Bob, known as Bobblun (ボブルン Boburun?) in Japan, is the secondary protagonist of the Bubble Bobble series. He is a blue Bubble Dragon, and the twin brother of Bub. Bob first appeared as the second-player character in the original Bubble Bobble, and has appeared in most of the subsequent games in the series. His human form is named Bobby.
Biography
Appearance
Bob is a small blue Bubble Dragon with yellow spines (though they are occasionally portrayed as light blue in color). He has reddish-pink arms and feet, as well as a white stomach area. Like most Bubble Dragons, Bob has a single visible tooth centered on the upper part of his mouth.
Personality
Bob is portrayed as being quiet and shy, contrasting with his brother's free-spirited and rambunctious personality. His favorite pastime is reading, and can often be found with his nose in a book. Bob has a close relationship with Bub, and the two have gone on many adventures together.
Abilities
Bob is able to to shoot bubbles from his mouth, an ability utilized by most Bubble Dragons. If the bubbles make contact with an opponent, they get trapped inside, allowing Bob to pop the bubble with his spines in order to defeat them. Along with utilizing the bubbles to attack foes, Bob is also able to jump on them in order to reach new heights.
Bob's abilities and stats are usually identical to Bub's as he usually serves as the second player character, however, in Bubble Symphony, he is able to move much faster than the rest of the playable cast.
In addition to his normal bubbles, several games have allowed Bob to charge up his bubbles, the effect of which varies from game to game. The first game to feature this ability was Bubble Bobble Part 2, in the form of the Super Bubble (スーパーバブル Sūpā Baburu?) technique, which allows Bob to fire multiple bubbles at once. Additionally, if the player continues to hold down the button and continues to charge, Bob will inflate like a balloon, allowing him to slowly float upwards, allowing him to access previously unreachable areas.
A similar mechanic is implemented in Bubble Symphony, with each of the four playable characters having a different formation of bubbles that they can fire. Bob is able to shoot three bubbles in a spread pattern, trapping any enemies within his range. Unlike Bubble Bobble Part 2, the ability to float is not present in the game.
Bob retains the ability to charge his bubbles in Bubble Memories, albeit with a new twist. By charging up his bubbles, Bob can unleash a Giant Bubble (巨大バブル Kyodai Baburu?) which can trap multiple enemies at once. This ability returns in Bubble Bobble Revolution in the form of the Charge Bubble (チャージバブル Chāji Baburu?), which in addition to trapping multiple enemies, can bounce off of walls. After bouncing off of a wall, if the Charge Bubble collides with Bob, he will enter it and perform the Rolling Bubble (ローリングバブル Rōringu Baburu?) technique, which allows him to charge into enemies and defeat them.
In Bubble Bobble Double Shot, Bob gains the ability to blow Water Bubbles after obtaining a Crystal Ball.
History
Bubble Bobble
Bub first appears in Bubble Bobble as the second-player character. Bob, along with his brother, Bub, were turned into Bubble Dragons by Super Drunk after attempting to rescue their girlfriends, Patty and Betty, who were kidnapped after wandering into the Magical Forest. The duo sets out to travel through the 100 levels of the Cave of Monsters and defeat the girls' captor.
Upon reaching the bottom of the cave and defeating Super Drunk, Bob and Bub manage to rescue their girlfriends, as well as their parents, who were under the control of an unknown figure who had been giving orders to Super Drunk.
Bubble Bobble Part 2
Bob returns in Bubble Bobble Part 2, once again appearing as the player two character. After his adventures in human form in the Rainbow Islands series, Bob returns to his Bubble Dragon form, setting out to rescue the twins' friend Judy from the Skull Brothers. Although Bob is once again the Player 2 character, he does not have to be controlled to unlock the true ending like in the original Bubble Bobble, as the game does not feature simultaneous multiplayer.
In the original Japanese story (which was also used on the back of the game's box in North America), the characters in Bubble Bobble Part 2 are actually named Cubby (カビー Kabī?) and Rubby (ルビー Rubī?), and are the descendants of Bub and Bob. This is ignored in the North American manual, and most supplementary material for the game presents the two as simply being the same Bub and Bob as the original Bubble Bobble.
Bubble Symphony
Bob is one of the playable characters in Bubble Symphony, possessing the fastest movement speed. Bob is banished to the Storybook World by Hyper Drunk alongside Bub, Cororon, and Kululun. If Bob collects three bubbles, each with the letters 'R', 'O', and 'D' on them, can transform into Bobby, attacking instead by blowing bubbles through a bubble pipe. After defeating Hyper Drunk, the four become the kings and queens of the Storybook World, and return back home.
Bubble Symphony's intro states that the four characters in the game are the children of Bub and Bob from the original Bubble Bobble, but several sources later contradict this, namely the game's promotional flyer, as well as later games featuring Cororon and Kululun that simply refer to them as Bub and Bob's girlfriends.
Bust-A-Move
Bob is playable in the Vs. Mode of Bust-A-Move as the second player character. He also appears in the ending of Puzzle Mode, after Bub defeats Super Drunk.
Bust-A-Move 2
Bob appears as the second player character in the Vs. Mode of Bust-A-Move 2.
