Bubble Bobble and Its Four NES sequels (Nintendo Entertainment System Review)

PATREON ► / bigolewords
STREAMS ► Every Thursday 9pm EST here on KZbin
BUBBLE BOBBLE SEQUELS ►In this edition we cover Bubble Bobble and the FOUR sequels it received on the NES: Bubble Bobble 2, Rainbow Islands (NTSC and PAL versions), and Parasol Stars.
#retrogaming #nintendo #nes
A lot of your favorite games for the Nintendo Entertainment System received follow-ups in cartridge form, and for some reason many of them flew under the radar. This is the first in a series focused on these forgotten sequels, beginning with a few games you may or may not know already :)
Part one of this series can be found here: • Obscure Sequels to Pop...
Part two of this series can be found here: • Obscure Sequels to Pop...
Part three of this series can be found here: • Educational Spinoffs o...
► If you're looking to get into retro reviewing or streaming, here's some of the equipment I used for both or either. My current setup is what I love now, but honestly I'd say start out with the cheap stuff and get a feel for everything before throwing down a ton of cash on gear you may or may not need.
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CONTENTS OF THIS VIDEO
0:00 - Intro
1:38 - Bubble Bobble
3:25 - Bubble Bobble Part 2
6:10 - Rainbow Islands NTSC
9:14 - Rainbow Islands PAL
11:39 - Parasol Stars
14:09 - Outro
After years of focusing on the best games for the NES, I decided to change gears and focus on lesser known cartridges that have, for one reason or another, generally escaped the public discussion and general nostalgia. This series highlights many of the relatively unknown, obscure, and unloved titles in the Nintendo Entertainment System's library. Some of these games are at best mediocre. Many are painfully bad, some of the worst NES games around. Most are hilarious for all the wrong reasons! Occasionally, OCCASIONALLY, a handful of them are actually good, borderline hidden gems.
While you won't find any of these on the NES Classic, some of these titles have managed to make their way onto the Nintendo Switch, so if you don't have an original Nintendo console or ROMs escape you ethically or technologically, there are several ways to play them.
Want more? Me too! Until then, lots of other articles where the pictures don't move and words have to be read can be found on my website: top100nesgames.com
/ awinnerisyou
/ bigolewords
nes, nintendo, retro gaming, retro games, gaming, video games,
nes games, 8-bit, old school, nintendo entertainment system, famicom, family computer, 8-bit games, nintendo games, Nintendo gamer, 8-bit gaming, 8 bit, 8-bit gamer, 8-bit music, chiptune, chiptunes, retro gamer, 80s, 90s, 80s video games, 90s video games, game collecting, game collection, retro game collecting, retro game collection, game room tour, gaming tour, NES Hidden Gems, Bad NES Games, Funny NES Games, Nintendo Hidden gems

[@DJToneRI]

My mom bought me Bubble Bobble 2 used from Stop & Shop when I was a kid 25-30 years ago. They used to rent games there and they had this bargain bin where they would put the games when they were cycling them out. It's like a $400 game now, and I still have it. Thanks mom!

[@BigOleWords]

Dang that’s pretty awesome!

[@toddburgess5056]

400!?! 😯

[@creamyjeremy8949]

There's also Bubble Symphony (also, also known as Bubble Bobble 2) that came out later on arcade and Saturn

[@toddburgess5056]

Oh wow! Never heard of that!

[@commentresurrection1841]

Bubble Bobble seems random but everything is calculated and triggered by your actions (bubbles blown, how many times you jump, how far you've walked etc...) If you play a second game after your first you will get harder to find objects sooner as it carries over from your last game like an arcade would

[@BigOleWords]

I’ve noticed that with the bubble upgrades but could never figure out why anything else happens

[@sayastra]

(You're probably aware) There's 2 endings to bubble bobble. One where you play "super bubble bobble* (level 98 a crystal ball and a door appear) then you get 20 extra levels, when you beat the game you turn back into humans, Leading to rainbow islands. You NEED 2 players for this. Without such you stay dinos leading to bubble bobble 2. In honest, I'd recommend snow bros instead. Simply because you get the extra challenge but you can play co-op. Cheers.

[@BigOleWords]

For sure :). At one point I did follow the steps to get the true ending but nowadays I just play it the regular way with friends. And Snow Bros rules!

