Bubble Symphony

Bubble Symphony (バブルシンフォニー, Baburu Shinfonī^?), also known as Bubble Bobble II, is an arcade video game in the Bubble Bobble series developed by Taito in 1994. While being a new Bubble Bobble for a new generation, in actuality it takes place after Parasol Stars.

Gameplay Edit

For this adventure, Bubblun and Bobblun, the familiar green and blue bubble dragons, are joined by girls Kululun (an orange dragon) and Cororon (a purple dragon). However, they are stated as the children of the Bub and Bob of the first game.

According to the intro, the four characters (as humans) inadvertently unleash Hyper Drunk, the final boss, while reading books. Hyper Drunk transforms the four into bubble dragons and banishes them to a new world.

Plot SequenceEdit

Narrator: Little Bubby, Little Bobby, Kululun, and Cororon

Bubby and Bobby's four children all together happily reading a book.

Hyper Drunk: Now is the time

to get my revenge for what your parents did to me!

Narrator: The four children were transformed by a magic spell into dragons and

banished to live in a strange new world.

Will they ever be able to return to their own bodies

and their own world?

Characters Edit

Bubblun (バブルン Baburun^?) is the well-rounded character; he can fire three grouped bubbles straight ahead when powered up (the bubble button is held for a few seconds then released).
Bobblun (ボブルン Boburun^?) has faster speed in exchange for shorter range. He can shoot three bubbles in a spread pattern when powered up.
Kululun (クルルン Kururun^?) has the longest available range, but is slow. She can shoot her bubbles in a "T" pattern (forwards, backwards, and down) when powered up.
Cororon (コロロン Kororon^?) has the fastest bubble blowing and can shoot her bubbles in an inverted-"T" pattern (forwards, backwards, and up) when powered up.

Although a sequel to Bubble Bobble, the game inaugurates few changes to the gameplay formula of that title. The small changes that have been made are that a boss is now encountered every five to ten levels, giving those scenes a similar prominence to Rainbow Islands, and the player takes a branching route through the levels by selecting one of two doors after every boss. The players can now charge the bubble shot; if released when the dragon's horns or bow is glowing, he/she will breathe three bubbles at once, with the specific formation dependent on the character chosen. The players must collect certain square cards with music notes inside, in order to get the 4 keys that lead to the final world or face an early false ending. Also, the characters have to collect a rod to turn theircharacters from their dragon to human forms during the course of the game.

Cameos Edit

The game features cameos by other notable Taitocharacters or settings from games as diverse as: The NewZealand Story, Darius, Space Invaders, Arkanoid, Liquid Kids, KiKi KaiKai (including Cindy, known in Japaneseversion as Sayo-chan and the English Pocky & Rockygames as Pocky), Yūyu no Quiz de Go! Go!, PuLiRuLa, andThe Fairyland Story.

WorldsEdit

Round A (all three options)Edit

Round A-1: Entrance Room
Round A-7: Super Drunk

Round A (left door) (Fairy Land)Edit

Round A-2: Step Cabinet
Round A-3: Storehouse
Round A-4: Water Duct
Round A-5: Downhill
Round A-6: Unseen Monsters

Round A (middle door) (Dessert Land)Edit

Round A-2: Narrow Staircase
Round A-3: Water Line
Round A-4: Toy Box
Round A-5: Fake Jailer
Round A-6: Symmetry Room

Round A (right door) (Toy Land)Edit

Round A-2: Secret Key Room
Round A-3: Monster Room
Round A-4: Country Valley
Round A-5: Doll Step
Round A-6: Monster Laboratory

Round B (Kiki KaiKai)Edit

Round B-1: Imperial Court
Round B-2: Let's Go
Round B-3: Intricate Room
Round B-4: Smart Room
Round B-5: Uncle Face
Round B-6: Fast Whirlpool
Round B-7: Rainy Days
Round B-8: Manuke

Round C (Radish Land)Edit

Round C-1: Honeycomb
Round C-2: Alligator's Nest
Round C-3: Waterwheel
Round C-4: Revue Dancehall
Round C-5: Free Fall
Round C-6: Wrap in Flag
Round C-7: Jack in the Box
Round C-8: Jack O'Colson

