Puzzle Bobble 2

Puzzle Bobble 2 (パズルボブル２ツー, Pazuru Boburu Tsū^?) also known as Bust-A-Move 2 and Bust-A-Move Again, is a puzzle game released by Taito, and hit the arcades in 1995 on their F3 System and the Neo Geo in 2000. It is the second installment in the Puzzle Bobble series. This game adds several features not included in the first Puzzle Bobble, including a Player vs. Computer where players fight against computer opponents. The original multiplayer and puzzle modes also return, and Bub and Bob are given voices for the first time.

Gameplay Changes[]

Puzzle Bobble 2 features similar gameplay to the first installment in the series, with a few additions.

The biggest addition is the introduction of Wide Stages, in which the board has been expanded to fit the entire screen. This allows for more intricate patterns with the bubbles.

Also, new bubbles are added to the game, in which there are:

Star Bubble: Hitting this bubble with a normal bubble will pop all bubbles of that color (example, if a yellow bubble hits a Star Bubble, then all yellow bubbles are popped). Then this bubble will pop as well.
Metal Bubble: A special bubble that can be fired from the launcher. When shot from the launcher, all bubbles that collide with this bubble will pop. It will not cling to anything and will only bounce until it leaves the board.
Trouble Bubble: This bubble is an indestructible bubble, meaning it cannot burst. It can still be dropped, however.
Blocker: Like the Trouble Bubble, it cannot burst, but it can also not be dropped. So, It's an obstacle, as the appearance is not a Bubble.

Puzzle Mode is changed to now have a branching paths system like Darius and Outrun, where, every five boards the player clears, they can choose which set of five boards to tackle next. This means that they can see a different ending depending on the final set reached on the way.

Versus Mode also is changed as well. A Player VS Computer mode is introduced, allowing the player to compete against the computer player, with a story playing out. Each character has a different behavior of playing. There are twelve opponents to face.

The time bonus is more stricter than the original Puzzle Bobble, only taking 48 seconds to reach "Nothing" as opposed to the original's 64 seconds. In return, the bonus is multiplied by 10X the original game's value, meaning that the maximum time bonus is now 500,000 points instead of 50,000.

Play Modes[]

Puzzle Mode[]

In this mode, the player goes through a series of stages to reach the ending of the game.

At the beginning of the game, the player selects any of two sets of five levels (Set A or Set B) to begin play. After clearing a set, then they can choose to either play the set on the left of it or the set on the right of it (for example, if you clear Set B, you can select either Set D or Set E for your next Set).

In total there are 2 Sets for the first stage, 3 sets for the second, all the way to seven for the final stage.

Sets A or B (Stages 1 ~ 5)
Sets C, D, or E (Stages 6 ~ 10)
Sets F, G, H, or I (Stages 11 ~ 15)
Sets J, K, L, M, or N (Stages 16 ~ 20)
Sets O, P, Q, R, S or T (Stages 21 ~ 25)
Sets U, V, W, X, Y, Z, or ? (Stages 26 ~ 30)

There are 27 different Sets that are available, from Set A to Set ?, as seen above. This means that there is a total of 135 Stages in the game, and you will only be able to see thirty of them, like the previous installment. Once you clear the 30th Stage, the game will end and you will get an ending screen depending on the final set cleared. The credits roll with various backgrounds of the game, with the classic Bubble Bobble enemies flying through the screen from the bottom to the top, bouncing off the walls. At the final screen, you will be seen your final score with Bub below it, and the Taito Screen, with a code for "Another World".

About "Another World"[]

You might have seen after the credits of the Puzzle Mode, a code below the Taito screen. It tells you to press the Fire button, then the Left and Right keys, then the Fire button again. Doing so on the Title Screen will show a Drunk icon on the lower right corner of the screen. This means that you have unlocked the "Another World" for this play only.

"Another World" allows you to play a completely different set of stages on the game, effectively doubling the amount of stages present. If counting the regular course and the Another World course, there are a total of 270 different Stages available.

Player vs Computer Mode[]

In this mode, the player goes through a series of battles between computer opponents to reach the ending of the game.

After selecting this mode, the player chooses any of three selections that makes up the courses of the game.

Practice[]

The player goes through three simple battles (first Gargo, then Kajaku, and finally the first opponent in the main mode, Monsta) to get used to the battle mode, then they will be told to try the other courses before ending the game.

Normal[]

The player goes through a series of battles that compose of Puzzle Bobble 2's main story. There is no route of characters per character, all characters play through the same order of opponents, in which there are twelve in total.

The list of opponents you must face are as follows:

After Bubblen is defeated, it will reveal that Drunk is actually piloting him, and you have to fight him in the twelfth and final battle.

Once you defeat Drunk, the game will end and you will get an ending sequence showing Bub triumphing over Drunk. The credits do not roll, but are shown on a slide-show of various pictures of the characters in sepia tone doing things. After that, we see a screen showing all of the characters of the game saying "CONGRATULATIONS", and the Taito screen like at Puzzle Mode, but without the Another World code and with a comet falling past the screen a la Bubble Bobble's Happy End.

Hard[]

The player goes through the same series of battles as the Normal Course, but on a higher difficulty.

Player vs Player Mode[]

One of the three Arcade Modes. Basically it's the same as the previous two installments, where both players fight until one of the players won two matches.

Edit Mode[]

In this mode, the player can create their own maps. Using the editor, they can be allowed to make their own stages, in either Normal or Wide types. They can make a total of thirty levels.