[@sayastra]

@Big Ole Words my friends and I tried to get the extra levels and gave up. I'm glad someone is doing the clone shows.

[@toddburgess5056]

Thats amazing, I had NO idea ! I wonder how that translates to Bubble Bobble Plus on the Nintendo Wii which is essentially the first Bubble Bobble with improved graphics and more items. 🤔 🫧🫧 🫧 🫧🫧 🫧

[@rabidfurify]

I had Rainbow Islands and Parasol Stars on my Amiga back in the day, they were great, and had proper simultaneous 2-player gameplay like you'd expect. I guess the NES couldn't handle the extra sprites without slowing down a lot.

[@BigOleWords]

Wait 2-player Rainbow Islands?! That sounds hectic!

[@Djwunmoshen]

Parasol Stars on Turbo Graphix 16 was the Bomb. 2 player mode plus graphics upgrade. Beatem it multiple times with friends

[@BigOleWords]

Yeah that sounds way better!

[@ChicagoRetroGamer]

Got to love the Bubble Bobble games! I still play the original and the arcade game whenever I get the chance!

[@BigOleWords]

Nice! Still super fun games.

[@Dragonrider1227]

I used to rent Rainbow Islands as a kid. I played that before ever seeing the first Bubble Bobble so I was surprised to see how different that was

[@BigOleWords]

Right? Like the spirit is similar but they’re totally different in gameplay.

[@hoagieimpact9189]

I wish I had all those games when I was a kid, but I only had the original Bubble and later on Bust-a-Move 3DX on the N64. Bubble Bobble is a great 80s multiplayer game, the only one that could get me and my bro away from the OG Mario Bros. (1983) and Bruce Lee (1984).

[@BigOleWords]

Original Bubble Bobble is the best of the lot, so you didn't miss much after that :)

[@electricmastro]

Speaking of Bubble Bobble Part 2, there are definitely quite a number of NES sequels that sell for much higher than the original, despite not changing much up. That could be a whole video in of itself actually: Power Blade 2 Chip and Dale Rescue Rangers 2 DuckTales 2 Bomberman II Casino Kid II R.C. Pro-Am II Adventure Island 3 Adventures of Lolo 3 Super Spy Hunter Batman: Return of the Joker And the NES sequel to the Game Boy game Gargoyle's Quest II.

[@fusedtoebones3890]

nes bubble bobble , my favorite ever game! it's best version because you can jump through the bubbles without popping them

[@DadRacer]

GOAL IN! Awesome reviews as always. The Rambo titles is a perfect analogy.

[@BigOleWords]

I’m gonna start saying that during every sport I watch. “It’s going, going, GOAL IN!!!”

[@juliab1954]

Fun Fact: there’s a bubble bobble ds game called Bubble Bobble Revolution that was hated for its graphics, the camera being too zoomed in, and a bug that made level 30 impossible.

[@BigOleWords]

That sounds awful!

[@Dogeathotdog1]

Not a bug exactly...they forgot to add the end boss entirely. There is a patched version but I think by that time the damage had been done to its reputation 😅

[@FlergerBergitydersh]

Usually, I'd guess that the PAL version of a game would run way too fast on NTSC, however it is possible that the cart for Rainbow Islands was region aware and actually overcompensated for the speed different by slowing down the game too much, much like how the PAL copy of Super Bros overcompensated for the speed difference and Mario moves a bit faster than the NTSC copy. But that was a different copy of the game. Not many NES games were region aware, afaik. Maybe they were anticipated an overseas release. A back to back comparison between different consoles may need to be used. Parasol Stars looks fine in your gameplay, for whatever reason. Maybe it's programmed to work fine on NTSC consoles somehow, but either way it's largely retroactively obsoleted by then much better Turbrografx/PC Engine version with multiplayer (It's the original version of the game, even; the arcade port was supposed to be based on that version before it was cancelled.)

[@BigOleWords]

Hmmm that's pretty interesting!

[@packpock4369]

The prices are ridiculous! The Rainbow Islands games are really good..

[@TheUncommonValley]

Rainbow Islands is such a great NES game. Sad that it doesn't get a lot of recognition that the first Bubble Bobble got.

