. It made me wonder what this game was supposed to be, but it didn’t make me want to find out. The name didn’t help either.
Taito really was more of an arcade company. Most of their great games were in the arcades, and not all of them made it to North America. We did eventually get several compilations of Taito arcade games, which was great! Especially if you didn’t live near an arcade. Sometimes it feels like people on the internet can’t wrap their minds around that.
There is one more Bust-a-Move game on the N64 that I want to check out. Then I’ll put out a ranking list of them. I’m a little hesitant to do so because I’m not totally sure if I’ve played all the puzzle games on the console. If I find more, I’ll just have to revise the list.
If you liked this post, check out some of my other posts about N64 Puzzle Games. Such as Wetrix or Pokemon Puzzle League.