The Secret Room (シークレット・ルーム Shīkuretto Rūmu?) is a recurring type of location and game mechanic in the Bubble Bobble series. Secret Rooms are hidden locations, typically either containing high-value food items or rare special items, that are most often able to be accessed via Silver Doors, which usually spawn if the player completes a certain set of requirements.
In some appearances, Secret Rooms also have messages displayed on the walls, which are inscribed using special characters. These messages, when decoded may give hints as to how to unlock or accomplish certain things in the game that would otherwise not be apparent.
Rascal may appear in Secret Rooms in some games if the player takes too long to complete them, serving a similar role to the Skel-Monsta.
Description[]
Secret Rooms vary greatly in appearance between games, though many follow the same basic layout and format.
In their first appearance in Bubble Bobble, Secret Rooms appear to be comprised of tiled stone, featuring rows of platforms with lines of Diamonds on them, as well as a pedestal in the center with a door at the bottom. The object featured atop the pedestal differs between which Secret Room the player is in. Two torches are seen lit in the upper corners of the room, with an encoded message on the wall of the bottom level of the room, with the key to decoding the message above it, featuring each character in alphabetical order of the Roman letters they correspond to. The bottom level contains another row of Diamonds, and is only accessible via the central door after collecting every Diamond in the top chamber. Stars of various colors can also be seen falling around the room.
The Secret Rooms in Rainbow Islands appear to be made of blue tiled stone, possessing three platforms in the middle of the room. A special item is located on the lower platform, the Big Diamond of the current island is placed on the middle platform, and a Silver Door that serves as the room's exit is placed on the top platform. A cryptogram written in gold characters displaying a secret command that can be entered at the title screen is displayed at the top of each room.
Final Bubble Bobble features three separate types of Secret Rooms. The first type have blue tiled walls and floors, with tiled backgrounds and feature a special item atop the pedestal in the center. The second type have blue or green walls and floors, and are filled with Diamonds, featuring a golden cryptogram that reveals a secret command in the center emblazened on the wall, similar to Rainbow Islands. Four torches are also placed throughout the room. The third type features blue walls and floors, with several platforms holding multiple Big Boxes in the center.
The Secret Rooms in Parasol Stars feature bluish-green walls and floors which utilize the same tileset as the game's Underworld level. Two platforms are situated in the middle of the room, with two smaller intermediate platforms below each larger one. The lower large platform features a special item, while the top platform features a Silver Door, similar to the rooms appearing in Rainbow Islands. Behind the smaller platforms are what appears to be stained glass. The Secret Rooms in Parasol Stars are the first in the series to not feature a solid black background, instead utilizing the same background as the rest of the rounds in the current world.
Bubble Symphony features secret rooms similar in appearance to the original Bubble Bobble, though with more detail, now featuring tiled stone walls in the background and two large braziers on the upper corners of the backgrounds of the rooms. The rows of Diamonds are once again featured, as are the falling stars, with the cryptogram now affixed towards the upper part of the wall. A large special item can be found floating inside a bubble atop the pedestal in the center of the rooms.
Bubble Memories once again features similar rooms to the original Bubble Bobble, though the Diamonds placed on the platforms are now mid-sized. The first type of Secret Room, called the Mystery Room, feature purple walls and floors, with either the cracked bottle of the Rainbow Potion atop the central pedestal or a statue of the Super Dark Great Dragon, depending on whether the game is played in Standard Mode or Super Mode. The second type of room, the Hint Room, are similar in layout, though feature a message affixed on the upper part of the wall, though the cryptogram from previous games is not used and the text is displayed in plain English. The backgrounds of both types of rooms feature a digitized image of a stained glass installation from the Alcázar of Segovia depicting King Henry III of Castile and his family.
The Secret Rooms in Bubble Bobble: Old & New are largely identical to those of the original game, though they feature more graphical detail and detailed backgrounds, matching with the title's artstyle.
Rainbow Islands Revolution features Secret Rooms very similar in nature to the original Rainbow Islands, though they are comprised of gray brick in this title and lack the cryptogram and Silver Door, with the player automatically leaving the room after collecting both items.
Likewise, the Secret Rooms in Standard mode of Bubble Bobble Plus! are largely identical to the original game, while those featured in Arrange mode follow the same format, though instead each feature large statues of Fairies atop the central pedestal.
