Bubble Bobble Double Shot

Bubble-blowing dragons Bub and Bob return (now with buddy Bubu in tow) for a more traditional 2D platform romp than earlier DS title Bubble Bobble Revolution , still however retaining some of its gameplay innovations.

The basic gameplay is as has lasted the test of time: expelling bubbles from their mouths, the adorable dragons first incapacitate monsters by enveloping them in bubbles, then put them out of commission by popping the containing bubble (replacing the enemy with a tasty piece of fruit!) -- each level ending with every enemy popped, through ten worlds of ten levels each with a boss fight at the end of each world. A trapped monster, if left unpopped, will eventually free itself, now red, angry, fast and aggressive, and if it takes too long for the dragons to clean up a level, the notorious invincible ghost whale "Baron von Blubba" appears to turn up the heat.

Things escalate in complexity quite quickly, however, considering that each dragon blows a different colour of bubble -- and that some enemies (designated by colour-coded stars) can only be trapped by certain-coloured bubbles. (Complicating things further, some enemies need to be trapped by combinations of two differently-coloured bubbles before they're down for the count. These elements remain even in single-player mode, where the player has the option of toggling their colour mid-game to produce the necessary bubble colour.)

An array of traditional power-ups (shot distance, movement speed, etc.), weapons (lightning bolts, floods and firebombs) and bonuses (freeze enemies, invincibility, flood level, etc.) remain in effect, as does the longstanding E-X-T-E-N-D bonus mechanism -- here regulated (among other effects) through subtle machinations of the new star bubble type.

When player lives are expended, the option of continuing is granted according to player performance in mini-games making use of the DS touchscreen and stylus, ramping up in difficulty through every continue used.