-= Falconer's Puzzle Bobble 3 FAQ: Version 1.2 =-
-= Trademarks =-
Puzzle Bobble 3 is a trademark of the Taito Corporation.
-= Legal Crap =-
This FAQ is Copyright (C) Scott Faulkner/Falconer (sfaulk*BLOCK*@earthlink.net).
It may be posted only on the following sites:
www.gamefaqs.com GameFAQS
www.bubandbob.com Bubandbob.com
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www.gameoverdude.com Game Over Dude
Q: I see this FAQ on a certain site other than the ones you listed above.
Now what?
A: Tell me ASAP at the e-mail address above, with the *BLOCK* part removed.
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A: Only in its original plain text form. If I find out that changes or
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than ask if it is necessary.
(Note: This FAQ should _NEVER_ appear on megagames.com, gamesdomain.com,
or CNET Games Center. If you found it there, TELL ME. They tend to rip
off FAQs, from what I've heard.)
Q: Where can I check for the latest version?
A: The sites noted above should be the only ones with my FAQ, and thus the
only ones that will get updated versions.
Q: So, can I host your FAQ?
A: Send an e-mail to the address listed above. I'll e-mail you back with
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permission.
Q: Can I use this FAQ for any profitable means?
A: No. If it vaguely resembles profit or a reward, even only one penny,
no. This includes all magazines/publishers of any kind.
Q: Can I use any info found in this FAQ to start my own?
A: Within reason. You can't completely copy my FAQ or change one or two
things and then call it your own. I'll get angry. That would be bad.
If you wish to use part of my FAQ, then e-mail me, asking for permission.
If I grant you permission, I expect to be credited for the information
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from, so I expect the same from anyone who wishes to use my info.
I reserve the right to litigate if these terms/conditions are violated.
Applicable copyright laws will be enforced. If I use a copyrighted
resource, an acknowledgment will be given in the Thanks and Mentions
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If you disagree with the Terms and Conditions, you may not use this FAQ.
Stop reading right now and save yourself the headache of an argument.
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other sanctions against you, and it may get to the point of legal penalties
if you spam and/or decide to rip-off parts of my FAQ.
Now, onto less boring stuff.
--
I've been a fan of Puzzle Bobble/Bust-a-Move ever since I played the first
one at a local bowling alley. The only one I've been able to play in the
arcade is the third in the series (the one this FAQ is for, natch). I've
always wanted to make a FAQ, and figured this was as good a game as any,
given how often I play it.
What I intend to supply by the time I complete this FAQ are ways through
both main puzzle modes (normal and version 2.5), as well as how to get
fairly high scores. I'll also provide information on the eight playable
characters (and the two non-playable characters) for those versus
computer/player enthusiasts, or just those wondering who they're playing
as.
-= Index =-
I.) Characters
1.) Bub/Bublen and Bob/Boblun
i.) Bub/Bublen voice clips
ii.) Bob/Boblun voice clips
2.) Chinkulu/Chincle/Twinkle
3.) Pulichio/Prichio/Prettio
4.) Malissa/Marina
5.) Musashi
6.) Luna Luna
7.) Jack
8.) Sonic Blast Man/SSB
9.) Debblun/Deburun
10.) Drunk
II.) Puzzle Mode
1.) Practice overview
i.) Level designs
ii.) Walk through
2.) Normal overview
i.) Level designs
ii.) Walk through
3.) Version 2.5 overview
i.) Level designs
ii.) Walk through
III.) Versus Computer Mode
1.) General overview
2.) Character-specific info
i.) Bub/Bublen and Bob/Boblun
ii.) Chinkulu/Chincle/Twinkle
iii.) Pulichio/Prichio/Prettio
iv.) Malissa/Marina
v.) Musashi
vi.) Luna Luna
vii.) Jack
viii.) Sonic Blast Man/SSB
ix.) Debblun/Deburun
x.) Drunk
IV.) Miscellaneous
1.) Point Layout
2.) History
3.) Thanks and Mentions
-= Characters =-
First off, I won't make a fool out of myself taking random guesses at what
the characters say in certain situations unless I'm almost sure what it is.
If anyone knows what they actually say, they can send an e-mail with that
info, and they'll be mentioned in later versions of the FAQ.
