Puzzle Bobble Collection Switch Review
| Platform | Nintendo Switch |
| Release Date | 2/1/23 |
| Cost | $14.99 |
| Publisher | City Connection |
| ESRB Rating | E |
Welcome to the single worst game title on the Switch: Puzzle Bobble™2X/BUST-A-MOVE™2 Arcade Edition & Puzzle Bobble™3/BUST-A-MOVE™3 S-Tribute. There is no way to chop it for SEO purposes. Therefore, I’m just going to call it the Puzzle Bobble Collection and hope for the best. Note that Puzzle Bobble is the Japanese name, while Bust-A-Move is the western name (for Europe and America). There is a load of content here, so I’m just going to copy–paste what the e-shop description says:
Arcade editions of Puzzle Bobble 2X / BUST-A-MOVE 2 Arcade Edition … Home console ports of the Japanese and overseas versions of the arcade games Puzzle Bobble 2 and Puzzle Bobble 2X (1 or 2 players).
Arcade editions of Puzzle Bobble 3 / BUST-A-MOVE 3 … Home console ports of the Japanese and overseas versions of the arcade game Puzzle Bobble 3 (1 or 2 players).
Challenge Mode … Meet certain conditions to clear stages (Puzzle Bobble 3 / BUST-A-MOVE 3).
Collection Mode … Play a total of 1,026 stages designed by players from the time (Puzzle Bobble 3).
Edit Mode … Place bubbles in the field to create your own stages (Puzzle Bobble 2X / BUST-A-MOVE 2 Arcade Edition).
As you can see, there are tons of Bust-A-Move/Puzzle Bobble content. If you don’t read Japanese, skip the Puzzle Bobble content, as it’s almost identical to Bust-A-Move content.
There is a ton of content in the Bust-a-Move side of the Puzzle Bobble Collection. I’d be here all day if I were to describe it all. So what I will do is describe the gameplay. Bust-A-Move is the father of the bubble-popping puzzle genre. However, they were arcade games first and foremost. So if you were looking for an easy, casual, bubble-popping experience, look elsewhere. They get nail-bitingly hard, fast, even on easy mode (assuming there is a difficulty setting). Remember that arcade games were designed to be easy to play but incredibly hard to conquer. These games take both aspects to the hilt. The home console ports aren’t much easier. To help you, however, there are some nice features like Save and Load, Slow Mode, and Rewind for Bust-A-Move 3 S-Tribute. They won’t make it much easier, but just enough,
So what to make of the Puzzle Bobble Collection? Yes, go buy it. If you love bubble popping and want tons of excellent bubble-popping action, you can’t go wrong with this. Just keep in mind that these were products for the arcade market, and proceed accordingly.
Overall: The Puzzle Bobble Collection is the father of the bubble popping puzzle genre. However, these are hard games. You’ve been warned.
Verdict: Recommended