Bub, Bob and Bubble Bobble are coming back with a sequel to Taito’s light-hearted, 33-year-old platforming franchise. Bubble Bobble 4 Friends will launch in Europe on Nov. 19, followed by North America in the first three months of 2020. The game is exclusive to Nintendo Switch.
The game is a fresh look at the Bubble Bobble format — cooperative play in puzzle-platforming stages — with a first: four-player multiplayer is supported. It’s also, according to Taito, the company’s first internally developed title since returning to the consumer market. The most recent Taito-made console game was 2010’s mobile/console crossover, Space Invaders Infinity Gene, based on the seminal shoot-’em-up.
Taito executive Hiroshi Uemura said that Bubble Bobble’s appeal in Europe is why the game is launching there first. The last Bubble Bobble game of any kind was 2011’s Bust-a-Move Universe for the Nintendo 3DS, from the series’ Puzzle Bobble segment.