1.) Bub/Bublen and Bob/Boblun
The main characters from the game that started it all, Bubble Bobble. Not
surprisingly, their stage looks to be right out of that game. The only
difference between them (aside from their color; Bub is green and Bob is
blue) is that Bob has a higher voice than Bub. Noticeable only after doing
a bubble drop or after completing a round/stage.
Idle animation: He sways from side to side, alternating between looking at
you and looking up at the bubbles.
Desperate animation (when the bubbles are about 3 lengths away from ending
the game): He looks up sadly at the bubbles a few times, then spazzes out.
Repeat until they win, lose or get the bubbles out of the `danger zone'.
Confident animation (when your opponent is in the `danger zone'): He looks
over at the opponent's bubbles, smirks and starts giggling. I'm not sure
if this was carried over into puzzle mode like it was in PB2, where you'd
go into this animation when you had about 5 bubble lengths between you and
the lowest bubble on screen.
Hit animation* (when the opponent sent bubbles to your side): He looks
shocked as his scales briefly fly off his body.
Small attack animation (when you send about 1-3 bubbles to the opponent or
drop that many in puzzle mode): He jumps up.
Medium attack animation (when you send/ drop 4-6(?) bubbles): He jumps and
spins 360 degrees.
Large attack animation (when you send/ drop more than 6): Does his small
animation followed by his medium animation.
Victory animation: His medium animation over and over, saying the same
thing he does for his large attack animation once at the beginning.
Loss animation: Looks at the screen sadly, drops to his knees, then to all
fours with his head down, two rainbow shaped streams of tears flowing
freely.
* This shows up only in Versus Computer/Player games.
1i.) Bub/Bublen's voice clips
Small attack: "Po-ppah!"(?)
Medium attack: "Pin-pu-ruu!"(?)
Large attack: "Payon-pah!"(?)
Hit: "Fue-en..."(?)
Victory: "Payon-pah!"(?)
1ii.) Bob/Boblun's voice clips
Small attack: "Kokkeh!"(?)
Medium attack: "Urittah!"(?)
Large attack: "Yat-ta (I did it)!"
Hit: "Fugya-ah!"(?)
Victory: "Yat-ta (I did it)!"(?)
2.) Chinkulu/Chincle/Twinkle
Chinkulu appears to be from a quiz game, judging by her stage. The 1P side
Chinkulu has green hair, wearing an orange and yellow jester's uniform with
white boots and gloves. The 2P Chinkulu has brown hair and wears a green or
purple uniform, also with white boots and gloves. She gets my vote for most
sickenly cute character, barely beating Pulichio.
Idle animation: Sways from side to side, occasionally pausing. Hey, I
call them idle animations for a reason. ^_^
Desperate animation: Kneels and turns away from the player, tracing the
ground with her finger. She glances at the player for a few seconds from
time to time.
Confident animation: Hops a few times, then grins and does a little dance.
Hit animation: Hops into the air, looking surprised for a fraction of a
second. If it was a big hit, she says "Hiddoh-i (That's too awful)!".
Small attack animation: Hops and says something that sounds like "Ikki-
mah-su (I go)!"
Medium attack animation: Hops and puts her hands to her cheeks, making an
'ooh' face and saying "Doki-doki-desuu (My heart was beating fast)."
Large attack animation: Gets a gleeful look on her face, eyes shut, and
rapidly stomps the ground for a second. Then she jumps into the air, arms
spread out with a 'yay!' expression on her face. She says "Wakuwaku-
shimasuu (I am being excited)."
Victory animation: All three attack animations in a row, starting with
small, then medium and finally large. She says "Motto-asonde-hoshii-desuu
(I want to have more pleasant times with you)!"
Loss animation: Drops to her knees facing the player and rubs at her eyes
with one glove.
3.) Pulichio/Prichio/Prettio
She looks like a super deformed elf, as far as I can tell. Her stage is one
of those crane games where you move around an arm to drop and grab some toys
or candy. 1P Pulichio has green hair, a yellow antenna and wears a purple
jacket with green trim. She wears white and blue striped clown pants with
purple pointy boots. 2P Pulichio has yellow hair, a green antenna and wears
an orange jacket with yellow trim. She wears light orange and white striped
pants with orange pointy boots.
