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»Bust-A-Move Pocket
"Now it is the beginning of a fantastic stor-oh wait. Wrong game."
There are honestly three games I’ll always associate with the original NeoGeo, just simply due to their abundance: Samurai Shodown, Fatal Fury Special and Bust-A-Move.
Sure, the first two seem like obvious choices, but the third one is
probably the one that sticks out the most in the minds of SNK fans
worldwide, because it showed up just about everywhere. Seriously, in
every 3 out of every 4 MVS cabinets I saw growing up; BAM was
at least one of the games on there. Not that that’s a bad thing, I have
fond memories playing Taito’s unorthodox puzzler, which is why I’ve
finally decided to review it...one way or another. In this case, it’s
another, but it’s definitely the best BAM port found on a portable at the time, and it still holds up wonderfully to this day.
Now, for anyone whose experience with puzzle games goes beyond Tetris, the system behind Bust-A-Move
should be fairly obvious. For those who weren’t so lucky, I’ll explain.
It’s not your standard “stack-‘em-up” style puzzler, instead, players
take control of Bub the Dragon (of Bubble Bobble fame), but
instead of trapping monsters in spit bubbles and turning them into
food, he’s trying to connect bubbles of the same color. The set-up’s
pretty different compared to most puzzle games. While generally,
players are forced to arrange groups of pieces together as they fall
from the bottom, BAM takes things in a different direction.
Sure, setting three or more of the same colored bubble does cause them to disappear, but that’s the only common thread between BAM
and most puzzlers of its era. See, as opposed to having pieces stack
upward from the bottom, every thing’s hanging from the stage’s ceiling.
Also, the bubbles are released one at a time, but as opposed to simply
placing them in an area, one must fire it at a certain angle, such that
it lands in the proper stop. If the clump of bubbles reaches below the
floor of the stage, it’s game over.
There
are four game modes in all. First, we have Puzzle Mode, which is pretty
much the standard mode in the arcades. In other words, the aim is to
complete each stage in as little time as possible by clearing all of
the pieces. Next, there’s VS. CPU mode, which is exactly what it sounds
like: a mode where players duke it out with a computer-controlled
opponent, until one finally falters. There’s also a VS. Player Mode,
which is pretty much like the previous mode, only it requires a link
cable and a friend with a NGPC and another copy of BAM Pocket
and may offer better competition – depending on how skilled your
friends happen to be. Finally, there’s Survivor Mode, which is
basically the endless mode commonly found in puzzle games.
I
have to say, this is a pretty good port. The controls are responsive,
the set-up is clear and the game’s basic charm is retained. I guess my
only qualm is that it’s not really an original game, but that can be
said for about 95% of the NGPC’s entire library. It’s a great port and
definitely one of the best puzzle games the NGPC has to offer.
The
graphics look pretty good for the most part in this one. Sure, it
suffers from the typical blank screen problems seen in most puzzle
games during this era, but everything else look pretty good, especially
the menus. Hell, the title screen looks like it was taken straight out
of the arcade. Besides, every thing’s easy to make out, despite the
fact that the detail has gone down a bit.
The
same can be said about the sound. Sure, the NGPC’s sound card is no
match for the one in the old MVS machines, not to mention the
CD-quality audio in most console ports of the time, but this port
manages to churn out some nice renditions of the original arcade game’s
classic tunes. Sound effects are pretty much what one might expect for
the NGPC: not bad, but nothing awe-inspiring. Then again, they’re sound
effects, so who cares?
Then
there’s replay. On the surface, this game seems to have a lot going for
it: it’s a well-made port of a classic puzzle game, it has a variety of
game mode – each of which offers a unique take on the engine, and it
has both lasting power and casual potential. Of course, as time marches
on, so does progress. Newer incarnations of BAM have been released on
portables, with additional game modes – BAM Ghost on the PSP
comes quickly to mind. Still, for the time, this was definitely the
best handheld port Taito’s prominent puzzler ever received.
Article by: Wolfdogg
Posted on: Sep. 25th, 2007 |
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Review Recap |
| Gameplay |
| A great recreation of the classic arcade game. |
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Graphics |
| Sure, there are some blank areas on the playing field, but the menu graphics look almost arcade-perfect. |
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Sound |
| The NGPC’s sound card reproduces the classic arcade tunes pretty well. Effects are pretty bland, though. |
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Replay Value |
| It’s an excellent port of one of the most revered puzzle games ever. On the other hand, newer versions have come out, with additional features. |
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