They can also play their own set of stages. At the end of the set if a full thirty was made, they will be presented by a ending sequence that's only exclusive for custom level sets, with a splash screen saying "THANK YOU FOR YOUR SPLENDID MAPS." The credits roll over a bunch of bubbles floating to the top of the screen showing various items from Bubble Bobble, as well as sprites of Bub and Bob. After that, we are shown a coloring book drawing of Bub and the Rainbow World, followed by a picture of Bubby asleep on a desk with the text "THE END" instead of the Taito logo. Then they will be immediately sent to the game over screen, as there is no high score table for playing custom level sets.

Characters[]

Locations[]

Chack'n Island
Oysmi Town
Bub Ruins
Rastan's Forest
Darius Ocean
Enemy Mountain
Icewall
Castle Drunk

Releases[]

Bust-A-Move Again[]

When Puzzle Bobble 2 comes in the US, Taito America decided to revert, the changes made in the unreleased prequel, Bubble Buster. Like Bubble Buster, every Bubble Bobble reference (such Bub and Bob) and the other characters from Puzzle Bubble 2 were removed and many graphical changes were made:

The player(s) control a pair of disemboided hands, while the CPU from the Player VS Computer mode, controls a generic computer.
The backgrounds from the Puzzle Bobble 2 were replaced with 15 new backgrounds, which they get looped in Puzzle mode.
Music from Bubble Buster / Bust A Move (Neo Geo USA Version) were restored and redone with new instruments (Even the Title and Game Over Screens sharing the same theme).
Voices were removed, except for the computer that has digitalized sounds.
There isn't any ending or credits sequence. Beating both the Puzzle or Player VS Computer modes will show only the Taito screen, either with the Another World code or the comet respectively.

Obviously, like Bubble Buster, these changes were only made for the version that runs with the original motherboard (the Taito F3 System). If playing the Neo Geo version, the Puzzle Bobble 2 assets and BGM will still be present, even though the title is still Bust A Move Again.

Puzzle Bobble 2X[]

In December 1995, Taito released (only in Japan) an upgraded arcade version, called Puzzle Bobble 2X, as well as on the Sega Saturn as well. This version features new additional content, such as:

At the beginning of the attract mode, an animated Taito logo is shown, replacing the static Taito logo of the original release. This sequence shows Bub and Bob along with Packy in a thin platform where he makes a 360 degree jump causing an earthquake. This causes numerous bubbles to fall, with Bub and Bob beginning to panic. Finally, the Taito logo falls down, causing Bub and Bob to scream in terror along with the platform, falling off-screen. The audio that plays is the "Capture the Heart! Taito" jingle from the console releases of Taito.
Different backgrounds are shown during the title screen sequence, as well as the Title Screen itself.
A Christmas-themed sequence can be enabled in the attract mode, showing rendered scenes of Bub along with Drunk in the style of both Puzzle Bobble and Bubble Bobble scrolling past the screen. Also, there is an animation of Drunk, who is disguised as Santa Claus and Maita pulls the sled. The animation ends with a cameo of Bubby (the human form of Bub) from the final screen of the Edit Mode ending, as various Bubble Bobble items fall such as candy and potions, and the game displays "MERRY XMAS". There's also a New Year's themed sequence as well, in which the same images appear, but with a bubble containing Drunk floating down the screen, and at the end, pops below a snow covered village and sends Drunk falling, as the game displays "A HAPPY NEW YEAR".
On the Sega Saturn edition, there are also demos for Spring, Summer, and Fall. On the Spring Demo, Bub tries to look for Woolen, only for him to faint at the end. On the Summer Demo, the game displays fireworks of various Puzzle Bobble 2 characters. On the Fall Demo, it's similar to the Spring Demo, but it takes place in the sunset, and at the end, Woolen disappears, causing Bub to stop and be confused, with a question mark appearing over his head.
A new "X" course was added to the game, composing of harder levels than the normal course. This effectively doubles the amount of stages from 135 to 270. Also, a Practice course was added to the Puzzle Mode, with five easy stages to teach the player how to play the game, with a screen telling the player to try the other courses once completed. When counting the regular courses, the Another World courses, and the Practice Course, there are 545 stages in total.
A new theme named "Paradise Cha Cha Cha!" was added "exclusively" for the Puzzle Mode, and it serves as the first in-game theme instead of "Step Skip Go Go!" Because of this, all songs from SSGG are shifted one in number.
Sound effects during Player VS Computer cutscenes were added. In the original version of the game, the cutscenes only play the cutscene theme and nothing else.
Elements from Bust-A-Move Again were restored and used in this version:
- Bust-A-Move Again backgrounds were restored and used "exclusively" in the Puzzle Mode. Player VS Computer mode uses the normal ones.
- Bust-A-Move Again bubbles were restored and used "exclusively" in the Player VS Computer mode. Puzzle Mode uses the normal ones (this feature is the only one that being shared with the regular Puzzle Bobble 2).
- The disembodied hands and the computer from Bust-A-Move Again return as secret playable characters and they now got an upgrade. Instead of an arrow, they use a cannon.

There also a version on the Neo Geo called Bust A Move Again EX containing the 2X features, but it was never released.

Controversy[]

Bust-a-move-2 cover art PSX North America — The North American cover art of the PSX and Saturn versions.

The North American box arts of the Saturn and PlayStation versions featured a picture of several large blue balls with human faces trapped inside, moaning in apparent agony, with white sticks forcing their eyes open. This cover art was considered wildly inappropriate and very disturbing for a cheerful game (expecially if the ones playing are young children).

This cover (along the cover art of Super Bust-A-Move) was included on a list published on GameSpy of the "Top Ten Worst Covers".

Luckily, the PAL box arts of the Saturn and PlayStation versions features a different, non-disturbing and non-misleading picture for the box art, in which the later MS-DOS and Nintendo 64 releases from Acclaim would use the PAL cover art.

Trivia[]

The game forbids the initials 'SEX' on the high score table. If you try, it gets changed to 'AAA'.