Bubble Bobble was designed by Fukio Mitsuji, with music by Tadashi Kimijima, and debuted in Japanese arcades on 16 June 1986. Mitsuji wanted a game that would appeal to women and couples, and settled on bubbles after brainstorming more than 100 ideas. Several enemies were borrowed from Taito's earlier Chack'n Pop (1984).
The dragons Bub and Bob trap enemies in bubbles and pop them across 100 levels to rescue their girlfriends from Baron Von Blubba. It was one of the first games with multiple endings: only two players finishing together see the "happy end." Reaching levels 20, 30 or 40 without losing a life opens a secret room with a coded hint.
The game spread to many home systems, from the Famicom Disk System and European computers in 1987 to the NES in 1988. In 1996 Taito said the source code had been lost, so later home versions were reverse-engineered from the arcade hardware.1
Names and releases
| Region | Title on the box | Platform | Date | Publisher | Src |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| NA | Bubble Bobble | Arcade | October 1986 | Romstar | 1 |
| NA | Bubble Bobble | NES | Nov 30, 1988 | — | 2 |
| JP | バブルボブルBaburu Boburuwide release in September 1986 | Arcade | Jun 16, 1986 | Taito | 1 |
| EU | Bubble Bobble | Arcade | October 1986 | Electrocoin Automatics | 1 |
| JP | バブルボブルBaburu Boburu | Famicom Disk System | Oct 30, 1987 | Taito | 2 |
| EU | Bubble BobbleUK; Amstrad CPC, C64, Amiga and Atari ST versions also October 1987 in Europe | ZX Spectrum | October 1987 | — | 1 |
| JP | ファイナルバブルボブルFinal Bubble Bobble; English Wikipedia gives 2 July, Japanese Wikipedia 31 July | Master System | July 1988 | — | 1 |
| JP | バブルボブルdeveloped by Dempa; adds the Sybubblun mode | X68000 | Mar 9, 1990 | — | 1 |
| EU | Bubble Bobble | NES | Oct 26, 1990 | — | 2 |
| JP | Classic Bubble Bobblesingle-player only, different plot | Game Boy | Dec 7, 1990 | — | 1 |
| JP | バブルボブルVirtual Console, Famicom Disk System version | Wii | Nov 23, 2007 | — | 3 |
| JP | アーケードアーカイブス バブルボブルArcade Archives | PlayStation 4 | Jan 29, 2016 | Hamster | 3 |
| WW | Arcade Archives BUBBLE BOBBLEuses the Japanese ROM | Switch | Dec 29, 2022 | Hamster | 4 |
Also known as: バブルボブル JP3Baburu Boburu JP3Final Bubble Bobble JP1ファイナルバブルボブル JP3Classic Bubble Bobble WW1
Box art by region
NA Bubble Bobble 
EU Bubble Bobble
Box art © its publishers, shown to identify each release. Scans: libretro-thumbnails.
Version differences
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GameplayFamicom Disk System
The Disk System version loads every 16 rounds and has no secret rooms; instead, a silver door on round 99 leads to extra stages.3
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ContentFamicom Disk System
On the Disk System, clearing round 100 alone gives a bad ending, and the Super Bubble Bobble mode unlocks in the menu after a two-player happy end.3
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GameplayFamicom Disk SystemNES
The Disk System version keeps level progress in a save file, while the NES cartridge uses passwords.2
Where to play legally today
-
Arcade Archives Purchase
-
PlayStation Store Purchase
Reception
Game Machine ranked it the second most successful table arcade cabinet in Japan in October 1986, and it was the top-grossing arcade game in the UK from April to June 1987. Zzap!64 gave the C64 version 97%, and EGM scored the NES version 31 out of 40.1
Sources
- 1en.wikipedia.org
- 2tcrf.net
- 3ja.wikipedia.org
- 4arcadearchives.com
- 5en.wikipedia.org
- 6nintendo.com
- 7store.playstation.com
- 8ja.wikipedia.org
Checked: 2026-10-13Text reviewed: 2026-10-13
Spotted a mistake? Write to atlas@old-games.net.