It was the distant 1986 when the Taito produced the very first Bubble Bobble, a video game that immediately impacted the daily imagination of all fans, building over time a place of respect in the annals of the medium, and showing which were his possibility. Over the years, many titles of the so-called "old school" have come back into vogue, enhanced by commercial experiments that have dusted off the dynamics through remasters and remakes, highlighting that the flow of events had not affected too much the love for these products, and playing with the dormant emotions of entire generations, perhaps inspiring even the new generation. With Bubble Bobble 4 Friends we are faced with something similar, an operation that on the one hand wants to continue and on the other hand to rejuvenate, refresh some constructive and creative dynamics never completely forgotten and still important in the historical overall picture. Now that everything has also landed on Playstation 4 we couldn't not talk about it again.
What is Bubble Bobble 4 Friends about?
The action takes place from the classic child's room, and this is revealed byaesthetics general, from the objects shown, from the toys, and from the atmosphere you breathe. This baby is sleeping wrapped up over his hair in a big blanket, it is notte fonda and two of his toys suddenly take off "vita"indeed it would be more correct to say that one comes to life (Super Drunk, famous villain of the saga) and violently wakes up the other (Boy, iconic protagonist). From this moment on, a challenge takes place in which we will have to defeat, alone or in the company of local allies (there is no possibility to collaborate in multiplayer online), our jammer through a series of levels, bosses and mignons, all set in the room which is aesthetically reworked for the occasion, transformed and rendered as a real changing battlefield.
They are really i levels one of the coolest features of Bubble Bobble 4 Friends, with their magic design. This clearly refers tochildhood, acting as a reinterpretation of the objects typical of a child's imagination. We could almost say that the entire video game is powered by one deep nostalgia, perceptible especially if you face it in old age, nostalgia that immediately becomes something else in younger hands. However, this does not depart only from the aesthetics and modeling of the general details, but also from the gameplay itself, from the technical structure of the title that does not dare too much in terms of graphics, with a colorful palette and a soundtrack coming directly from the past, clear also intellectual reference. In fact, in the 80s i jingle some cabin cruisers played a very important role within the local use, contributing to the construction of a real subjective imagination.
Bubbles, enemies and an immoderate love for fruit
Bubble Bobble 4 Friends branches into 5 distinct worlds, each of which is characterized, aesthetically speaking, around the toys and to objects present in the aforementioned bedroom, leading to one thematic-aesthetic distinction easily guessed, obvious. Each of these five is distributed in turn in 10 levels, For a total of 50. At the end of each world you will have to face a specific one boss final, always themed, up to the final clash with Super Drunk. Every single level is drawn from the classic dynamics of the series; the goal is to "englobe" all the enemies through the bubbles, then make them burst obtaining fruit and thus increase your score.
In addition to the balanced difficulty, a series of elements, such as the wind or the type of enemy or the presence of bonus items to collect (such as the letters of the word "extend"). To help the player there are, however, a series of upgrades, of freely wearable objects before each attempt, which provide curious and important bonus that facilitate everything (like the possibility of throwing the bubbles farther, for example).
Based on one of the most classic elements of the first cabinets, namely the competitiveness deriving from the scores, scores that also drew the very first important tournaments in the sector, the developers (ININ Games) have endowed the experience with a online ranking with which to compare with other enthusiasts. Not only that, the very first chapter of the saga, emulated and a minimum cleaned up, but still untouched in the dynamics of gameplay and aesthetics. This choice only further marks the general intentions of a product that not only continues on its way, but continues to respect it the roots, giving contemporary players the opportunity to confront once again with the history of video games.
