Taito's Bubble Bobble, a journey of two bubble-blowing dinosaurs traveling down 100 levels, was such a huge hit in 1986, that you would expect the company to quickly crank out sequels to capitalize on the popularity. Strangely, there wouldn't be proper successors, gameplay-wise, until the following decade; here, along with Part 2 for the NES and Bubble Symphony for the arcades, Taito would also take a chance on a spin-off title called Puzzle Bobble, or Bust-A-Move depending on the region. A tile-matching puzzle game released in 1994, you're tasked with, like so many similar titles, matching three or more of the same bubble color in order to make them disappear from the vertically-shaped square area.
But unlike so many similar titles, where objects you control fall from the ceiling towards a growing pile below, Puzzle Bobble flips it; a premade multicolored pile is hanging from the ceiling, and you must aim and shoot bubbles upward courtesy of a launcher. Aside from the first stage-only laser pointer to help you get used to the gameplay, the following 29 stages will force you to make as many accurate shots as possible. And to keep things forcibly moving, you're not allowed to linger long on a shot, as the game automatically shoots your bubble within seconds if left undecided. Additionally, the ceiling moves downward after a couple of shots, eventually crashing into the ground if you haven't cleared the area.
As mentioned, each stage is comprised of a multicolored grouping that you must clear to advance; some look like a literal pile, while others are designed like diagonal stalactites that require pin-point accuracy to squeeze your bubbles into tight gaps. What makes structures like this more pressing is the fact that they take up anywhere from 30 to 50% of the field, and you also have to disassemble them one by one. Making a mistake can be devastating, as you must then use that time undoing it, meaning you just wasted time as the ceiling descends closer to the ground. It's entirely possible to win a stage with the ceiling moments away from colliding with your launcher, however every shot has to be extremely calculated at that point.
Along with the colorful, albeit basic backdrops and its lone whimsical melody, Puzzle Bobble has its charms. With this being the ACA NeoGeo port by Hamster, featuring their usual visual, audio, and screen ratio options for your comfort, what you get here is the game as it was released in arcades. In this case: a straightforward, barebones presentation. It doesn't help that latter stages are just slight variations of earlier ones, but to be fair the late-game color arrangements mean there's less margin for error. There's also a versus mode where you can battle against another human player, punishing your opposition with extra bubbles as you destroy them from your area. Though, it's poorly implemented in the sense that it goes back to the title screen regardless of a win or loss. That's like getting sent to the title screen after winning a human match in a Street Fighter game...
Ultimately, perhaps the most clever thing the game does is take the mechanics of Bubble Bobble and transforms them into a playable tile-matching title. But if there's one takeaway you should get from this ACA NeoGeo port, it's that the original Puzzle Bobble is notable for its influence on the genre. Specifically, it went on to inspire several clones, like the blatant Snood or the more subtle Puzz Loop/Ballistic, the latter even influencing its own set of clones like Zuma. Puzzle Bobble also spawned a series of games with several improvements, with the first sequel being especially impressive with its home ports, though depending on who you ask, the quality has taken a noticeable dip in later installments.
The original Puzzle Bobble is a fine game for quick and simple sessions, and for something released in 1994 it was an interesting take on the falling block template. But for something currently available on the PS4's PlayStation Store, it doesn't necessarily stand out other than being a playable time capsule for how the series started. If you want more variety to go along with your bubble-bursting activities, there are better options on the store to choose, such as the Puzzle Bobble 2 and 3 Saturn Tribute package; content-wise, you'll be more satisfied with that choice.
