We’ve seen a whole host of old-school retro-classics hit the Xbox Store in recent months, with the City Connection team behind most of them. It’s those guys who rock up again as they push 2 more proper classics to Xbox One and Xbox Series X|S.Â
Gunbird, Strikers, Samurai Aces, Zero Gunner and more have all been ported to the Xbox One and Xbox Series X|S systems by City Connection, but now they have ensured that modern day gamers get access to a couple of really good, really old-school classic games; one of which is a proper icon.Â
It sees Metal Black S-Tribute accompanied by launch of Puzzle Bobble 2X/BUST-A-MOVE 2 Arcade Edition & Puzzle Bobble 3/BUST-A-MOVE 3 S-Tribute; a real mouthful, but a game that you most probably will want to play as soon as possible.
Taking the big name first and Puzzle Bobble 2X/BUST-A-MOVE 2 Arcade Edition & Puzzle Bobble 3/BUST-A-MOVE 3 S-Tribute will set you back £12.49, which is fairly pricey for a City Connection game. But just those words – Puzzle Bobble – will probably be enough to tempt the wallet of many to open up.
It’s a game franchise which really needs no selling, but sell it we will. A puzzler which utilises bubbles as the main mechanic, in Puzzle Bobble 2X/BUST-A-MOVE 2 Arcade Edition & Puzzle Bobble 3/BUST-A-MOVE 3 S-Tribute you’ll be tasked with clearing stages as fast, and as swiftly, as possible. Points are scored as bubbles are popped, with skills rising as levels are dismissed.
Puzzle Bobble 2X/BUST-A-MOVE 2 Arcade Edition & Puzzle Bobble 3/BUST-A-MOVE 3 S-Tribute comes to Xbox One and Xbox Series X|S with puzzle mode, or via the local multiplayer Versus mode. And there’s seemingly much content included within too, with both Puzzle Bobble 2X and Puzzle Bobble 3 running alongside four home console versions, plus original modes, that previously releases in Japan and the like.Â
With the move to Xbox, City Connection have ensured that modern day features are included. There’s a rewind option, slow mode, quick saves and more. In fact, the features and bullet points included are…
- â—†Featured modes
- Arcade editions of Puzzle Bobble 2X / BUST-A-MOVE 2 Arcade Edition … Home console ports of the Japanese and overseas versions of the arcade games Puzzle Bobble 2 and Puzzle Bobble 2X (1 or 2 players).
- Arcade editions of Puzzle Bobble 3 / BUST-A-MOVE 3 … Home console ports of the Japanese and overseas versions of the arcade game Puzzle Bobble 3 (1 or 2 players).
- Challenge Mode … Meet certain conditions to clear stages (Puzzle Bobble 3 / BUST-A-MOVE 3).
- Collection Mode … Play a total of 1,026 stages designed by players from the time (Puzzle Bobble 3). Edit Mode … Place bubbles in the field to create your own stages (Puzzle Bobble 2X / BUST-A-MOVE 2 Arcade Edition).
And then we also have Metal Black S-Tribute. We’re less familiar with this, but it looks to be a rather neat little side-scroller that first arrived in 1991, with this Xbox version porting straight from the 1996 edition.
Expect a game full of power-ups, of varying attack types and the usuals that you would expect of a game of this ilk. Again, the modern day quality of life improvements are available.
- â—† Power-ups
- Level up your beam by grabbing the power-ups floating on screen called NEWALONE (round molecules colored red, blue, and yellow). There are five levels (the highest being MAX) to power up your shots. When the beam gauge is full, you can perform beam energy attacks. However, the beam gauge will decrease with each of these attacks, and once it is empty the beam energy attack cannot be used. There are two types of beam energy attacks.
- ・Focused Beam: Makes a focused attack to the front while the energy shot button is pressed and held. When the beam gauge is at maximum, this will fire MAX lasers.
- ・Release Beam: When the beam gauge level is at MAX, pressing the energy shot button will fire an attack that damages all enemies.
- The boss of each stage also launches beam energy attacks. When the beam from your ship collides with the beam from a boss, the interference creates a huge ball of energy, which moves from the side with a higher gauge to the side with a lower gauge.
- Level up your beam by grabbing the power-ups floating on screen called NEWALONE (round molecules colored red, blue, and yellow). There are five levels (the highest being MAX) to power up your shots. When the beam gauge is full, you can perform beam energy attacks. However, the beam gauge will decrease with each of these attacks, and once it is empty the beam energy attack cannot be used. There are two types of beam energy attacks.
You’ll find both Metal Black S-Tribute and Puzzle Bobble 2X/BUST-A-MOVE 2 Arcade Edition & Puzzle Bobble 3/BUST-A-MOVE 3 S-Tribute over at the Xbox Store. Those bold links will take you straight to the relevant store page.Â
We’ll look to review soon.
Metal Black S-Tribute Game Description:
Metal Black is a 2D was originally released as a side-scrolling shooter arcade game by Taito in 1991. This game is a reproduction of the home console version released by Bing in 1996.
Puzzle Bobble 2X/BUST-A-MOVE 2 Arcade Edition & Puzzle Bobble 3/BUST-A-MOVE 3 S-Tribute Game Description:
Puzzle Bobble is a series of puzzle games in which the player fires bubbles from the bottom of the screen, and the bubbles pop when three or more of the same color stick together. The player clears each stage when they meet the conditions for that stage. Higher points are scored when many bubbles are dropped at once or when bubbles are popped by shooting bubbles and bouncing them off the walls. Have fun playing alone in puzzle mode, where you can take your time solving puzzles, or with a friend in versus mode, where you fire bubbles at each other. Enjoy ports of the arcade games Puzzle Bobble 2X and Puzzle Bobble 3, as well as four home console versions released in Japan and abroad, with added original modes.