Idle animation: She looks to her left (or right as 2P), then looks up at
the bubbles, off to the side again, then bends over and pulls at her shoes,
briefly rolling onto her back. After that she starts all over again.
Desperate animation: She sits on the ground with a sad look on her face,
head shaking. It looks like she's crying without any tears.
Confident animation: Hops around in a circle on all fours.
Hit animation: Slams into a wall, sags to the ground and hops up shaking
her head, as if to clear it. If it's a big hit, she says something that
sounds like "Fu-iiin!"
Small attack animation: Hops into the air and says "La la!"
Medium attack animation: Hops slightly higher into the air, doing a
back flip, saying "Luu la la?"
Large attack animation: Jumps high into the air, and floats to the ground,
rapidly flailing her arms. She says "La luu le lah!"
Victory animation: She turns to the right (or left as 2P) and starts
clapping, saying "La la!"
Loss animation: Drops to her belly and starts beating the ground with her
fists, a disappointed look on her face.
4.) Malissa/Marina
She's from a Mah Jongg game (her stage reflects this as does her intro in
Versus Computer). 1P Malissa has brown hair, white skin, a pink jacket
and bracelet and red skirt/shoes/bikini top. 2P Malissa is tan, with dark
blonde hair, a light blue jacket/ bracelet and white skirt/shoes/bikini top.
She seems to be right out of a hentai Mah Jongg game, given what most of her
animations look like. She's almost always got a big GRIN on her face, which
unnerves me... well, that and the fact she has no nose.
Idle animation: It looks like she's dancing, sliding her legs from side to
side. She occasionally looks up at the bubbles and nods a few times.
Desperate animation: She drops to her knees and starts begging, presumably
in hope that you'll find a way out of the situation so she can throw off
her clothes (more on that later).
Confident animation: Does a hopping dance, ever-present grin intact.
Hit animation: Looks confused and scratches her head, complete with a
question mark floating over her head. After a big hit she'll say "A-rree
(Why)?"
Small attack animation: Throws off her jacket, saying "Yoh-sshi (Alright)!".
Oddly, her jacket reappears once she goes back into her idle animation.
Medium attack animation: Throws off her jacket and her skirt. Once again,
they mysteriously reappear after the animation ends. She says "Kita-kitah
(Here comes)!"
Large attack animation: Similar to the medium attack animation, but she
does a quick dance at the end and jumps into the air, making sure to cover
her bikini top-devoid chest with one arm while the other throws afore-
mentioned top into the air. She says "Mou-saikoh (Great)!"
Victory animation: She blushes and flashes the peace sign (index and
middle finger extended) with a not-as-big grin on her face. She's stripped
down to her bikini top and bottom as well. She says "Gomen-ne (Sorry)!"
Loss animation: Drops to her knees, facing away from the screen as tears
drip from her face.
5.) Musashi
Meet Puzzle Bobble 3's incarnation of Ryu, from Street Fighter. Same general
outfit, moves and sundry other biz. 1P Musashi wears a white gi/headband,
red belt/wrist guards and has brown hair. 2P Musashi has black skin, wears a
pinkish gi with a pink headband, reddish hair and a purple belt/wrist guards.
Idle animation: Simply standing in place, kind of like Ryu's idle
animation from basically every fighting game he's in.
Desperate animation: Drops to one knee and looks up at the bubbles,
shaking his fist.
Confident animation: Gathers a small blue aura about him, grimaces and
then gathers a bigger aura around himself. He then stands there with the
energy crackling about him with a smile on his face.
Hit animation: Winces and staggers back a step.
Small attack animation: Does a stationary fireball which forms into a blue
bubble-like shape, which stays on screen for a second or two. It sounds
like he says "Bubken!" Bubble Fist, maybe?
Medium attack animation: Does a vertical leaping uppercut with a bolt of
lightning trailing behind his fist, tears streaming down his face. He says
"Rekkyuu-ken!"
Large attack animation: Does his small attack animation canceled into the
medium attack animation (goes into the uppercut right after forming the
bubble) and says "Hadan-rekkyuu-ken!"
Victory animation: Turns his back and looks over his shoulder, grinning as
wind blows his hair.
