#bust-a-move

Super Bust-A-Move

Finding this collection was great, because it combines the two games of the series that I have the most nostalgia for into one package that was less than 1000 yen. (Yes, I can emulate them also but this is more convenient for me.)

These games have been ported to a ton of different systems, but my experience with them was Bust-a-Move 2 Arcade Version on the PSX and Bust-a-Move '99 on the N64. Sadly, this version seems to be of the disc-based versions of the latter, so the photo backgrounds and that extra song I loved are unfortunately not present, but the rest of it is there (minus the 4 player battle mode that my sister and I attempted with friends exactly twice before writing it off forever).

This version comes with some quality of life features you'd expect from a rom, such as save states, a slow mode, and rewind, though the only "cheat" I've been using is the unlimited continues for BaM2, since the home console version should've come bundled with that anyway.

My memories of BaM2 were very heavily sunk into the pvp and pvcomp versions; I remember the latter being extremely difficult, but I'm realizing now that it was only because as a middle schooler I didn't really get the strategy of how to play the game and my friends who owned the game and I always got utterly wrecked by the cavegirl.

Having gone back to play the vs. computer mode myself recently, I will say that the cavegirl represents a serious difficulty spike that's kind of hilarious. I lost about three credits getting past her and then didn't have another credit loss until way further in, with the characters immediately after cavegirl being much, much easier. It was weirdly validating, if a bit funny.

I also realized that this entry in the series also has a one player puzzle mode just like BaM99 did (which is where I sunk a good majority of my time after a certain point) so that was fun to tackle as well. It's weird though that the character here is some bizarre Sonic knock-off instead of Bub though.

While BaM2 was mostly just played at a friends' house (I did get my own copy later on that's still on my game shelf in my current apartment, but by that point it was just a pvp engine), my sister and I did own BaM99 ourselves and we played that significantly more. We started off battling each other in pvp a lot, and we would take turns going through the single-player "story mode" to win with each character, and then after we accomplished that, my sister just kind of stopped playing.

I, meanwhile, started tackling things like challenge mode and puzzle mode, which are a good, chill time. Playing them now feels good, like eating a comfort food when visiting my parents: tasty, familiar, tinged with a bit of a nostalgic ache.

If either of these were games you grew up with, I think this is a good port to pick up, especially if you get it on sale. If you haven't played them before but you have someone to play couch co-op with, I think you'll find a fun, engaging little competitive puzzler that will be worth at least a bit of your time. If you enjoy puzzle games and want something that's relaxing to play after a tough day at work, these also fit the bill.