History[]
Bubble Bobble[]
Secret Rooms first appear in Bubble Bobble, appearing as hidden chambers inside of the Cave of Monsters. They are accessible via use of a Silver Door, which spawns on Round 20, Round 30, and Round 40 if the player reaches them without losing a single life. Each room contains a large amount of Diamonds, which can be collected for points, as well as a hint encoded in a cryptogram. Rascal only spawns in Secret Rooms, and will appear if the player takes too much time to complete them.
Bubble Bobble also features a secret command that, when entered on the title screen, activates "Original Game", which causes the Silver Doors (as well as the Gold Door) to spawn even if the player loses a life.
The first Secret Room, encountered on Round 20 features a large statue of Super Drunk in the center. The cryptogram message references how he must be defeated in order to return Bub and Bob to human form.
The Secret Room on Round 30 features a large empty Drug of Thunder that was sealed within the room by Super Drunk. The bottle is cracked, which is stated to be due to Betty and Patty stealing it while Super Drunk was not looking, with the Drug appearing on the final level due to the sisters providing Bub and Bob with it. The cryptogram alludes to the Drug of Thunder being the method the player needs to use to damage Super Drunk.
Lastly, the Secret Room on Round 40 features a glass case atop the pedestal containing a smaller glass box with a pink heart inside, which is stated to belong to Betty and Patty. The cryptogram references how the player must complete the game with two players in order to free both Betty and Patty.
Given the context, the phrase "love of truth" in the message contained in the cryptogram in the Round 40 Secret Room is likely a mistranslation of "true love".
Rainbow Islands[]
The Secret Rooms in Rainbow Islands are once again accessed via Silver Doors, which only spawn during the boss battle of each island. The Silver Doors will appear if the player collects each of the island's seven Diamonds in an order corresponding with the order of the colors of the rainbow. Each Secret Room features an exclusive special item, as well as either a Big Diamond or Big Mirror, depending on which island the player is on.
Secret Rooms also feature a cryptogram at the top of the room that can be entered at the title screen to achieve various effects. Rainbow Islands Extra Version changes the codes, though the cryptogram will be mostly obscured, and in-game hints must be used in order to figure out the solution. Solving the puzzle gives the solution "LASTDIA", which is meant to indicate that the last Diamond the player collected determines which character is displayed, requiring the player to reach the Secret Room seven times, each time collecting a different colored Diamond before entering in order to fully decode the cryptogram.
Image | Island | Big Diamond or Mirror | Special Item | Cryptogram |
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Insect Island | BLRBJSBJ
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Combat Island | RJSBJSBR
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Monster Island | SSSLLRRS
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Toy Island | BJBJBJRS
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Doh's Island | LJLSLBLS
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Robot Island | LBSJRLJL
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Dragon Island | RRLLBBJS
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Magical Island | RRRRSBSJ
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Darius Island | SJBLRJSR
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Bubble Island | SRBJSLSB
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Final Bubble Bobble[]
Secret Rooms appear once more in Final Bubble Bobble, an updated port of the original Bubble Bobble for the SEGA Master System. Unlike the original game, Final Bubble Bobble features a large variety of Secret Rooms, featuring twenty-eight in total, the largest amount in the series. The methods to get the Silver Door to appear are different as well, and the player must perform a variety of tasks to cause the door to appear.
There are three varieties of Secret Rooms in the game: a type that contains six Big Boxes, a type that features a cryptogram and a large number of Diamonds, and a type that houses rare special items that are needed in order to clear the game.The cryptograms in Final Bubble Bobble all contain commands that, when entered using the buttons that correspond to each letter on the main menu after pressing pause, will bestow the player with various effects upon starting the game.
