Days after hinting at its 2023 ambitions, City Connection and its S-Tribute series (thanks, Gematsu!) have helped Taito bring Metal Black and the Puzzle Bobble series to the Switch.
On February 2, Puzzle Bobble 2X / BUST-A-MOVE 2 Arcade Edition & Puzzle Bobble 3 / BUST-A-MOVE 3 S-Tribute, a compilation of Puzzle Bobble 2 and 3 arcade and console versions, and Metal Black S-Tribute, a digital re-release of the classic side-scrolling shooter, will both be available for the Switch (and other consoles).
Let’s start with the spin-off series of Bub and Bob (also knowns as Bust-A-Move). Puzzle Bobble 2 is now available on the eShop owing to the ACA NEOGEO, but this new compilation includes both the original arcade game and its follow-up, as well as all re-releases and new modes.
What to expect from Puzzle Bobble 2X / BUST-A-MOVE 2 Arcade Edition & Puzzle Bobble 3 / BUST-A-MOVE 3 S-Tribute, the current front-runner for the longest game of 2023:
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).
Convenient features and option settings only available in S-Tribute
– Rewind – Rewind gameplay a by certain amount of time and resume.
– Slow Mode – Slow game pace down with a single button press.
– Quick Save/Load – Save game state at any point.
– Unlimited Credits – The limit on the number of continues can be disabled, allowing for infinite continues.
– Scan Lines – Mimics the nostalgic CRT monitor display.
Therefore, Metal Black S-Tribute is based on the console port from 1996. Due to its dark, future setting, the original game—which several of the Gun Frontier team members contributed to—was once intended to be the third installment in the Darius series.
Again, the Arcade Archives release makes this already available for purchase, but the City Connection release has a ton of extra features. Here’s what to anticipate:
Power-ups
Grab the floating NEWALONE power-ups to raise the level of your beam (round molecules colored red, blue, and yellow). To increase the power of your shots, there are five levels (MAX being the highest).
You can use beam energy attacks when the beam gauge is full. Each of these attacks causes the beam gauge to drop, and once it is empty, the beam energy attack is no longer usable.
Two categories of beam energy attacks exist.
– Focused Beam: When the energy shot button is pressed and held down, a focused attack is made to the front. This will fire MAX lasers when the beam gauge is at its highest level.
– Release Beam: Pressing the energy shot button will launch an attack that harms all foes when the beam gauge level is at MAX.
Each stage’s boss will also use beam energy attacks. When a boss’s beam and your ship’s beam collide, the interference forms a massive ball of energy that shifts from the side with the higher gauge to the side with the lower gauge.
Only available in S are convenient features and choice settings
Rewind games by a specific amount of time and resume after.
– Slow Mode: By pressing a single button, the game’s speed is slowed down.
– Quick Save/Load – Anytime you want to save your game state.
– Online Ranking: To put your score into the online leaderboards and see how you place against other players, switch to the online ranking mode in the settings.
– Unlimited Credits – The cap on the total number of retries can be turned off, enabling endless retries.
– Stage Select – You can start the game at any stage.
– Energy Acquisition Amount – Modify the energy expenditure that occurs when purchasing NEWALONE. Raising the threshold makes it feasible to quickly acquire maximum power and play the game casually. The amount is decreased to make gaining energy more difficult and to increase the difficulty of the game.
– Energy Release Amount – Modify how much energy is released when a beam energy assault is launched. A longer duration of the attack is achievable with a lower amount, whereas a higher amount shortens the attack.
Scan Lines: This feature mimics the quaint CRT monitor display.
Which of these reissues will you be purchasing next month? Comment below and pop your bubbles to let us know!
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