Days after hinting at its 2023 ambitions, City Connection and its S-Tribute series (thanks, Gematsu!) have helped Taito bring Metal Black and the Puzzle Bobble series to the Switch.
On February 2, Puzzle Bobble 2X / BUST-A-MOVE 2 Arcade Edition & Puzzle Bobble 3 / BUST-A-MOVE 3 S-Tribute, a compilation of Puzzle Bobble 2 and 3 arcade and console versions, and Metal Black S-Tribute, a digital re-release of the classic side-scrolling shooter, will both be available for the Switch (and other consoles).
Let’s start with the spin-off series of Bub and Bob (also knowns as Bust-A-Move). Puzzle Bobble 2 is now available on the eShop owing to the ACA NEOGEO, but this new compilation includes both the original arcade game and its follow-up, as well as all re-releases and new modes.
What to expect from Puzzle Bobble 2X / BUST-A-MOVE 2 Arcade Edition & Puzzle Bobble 3 / BUST-A-MOVE 3 S-Tribute, the current front-runner for the longest game of 2023:
Featured modes
- Puzzle Bobble 2X Arcade Edition and BUST-A-MOVE 2 Arcade Edition… Japanese and international versions of the arcade games Puzzle Bobble 2 and Puzzle Bobble 2X have been ported to home consoles (1 or 2 players).
- Home console ports of the arcade game Puzzle Bobble 3’s Japanese and international versions. – Arcade editions of Puzzle Bobble 3 and BUST-A-MOVE 3. (1 or 2 players).
- Challenge Mode Complete levels in Puzzle Bobble 3 and BUST-A-MOVE 3 by meeting specific requirements.
- Collection Mode Play through all 1,026 of the stages created by gamers back in the day (Puzzle Bobble 3).
- Edit Mode In Puzzle Bobble 2X and BUST-A-MOVE 2 Arcade Edition, you can design your own stages by placing bubbles in the playing area.
Convenient features and option settings only available in S-Tribute
- Rewind: You can rewind a specific period of time throughout the game before continuing.
- Slow Mode: By pressing a single button, the game’s speed is slowed down.
- Quick Save/Load: Anytime you want to save your game state.
- Unlimited Credits: The cap on the total number of retries can be turned off, enabling endless retries.
- Scan Lines: This feature mimics the quaint CRT monitor display.
Therefore, Metal Black S-Tribute is based on the console port from 1996. Due to its dark, future setting, the original game which several of the Gun Frontier team members contributed was once intended to be the third installment in the Darius series.
Again, the Arcade Archives release makes this already available for purchase, but the City Connection release has a ton of extra features. Here’s what to anticipate:
Power-ups
Grab the floating NEWALONE power-ups to raise the level of your beam (round molecules colored red, blue, and yellow). To increase the power of your shots, there are five levels (MAX being the highest).
You can use beam energy attacks when the beam gauge is full. Each of these attacks causes the beam gauge to drop, and once it is empty, the beam energy attack is no longer usable.
There are two types of beam energy attacks
- Focused Beam: When the energy shot button is pressed and held down, a focused attack is made to the front. This will fire MAX lasers when the beam gauge is at its highest level.
- Release Beam: Pressing the energy shot button will launch an attack that harms all foes when the beam gauge level is at MAX.
Each stage’s boss will also use beam energy attacks. When a boss’s beam and your ship’s beam collide, the interference forms a massive ball of energy that shifts from the side with the higher gauge to the side with the lower gauge.
Convenient features and option settings only available in S-Tribute
- Rewind: You can rewind a specific period of time throughout the game before continuing.
- Slow Mode: By pressing a single button, the game’s speed is slowed down.
- Quick Save/Load: Anytime you want to save your game state.
- Online Ranking: To put your score into the online leaderboards and see how you place against other players, switch to the online ranking mode in the settings.
- Unlimited Credits: The cap on the total number of retries can be turned off, enabling endless retries.
- Stage Select: You can start the game at any stage.
