Bubble Bobble , released in 1986, is the story of two humans, Bub and Bob, who wander into a mysterious cave filled with monsters. The only way for them to return to their human form is to reach the end of the cave.
Bubble Bobble is an action-adventure platform game where each level takes place on a single screen. The player must clear enemies from a level to progress to the next one. With two players controlling Bub and Bob, the player can jump and collect items for points, such as fruit. The real power of Bub and Bob lies in their ability to blow bubbles. These bubbles can be used as platforms to leap on or to trap enemies. Enemies trapped in a bubble must be popped by jumping into them, which will turn them into fruit. Additionally, power-ups sometimes float by in bubbles, including lightning that flies out horizontally at enemies, and water that drags the player and enemies straight down.
The NES version of Bubble Bobble has a few extra stages, bringing the total number of stages to 112. The Sharp X68000 version contains a hidden minigame called Sybubblun, featuring 20 original difficult levels with a reskinned theme.