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Review: Puzzle Mania (Bust a move 99)

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tornadocam
04-23-14 06:52 PM

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supercool22
04-27-14 08:36 PM

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Puzzle Mania (Bust a move 99)

Game's Ratings

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Graphics

Sound

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Story

Difficulty

Average User Score

9.2

tornadocam's Score

8.3

04-23-14 06:52 PM

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It is puzzle mania time. Time to bust a move in this puzzle game. In this review I will be critiquing and reviewing Bust a move 99.

Story: 6
Drunk, yes that is his name, is a mischievous elf who is trying to become champion in the Puzzle Bobble land. He cast one of his spells which sends several characters into the Puzzle Bobble land. The player has to select a character to battle other characters and eventually beat drunk. The goal is to send the players back to their native video game worlds. Okay this is a puzzle game so I was not expecting a very good plot. This is not a game like Mega Man, which often has very good plots, or an action game. But there is some things here that I like in this plot. It has creativity in having Drunk bring in other characters into the puzzle world. In previous bust a move games, I do not remember them having a lot of characters, so this was a nice touch. Another thing, is the is plot does have your standard good guys going against a villain.

Now, while they are some nice things to the plot in this game, the plot does suffer in some categories. The first being as I have stated this is a puzzle game so the plot is not complex and it is very simple. The second is the plot is not as good as other games I have played with very good plots such as: Mega Man, Mario, Donkey Kong Country, and Streets of Rage 2. All of these reasons is why I can only give the plot a 6/10.

Graphics and controls : 9
The graphics in this game are very good which I would expect from a play station game. The backgrounds are very nice. The colors of the bubbles are very good. In fact the colors are groovy. Most of the puzzle stages have very rich color in them. The characters also have very good sprites. The sprites are at their best when the characters do combo's. I will say of all the puzzle games I have played Tetris, puzzle league and Dr. Mario this is one of my favorites.

The Controls are for the most part very good. However, you are only controlling and aiming the bubble shooter not the character. The characters animations are done by the computer. That is what keeps the graphics and controls from being a 10. The controls for the bubble shooter is very smooth. I just cannot give this a perfect rating due to the player not being able to control the characters.

Sound: 9
The sound in this game is also very good. The way the bubbles pop when they are matched with the same type of bubble is very good. Also each character has its own sounds they make when they get bubble combos. The music is also good so that is a plus. The only bad thing is when using a few of the characters the sound sometimes have a tingle. I do not like tingles, so that is why this does not get a perfect rating. But for the most part the sounds in this game are enjoyable.

Addictiveness & Depth: 8
Bust a move 99 has very good replay value and depth. I was surprised at the replay and depth of this game considering it is a puzzle game. I enjoyed playing through this game. I like to play to see how far I can go and to see the highest score I can earn. This game also has depth they are several types of games to play in this game. The player can play against the computer in the arcade version. Also one can chose the endurance game to see how far they can go. Also an option is to see how many puzzles the play can solve in 5 stages. The game also has good depth because they are several characters to chose from. I often play through a game with different characters. Each character has their strengths and weaknesses which makes playing the game again fun. I give the replay value and depth a good solid 8 out of 10. The reason it does not get higher is well this is a puzzle game. They are no items or weapons to acquire.

Difficulty: 7
I had a hard time rating this game's difficulty for a few reasons. The difficulty depends on which type of game you chose as well as which character you play as. Some characters make the game easy due to their ways of how they attack the puzzles. Others are very hard because while they have great attacks they require good skills and reflexes to win with. Also aiming the bubble shooter is harder than it looks. It is so easy to stick a bubble in the wrong place or miss all together. Also the game sometimes does not give you matching bubbles. Now, while this game is somewhat difficult. I did not think it falls in the same category as Mega Man games. There are no enemies to get through, nothing to hit you from behind, and there is no enemy placement. I have played games that have had all of them things and they are very tough. Do not get me wrong Bust a move can be a hard game but it is not like other difficulty games I have played. Thus, I give the difficulty a decent rating of 7/10.

Overall: 8.3
I have played puzzle games before such as Tetris, Puzzle League, and Dr. Mario. This game is one of my favorite puzzle games. I like how colorful the bubbles are. I played some of the other bust a move games on the SNES and I enjoyed them. I was glad they made one for the play station. I think the difficulty is about right for a puzzle game as it challenges your skill and reflexes. Also it causes the player to be creative. The graphics and sound are very good. I got this game for Christmas in 1999 and I enjoyed it. Here it is in 2014 and I still enjoy this game. It may not be in the same league as Mega Man, Mario or Donkey Kong, but it is still a great game. The only negatives in this game were the lack of a plot and a few other things. The plot could have been better as I mentioned in the plot section. The difficulty while it was right for a puzzle game; it could have been more difficult. Also this is not an action game so beware of that when playing this game. Still, if you like puzzles I highly recommend that you play this game. It is a fun puzzle game and I think you will enjoy it. If you like action games like Mega Man (like I do) you may still enjoy this game just like I did. So yes I recommend this game. I give Bust a Move 99 a good solid rating of 8.3

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04-27-14 08:36 PM

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tornadocam : Wow...this is a great review you made. It has a lot information and you broke it down into different categories. Overall you did great. Have a nice day.

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