Bubble Bobble 4 Friends: The Baron's Workshop

“I'm mostly upset because I expected the kind of difficulty and gameplay the original games envisioned, but the level design feels far too "hand-hold-y" than it should have been.”

“Although not anything to get truly excited about, it does vary up the gameplay a fair bit, however I do wish the same could be said for the four playable characters as I truly believe it would further improve the gameplay if each of the four had their own unique strengths to them (Bob jumping higher but moves slower, Peb having faster movement but lower bubble power, Pab boasting more bubble push with lower jumping abilities, and Bub being the typical 'balanced' type) which, when done in moderation so that the differences are only slight to not make them too wildly different for casual players, can still offer something for those looking for a challenge or to get a top rank on the online scoreboard!”

“Now getting into the actual gameplay, it remains largely the same as the original Bubble Bobble as hinted above, although it does feature new mechanics such as the ability to crawl through narrow spaces and to evade projectiles or accidentally bursting bubbles in narrow corridors (note that you can't shoot bubbles whilst ducking) and five new abilities unlocked after defeating the boss at the end of a level's 10 stages (including 'bomb' bubbles that explode when the timer runs out or upon contact and the ability to dash on the ground or mid-flight). These can be upgraded to allow for more uses, though usage is limited and restored only through collecting fruit.”

“Bubble Bobble 4 Friends is an adequate modern take on the classic arcade original, but the asking price is simply too high for a game that doesn't bring enough new and polished content to justify purchasing it. It also suffers from a general lack of updates and no online multiplayer, which would have provided much-needed replayability and helped it stand out from other flawed ports.”

“While this does give the game lots of replay value now, it's unfortunately barebones for me at least.”

“Despite the content and replay value, the value of the game itself is just overpriced and not worth it.”

“While it no longer has any game breaking issues, the main story levels still lack the visual charm of the original Bubble Bobble, which thankfully works great now and is also included via the 'Arcade of Memories', in regards to enemy designs and block skins; proving that new doesn't always equal better.”

“The main story mode has only 50 levels (100 if you count the remixed hard mode levels, but honestly these should've been entirely new levels).”

“Controls are broken in the story mode campaign.”