Category Archives: Taito

RayForce, Arcade

Also known as Gunlock and Galactic Attack in some territories, and Layer Section in Japan, RayForce is a vertical screen bullet hell shooter released into arcades by Taito in 1994. And it is quite impressive, as arcade shooters go.

Continue reading RayForce, Arcade →

Rainbow Islands, Amstrad CPC

Graftgold‘s conversion of Rainbow Islands on the Amstrad is a decent port of the brilliant Taito arcade game. It was published by Ocean Software in 1990.

Continue reading Rainbow Islands, Amstrad CPC →

Chase HQ, Amstrad CPC

Ocean Software‘s 1989 conversion of Taito‘s classic arcade race game, Chase HQ, is a bit of a doozy on the Amstrad. While it doesn’t have quite the impact that its amazing arcade parent does, it does do a very good job of trying to recreate its high-octane, criminal-chasing thrills.

Continue reading Chase HQ, Amstrad CPC →

10 Best Bubble Bobble Conversions

LISTS: as decided by The King of Grabs, in order of greatness:

Taito‘s classic 1986 arcade hit, Bubble Bobble, has been converted to pretty much every format on the planet. We played through them all recently and have compiled a list of the best. Click a link to view each conversion individually. Do you agree with our choices? Let us know in the comments.

1. Sega Saturn (1996)
2. Nintendo DS (2005)
3. Game Boy Advance (2003)
4. X68000 (1990)
5. FM Towns (1990)
6. Sega Master System (1988)
7. NES/Famicom Disk System (1987)
8. PC MS-DOS (1989)
9. Atari ST (1989)
10. Amiga (1989)

See also:
MSX (1987)
Commodore 64 (1988)
ZX Spectrum (1987)
Amstrad CPC (1987)
Game Gear (1994)
Game Boy Color (1999)
Game Boy (1991)
BBC Micro (1989)
Apple II (1988)

See also: BB4CPC (2014) on the Amstrad CPC and Super Bubble Bobble MD (1995) on the Megadrive/Genesis.

Did we miss any official conversions of Bubble Bobble? Please let us know in the comments.

In memory of Fukio Mitsuji (1960-2008), the designer of the great Bubble Bobble.

More: Bubble Bobble on Wikipedia

Bubble-Bobble-Arcade-Artwork

Bubble Bobble artwork

Bubble Bobble also featuring Rainbow Islands, Sega Saturn

Bubble Bobble also featuring Rainbow Islands was coded by British developer Probe Entertainment and published by Acclaim in 1996. It was also released for the PlayStation, PC MS-DOS and Windows, but I’m just covering the Sega Saturn version here because they’re mostly identical.

Continue reading Bubble Bobble also featuring Rainbow Islands, Sega Saturn →

Bubble Bobble Revolution, Nintendo DS

Also known as Bubble Bobble DS in Japan, Bubble Bobble Revolution features a remake of Bubble Bobble as well as a separate conversion of the classic Bubble Bobble arcade game, and it is really good.

Continue reading Bubble Bobble Revolution, Nintendo DS →

Bubble Bobble: Old & New, Game Boy Advance

Bubble Bobble: Old & New was released for the Game Boy Advance in 2003. It was developed by Taito and published by Empire Interactive. It features a conversion of the arcade original, plus a re-made version with new graphics, sound, and features.

Continue reading Bubble Bobble: Old & New, Game Boy Advance →

Bubble Bobble, X68000

The Sharp X68000 version of Bubble Bobble was a Japan-only release and is an authentic and beautiful port – arguably just as good as the arcade original itself, if not better.

Continue reading Bubble Bobble, X68000 →

Bubble Bobble, FM Towns

The FM Towns conversion of Bubble Bobble is another perfect Japanese port of the arcade game. It was developed by Taito themselves and released on CD-ROM by Ving in 1990.

Continue reading Bubble Bobble, FM Towns →