Image | Round | Requirements | Special Item | Cryptogram |
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Round 1
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Allow one minute to pass in the current round. | -
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-
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Round 10
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Defeat all enemies on the stage. | -
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Round 20
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Pop a Water Bubble and ride the water down through the bottom of the stage and out through the top. | -
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LULRLLDR
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Round 28
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Collect the timer food item that spawns on the stage. | -
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-
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Round 30
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Defeat all five Banebous on the stage with Thunder Bubbles. | -
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RLLRUDDR
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Round 40
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Do not move for 30 seconds after starting the round. | -
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UDRDLLDJ
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Round 47
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Have three or more remaining lives. | -
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-
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Round 50
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No special criteria needed. | -
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Round 60
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Walk over a specific spot on the upper left side of the stage. | -
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ULDLDUUL
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Round 70
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Trap every Maita on the stage in a bubble at the same time, without defeating any of them. | -
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DJBRBDBJ
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Round 79
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Have three or more remaining lives. | -
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-
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Round 90
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Walk over a specific spot in the upper middle of the stage, where the timer food item spawns. | -
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Round 92
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Walk over a specific spot on the upper leftmost part of the "J" shape that is located at the upper right of the stage. | -
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LLBRDBDL
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Round 99
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Defeat all enemies on the stage. | -
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JLJRULJRULLULLJJR
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Round 105
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No special criteria needed. | -
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-
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Round 115
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Do not defeat any of the Hidegons on the stage and wait until "Hurry Up!" appears. | -
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Round 125
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Have the Magic Key in your possession. | -
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JJLBJRJL
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Round 135
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Have the Magic Key in your possession. | -
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Round 141
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Have the Magic Key in your possession. | -
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RBUUUBBJ
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Round 145
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Defeat every Drunk in the level using Fire Bubbles. | -
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Round 147
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Collect 50 items during the current playthrough. | -
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-
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Round 155
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Collect the Dark Crystal that appears on the stage, then jump into the black hole it creates. | -
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Round 165
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Walk 290 bytes of distance on the current round, approximately 11 times the length of the screen. | -
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DUUBBBUL
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Round 175
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Trap all enemies on the stage in a bubble simultaneously without defeating any of them. | -
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DBLJDBBD
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Round 179
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Collect 50 items during the current playthrough. | -
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RLLRUDDR
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Round 185
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Simultaneously defeat five enemies at once by trapping them in bubbles and popping them. | -
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BLDUBUBU
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Round 195
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Accumulate over 1,000,000 points in total between both active players. | -
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Round 199
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Defeat all enemies on the stage. | -
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DJLBBDJJLDLDBJBB
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Parasol Stars[]
Secret Rooms in Parasol Stars are accessed via Silver Door once more, which appears after defeating the boss of the current world if the player collects three Mystery Crests of the same type. The only worlds where this will not occur are on Rainbow Star or the Underworld. Each Secret Room contains a rare special item, which typically varies depending on the the type of Mystery Crest collected, though some types of Secret Room are accessed via other means, detailed in the table below:
Image | Requirements | Special Item |
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Use any of the above methods in Bubble Star
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Note that the Bubble Star Secret Room will contain any of the previously listed items alongside the Bomb, with the special item in question depending on what triggered the appearance of the Secret Room.
While every variety of Secret Room, save for the Bubble Star-exclusive one, can be triggered on any of the game's worlds, many of them cannot be accessed during normal gameplay on certain worlds due to certain worlds not featuring levels with the necessary Drops needed to spawn the corresponding Mystery Crests. For example, it is impossible to legitimately cause the rooms featuring the Big Chime, Big Lamp, or 500 Yen Coin to appear on Music Star, due to the world not featuring Fire or Star Drops at all, and Thunder Drops only appearing via the Drug of Thunder as part of the boss round.
Bubble Symphony[]
Secret Rooms appear in Bubble Symphony, and are accessed through gold-colored doors that appear if the player reaches certain levels without losing a single life, much like the Silver Doors in the original Bubble Bobble. Each Secret Room contains a number of medium-sized Diamonds and a large special item, with many of them also containing cryptograms with hints encoded in them. The final two Secret Rooms encountered do not feature a cryptogram, instead featuring a statue of Super Dranko and a statue of Hyper Drunk with a halo and angel wings, respectively.
Image | Round | Special Item | Cryptogram |
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THE ROAD IN FRONT OF YOU HAS MANY FORKS... BUT THERE'S ONLY ONE PLACE TO GO.
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Round B-6
(KiKi KaiKai) |
IF YOU WANT TO SEE YOUR TRUE ENEMY, SEARCH FOR THE KEY TO OPEN THE FINAL DOOR.
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Round C-6
(Radish Land) |
IF YOU WANT TO SEE YOUR TRUE ENEMY, SEARCH FOR THE KEY TO OPEN THE FINAL DOOR.
