#cute platformer

Parasol Stars

Like its subtitle states, Taito’s Parasol Stars is a spinoff of Bubble Bobble, much like Rainbow Islands before it. You take on the role of Bubby and/or Bobby, here in human form, as they clear the screen of enemies, while gobbling up treats to score points. Rather than bubbles or rainbows, the chubby little heroes use their parasols to knock out the enemies. You can stun weaker foes by whacking them, which can then be juggled and tossed across the screen at other enemies. This is important, because stronger foes can’t be directly attacked, so you need toss at least a few other baddies at them before you can dispose of them. In some of these ways, it’s a little more like Don Doko Don, another similar platformer developed by Taito a few years prior. Unlike Bubble Bobble, many stages scroll horizontally back and forth, though they’re still quite small. Each stage is filled with hidden score items, many revealed by tossing things across the screen. With the umbrella extended, you can also float down slowly between platforms.

Polyroll

(Note: This review is based on the port made for Windows and Nintendo Switch in 2019, as the original iOS version seems to have been delisted from the Apple Store since.)

Sometimes, all you want is a nice, simple game that does what it sets out to do effectively. Polyroll, a 2D platformer that takes equal inspiration from 90s PC platformers and Sonic the Hedgehog, is one such game worth checking out if you’re in the mood for an old-fashioned platforming romp.

Clockwork Aquario

Clockwork Aquario was the final arcade game developed by Westone, the folks behind the Wonder Boy / Monster World games. Originally developed in 1992 and 1993 for the Sega System 18 arcade board, the game failed location tests and was canceled before release, resulting in the game lying in the company’s archives for a few decades. Thankfully, publisher ININ Games stepped in to fund a restoration project, allowing for the world of Aquario to shin after a long slumber. 

Dragon Egg

NCS/Masaya are best known for creating the legendary Langrisser series and the bizarre Choaniki games, but they developed many other games during their existence both in and out of their usual genres. Among these was Dragon Egg, a cute and simple platformer with a couple of cool ideas. 

Bubble Bobble (Console Ports)

Since its initial release in 1986, Bubble Bobble has appeared on platforms from the NES and Sega Master System to the FM Towns Marty and Xbox 360. While all of these ports strove to be as close to the arcade as they could, in many cases it wasn’t totally possible based on the limitations of each platform. This was further complicated by Taito actually losing the source code to the game during a restructure in 1996. Taito itself made the ports of Bubble Bobble for the NES, Game Boy, Master System, and MSX2, while various other companies handled porting the game to other platforms. For the most part, players can expect capturing monsters, bouncing on bubbles, collecting items, and reaching the end of the game to be largely the same regardless of the system, while the major differences encountered lie in the graphical and sound quality of each one. In addition, enemies also adopted new behaviors and attack patterns in some ports. 

Bubble Symphony

The next direct entry in the Bubble Bobble series – Bubble Symphony – hews extremely closely to the original Bubble Bobble. Players still control bubble dragons who trap cutesy enemies in bubbles, pop them, and then collect the resulting bonus items they leave behind. While it would be easy to write Symphony off as a copy of the original, there’s actually a great number of improvements made to the game that results in it being far more accessible than the original. 

Bubble Bobble Part 2

One of the most experimental entries in the Bubble Bobble series begins with a relatively standard story; Bub and Bob (or their descendants Chubby and Rubby in the Japanese version and back of the NES release box) must save Judy from the clutches of three powerful Skel Monsta wizards known as the Skull Brothers. Players must complete 80 levels spanning four themed worlds – each with their own hazards and bosses. 

Classic Bubble Bobble

Continuing the Game Boy version’s tradition of misnomers, Classic Bubble Bobble isn’t a port of the original arcade game for the Color. Instead, “classic” refers to stripping Bub of his charge bubbles, hover ability, and health points while also eliminating the “stronger” enemies that had to be damaged with bubbles. It’s also more like the “classic” game boy game in that Bub’s sprite is identical to that version along with many of the enemies he encounters.