Loss animation: He slams his fist into the wall and hangs his head.
(Note: It would seem Musashi's voice clips in the American version are
slightly different from those in the Japanese version. His medium attack
voice clip in the American version is the same as his small attack voice
clip from the Japanese version.)
6.) Luna Luna
She's from a Tarot machine. She's my favorite character (I've always been
partial to Tarot stuff). 1P Luna Luna has long purple hair, part of which
covers one of her eyes and goes all the way to the ground, and wears a blue
robe with a light blue circlet of sorts. 2P Luna Luna has long dark green
hair, wears a purple robe and has a pink circlet. Both have a bluish glowing
orb which hovers in mid-air.
Idle animation: Hovers in mid-air with her eyes closed. Occasionally
she'll open them to look at you or over to the right (left as 2P).
Desperate animation: Her fists are trembling as she glares at her orb,
which has stopped glowing.
Confident animation: She waves her hands and holds them above her head,
mouth open. Her orb floats high into the air and continuously glows
brightly.
Hit animation: Flinches and shields her face as her orb gives off negative
energies.
Small/Medium/Large attack animation: The same as her confident animation,
except she only sticks with the end part for about a second. It doesn't
matter how big an attack you make, she'll always do this animation. She
says "The moon." for a small attack, "The stars." for a medium attack
and "The world." for a large attack.
Victory animation: She cups her fist into her other hand, then bows her
head, hovering in place. She says "Anata-no-miari-ga-shiawase-de-arimasu-
youni (I wish you a good future)."
Loss animation: She turns her head away from the screen, a miffed
expression on her face. Her orb clanks to the ground and rolls away with
no glow at all.
7.) Jack
A card dealer from some sort of card game. I'm guessing a matching game (the
background during his intro looks a lot like one), but I'm not sure. 1P Jack
has blue hair, wears a white shirt with red laces, a gold armlet, red pants
and blue loafers. 2P Jack has brown hair, wears a pink shirt with green
laces, a green armlet/pants and brown loafers. As you may have noticed, I
refer to Jack as a him. I have recently been informed that this is indeed
the case (and by more than just a few people), despite exhibiting several
signs of feminine behavior. This is something that leaves me amazed and more
than just a little unnerved.
Idle animation: Shuffles a deck of cards, occasionally pulling out a card,
looking at it and tossing it away.
Desperate animation: He drops to his hands and knees, occasionally looking
up at the bubbles with a grin. He almost never is shown without a grin.
Interpret that however you like.
Confident animation: Relaxes against the wall, sipping from a glass of red
wine. He goes back and forth between this and standing in place.
Hit animation: Cards fly everywhere (notably in a spread pattern above his
head) as he gets a concerned "Oh!" look on his face, saying "Ooh..." if it
was a big hit.
Small attack animation: Tosses about six cards into the air in a fan
pattern on purpose (unlike his hit animation). He says "Straight!", as in
the poker hand.
Medium attack animation: A rose magically appears in his mouth as he
turns his back to the screen and throws a diagonal fan pattern of cards.
He says "Flush!", as in the poker hand.
Large attack animation: His small attack animation followed by his medium
animation. He says "Utukushi-sugiru (I'm too beautiful)!"
Victory animation: He turns to the player, arms wide open, then spins
around a few times before striking a pose. Roses bloom behind him and rose
petals begin to fall. He says "Watashi-wa-utukushii (I am beautiful)!"
Loss animation: He drops to his knees and hugs his chest, crying and
shaking his head back and forth.
8.) Sonic Blast Man/SSB
In my opinion, this guy is by far the weirdest of the eight selectable
characters. He's from the Real Puncher game, and also from a pair of SNES
side-scrollers. 1P SBM wears what looks like blue football gear, complete
with shin guards and boots, grey pants with lightning bolts on them, blue
gloves, a grey helmet with yellow-rimmed blue sunglasses and a yellow scarf.
2P SBM looks exactly like 1P SBM, except substitute red everywhere blue shows
up. He's almost always smiling, which is really annoying.
Idle animation: Stands in place and constantly flexes his pecs.
Desperate animation: He drops to one knee, looks up at the bubbles, then
looks at you and starts whimpering, tears coming from his sunglasses.