Bubble Memories
In Bubble Memories, Bob is the Player 2 character once again. He now has the ability charge up this bubbles to create a giant bubble in order to capture multiple enemies at once. In the beginning of the game, Bub and Bob set out to save the inhabitants of the Rainbow Islands, who have been transformed into Bubble Dragons by the Super Dark Great Dragon. Bub and Bob must climb the Rainbow Tower and defeat the Super Dark Great Dragon, as well as obtain the seven Magic Potions to return everyone to human form. After defeating the Dragon for the first time, he raises the Tower of Darkness out of the sea, which the duo must ascend to defeat him once and for all. After Bub and Bob square off against the Dragon's true form, they use the combined Magic Potions to change everyone back to human form.
Bust-A-Move 3
Bob appears in Bust-A-Move 3 as a palette swap of Bub. Debblun's alternate color also resembles Bob.
Bust-A-Move 4
Bob is the first opponent fought in Bust-A-Move 4. He is also playable in Vs. Mode as a palette swap of Bub.
Super Puzzle Bobble
Bob is a playable character in Super Puzzle Bobble. He travels with Bub and Chack'n to stop the Time Eaters from destroying the Tree of Time.
Classic Bubble Bobble
In Classic Bubble Bobble, Bob is not playable. He has fallen ill and Bub must retrieve the Moon Water from Darkness Drunk to cure him, a storyline originally used in the Game Boy version of Bubble Bobble.
Bust-A-Move Millennium
Bob is an unlockable playable character and opponent in Bust-A-Move Millennium. He is fought in the Dark Forest in Story Mode.
Super Bust-A-Move
Bob is the P2 helper character in Super Bust-A-Move.
Super Bust-A-Move 2
Bob reappears in Super Bust-A-Move 2, acting as the P2 helper again.
Bubble Bobble: Old & New
Bob appears once again in Bubble Bobble: Old & New, playing an identical role as in the original Bubble Bobble. His design in the "New" mode is significantly taller and slimmer than he is usually depicted.
Puzzle Bobble Pocket
Bob is a playable character in Puzzle Bobble Pocket.
Puzzle Bobble DS
Bob is a playable character in Puzzle Bobble DS.
Bubble Bobble Revolution
Bob is one of two playable characters available at the start of Bubble Bobble Revolution. Bob is no longer the fastest character, but can jump much higher than the other three.
Bust-A-Move DS
Bob is a playable character in Bust-A-Move DS. His teddy bear, Willy, also appears as a playable character.
Bust-A-Move Deluxe
Bob is a playable character in Bust-A-Move Deluxe. he is one of five returning characters from Puzzle Bobble Pocket.
Bubble Bobble Double Shot
Bob appears alongside Bub and newcomer Bubu in Bubble Bobble Double Shot, setting out to find the treasure from a map the three found in their grandfather's attic. He is the only character who can trap enemies with a blue star around them in a bubble.
Bust-A-Move Bash!
Bob is a playable character in Bust-A-Move Bash!. He is much taller and slimmer than in this game than he is usually depicted, reminiscent of his design from Bubble Bobble: Old & New.
Space Bust-A-Move
In Space Bust-A-Move, Bob is once again a playable character. He and Bub find a meteor that fell onto Rainbow Star, which displays a message from Snown. The duo travel the universe collecting Cosmo Bubbles in order to free Snown from Develon.
Bubble Bobble Plus!
Bob is the second-player character once again in Bubble Bobble Plus! in both of the game’s modes, as well as in the game’s two DLC campaigns.
Bust-A-Move Plus!
Bob the second player character in Bust-A-Move Plus!.
Bubble Bobble Double
Bob appears in Bubble Bobble Double as a non-playable character. He is sent into a strange dimension along with Bub by Mecha Develon, and gets separated from his brother. After Bub destroys Mecha Develon, Bob appears and reveals he has found the exit.
New Bust-A-Move
Bob appears alongside Bub in New Bust-A-Move. Bob wears goggles and a satchel in this game.
Bust-A-Move Universe
Bob is the first Bubble Dragon that Bub rescues in Bust-A-Move Universe, being held captive by a Zen-chan in the game’s Motherland level.
Bust-A-Move Islands
Bob returns in Bust-A-Move Islands, having the same role and design has he did in New Bust-A-Move.
Other apperances
Pop'n Pop
Bob appears as a palette swap for Bub in the console version of Pop'n Pop. Like Bub, his helper is a Monsta.
Arkanoid vs Space Invaders
Bob appears as a copilot for the Vaus. His special ability is to cause the Vaus to fire 1 missile per second for 5 seconds.
Trivia
- The Bubble Bobble games have conflicting information over whether or not Bub and Bob are actually Bubble Dragons, or humans transformed into Bubble Dragons. In the original games, Bub and Bob were portrayed as being as being humans cursed to become Bubble Dragons. However, in most of the Bust-A-Move games, they are portrayed as being only Bubble Dragons, with their human forms almost never being referenced. Some titles, such as Game Boy version of Bubble Bobble, Bub has show to have the ability to transform into his Bubble Dragon form at will, so it is likely that Bob would have this ability as well, seeing as the two are twins and have nearly identical abilities.
- The Japanese manual for Bubble Bobble Junior mentions the "Bubble Dragon bloodline", possibly implying that the ability to change between Bubble Dragon and human forms is a hereditary trait.