[@BigOleWords]

Totally agree. Once you get the hang of the rainbows it’s really fun and challenging.

[@johnhein4851]

Bubble bobble is the top of my list! Best version is the gameboy advance SP version where you get the old and new version of the original.

[@BigOleWords]

Neat!

[@drtchock]

Bubble Bobble is an all time favorite

[@BigOleWords]

It’s the best!

[@drtchock]

@@BigOleWords I had it on the c64. My childhood was without a Nintendo.

[@BigOleWords]

@@drtchock Damn you had a Commodore?! Awesome!

[@toddburgess5056]

I have Bubble Bobble Plus on the Nintendo Wii that I purchased on the play store before it was abandoned years ago. Its an awesome tribute to the original with improved graphics and added items. I've been playing it a lot recently since its been deathly cold outside.

[@BigOleWords]

Whoa cool, I’ve never played that version!

[@System_Sega]

As for Rainbow Islands, The Pal version plays a lot closer to the arcade, however the redesigned NTSC version is the better game. The later Master System port we in the UK was based on the NTSC NES game.

[@BigOleWords]

Glad I never played the arcade version then!

[@gjergjaurelius9798]

Shadow of the ninja had a spiritual sequel on Gameboy color. It’s known as return of the ninja 🥷🥷👌🏻💯

[@BigOleWords]

That’s pretty cool, did not know that! Guessing it’s not 2-player co-op? ;)

[@Chan_Prado]

Thank you for the great retrospective of these games!

[@BigOleWords]

Hey thanks so much! This was one of my favorite videos to make.

[@Sinn0100]

Bubble Bobble 2 should have featured an MMC chip enabling the Nes to produce both characters at once. Did you know that Rainbow Island is also available on the Sega Genesis with 2 player support and no flicker? At any rate, the Bubble Bobble characters look better as dinosaurs.

[@BigOleWords]

Did not know there was a Genesis Rainbow Islands! Neat!

[@Sinn0100]

@@BigOleWords Apparently it will be included with the Sega Genesis Mini 2.

[@brunoramos9747]

People don't understand that Nintendo had the greatest library of 700 and something games that is more than every system combined today

[@BigOleWords]

Lots of fun titles for sure!

[@hoagieimpact9189]

What do you mean, more games than anything else combined? 700 games isn't that much when compared to the Switch's 10000+ games library..

[@BagOfMagicFood]

If you combine all the regions, you get nearly 1400 unique licensed games.

[@retroprojections]

Great job, you hit all the marks all right! I love all the Bobble/Parasol games!

[@BigOleWords]

Thanks! Yeah they’re all pretty fun in their own way :)

[@Sashko_Dee]

@3:15 I'd go with either Tengen Tetris or that Famicom only tank game where you have to destroy all the enemy tanks while protecting your base.

[@GenerationPixel]

Bubble Bobble and Rainbow Islands, absolute classics, and the even ported beautifully to the ZX Spectrum. Great video, as always, buddy 👍

[@BigOleWords]

No Parasol Stars?

[@GenerationPixel]

I don't think Parasol really captured the magic of the first two. It's barely spoken about these day, unlike BB and RI.

[@BigOleWords]

@@GenerationPixel Yeah I'd agree.

[@Br4d]

i'm sure i played a game on the Amiga 3000 that was the umbrella game but i co-op'd it with my friend.

[@BigOleWords]

I think other versions of Parasol Stars are 2-player, just not the NES version :(

[@TheWarmotor]

Ah yes, red white and blue - all the colors of the rainbow!

[@youreallyplaythat]

Every time I see a Chiller cart I kind of want one. It's weird I never have played the first Bubble Bobble- seems like something I should give a whirl . Didn't know sequels existed.

[@BigOleWords]

Chiller is disgusting but kind of amazing for what it is. And you need to grab a friend and bubble it up immediately!

[@stewsretroreviews]

Classic mate, nice to see the proper sequel👍🏻

[@BigOleWords]

For sure! Rainbow Islands (NTSC) is the best one in my opinion:)

[@Gold2thGaming]

Ducktales are awesome 👌🏼Bubble Bobble is a wicked series i love most games like this and one of fave on Neo Geo believe it or not is Nightmare in the dark. Blow all the dudes on the screen 🤣

[@BigOleWords]

I do not know about Nightmare in the Dark! I’m on it!