Confident animation: He folds his arms, throws back his head and cackles
madly.
Hit animation: He looks at the opponent, jaw dropping in anime-style
(hitting the floor, basically). The voice of a small girl says "Kyah!
Tasuketee! (Oh! Help me!)" if it's a big hit.
Small/medium/large attack animation: He rears back and unleashes a mighty
punch (with an exaggerated hit explosion). If you time it right, you can
make him start the punch, complete another drop and he'll rear back and do
another punch. For all three he says "Watashi-no-panchi-wo-uketemiro (Take
my punch)!"
Victory animation: He raises his arm and starts flexing it, making his bicep
bulge and his sunglasses bounce on his nose. Someone that sounds like a small
girl verbally praises him as he's doing this, saying "Arigatou (Thank you),
Sonic Blast Man!"
Loss animation: He smiles widely and falls over as a HUGE red bubble lands
on him and starts crushing him.
9.) Debblun/Deburun
What little I've seen of him, he seems like a giant Bub/Bob rip-off. He uses
a 'dark' version of Bub/Bob's stage and is the next to last character you
face in Versus Computer mode.
Small/medium/large animation: Currently either not
known or not completely certain of.
Idle animation: Stands around with a sinister grin, occasionally looking at
the opponent.
Hit animation: Shakes his head back and forth as small tears fly off of his
head.
Confident animation: He repeatedly dozes off, with visible snoring bubbles.
Loss animation: Sways back and forth with a pained expression on his face,
before falling face first to the ground, eyes shut.
Desperate animation: He gets a worried look on his face and starts sweating
profusely.
Victory animation: He gets a sinister smile on his face and starts to
snicker, holding his paws to his mouth.
It sounds like he does lower-pitch versions of Bub's clips.
10.) Drunk
The last boss and an enemy first seen in Bubble Bobble (the green mage
with puffed-out cheeks and a brown cane). It is the final boss in Versus
Computer mode.
Sadly, I still have no good idea of many of Drunk's animations. However, I do
now have a vague clue for some of the voice clips (hi Jacks!).
Small attack voice clip: "Akasatanaa!"
Medium attack voice clip: "Hamayarawaa!"
Large attack voice clip: "Ekesetenee!"
Idle animation: Stomps in place, looking at the opponent. Occasionally it
will look up at its bubbles.
Large attack animation: 'Enchants' its rod with some of its drink, causing
the rod to glow pink, before pointing it at the opponent.
Hit animation: Shakes its head as its eyes bug out repeatedly.
Confident animation: Jumps up and down gleefully.
Loss animation: Falls onto its back while still holding its red 'potion' and
just lies there.
Desperate animation: Weeps a small river, then repeatedly hides its head in
its hood.
Win animation: Pulls down one eyelid and waggles its tongue at the fallen
challenger.
-= Puzzle Mode =-
The following abbreviations will be used here, as well as in Normal and
Version 2.5 layouts:
B = blue bubbles
R = red bubbles
Y = yellow bubbles
G = green bubbles
O = orange bubbles
W = white bubbles
b = black bubbles
P = purple bubbles
r = rainbow bubbles*
X = inert blocks**
. = stabilizer blocks***
0 = gem bubbles****
o = bowling ball bubble*****
_ = the top of the screen; the 'ceiling'
*Rainbow bubbles look like a clear bubble with a rainbow in the middle.
Whenever bubbles are popped next to one or more of these, the rainbow bubbles
change to that color. If three or more adjacent rainbow bubbles are changed
in this way, they will also pop. This can lead to chain reactions if there
is a cluster of rainbow bubbles. For example:
______
B r
B
If another blue bubble is shot up to pop the two already there, the rainbow
bubble will turn into a blue bubble. Figuring out ways to transform as many
rainbow bubbles as possible can lead to an easier puzzle, whether by making
another pop easier to pull off, or creating a chain reaction. They're the
most common special bubble.
**Inert blocks look like an orangish octagon and cannot be burst, only
dropped. They cannot cause you to lose the game by themselves. If they're
right before the line that'd result in making you lose and the ceiling drops,
they'll harmlessly fall off. Only if they've got an actual bubble on them
that gets pushed below the line can you lose. They're fairly common.
