Bubble Symphony (Arcade)

Bubble Symphony
Also known as: Bubble Bobble II (Except JP and US) Developer: Taito Publisher: Taito Platform: Arcade (Taito F3 System) Released internationally: October 1994 This game has hidden development-related text. This game has unused graphics. This game has unused text. This game has a hidden level select. This game has a prototype article

Eight years after the first game, they're still Bubblin' and Bobblin'.

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Prototype Info

Stage Select

When booting the game, hold the Service Coin button until the "SERVICE SWITCH ERROR" message pops up onscreen, then press 1P Start (×3), Service Coin, 1P Start. Start the game and select a character, and the menu should appear after the intro sequence.

Unused Graphics

An odd unused shadowy enemy. Seems it would spin around, fall, and do... uh, something.

A panicked version of the spinning animation is present as well, possibly the "stunned" state of this enemy. There are also animations for being trapped inside a bubble and getting popped.

An unused boss! This is a giant version of the Dranko enemy, it was meant to be the boss of one of the five pre-final stages (O, N, M, L, K), just as giant versions of the Mighta and Monsta enemies appear as bosses there, but instead those two bosses are used 3 and 2 times respectively. A Dranko being a boss explains an ending being devoted to one hitting on the male descendants of Bub and Bob (both children, mind you). The pointing animations would be used for attacks.

Along with the standard death animation, a range of different emotions are available for this boss. The last frame has not been finished, missing the complicated shading found on the rest of the frames.

However, an altered version of one of the Super Dranko sprites did make it into the game: it's used in the background of the fifth Treasure Room you can visit during a playthrough.

Two different bottles that would have been thrown by Super Dranko.

Small and large fireballs, as well as a big star. This is basically a giant version of the Dranko enemy's attack.

These lightning bolt graphics, however, aren't similar to any attack by the Dranko enemies. This might have been spawned by the silver bottle.

An unused level icon, probably from a scrapped stage. These books are in the same styles as the ones found in the prologue.

A level icon for the area where the left door of the starting stage leads. Since there's no door that leads to that part of the first stage, there's no use for this icon.

(Source: Random Talking Bush)

Tutorial Level Name

By moving up a level from the Hyper Drunk stage, the player will enter the training stage, displaying an otherwise unseen level name: "Cursed Room". Completing this level leads to Round A-2.

(Source: Original TCRF research)

Error Text

--------- BUS ERROR --------------------
--------- ADDRESS ERROR ----------------
--------- ILLEGAL INSTRUCTION ----------
--------- ZERO DIVIDE ------------------
--------- CHK INSTRUCTION --------------
--------- TRAPV INSTRUCTION-------------
--------- PRIVILEGE INSTRUCTION --------
--------- TRACE ------------------------
--------- 1111 EMULATOR ----------------
--------- STACK ERROR ------------------
--------- WORK RAM ERROR ---------------
   DEBUG ME!      USE THE FORCE!        
   DEBUG ME! WHERE DOES THE ANSWER LIE? 

When an error occurs, a screen appears along with an encouraging message for the debugger.

(Source: Original TCRF research)

Developer Text

To do: What do the internal names correspond to?.

An incomplete set of internal sound names can be found, fragmented, on various ROM chips.

JACK*WARAI-1 UNNAMEDLAYER JACK*WARAI-2 JACK*TAMA    JACK*OKORI   JACK*DEAD    SLEIGHBELL   TILE*HAGARE 
AWA*WARI     NAGERU       PROPERA      EXP*MINI     PARTS*TOBASI S*DRANK-WARA WIND*AWA     BANE        
WARNING      1UP          COUNT        WARI*NORM    IWA*KUDAKE   SUIBOTU      LADIES       AND         
GENTLEMAN    THIS         IS           TITLE*1      DRUM*ROLL    BUUU         AWA*1        SP*AWA      
EXTEND*AWA   ITEM         DOOR*IN      SIBIRE       MOERU        AWA*MATOME   P*DEAD       FIRE        
NAGARE       EXP          ZISIN        STAR         BALL*1       BALL*2       LARGE*RACKA  CDOOR*OPEN  
DRIUS*WAR    DRIUS*DETA   DRIUS*TAMA   MANUKE       OKORI        EXTEND       GATTAI       INV*1       
INV*2        INV*3        INV*4        DRANKO       COUNT        SIBIRE*2     SUZU         CAKE        
BEEM         ITEM*2       COMIC*RACKA  COMIC*CHAKU  ATAMA*HAZUMU MAHO         IWA*1        KASA        
THUNDER      FOOD         KO*MONSTA    CURSOL       AWA*JUMP     JUMP         TITLE*2      ICE         
COMICAL*TMP  HAKUSHU      BOSS*TOBU    TAMA         BOSS*HIT     COIN         INV**HIT     EXTRA*WARI  
BIN          BIN*2        G+ROCK       PIANO        SLOW         BOSS*HIT-2   IWA*BIG      CATLE       
LASER        UFO*HIT      UFO*HIKO     DARIUS*SHOT  CELLO        VIOLIN       SNARE        PAR         

(Source: Original TCRF research)