The slogan for the American release of this game back in
1996 was: "So addictive... it should be illegal!" They got
the first part right about the game, it is an addictive and
very fun puzzle game; the second part is also correct, but
they are talking about the hedious artwork in the cover of
the game, featuring a guy with his eyelashes being held
open against his will by some sort of eye-opener (a truly
sick picture that does a disservice to the whole package).
But seldom does a good game bomb at retail because of
lackluster packaging (although the opposite seems to happen
very frequently, I wonder why??!!), and "BAM2" is the
second game that made me open the wallet and buy a PSX
(Capcom's "Resident Evil" was the first) back in 1996, when
it was selling for $39.95 and came packed in those big
Saturn-like CD cases. For a while the game became a rare
find, but now it has been re-released by Acclaim for both
the N64 (as a $45 cart, ouch!) and the PSX (an affordable
$20); Toys'R'Us stores have their leftover stock of "BAM2"
Saturn copies as a $10 fixture. Regardless of what
next-generation system you have, "BAM2" is available and
ready to addict you like few puzzle games before; the
question arises, though, if a cutesy and kiddie two
year-old puzzle game is still worth your PSX dollars in 98.
For those who got here late (sorry 'Phantom'): Taito's
franchise "Bubble Bobble" characters Bob and Bub, a couple
of colored (green and blue) dinosaurs that have an
attachment for throwing and spitting out multi-colored
bubbles, made an appearance on this SNK ("Bust-A-move")
arcade game that had players shooting them colored bubbles
to a descending roof. Connect three in a row and all three
will burst, along with any other bubble attached bellow the
exploding three; on a two-player game, the bubbles you
burst will appear on your opponent's screen and mess
him/her up big time (and you can bet that he/she will be
trying to do the same to you). The sequel, "BAM2", was
released in Japanese (and maybe foreign) arcades but I
don't think it made it to American one's (probably because
the original is still going strong), so console gamers now
have a chance to experience an improved version of Taito's
long-running puzzle franchise (they are up to "BAM4" in
Japan, although "BAM3" did make it to the US via a
Natsume/Tommo-released Saturn version... which sucked big
time in my honest opinion, but I digress). So, how does
this little game stack up to the PSX competitors in the
puzzle category? Unlike the Saturn and N64, there are
plenty of puzzlers out there in Sony-land: Capcom's "Super
Puzzle Fighter II Turbo", Tecmo's "Stackers", Jaleco's
"Tetris Plus", Sony's own "Intelligent Qube", the obscure
first-generation "Geom Cube", etc. How does "BAM2" stack
up (pardon the timely pun :-P)?
GAMEPLAY / FUN FACTOR: A-
"BAM2" features a few interesting and entertaining
single-player modes: Puzzle, in which you go through an
alphabet universe solving screens in groups of three per
letter. And Player Vs. Computer, in which you will go up
against a cast of progressively-harder cartoony characters
in order to reach a final boss. Finally, there's the
Player Vs. Player mode, in which two players will compete
on a same-screen battle with each player getting a stack of
bubbles that need to be cleared by dumping them into each
other's stack... not good for friendships or relationships
anywhere! Each of these three modes features customizable
options for difficulty (from very easy to expert) and look
('Normal' and 'Variety'), which makes "BAM2" accesible to
small children, women and people who rarely (if ever) play
videogames, and want to hop in and trade blows with a
veteran gamer. The AI on the single-player options is
either very dumb or a merciless killer, and some of the
screens in Puzzle mode are just too easy and can be cleared
with a single, well-placed shot. That aside, this game's a
fun play with or without anyone there to play with you...
..but it would be preferable if another bud dropped by and
started the magic of two-player rolling again. This game
ranks up there with the two-player classics ("Gunstar
Heroes", the "Mario Kart"/"Street Fighter"/"Tekken"/"VF"
series, etc.), because it requires several random elements
to succeed: dexterity of a pool player is needed to aim
those hard-to-squeeze bubbles in tight spots, luck of
getting the bubble wanted WHEN it's needed (you really need
a yellow bubble, but you keep getting anything but the
yellow one's!), the building of a huge pile of bubbles
UNDER a threesome that can be destroyed (therefore sending
a monster KO to your opponent), etc. Another potential
random element are the Special Bubbles that can burst all
the bubbles of a certain color (Star bubble), destroy all
bubbles in its path (Metal bubble), or be in place in the
regular puzzle blocking your path (Jama bubble/block).
Forget all the other multiplayer puzzle games out there
(and there are some really good one's out there), the "BAM"
series beats them all down in (a) the fun factor of just
killing time by doing nothing productive, and (b) doing it
with your loved one's regardless of their feelings and
abilities (or lack of) playing videogames.
