I’m going for Bubble Bobble. Nothing touches it. My second choice is The Sentinel (BBC Micro)
I love how Out Run looks and sounds, but I think it’s a bit lacking in depth of gameplay. On the contrary, with Bubble Bobble I love how it looks and sounds and plays, there’s a thousand times more depth to its gameplay. And you can play it with a friend!
I wrote my thoughts in 2010, and stand by them. I’m happy to report that since then we have had many releases of the emulated arcade original.
BUBBLE BOBBLE (1986, Arcade)
His and hers gaming at it’s finest.
Bubble Bobble is one of those old-school arcade games that stands up well today. It’s single screen platform mechanics haven’t aged one bit. Capturing monsters in bubbles and then popping them to collect fruit is a supremely addictive pursuit. Things are constantly kept fresh with power ups, expert level design and a variety of bad guys to learn how to deal with. It’s interesting that when playing with a friend the natural tendency is to play cooperatively to clear the screen in an effort to see just how far you can get, allowing for some great team building.
There have been a number of versions of the game released across most home formats but none have managed to capture the intricacies of the original game. This is a problem inherent in ports of any game - great care has to be taken to remain faithful to the original. If the developers responsible for the port do not have access to the original source code the quality of the resulting game will only be as good as their attention to detail and ability to figure out what is actually happening in the game behind the scenes. In the case of Bubble Bobble, this has resulted in levels that are laid out wrongly, bad guys that move incorrectly, power-ups that don’t work as expected and more. Some of the issues probably have more to do with the fact that the arcade runs in an odd screen resolution making a 1:1 conversion impossible. Also interesting is that, in 1996, Taito announced that they had lost the original source code to Bubble Bobble following a reorganisation. So when they were creating further ports and sequels they on had to work from program disassembly, playing the game and from other ports that had already been made. Whilst the arcade version is the blueprint, with the number of subsequent versions of the game it’s no longer obvious what exactly constitutes the core game. I do wonder why with the power of today’s machines an emulated version of the game hasn’t been released?
Bub and Bob - the dinosaur characters featured in the game - returned to human form for the game’s sequel Rainbow Islandsand whilst it had some gameplay features in common with the original it was effectively a new concept. A more traditional sequel came somewhat later in the form of Bubble Symphony which stayed faithful to the gameplay of the original whilst added a few new elements. it also featured a rousing brass band version of the fantastic Bubble Bobbletheme music. Other than using MAME to play the original under emulation, the WiiWare or PlayStation versions are probably the best home versions.
If I had been an adult in 1986 and played all those games in that year, at the end of it I would probably have said Zelda is the best.
But judging them as games I’d want to play and recommend NOW, my vote absolutely goes to Bubble Bobble. Still one of the greatest 2-player games ever made, especially if you play it slightly competetively (work together to beat the monsters, but still try to get a higher score than the other player). My second place is Out Run.
It’s Zelda for me, I love the game design. The map makes out a perfectly laid out grid with logic to uncovering the secrets of the world (one secret per screen). There’s strategy to enemy encounters. I wrung basically everything I could from the first quest, beating it a few times. And now, referring to the game for reference to clear out the map in Adventure Mode in Hyrule Warriors.
I haven’t gone back for 2nd Quest or Randomisers. While I could, I’m happy to leave the experience there.
Now to the other calls;
Outrun is great, I love the vibes but I can’t make a dent on any of the routes. Could be the 3DS and Switch ports don’t capture the nuance of the arcade controls? I‘m only just getting into arcade racers, maybe there’s a stick drift mechanic I need to learn to make the hard corners? The soundtrack and 80’s aesthetic is amazing though. Really is a title I should come back to on reflection.
Bubble Bobble is perfecting the single screen arcade formula, does more for Chack n Pop then Arkanoid did for Breakout.
Dragon Quest casts a huge shadow, however I couldn’t recommend it today. I enjoyed playing an edges sanded off version - Warrior on GBC. Curious to see where the 2DHD remaster takes it.
Surprised there’s not one call for Metroid so far.
Fun thread idea, curious to see where it can go with a broader range of releases.
1986 for me feels like iteration of previous game ideas and polishing other designs.
There are a lot of Mario inspired games that bring new ideas to the table - Alex Kidd, Adventure Island. Followed by some that work in explorative design, or RPG ideas - Metroid and Kid Icarus. Consolisation and accessibility of RPGs in Dragon Quest.
Basically, the narrower the road, the further you’ll have to ease off the accelerator/drop to low gear in order to take the sharper turns.
There are exploits related to quickly shifting gears that you can use to get a boost start and/or to maintain your speed when driving off-road—the Switch/3DS’ “hold” transmission setting is there specifically to allow you to easily perform these tricks, and Cannonball has provisions for them, too.
My preferred game of 1986 is also The Legend of Zelda, but excellent shout outs to Marble Madness and Starflight in this thread. Kid Icarus, Renegade (a.k.a. Kunio-kun) and Atari’s Rampage are also personal favorites that have not been championed yet, but more importantly…
I would like to highlight Konami’s Salamander (a.k.a. Life Force) since nobody has mentioned the game so far and the game is getting an unexpected sequel later this year.
Let’s start with the main reason it rarely gets mentioned in such conversations. Salamander’s biggest “weakness” as a contender is that it is kinda the Tears of Kingdom of its era: all conversations about this game need to start with Gradius (1985). Gradius is an epochal release for converting many arcades to horizontal screens and generally popularizing horizontal shoot’em ups, with impressive graphics and sounds. It’s arguably the only serious rival to Super Mario Bros. and Ultima IV for this thread’s 1985 equivalent.
Salamander is basically an even more audio-visually impressive and creative take on the Gradius formula, with (much) better boss fights and arguably better level design. It’s a much better sequel to Gradius, in the same timeframe, than Super Mario Bros. 2 was to its predecessor. I’d argue the stage ideas in Gradius II are more often inspired by Salamander than Gradius.
Salamander added simultaneous multiplayer and vertical stages; these are a bit underrated today because people have lost sight that these were proper vertical shooting game stages designed for an horizontally oriented screen. I also believe all Salamander PCBs are native JAMMA boards (or at least it moved to JAMMA very quickly), which must have seriously helped making the new format standard in arcades. Historically important!
The most controversial decision regarding the game is the foregoing of the upgrades selection menu, which Konami would eventually return to (in Japan) with the early 1987 update Life Force. That new Gradius collection featuring Salamander III will include both Life Force and Life Force, in case you wanna compare them.
Once the main project is done we can go back to 80-85. I believe there are certainly enough games in each of those years to provide interesting discussion.
Life Force) since nobody has mentioned the game so far and the game is getting 
Life Force. That new Gradius collection featuring Salamander III will include both 