Round D (TV Machine)Edit

Round D-1: Taito World
Round D-2: Space Invaders
Round D-3: Chack'n Pop
Round D-4: Elepong
Round D-5: Bubble Bobble
Round D-6: Cameltry
Round D-7: Arkanoid
Round D-8: Challenge Hitter
Round D-9: Giant Invader

Round E (Sun "A" Zone)Edit

Round E-1: Death Room
Round E-2: Small Branch
Round E-3: Zone-V
Round E-4: Power Meter
Round E-5: Kaleidoscope
Round E-6: Congestion Room
Round E-7: Monster Territory
Round E-8: Zone-L
Round E-9: Yamato

Round F (Kiki KaiKai)Edit

Round F-1: Bowl
Round F-2: Electric Circuit
Round F-3: Old Well
Round F-4: Sun Roof
Round F-5: Basement
Round F-6: Noisy Room
Round F-7: Splash Water
Round F-8: Hide Talisman
Round F-9: Manuke

Round G (Radish Land)Edit

Round G-1: Large Hall
Round G-2: Gelidium Jelly
Round G-3: Help! Help!
Round G-4: Lodging House
Round G-5: Water Slider
Round G-6: Melody Room
Round G-7: Barbecue
Round G-8: Dangerous Roof
Round G-9: Watchtower
Round G-10: Jack O'Colson

Round H (Computer Land)Edit

Round H-1: Piston Rod
Round H-2: Car Shop
Round H-3: Condenser
Round H-4: Dance Hall
Round H-5: Resistance
Round H-6: Double River
Round H-7: Small Labyrinth
Round H-8: Rocketdrome
Round H-9: Parallel World
Round H-10: Mechabubblun

Round I (Central Park)Edit

Round I-1: Wine Glass
Round I-2: Candlestick
Round I-3: Umbrella House
Round I-4: Fountain
Round I-5: Eat It
Round I-6: Infinity
Round I-7: Fire Brigades
Round I-8: Aquarium
Round I-9: Junction
Round I-10: Giant Invader

Round J (Pyramid Land)Edit

Round J-1: Silk Hat
Round J-2: Secret Room
Round J-3: Lunar Rainbow
Round J-4: Laughing Skull
Round J-5: Run Away
Round J-6: Saucepan
Round J-7: Ant Nest
Round J-8: Monster Mansion
Round J-9: Holy Cup
Round J-10: Mechabubblun

Round K (Sky Palace)Edit

Round K-1: Audience Hall
Round K-2: Aerial Garden
Round K-3: Monster's Nest
Round K-4: Building on Fire
Round K-5: Dragon Slayer
Round K-6: Astrodome
Round K-7: Tea Corner
Round K-8: Mailbox
Round K-9: Castle Warriors
Round K-10: Great Mighta

Round L (Water Fall)Edit

Round L-1: Ridge
Round L-2: Water-Thunder Magic
Round L-3: River Gleaming
Round L-4: Pong Pong Pong
Round L-5: E-Y Area
Round L-6: Freedom Four
Round L-7: Around the World
Round L-8: The Chase One
Round L-9: Super Charge
Round L-10: King Monsta

Round M (Treasure Desert)Edit

Round M-1: Miss M
Round M-2: Attention Treasure
Round M-3: Aerial City
Round M-4: Monster House
Round M-5: Bubble Rider
Round M-6: Treasure Box
Round M-7: Empire of Invader
Round M-8: Battle Hammer
Round M-9: Last Treasure Hunter
Round M-10: Super Mighta

Round N (Japan-esque)Edit

Round N-1: From Japan
Round N-2: Rice Ball
Round N-3: Break Water Tank
Round N-4: Triangle Enemy
Round N-5: Public Bathhouse
Round N-6: Traffic Congestion
Round N-7: Balance
Round N-8: Breeze Room
Round N-9: The Rib
Round N-10: King Monsta

