Bust-A-Move / Puzzle Bobble - SNK Neo Geo [003] PlayThru

US Title

Euro/JPN Title

And here is yet another Neo Geo game that was released to the arcade in the mid 90s.  This time the Neo CD got a release, but not the home system, oddly enough.  Also, this title was actually an arcade port.  About 6 months before the MVS release, Taito had released Puzzle Bobble in Japan on the Taito B System.  

NOTE: A trainer was used for making this capture.

For this Neo Geo title, the European title is Puzzle Bobble, just as in Japan, while in the US, the game is called Bust-A-Move.

This video has a little more editing than usual. I cut out my losses where I had to in order to continue, using 4 credits or so.

And, just like Captain Tomaday, instead of a fresh writeup, here is a review I wrote for the game sometime near the year 2000.  I guess you could call this a 'retro review.'

US Title: Bust A Move
Japanese Title: Puzzle Bobble
By: Taito
Size: 32 Megs
Home Release? No
MVS Release? 12/21/1994
CD Release? 05/02/1995

What else is there to say? This game was made by Taito, and is probably one of the most popular puzzle games in existance, second only to Tetris. This game has been ported to almost every console system. Just think, this is the game that started it all, and it all started on the Neo Geo MVS in 1994. Those familiar with the Bubble Bobble of the 80s will recognize the characters in this puzzle game, Bub and Bob. Anyway, enough of the history, on with the review.

The object of Bust-A-Move in single player mode is to clear the screen of all the bubbles. The bubbles bust when three or more of the same color bubbles are touching when you launch a bubble. The bubbles are at the top of the screen, while at the bottom of the screen there is a launcher, which can be aimed to direct where the bubbles go. The bubbles can be bounced off of the side walls. Very fun, very addictive, and also very challenging!

In the two player game, the object is to fill the other players screen with bubbles. Everytime a bunch of bubbles are busted, some bubbles will appear on the opposing player's side of the screen. Once the bubbles are piled past a line at the bottom of the screen (where the shooter is) that player loses, and needs to feed the machine another quarter to try to get revenge.

Bust-A-Move is a very cute game, but it is also a very fun game. This game is still in MVS machines today and still brings in some money. There is also a sequel to this game on the MVS, Bust-A-Move EX (Puzzle Bobble 2) besides the sequels Taito made for their own F3 System (at least 3 so far).

The game usually sells for about $80 to $100 for the MVS (due to operator demand) but is well worth the price. Also, this game is easy for anyone to learn and play (and women dig the game too).

Capture info:

This gameplay was captured on December 19, 2018.

Game was played on a modded SNK Neo Geo home console, equipped with the UniBIOS.
A HD Retrovision Component cable was used, connected to an OSSC 1.6 (processing the video in Line4x mode), with the output being captured by a Startech USB3HDCAP.

Video was edited with Shotcut.