[@Gold2thGaming]

@@BigOleWords its a awesome game

[@TheRetroManRandySavage]

Nightmare in the dark? Sounds like a night round at bazza's house. 😂

[@Gold2thGaming]

@@TheRetroManRandySavage Hahahaaa it does dude,Bazza is ruthless 😂

[@TheRetroManRandySavage]

@@Gold2thGaming he's the most brutal, vicious and ruthless there's ever been. No one can stop him. He's the best ever. He's sonny liston, he's jack Dempsey. He's from there cloth. There's no one can catch him. His style is impetuous, his defence is impregnable. 😂

[@olesideburns]

3:50 is a very Tobias thing to say

[@BigOleWords]

That's definitely a Tobiasesque line I shoved in there ;)

[@ThePreciseClimber]

There's also Bubble Memories: The Story of Bubble Bobble III from 1996. Christ...

[@BigOleWords]

What?!? No way!

[@39zack]

@@BigOleWordsIt was arcade only and released for PS2 in 2007, but only in Japan

[@dakhappy]

you forgot about The Story of Bubble Bobble: The Curse of the Creature's Ghost.

[@BigOleWords]

Bubble Bobble but one of the brothers has a wife: Bubble Bobble Third Wheel Legend.

[@GigTube]

The graphics on that pal rainbow islands looks like one of those amateurish unlicensed games. Like something you’d see on action 52 🤣

[@BigOleWords]

Oh yeah. Maybe not quite that bad, but half-assed to say the least.

[@bluestrife28]

I love Bubble Bobble, and yeah the sequel no, always the original. I was the guy still playing this on NES when the SNES was already taking names.

[@BigOleWords]

Nice! Ever tried Rainbow Islands?

[@AngryDadGaming]

3:53 - Uhhh…what? 😂

[@BigOleWords]

🐣thank you thank you :)

[@MikeandKatieShow]

Nice series. I gotta watch the other 3 I missed now. You should cover contra Force. Odd story to that one.

[@BigOleWords]

That’s is a perfect game for this series. I covered it some in my co-op run and gun video, but there’s definitely more to tell.

[@TheEternalGoth]

You should check out, if you somehow haven't, a somewhat obscure game called Kung Fu Heroes. It was a really great (in my nostalia-clouded memories) game and I found out a year ago that it had an even more obscure sequel, Little Ninja Brothers.

[@BigOleWords]

Yes to both! I almost covered Kung-Fu Heroes in my beat-em ups video but decided it’s maybe more of an arcade style game, so I’ll review it later. Little Ninja Brothers is maybe the weirdest game of all, a co-op RPG! Will definitely get to that as well :)

[@bananonymouslastname5693]

Yeah, the Chinese World series runs deep in Japan. We did get one more of the games in that series on SNES called Super Ninja Boy. It's a lot like Little Ninja Bros

[@BigOleWords]

@@bananonymouslastname5693 Chinese World? Damn, they just cut right through the creative process with that one!

[@MikeandKatieShow]

Oh wow. I never thought those 2 were related

[@bananonymouslastname5693]

@@BigOleWords yep. Culture Brain was an oxymoron of name for that developer. Then again, they gave us the Baseball Simulator 1.000 and Magic of Sheherezade...

[@LevitatingCups]

I remember liking rainbow islands on a500 a lot, but that music... after a while its just, well, it annoys you enough to learn to use action replay to memory edit the song so it does not repeat.

[@BigOleWords]

Damn, you were dedicated! I just surrendered and let the music take over my brain.

[@JaceyMitchell]

As someone who has no nostalgia for the NES or this era of gaming in general (I was born in 2000 and didn't really play a whole lot of NES stuff until about 2015), I really believe the NES, along with the SNES, may have the greatest game library of all time. Certainly not all games are classics, not all games are even good, but the ratio of good games and even classics vs lemons is better than pretty much any other system.

[@toddburgess5056]

"Except for the pal rainbow island obviously, that game can F*ck right off to shitty town... first class." Well said, my friend ! 😂😂😂 💯👍

[@HabanyGaming]

Well, I definitely learned something! Thanks 😊

[@BigOleWords]

Haha glad you liked it :)

[@tristanc365]

Ahhh, when I was watching the NTSC version I thought "that looks fun why do I remember hating that game". And then you showed there was a PAL version. I only played it as a kid hoping it would turn into Bubble Bobble eventually. Have you tried Crackout?

