Platform: Nintendo DS
Release Date:
EU: March 23, 2007
AU: April 5, 2007
NA: February 26, 2008
Publisher: Rising Star Games (NA Ignition Entertainment)
Developer: Dreams
Genre: Platformer Action
No Saves or Passwords
I had played Bubble Bobble on the MSX back when I was a kid and got stuck as I never figured out you could bounce on bubbles. My boyfriend was a huge fan of this game for the NES. We later bought a port for the Playstation for it and finally finished it together. So when I saw Bubble Bobble Double Shot I knew we had to have it and play it.
Gameplay
The game plays the same as the original Bubble Bobble game. You shoot bubbles at enemies to trap them, and then you pop that bubble before they can escape.
Each level is spread over the Nintendo DS’ two screens.
The game is, like the original, co-op multiplayer.
In Bubble Bobble Double Shot Bub and Bob visit their cousin Bubu and their grandfather. In the attic they find a treasure map and they decide to explore the island to look for the treasure.
Each area exists of 10 levels. The tenth level is a Boss Fight. After this a small cutscene plays showing the next area on the map in the top screen, with Bub, Bob and Bubu walking with a new backdrop on the bottom screen.
New in Bubble Bobble Double Shot is the colour scheme. Each dragon shoots their own respective colour bubble. The Player can swap between Bub, Bob and Bubu on the fly. Some enemies can only be attacked by a specific colour bubble. Some even need to be trapped by two different coloured bubbles creating a new colour.
There are also no saves or passwords. Once you lose all lives, a minigame appears. If you win the minigame, you can continue. If you lose, it’s game over. The more continues you use, the harder the minigames become.
The game also uses Nintendo DS’ features, like the touch screen and microphone.
Packaging
I have the European version of Bubble Bobble Double Shot.
The box, game and manual all have the code NTR-AWHP-EUR. The box’s spine as well as the manual’s corner is purple.
The manual is quite thick but this is only due to all the language options. It explains the gameplay mostly.
It didn’t come with any advertisements, but I bought the game secondhand, so perhaps these were lost in time.
Accessibility
- Visual
The game requires you to catch enemies on screen. Furthermore there is a colour mechanic, and the sprites are colour swaps. This may make it hard for the colour blind. - Fine-Motor
The game requires fast reflexes to catch and dodge enemies. On top of that you’d need to swap characters using [L] and [R] quickly. In some stages, you need to use the microphone while playing. The minigames make use of the touch screen, and also require rapid timings. - Auditory
The game does not require audio to be enjoyed. The Story is mostly played out by cute images.
If you rely on audio cues this game is unplayable. Most of the monsters float and apart from a Jump and Bubble Shoot SFX (sound effect) of your Character there is no other audio cues. - Cognitive
The gap between the 2 screens can make it hard to follow the action.
You need to remember which colours mixed make what colour.
The use of microphone on top of the gameplay can be overwhelming.
The action is quite fast paced and can be frantic.
Power Up
I enjoy the original Bubble Bobble. However, to my boyfriend it is one of his favourite games. I love to share this love with him now. But finding a “new” Bubble Bobble game is hard, as most of them are Bust-A-Move puzzle games. And while I like those, he hates them. So finding a new platformer Bubble Bobble game was great!
But when I started playing, I quickly realised there was no saves or passwords! This made it hard to play for a portable game, as I usually play those in short bursts. This game would require some time sinking into as it needed to be completed in 1 sitting!
So I gave it a good afternoon and evening. And this game is hard! Now I like hard games, and I can deal with 1 sitting games as I’m used to them as I have a lot of retro games, but you don’t expect it from a Nintendo DS game. But Bubble Bobble Double Shot seems unnecessary hard. And I finished the original Bubble Bobble in 1 sitting as well and thought that was hard.
As if catching monsters in bubbles and then popping them wasn’t hard enough, you now how to do it with specific colours. Still, I managed to pick this up fairly quickly, although it does get hectic if 2 different coloured enemies come at you and you rapidly have to shoot and swap while you’re being cornered. If that wasn’t bad enough, some you have to shoot twice in different colours! Imagine being swarmed by them.
And then I find there are fans you have to activate using the Nintendo DS microphone to get bubbles in the air! The game becomes incredibly convoluted at this point. Combine that with no saves or passwords and it becomes one frustrating experience. Lose, and start completely over.
Or, try to gain a continue by playing a touch screen minigame. These varied from selecting the right bubble amidst a sea of bubbles (that overlap so you fairly easily tap the wrong bubble), run away from a monster by tapping a left and right foot (no matter how fast I was, in the end I just lost) or spin a bubble rapidly by making circle motions on the touchpad. It makes it look like you have infinite continues, but as they get harder, I simply could not complete them anymore after a while. These were just annoying in my opinion.
A smaller point and maybe it’s just me, but I found it hard to move from the bottom screen to the top screen and vice versa. The gap between the screens is mostly what’s causing this I think. I often jumped to the upper screen only to hit an enemy there that was about to go to the lower screen, or I fell down from the top screen on an enemy from the lower screen. These felt like cheap deaths sometimes.
I really wanted to like this game but so far I’ve just been frustrated with it. My record so far has been just under level 50. So about halfway through the game. Perhaps this game is easier in multiplayer as everyone can focus on their own enemies and no swapping is required, but it’s hard to find someone willing to sink the time into this game (1 sitting!). I’ll pick this up again later as I hope to finish it one day. I also would like to try out the multiplayer.
Recommendation
If you liked the original Bubble Bobble, you’ll get some joy out of this. But the lack of modern conveniences like saves or passwords, as well as the stacking game mechanics you have to juggle, makes this a very hard and frustrating game.
If you never played the original Bubble Bobble, I highly suggest it over Bubble Bobble Double Shot. The concept is exactly the same, the story is better and there is no convoluted game mechanics tacked on.
Coming from someone that likes Bubble Bobble, I suggest you avoid Bubble Bobble Double Shot.
I’ll update this once I have tried out the multiplayer, perhaps it’s better played that way.
Did you play this game? Did you also find it hard? Did you play the original Bubble Bobble game? Are you thinking of playing this? Is there any information you’re missing? Let me know in the comments below!