Bust-a-Move '99 (1997)

Developer: Taito
Publisher: Acclaim, Taito, Square Enix
Platforms: PlayStation 3, Nintendo 64, PlayStation, PlayStation Portable
Genres: Puzzle, Strategy, Arcade
Rating: 3.0 of 5, 8 player ratings

The 3D catalog: game boxes on wooden shelves, with the cat sitting at the counter next to its greeting.

The catalog in 3D

The same catalog has a room you can walk around in. The cat behind the counter is the AI Catbot, and they pick real games from it when you tell them what you feel like playing. Nothing is for sale, here or in there. Go in from here and this game is already out on the counter, with more like it waiting on the shelf next to it.

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How it feels

A cheerful and easygoing bubble-matching experience that rewards careful aiming and patient color-matching with clean, satisfying pops.

colorfulcasualmethodicallightheartedsatisfyingpick-up-and-playgentle challengearcade-style

About

In the tradition of the Bust-A-Move series, Taito's Bust-A-Move '99 is a traditional puzzle game. The main objective is to destroy or get rid of (by dropping) all the bubbles located within the stage. Once you do this, you'll graduate to the next level. While the premise may sound simple, the logic and execution is not. Using a "bubble shooter", you must aim and shoot your bubbles to the top of the screen so that you can bring three bubbles of the same color together. When you do this, the bubbles will pop. One way to earn points is to have the popping bubbles as well as the bubble that was shot fall off the screen (in multi-player, it puts these bubbles on your opponent's side). This also gives you a lot less bubbles to take care of. Bubbles are constantly falling down. Popping them all in a short amount of time is necessary because the longer it takes you to pop them all, the faster they will drop. If you fail to clear out all the bubbles and they reach the bottom of the screen, the game is over. Bust-A-Move '99 contains some new options never seen in the Bust-A-Move series. There are now special bubbles (star, metal and rainbow to name a few), obstructive bubbles and blocks and new backgrounds. You are also given the opportunity to create your very own stages with the create-a-level editor.

Screenshots

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This page is from Underplayed Gems, a catalog of older and overlooked games. Not quite it? You can browse by platform and genre, or take this one into the 3D catalog and ask the Catbot for something closer.