GRAPHICS / VISUALS: B+
Although cartoony 2D sprites over lifeless still-screen
backgrounds seem like old news on the PSX (and no, we're
not talking about freaking "Punky Skunk" :-), "BAM2" is
such a rainbow of colors and funny 2D sprites that your
heart must be stone-cold if the game's cuteness doesn't
crack a smile out of your face. Back in 1996 this game
stood up (in my opinion) because of its multi-color
graphics comparing favorably with the first-generation of
PSX gamers, and their then-trademark 'brownish low-res'
look. Since then many more games on PSX have given players
a multitude of games with a rainbow of hues, but "BAM2" did
it first and did it good (I'll cast a momentary eye on the
fluid sprite movement in "S.P.Fighter II", which is better
than "BAM2" and its choppy but lovable moving sprites in
Puzzle mode). The menu screens could have looked a tad
better (they seem like left-over fonts for programming-eyes
only), and there's this pointless rendered FMV cinema of
Bub (or Bob??!!) walking left-to-right toward... we never
know, because the walking-clip is all we're shown. Damn,
if you're gonna film someone going toward something, you
better damn show the audience where that individual (or
colored dinosaur) is headed toward... Film 101!
The cast of characters lack any names or identities... come
to think of it, the game's manual does a beyond-s****y job
of indoctrinating newbies into the Bub and Bob universe
Taito has created around them. Some of these guys are just
so adorable, you'll have to come up with your own nicknames
to identify them: there's 'Decapitated Hello-Kitty Cat',
there's 'Vampire Boy', there's 'Pink Puffy Lady' (no
relation to the musician currently exploiting the death of
Notorious B.I.G. for all its worth), and so forth.
Unfortunately none of these characters are playable (they
appear only in Player Vs. Computer mode as your enemies),
which means that you are forced to sit, play and watch
either Bub or Bob jump up and down in happiness when
winning a round, or bend-over and cry in shame when
defeated (or in anticipation of what they know is coming to
them... ouch! :-O). A perfect example of basic and
utilatarian graphics done to serve the game's design,
rather than an attempt to cover for an absent one (which
still doesn't explain why some times the bubbles look
bigger/smaller than on a previous match... optical
illusion??!!).
MUSIC / SOUND EFFECTS: B+
The music is an insane mix of kiddie-anime tunes (we're
talking south of "Pokemon" demographics anime here),
wacked-out sound effects of bubbles exploding and bursting
bellow others (you'll hear that deep and resonant echo when
more than three are bursting out, and the never-ending
sound of your canon rotating left/right), and tacky but
lovable Japanese one-liners that range from the acceptable
('Vampire Boy' constantly yells something that kinda sounds
like "Israel!!") to the downright tacky (the "Taakaaay"
that comes when selecting an option in the menu screens).
Some of these tunes and sound effects are recycled from the
original "BAM", and are recycled yet again in "BAM3" for
the Sega Saturn (minus new one-liners and some remixing of
the tunes). That would be considered lazy programming if
these sounds/tunes weren't such a trademark of the series,
the same way the rings and jump sound effects of "Crash
Bandicoot" or "Sonic the Hedgehog" are. And some of those
tunes are actually quite catchy and hummable; I won't be
importing the soundtrack, but I won't be going to the
Option menu and silence them (which is your choice, along
with adjusting the volume of the sound effects and other
stuff).
OVERALL: A-
So what version of "BAM2" should you get if you happen to
be wealthy (or addicted, like mua :-(! ) enough to own all
three next-gen consoles? Since they are all 95% identical
I'd have to say the Saturn version, for $10 (and an
exclusive Game Editor feature), is worth getting if you
actually hook up the system to your TV on a regular basis.
N64 has only two other puzzle games in their whole line-up
(the underrated "Tetrisphere", and the recently-released
"Wetrix"), but paying close to $50 for a two year-old game
in today's market is a tough cookie to swallow. For $20
the re-released version of "BAM2" on PSX comes in a shiny
jewel CD case (unlike the bulky box of the first print back
in 1996), and is the one to get if the PSX is your primary
system for gaming needs. Regardless of platform,
"Bust-A-Move 2" is the essential game for a videogaming
party in which a multitude of friends will turn into
foul-mouthed enemies bent on nailing your carcass one more
time... the cuteness on the exterior masks quite
effectively the deadly addictiveness that has made some of
us fans for life of the misadventures of Bub, Bob and Co.
Just watch out for those annoying PSX loading times... they
are a bitch on "BAM2".
