 Welcome back to Classic Replay, this time we're playing Bubble Bobble. Also guys, if you like this video, please don't forget to like, subscribe and click that little bell. Let me start with the bleeding obvious, this game is bloody good. In fact, nothing gives me more pleasure than bursting bubbles. Whilst this is the Amiga version I've chosen, to be fair, nearly all the ports of Tato's arcade game are immensely playable. But the Amiga port along with the ST port are without question the best of the bunch. My cousin and I used to play Bubble Bobble for hours on end. Luckily I had the Amistrad CPC conversion to play at home, but sadly they didn't quite nail it on the CPC. But I still played the tape out of it, it's a shame about the little blue sprite. But what on God's green earth is going on with that little specky sprite? Probably the one thing I couldn't forgive the Amistrad CPC version for is that there was no high score table. So Bubble Bobble on the Amiga was programmed by David Broadhurst and no surprise David Whittaker did the music. The arcade version of Bubble Bobble appears in the book 1001 video games you must play before you die. So off we go, I love this bouncy little tune. Interestingly enough as well, David Broadhurst also worked on The Road to the World Cup 98. He was the lead programmer and that's actually one of my favourite FIFA games of all time. But never mind that, back to this family favourite. We turn back to the start there like a good little dragon. Whilst this is a great port, it lacks the arcade's secret levels. But I think that's the same of all the home computer versions. In regards to Amiga standards in graphics, the characters look primitive and the backgrounds aren't exactly colourful. But the playability is fantastic, it really is there. The response to the controls is instantaneous and it's really reliable. It really does give ours a good clean fun. I'm still rubbish at it but I've been playing it for years, I just can't put this bloody thing down. There's all sorts of objects that can be collected to be used to score. The first three types of bonuses are awarded for destroying the baddies or for speedy clearance of the screen. And then there's a fourth type that appears at random, well it appears to appear at random. And there seems to have undocumented magical properties. From experience I can say that one increases your speed while another teleports you to a further point, maybe three or four screens away or further into the game. Also giant cakes just fall from the sky and if you hit them you get like three lives. And then the bubbles that float up from the floor, they can sometimes contain a variety of goodies. And as you can see on the left hand side you can pick up letters to spell the word extend. So you really want to take your time cutting as much as you can and not trying to end the screen too quickly. But obviously don't take too long because eventually you get chased off the screen by Baron von Blober. I'm not sure how true this is but the guy that came up with the idea for Bubble Bobble, Fufio Mitsujin, he designed this game for couples. He noticed that there was a distinct lack of females in arcade halls and so he wanted to bridge that gap, bridge that divide and the legend goes we got Bubble Bobble. In fact the only way to complete this game is through cooperation. Two players working together collaboratively. I've never completed the Amiga version or the Amtrak CPC version but I'm told the arcade version has three endings. A good ending, a bad ending and a true ending or something like that. As a single player if you were to reach 100 levels apparently a message pops up saying come back with your friend. So the only way you can actually complete the game is with a friend. So like a massive click in the curlies there but you get to play the game all over again all 100 levels but this time faster and that's how you get to the true ending apparently for allegedly. As good as Bubble Bobble is though, I really love the Rainbow Islands. That for me is just unbelievable playing that in the arcade and even the 8-bit versions were fantastic as well. I haven't played the 16-bit versions but the 8-bit versions were absolutely seminary and the series is still going strong today. You know I've got this on the Nintendo Switch, the new version so that's real testament to the code and the programmer and the idea, the originality behind it. At some point I really want to explore the secret depths of Bubble Bobble and its game design. I'd love to see some of these hidden rooms in the arcade version and even if I have to cheat, just see it through to the end, experience it just to say I've seen it, been there, done that. This level always screws me over, zaps away at my life. I think the version I've got on the Nintendo Switch is Bubble Bobble 4. I think in the retro news also mentioned in an article recently that there's a new version of Bubble Bobble for the Amiga coming out that writes the wrongs of the past or something like that This is a truly excellent version, a fantastic port of the arcade. I can't think, unless it's the hidden levels, how you could improve this game. It's absolutely fantastic. Anyway I hope you've enjoyed this video and don't forget to like, subscribe and tick that little bell in the corner if you'd like to see more videos. Bye!