Known as Bust-A-Move 99 in the USA and Puzzle Bobble 64 in Japan, this is a home console port of the third Puzzle Bobble/Bust-A-Move game. Like Bust-A-Move 2, I still had issued telling the colour apart, as while they use shapes, they don’t stay still.

The rules have been tweaked a little bit, and there are two options: 2.5 and Normal. These change which kind of special bubbles appear and how the bubbles move down the screen.

The various modes from the previous game returns, along with some new ones. There’s a challenge mode which gives you specific objectives before you move onto the next match, a mode where you battle endless opponents and a create-your-own mode where you can create your own puzzles – or play one of the 1025 submitted by fans.

This version also has a brand new four player mode, although N64 magazine said that it was difficult to play on most TVs due to how tiny everything was.

?

Even with the visual enhancements and extra features it doesn’t stretch the machine any more than a Space Invaders conversion would, but it’s the best version of the game to date. Compulsive stuff.

Martin Kitts, N64 Magazine #24. Review Score: 82%

Remake or remaster?

All the options in a new game would be nice.

Official Ways to get the game

There is no official way to get Bust-A-Move 3 DX