Sentences written about this title, gathered by type from the Japanese and English Wikipedia articles (as of 2026-8-30).
The arcade version placed 5 in the Best Action award and received the editorial special award at the 9th Gamest Awards (1995) run by the magazine Gamest.
At the 9th Gamest Awards (1995) run by the magazine Gamest, reader voting placed it 5 for Best Action, 10 for player popularity and 11 for hit game of the year.
In the Cross Review of the magazine Famicom Tsuushin it scored 6, 6, 6 and 5 for a total of 23; in the reader-voted "Game Report Card" of Family Computer Magazine the ratings were as follows, totalling 19.7 out of 30.
In the "Cross Review" feature of the magazine Famitsu, the four reviewers gave 7, 5, 4, and 7, for a total of 23.
In the "Cross Review" feature of the magazine Famitsu, the four reviewers gave 7, 5, 7, and 6, for a total of 25.
It arrived as a small, slightly parodic title using characters from the company's hit Bubble Bobble (1986), but its simple rules and the resulting compounding enjoyment were widely accepted, and it became a bigger hit than expected.
In the Gamest mook The Best Game 2 (1998) it was selected for "The Best Game", recognised as a masterpiece or work of genius; the writer Gacchin praised it — "the strategy of aiming precisely for the colour you planned while clearing efficiently is fun" — and pointed to the ability to launch the ball wherever you like as the reason for its success.
Comparing it with Sega's arcade hit Puyo Puyo (1992), current at the time, he suggested that this game's popularity came from unhurried strategic thinking rather than action, and concluded that its greatest appeal was letting experts play deeply while beginners play casually.
They also criticized the lack of any 3D effects in the graphics.
GamePros brief review of the 3DO version commented that the game's controls are responsive, and they also praised visuals and music.
It was first sold on the "B System" board, and a version ported to the MVS was sold later.
Puzzle Bobble was originally released in Japan in June 1994 by Taito, running on Taito B System hardware (with the preliminary title Bubble Buster).
The simplicity of the concept has led to many clones, both commercial and otherwise. 1996's Snood replaced the bubbles with small creatures and has been successful in its own right.
Reviewing the Super NES version, Mike Weigand of Electronic Gaming Monthly called it "a thoroughly enjoyable and incredibly addicting puzzle game".
He considered the two player mode the highlight, but also said that the one player mode provides a solid challenge.
Next Generation reviewed the SNES version of the game and called it "addictive as hell".
The passages quoted on this page are taken verbatim from the Japanese and English Wikipedia articles.Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (CC BY-SA 4.0) — reusable under those terms. They are the work of the people who wrote them.