Round O (Forest Land)Edit

Round O-1: Amazon
Round O-2: Rainy Season
Round O-3: Rainbow Appeared
Round O-4: Tree Hollow
Round O-5: Bare Rock
Round O-6: Universal Gravitation
Round O-7: Rocky Mountain
Round O-8: Wood House
Round O-9: Rock Wall
Round O-10: Great Mighta

Round P (Last Road)Edit

Round P-1: F-1 Track
Round P-2: Wall Painting
Round P-3: Machine Shop
Round P-4: Sky Walker
Round P-5: Roll Cake
Round P-6: Third Room
Round P-7: Lithograph
Round P-8: Tightrope Dancing
Round P-9: Concentrated Fire
Round P-10: Beautiful Snow
Round P-11: Acrobat Jump
Round P-12: Puppet Drunk/Hyper Drunk

Round QEdit

Round Q-1: Cursed Room

Worlds B & F and C & G are repeated in the game.

World Branches Map Edit

For the 1st bad ending without collecting 4 keys:

A-C-F-J-O

For the 2nd bad ending without collecting 4 keys:

A-C-F-J-N
A-C-F-I-N
A-C-E-I-N
A-B-E-I-N

For the 3rd bad ending without collecting 4 keys:

A-C-F-I-M
A-C-E-I-M
A-C-E-H-M
A-B-E-I-M
A-B-E-H-M
A-B-D-H-M

For the 4th bad ending without collecting 4 keys:

A-C-E-H-L
A-B-E-H-L
A-B-D-H-L
A-B-D-G-L

For the 5th bad ending without collecting 4 keys:

A-B-D-G-K

CharactersEdit

Playable characters Edit

Helper characters Edit

Chack'n
Sayo-chan
Tiki
Ptolemy
Bob
- Jim
Silver Hawk
Hipopo
Mr. Mikata
Core Cannon
Peppl
Flower Dragon
Bunny Girl

Enemies Edit

Bosses Edit

Hidden Rod Letters Location Edit

To make the letters appear, let the time run out and when the words "Hurry Up!!" appear, a bubble with the letter will float on the screen.

The "R" letter can be found:

Entrance World, Left Door, Unseen Monster Stage (A-6)
Entrance World, Middle Door, Fake Jailer Stage (A-5)
Entrance World, Right Door, Country Valley Stage (A-4)
Sun "A" Zone, Kaleidoscope Stage (E-5)
Radish Land, Melody Room Stage (G-6)
Pyramid Land, Lunar Rainbow Stage (J-3)
Treasure Desert, Battle Hammer Stage (M-8)

The "O" letter can be found:

KiKi KaiKai, Smart Room Stage (B-4)
KiKi KaiKai, Basement Stage (F-5)
Computer Land, Double River Stage (H-6)
Sky Palace, Building on Fire Stage (K-4)
Japanesque, Traffic Congestion Stage (N-6)

The "D" letter can be found:

Radish Land, Waterwheel Stage (C-3)
TV Machine, Cameltry Stage (D-6)
Central Park, Aquarium Stage (I-8)
Waterfall, Freedom Four Stage (L-6)
Forest Land, Rainy Season Stage (O-2)
Final Stage, Concentration Fire Stage (P-9)

Continuity Edit

Within the context of the game world, Bubble Memories - The Story of Bubble Bobble III takes place before Bubble Symphony, even though the latter is released earlier.
All the enemies from the original Bubble Bobble appear in this game, along with a lot of newer enemies.

The credits (in the arcade version) show all the enemies' names, and those of characters who make cameos from other Taito games.
Interestingly enough, the credits don't mention any of the bosses that are battled.

Ports Edit

Bubble Symphony was released on the Sega Saturn in Japan, as well as via Taito Legends 2 on the PC in North America and Europe, and on the Xbox in Europe only. It was released on the PlayStation 2 in Japan only, via Taito Memories II Volume 2. A PlayStation version was completed, but never released.

Note: That Xbox and PS2 versions run in upscanned 640x448 resolution, which results in slight flickering, no scanlines and slightly blurrier image compared to the Arcade and Sega Saturn versions.

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