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Bubble Bobble 4 Friends announced as Switch exclusive

Over 30 years after the original arcade classic graced the NES, there's an all-new Bubble Bobble coming exclusively to Nintendo Switch.

Ozzie Mejia

August 14, 2019 11:10 AM

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It has been many years since a new Bubble Bobble game graced any platform. The arcade classic could have just as easily coasted on remakes and remasters. But over 30 years after the original graced arcades and the original NES, TAITO and ININ Games are ready to revisit this series with an all-new sequel called Bubble Bobble 4 Friends.

The backstory is as simple as arcade games get. A child's room has become enveloped in light and everything has come to life, including the dragon Bub. Not amused by such parlor tricks, the evil Baron von Blubba demands satisfaction and wants to do battle with Bub. This sets up more of the classic Bubble Bobble action that fans have come to expect, with Bub and his friends encountering monsters, encasing them in bubbles, and smashing them in order to defeat them.

As its name implies, Bubble Bobble 4 Friends is the first game in the series to utilize co-op for up to four players locally. There's a new 2.5D art style in place, giving this game more of a modern feel, but the aesthetic looks to be pure Bubble Bobble, looking like it fits right at home with the 80s NES classic. This new Nintendo Switch-exclusive effort will release over 30 years after the 1986 arcade gem first graced the original NES.

For developer Taito, Bubble Bobble 4 Friends marks the first new internal project since the company resumed console game development last year. They're also banking on the European audience, where Bubble Bobble proved most popular. The European market will be the first to receive this game, where it's set to release on November 19 exclusively on Nintendo Switch.

That means if you're waiting for Bubble Bobble 4 Friends to release in the United States, you may have to wait a bit. It's not slated to arrive until 2020. For more, you can visit the new Bubble Bobble 4 Friends website.

Ozzie Mejia

Senior Editor

Ozzie has been playing video games since picking up his first NES controller at age 5. He has been into games ever since, only briefly stepping away during his college years. But he was pulled back in after spending years in QA circles for both THQ and Activision, mostly spending time helping to push forward the Guitar Hero series at its peak. Ozzie has become a big fan of platformers, puzzle games, shooters, and RPGs, just to name a few genres, but he’s also a huge sucker for anything with a good, compelling narrative behind it. Because what are video games if you can't enjoy a good story with a fresh Cherry Coke?