The Magic Of Bubble Bobble

A Bubble Bobble quarter arcade cabinet on a quartz worktop surface in a kitchen.

The beginning of a fantastic story

It would have been around 1987ish, I was about 12, me and my pals would head off to Sale swimming baths at the weekend to cause mayhem and have fun in the pool.

The pool had a colour timing system, so your wristband would be a certain colour, and there were corresponding colour sirens. When your colour Siren went off, it was time to get out of the pool, but the best bit was yet to come!

We'd get changed and be straight into the cafe to get some chips; the swimming baths had a canny way of making you hungry.

Chips and arcades

It was the activity after bolting the chips down, which was my favourite, playing or watching other people play the arcade in the swimming baths.

In my time going to the baths in that period, it had five arcade machines that I could remember these were Pac Land, Double Dragon, Golden Axe, Robocop and the one that stood out above all, the magical Bubble Bobble.

Its catchy theme would draw you closer; I can still hear it clearly in my mind, the arcade cabinet had illustrations on the front of the main characters from the game Bub and Bob, who were both dinosaurs.

Released in 1986 from Taito, it was a two-player game, complete with two joysticks and corresponding push buttons, the 20p (2x10ps) coin slots had a red glow encouraging you to insert a coin and get started.

The game aimed to rescue Bub and Bob's girlfriends and, in the process, venture through the cave of monsters, which consisted of over 100 levels and different caves.

Bub and Bob weren't you're normal fire-breathing dragons; they fired out bubbles which would be directed at the many monsters that were in each platform level, once a monster was in a bubble, you could then burst it to kill it.

Burst all the monsters in a level, and you would move on to the next, along the way, you could also collect various power-ups, and you had a time limit as well; the words 'Hurry up' would appear if you didn't meet it and everything got a bit quicker and harder.

What was the appeal?

Bubble Bobble had charm and bucket loads. I've always been big on film and game scores, and this one was so catchy it was defo a part of the appeal for me.

It was also full of hidden secrets, and strategic play was important between two players, it was more fun to play with someone else, and the pacing was good with the time limits to make things get hectic.

The game was quirky as well; the character design was non-offensive, and Bub and Bob were a hit with a more unisex appeal.

For your 20p, you could get a decent amount of playtime out of a game. It was addictive, and the play was varied enough to keep you coming back, Bubble Bobble was also one of the first games to have multiple endings.

A success for Taito

Bubble Bobble went on to become one of Taitos biggest hits, with other games being released over the years on different platforms.

As an initial post to get content on Retro Delights so we can get it live, it felt only right to do a one on Bubble Bobble, I've enjoyed going back to the 80s to Sale swimming baths and the magic of Bubble Bobble.