[@BigOleWords]

Ooof rough! Y’know I don’t think I have played it even though it’s been on my shelf for a while. It’s on my PAL list though!

[@machomusprime50]

@ 3:50... If that's the objective of the game, I'll think I'll skip this title 🤣🤣🤣

[@BigOleWords]

Not everyone has the stamina for 99 stages of dude blowin' ;)

[@Alianger]

What's the easiest version of the first game? The arcade sequel ported to Saturn was also called Bubble Bobble 2 in some regions, it's 2-player

[@MarcoSartorato]

Chronologically confused.... Wait, wrong channel

[@BigOleWords]

Heyo!

[@ChaossX77]

12:47 Who's Sherry Bobins? I just keep thinking of Mary Poppins.

[@BigOleWords]

The Simpsons version of Mary Poppins.

[@ChaossX77]

@@BigOleWords Oh lol. I'm a fan of every other show like the Simpsons but not the Simpsons for some reason.

[@BagOfMagicFood]

She's an original character, like Rickey Rouse and Monald Muck.

[@TheRetroManRandySavage]

Lol. Bro! That nes collection is F'ing awesome. I don't think I've ever seen a collection quite like it. How many titles all in all?

[@TheRetroManRandySavage]

I loved bubble bobble as a kid. Only played the arcade version though. It was in my local arcade for about a year so I got to play it plenty.

[@BigOleWords]

Hmmm 700 or so? Some PAL, some unlicensed, and every NTSC game (except for my kryptonite: Stadium Events).

[@BigOleWords]

Nice! Still my favorite game to pick up and play with a friend.

[@benbeesley4277]

"The gameplay objective is largely the same: blow all the dudes on the screen then pop'em like its hot." PHRASING

[@BigOleWords]

Are we seriously not doing phrasing anymore?!?

[@GoodVibeCollecting]

I'm in the minority and prefer Rainbow Islands over Bubble Bobble. It's a classic but is not as fun playing single player. The PAL Rainbow Islands is odd for sure. It feels like a weird port of the Commodore 64 version.

[@BigOleWords]

1-player rainbow islands is the best of the lot for sure. If Parasol Stars or BB2 were 2-player they’d be better than the original.

[@SayHello2Kevin]

3:53 Do what now!?! 😅

[@BigOleWords]

Don't act like you've never bubbled and bobbled before!

[@SayHello2Kevin]

I just found your channel! Love the content, keep it up! 😊🤙

[@BigOleWords]

@@SayHello2Kevin Thanks so much, glad you dig it :)

[@akafacts]

"the objective is the same: Blow all the guys on the screen" ...wait what game is this?! :P

[@BigOleWords]

A game that's strictly for the rest stops ;)

[@bilelsmith6333]

Yeah I love puzzle bobble it was my favorite game in arcade but bobble bobble not much

[@BigOleWords]

Puzzle is really fun. Bubble is still the best, but I think it has to be played co-op.

[@bilelsmith6333]

Yeah maybe 🤔 that's true I always play it by myself 🐱

[@ChaossX77]

3:53 😏

[@iiqulo]

I loved Bubble Bobble until I didn't. Unfortunately that sudden drop turned me away from the rest of the series.

[@BigOleWords]

I hate to hear that! For me it’s like a weird cousin I have to hang out with every couple of months. Can’t escape it!

[@iiqulo]

@@BigOleWords I respect it and play a couple levels here and there. The music is burned into my brain.

[@mahbodkaramoozian6409]

OCEAN games are cheaply hard even on non NES platforms (OCEAN made Rainbow Islands 2 PAL in this video)

[@BigOleWords]

I have yet to play an Ocean game I didn’t hate!

[@Dogeathotdog1]

@@BigOleWords What about the Addams Family for Snes and Sega MD? Decent platformer with good controls and a strong difficulty requiring patience and skill. Of course I would recommend looking up the location of Pugsley's secret room and the cheat to get extra continues. Its probably the only ocean game I've found that I like.

[@BigOleWords]

@@Dogeathotdog1 you're right, that is an ok game!