A Review: Bust-A-Move '99, N64 1998
Bust-A-Move '99 is an action-puzzle game developed by Distinctive Developments LTD and published by Acclaim for the Nintendo 64. Several other versions were released for the Sega Saturn, PlayStation One, Game Boy, and Microsoft Windows. Originally an arcade-only game, the popularity of this title in Japan sparked several developers to create a home console version for the worldwide market. Play consists of taking control of a small 'Bubble Dragon' named Bub and completing various levels of puzzles with a focus on the match-3 mechanic.
I found this to be a fun little gem of a game and one that I happily spent many hours just messing around with. It excelled at being fun and addictive to the point that I would lose hours and just simply not even realize it. I loved the simple, easy-to-master controls and found the little avatar of Bub to be adorable. His little reactions as I progressed, for better or for worse, really helped tie this game together for me. I liked the endless mode and spent the majority of my time playing that over the other modes. Though I did complete the 'collection' mode, I found that it was a little more of a grind than I liked, so I only gave that the basic amount of required attention. I liked the arcade vibes and found that the arcade feel was well retained by this game and added something rather than taking away or being negative. The ability to choose other characters apart from Bub or Bob was a nice addition, and their strengths and weaknesses added an extra few dimensions to play. In my opinion, I found the difficulty curve to be just about right, with some of the later, more hectic levels being both fun and challenging.
Visually, I liked the simple, cartoony feel of this game. It had a charm that seemed to resonate well with me, and the various little expressions and animations your chosen characters had were adorable. The backgrounds were clean and looked really nice. I liked the colours that were chosen and found that they popped on the screen nicely. I will say that extended play tired my eyes out, and a couple of times I ended up with a headache, but that was nothing that a few regular breaks couldn't fix. The movements and aiming of the gun and bubbles were clean and nicely drawn, and I liked the HUD; it was simple but accurate.
Overall, for such a simple concept, this game gave me hours of fun and some fond memories. It is also a game that I would very much recommend to match-3 lovers.
7/10 – Nearly There!
Signed Off – Leonardo – PSJ
I found this to be a fun little gem of a game and one that I happily spent many hours just messing around with. It excelled at being fun and addictive to the point that I would lose hours and just simply not even realize it. I loved the simple, easy-to-master controls and found the little avatar of Bub to be adorable. His little reactions as I progressed, for better or for worse, really helped tie this game together for me. I liked the endless mode and spent the majority of my time playing that over the other modes. Though I did complete the 'collection' mode, I found that it was a little more of a grind than I liked, so I only gave that the basic amount of required attention. I liked the arcade vibes and found that the arcade feel was well retained by this game and added something rather than taking away or being negative. The ability to choose other characters apart from Bub or Bob was a nice addition, and their strengths and weaknesses added an extra few dimensions to play. In my opinion, I found the difficulty curve to be just about right, with some of the later, more hectic levels being both fun and challenging.
Visually, I liked the simple, cartoony feel of this game. It had a charm that seemed to resonate well with me, and the various little expressions and animations your chosen characters had were adorable. The backgrounds were clean and looked really nice. I liked the colours that were chosen and found that they popped on the screen nicely. I will say that extended play tired my eyes out, and a couple of times I ended up with a headache, but that was nothing that a few regular breaks couldn't fix. The movements and aiming of the gun and bubbles were clean and nicely drawn, and I liked the HUD; it was simple but accurate.
Overall, for such a simple concept, this game gave me hours of fun and some fond memories. It is also a game that I would very much recommend to match-3 lovers.
7/10 – Nearly There!
Signed Off – Leonardo – PSJ
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