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IF YOU WANT TO GO BACK TO YOUR OWN WORLD, YOU'RE GOING TO HAVE TO FIND A WAY TO RETURN TO YOUR BODIES FIRST.
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Round E-7
(Sun "A" Zone) |
IF YOU WANT TO GO BACK TO YOUR OWN WORLD, YOU'RE GOING TO HAVE TO FIND A WAY TO RETURN TO YOUR BODIES FIRST.
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YOU MUST FIND YOUR WAY THROUGH A WORLD THAT IS LIKE BUT NOT OF THIS ONE. THAT IS THE ONLY WAY.
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Round K-8
(Sky Palace) Round L-8 (Water Fall) Round M-8 (Treasure Desert) Round N-8 (Japan-esqe) Round O-8 (Forest Land) |
-
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Round P-10
(Last Road) |
-
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Bubble Memories[]
Secret Rooms appear once again in Bubble Memories, accessed by entering the Silver Door which spawns after reaching certain levels without losing a life, much like Bubble Bobble and Bubble Symphony. There are three types of Secret Rooms in the game: the Mystery Room (ミステリールーム Misuterī Rūmu?), which contains a plot-related object atop the pedestal in the center of the room, the Hint Room (ヒントルーム Hinto Rūmu?), which gives the player hints for the game, and a variety simply known as the Secret Room (シークレットルーム Shīkuretto Rūmu?), which feature codes emblazoned on the wall that the player can enter on the title screen. Unlike previous games, the hints featured in the Hint Room are not encoded in a cryptogram, being written in plain English. The Secret Rooms in Super Mode do feature the cryptogram, but the solutions are displayed immediately below, requiring no decoding on the player's end.
The Mystery Room in the Rainbow Tower features the cracked bottle of the Rainbow Potion atop the pedestal, while the Mystery Room in the Tower of Darkness features a large statue of the Super Dark Great Dragon.
The first Hint Room in the Rainbow Tower references the method for completing the Rainbow Potion and reaching the good ending of Normal Mode without obtaining any Potion Panels. The second Hint Room in the Rainbow Tower contains a hint relating to how to access the Gold Door on Round 70, with large bursts of lightning frequently flash throughout the room. The Tower of Darkness contains two Secret Rooms that feature codes that allow the player to access "Original Game", causing the Silver Doors to spawn unconditionally, and one that bestows the player with the effects of the game's main power up items.
Normal Mode[]
Super Mode[]
Image | Round | Cryptogram |
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Round 7
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-
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Round 37
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SLBJBJBJ
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Round 67
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URDLURDL
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Bubble Bobble: Old & New[]
The Secret Rooms in Bubble Bobble: Old & New are nearly identical to those in the original Bubble Bobble, given the game's status as a remake of the original title. However, they have received a graphical overhaul in-line with the rest of the game's "New" mode, most notably in the form of Super Drunk's statue being changed to reflect his design in this title.
Rainbow Islands Revolution[]
Secret Rooms appear in Rainbow Islands Revolution, appearing under the same circumstances and containing the mostly the same items as in Rainbow Islands. However, there are no longer codes at the top of the rooms, nor are there Silver Doors to serve as exits, the rooms now being automatically exited after collecting the items within. Bubble Island also no longer has a Secret Room. The big Book of Wing and Book of Continue have also been replaced by a large version of the Crystal Ball and Bell.
Image | Island | Big Diamond or Mirror | Special Item |
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Insect Island | ||
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Combat Island | ||
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Monster Island | ||
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Toy Island | ||
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Doh's Island | ||
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Robot Island | ||
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Dragon Island | ||
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Magical Island | ||
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Darius Island |
Bubble Bobble Plus![]
Secret Rooms appear once more in Bubble Bobble Plus! in both the game's Standard and Arrange campaigns. The Standard mode, being a remake of the original Bubble Bobble, features Secret Rooms that are more or less identical to those of the first game's, while the Arrange mode features six new Secret Rooms, each bearing a large statue of a Fairy. These are accessed through Fairy Doors, which spawn similarly to the Silver Doors in Standard mode.
The requirements to allow the doors to the Secret Rooms to spawn is slightly different in this title, requiring the player to reach certain rounds without using a continue instead of reaching them without losing a life.