Tiny Review: Bust-a-Move Universe

I didn’t think it was even possible to make a crummy Bust-a-Move/Puzzle Bobble game. I’ve played a bunch of them, and they’ve all been, at worst, unremarkable Bust-a-Move games, but still fun.

Bust-a-Move Universe on 3DS is unremarkable at best, and kind of irritating at worst. A session of Azumanga Puzzle Daioh last weekend confirmed that I still like good Puzzle Bobble games, and that this isn’t one. For one thing, that arcade game has awesome multiplayer, and Universe has no multiplayer.

Three details that are fab:

There is some really nice 2D art interspersed throughout this game. It’s nice to see Bubblun and Bobblun rendered with such loving care.
The game transitions between stages really quickly.
There’s a built-in achievements system, that keeps track of your bubble-popping milestones.

Four details that are butt:

The walls on the sides of the screen aren’t clearly-defined vertical lines, but some kind of ornate, golden gear things that tilt into the screen. I’m guessing this is supposed to be a neat 3D thing, but it just makes it hard to tell where the boundaries actually are.
The boss battles are pretty stupid – a bubble with an enemy in it, that you defeat by shooting “bomb” bubbles at it. Basically, if you collected enough keys in previous stages, and unlocked a rapid-fire powerup, you win; otherwise, the time runs out before you can shoot enough bubbles. Fun? Also, there are bosses. …
The “endless mode,” which constantly adds new lines of bubbles until you fail, is way too easy. I completely cleared the screen 35 times before I just stopped playing.
The controls are pretty annoying. The circle-pad controls will randomly switch direction, and both those and the D-pad controls lack precision. As usual, you can ‘nudge’ the cannon a bit with the shoulder buttons, but that doesn’t sufficiently cover for the wild swings of the normal controls. Also, using the touchscreen just pauses the game – there’s no touch control scheme.

Score:

999 (is the game I bought after selling this on eBay).

Notes:

This review is based on a copy I purchased myself. I didn’t sell a review copy on eBay. I’m not a monster.

Buy: Bust-a-Move Universe ($10 Amazon credit!)

Recent comments