Dusty Pixels

You know a game is good when it has incredibly annoying parts that normally would cause you to pitch it out a window…and yet you look past them over and over. Bust a Move is such a game. The concept is simple- 2 dino buddies work together to pop balloons and clear the screen. It involves grouping 3 balloons of the same colour together and bustin’ em. Super simple idea; with a myriad of possibilities. The levels range from easy to are-you-fucking-serious. It also (like most retro puzzle games) relies a bit on luck. The bubbles you are given to shoot correspond to the colours that are already on the screen, but other then that- they are random. In a Dr.Mario-esque way you can have a good game or a disaster based on what bubbles the game gives you. Now, a seasoned BAM player can work around this difficulty most of the time, however at other times there is just nothing that can be done. There are power-ups and such too, like fire that will blow up the bubbles around it regardless of colour- but really the game is very simple and straight-forward. Ah, the makings of a great puzzle game! SIMPLICITY!



I am indeed a seasoned BAM player. I would even say I’m damn fucking good at this game. I have made my way through all the levels many, many a time. Each time I have done so, has been a journey through a range of emotions- everything from bored to sitting on the edge of my seat sweating. This is the kind of game you will pick up and put down (Hardly anyone sits down and says “Alright…gonna play through until level 65…” You may sit down and suddenly find yourself at level 65 with hours passed and your bladder full- but I think it’s safe to say it’s rare people sit down with that goal. Moreover, there is a handy password deal that allows you to pick up where you leave off if you die, or need to turn off the game. And let it be known, that it’s almost worth it to lose because Bub crying is pretty adorable. It really softens the blow


This game has one song. That’s right -- ONE. Every stage, (except the final one) exactly the same tune. It starts with the childlike shout of "READY? GO!" and then….the song starts. A game with this many stages and only one song would normally drive people to stabbing- but for some reason it works. I always sit down thinking, oh this time I’m going to put it on mute and rock to my own tunes. Maybe I will for awhile, but soon I find myself zoning out to the happy little ditty. The game is so involving that you sort of become accustomed to the music, and forget that you’ve heard the same 50 second loop for the past 50 levels (but trust me- your roommates will not be as forgiving.)


The backgrounds change, and in some stages they move, which REALLY adds a level of difficulty if you are easily distracted. And let’s be honest here: look at these little guys...

They are adorable! Bub a little more so than Bob…Bob looks a bit…

...touched… Bub and Bob (who have also been referred to as Dragons) are lil dino guys who operate your bubble machine. I remember when I first saw this game it was in the arcade. It had the happy music and the cute chubby dinodragons, and took up hours and hours of my time (and money) at the Jimboy’s tacos by my mom’s work. Eventually, when I learned of a Super Nintendo version, I was all over that shit. I could hang out with Bub, Bob, and the Belugas in the comfort of my own home! Since I already knew what the game was like, I was incredibly confused when I saw the actual cartridge. Look at this box:

What the hell is this?! That looks like the Millenium Falcon shooting a rocket at a hostile cloud of candy. And it appears to be happening in the vast emptiness of space. This box is incredibly misleading. Imagine for a moment that you have never seen the gameplay before and you pick up the box -- you would expect something drastically different when you got it home and started it up. I mean compare the two bubble launchers:

They are completely different. The title leads me to believe there is some form of dancing involved, the ship makes me think of 2001 A Space Odyssey, and the rainbow bubbles do not fit the equation in any way (I understand that the game was originally dubbed Puzzle Bobble and for some crazy reason they changed it stateside).

If you see the PAL version of the box, it’s much better. Cute, buckteeth dinos tossing bubbles around. It is beyond me why they included the Starship Enterprise rendition in the USA release. Either way -- I think it adds to the wacky charm of this game.

I have already stated that I kick major amounts of ass at the single player mode in this game, but let’s talk about the versus mode. When 2 people play against each other, the game changes slightly. You are still using dino-slave labor to pop bubbles, but when the bubbles are popped, you send them to clutter the other player’s screen (ala Super Puzzle Fighter.) The first one to fill up their screen loses. When I play against other people, like with all puzzle games, I feel sorry for them because of the assbeating I dish out. Anthony refuses to play against me anymore- and my roommate was smart and realized she shouldn’t even try. But enough of my shit talking -- let’s get one thing straight: playing against the AI is FUCKING INSANE. As I stated on Rebel FM- you get your ass beat. The cute little characters and bubbly music are a facade for a painful, merciless beating. I have never beaten versus mode against the AI. I know it’s possible, and tonnes of people are gonna comment saying, "WOW JADE U SUCK-IT’S SOOOO EASY".Well let me say to you: No, it isn’t...it isn’t easy AT ALL. If you can beat it, great job, you are a fucking machine -- because this game doesn’t fuck around.

Can I also say that the ghost guys are referred to as Stoners?

I suppose it’s fitting. I can recall struggling against this versus mode and CONSTANTLY getting my ass beat by the Belugas.

Screaming and swearing at those cute purple whales as they wiped me across the floor. Oh the memories!! The way I look at it is there are 100 stages in the single player mode- that was what I concerned myself with.

I know this game has been remade a bajillion times on every platform known to man. I for one, was really excited to hear about the DS version, since that meant I could take it with me everywhere and play against other people wirelessly. Sadly I was very disappointed with the dumb rubber band touch screen bullshit. You use the stylus to “fling” the bubbles with a slingshot sort of action. Also, having the aiming over 2 disjointed screens is awkward and aggravating. Why bother with that? Just use the d pad! I guess the controls put a spin on the game, but that’s not what I’m looking for in Bust a Move. I’m looking for the old school arcade action that I know and love. This game isn't hard to find, and you should not pay a lot for it. Don’t let anyone tell you it’s “rare” or anything like that -- because it isn’t. If someone is charging you over $30 for the cartridge without the box, they are ripping you off (the PAL version might be a bit more, but not by a lot). The Alameda Game Exchange in Alameda, CA and Fair Game in Sacramento, CA are good places to look besides the dreaded eBay. I will be including a FAQ in this blog/site/deal with how to go about obtaining these games I speak of. I know ROMs are available for almost all games now, but I want to help those who are interested in collecting the actual items.

This review was a bit of a test run, and hopefully wasn’t too painful to read! Next up is the awesome horror point-and-click adventure Clocktower.