***Stabilizer blocks take the place of the descending ceiling from PB1 and 2.
This results in it being possible to bounce bubbles off the ceiling, as well
as the walls. Stabilizer blocks look like silver hexagonal donuts with a
glowing center and vanish as soon as all bubbles on them are popped. They'll
be in every puzzle round you run into.
****Gem bubbles will pop every bubble the same color as the first one they
touch. If you shoot a gem bubble and it hits a white bubble, every white
bubble on your screen pops. These can lead to huge drops, resulting in a
large amount of points (and serious hurt in versus play). They look like a
blue bubble with a shimmering white star in the center. They're fairly rare,
although some stages start out made entirely from gem bubbles.
*****Bowling ball bubbles look like their name implies. After being shot,
they will cut through bubbles, stopping only after hitting an inert or a
stabilizer block. They're used mostly to clean up stray bubbles, although
some rounds require them in order to get past it. They're very rare,
appearing only at the start of certain rounds.
IMPORTANT NOTE: The general design for all Puzzle levels remains exactly as
I show them. However, the color layouts for some levels are random. So,
the advice I give on clearing some levels will not apply. That is, some of
the levels I have advice that has you make use of a long string of one color
to make the level easier. This may prove useless if the randomizer spits out
a version of the level with no colors set in that fashion.
Basically, if rounds that you've played in practice, normal or version 2.5
have an entirely different color setup than what I have listed, it's safe to
say that you found a random round. Coincidentally, it would not go unnoticed
were I to receive e-mail from people who have discovered a random round, so
that I may list it as such.
1.) Practice overview
As the name implies, this is the easiest of the three Puzzle choices. It
only lasts for 5 rounds, after which you get the word CONGRATULATIONS! in big
orange letters in the background of round five, followed by a pic of Debblun
with an impish smile saying "Good Try the next level." As far as I can
tell, you're stuck with using Bub or Bob, depending on whether you're on the
1P or 2P side.
1a.) Level designs and walkthroughs
What this is is a mapping of what each of the five rounds look like, as well
as my suggestions for how to clear them. They may not be the best way, just
the way I feel gets them done the fastest, regardless of the bubbles you're
handed.
Round P-1
_______________
. . . .
P P O O G G
B R R R Y
B O O G G P P Y
R R Y Y Y B B
This round is relatively straightforward. Pop the bubbles as you go along,
stranding bubbles you can't use underneath a cluster of bubbles. That way
when you find the one bubble needed to pop the cluster, the 'rogue' bubbles
get dropped for points.
Round P-2
_______________
. .
Y Y r Y Y r Y Y
X X
G G r G G r G G
r r
B B r B B r B B
Another fairly straightforward round, and an introduction to rainbow bubbles
and inert blocks. You always start with a blue bubble, and you can fire it
just about anywhere to see a rainbow chain reaction. Note how it works and
look forward to similar situations popping up in Normal and Version 2.5. The
inert blocks are there just to show you how they work. Pop the yellows and
let the chain reaction take care of both inerts. Hopefully both rainbow
bubbles connected to those yellows are still there to allow both inerts to be
dropped at once. Also consider this training for how to 'force' the bubble
launcher to use only the colors you have left on the screen. The best way to
do this is via the 'rogue' bubble method:
__________
B G
B G
In the situation above, suppose the launcher currently has a green loaded
with a green ready to load. You could shoot the first green on top of the
two greens already there, making those three pop. That leaves a green bubble
in the launcher and no greens to pop. Not to worry, just launch that green
so that it hangs to the lower left of the two blues, like so:
__________
B
B
G
Now, depending on whether the new backup bubble is blue or green, you can
either shoot it into the lower right spot (blue) or right below the rogue
green bubble (green). If the next bubble is green, it either won't matter
(the previous bubble was blue, which you used to pop the two already there,
drop the rogue green, and complete the round) or you can just shoot it at the
two green dangling from the two blue and pop them. Eventually the odds will
be against the launcher and it'll give you a blue bubble to pop with.
Generally, this idea leads to better drop points, but eats up time and can be
dangerous (you're making a cluster of bubbles closer to the 'loss' line).
The more colors there are, the harder it gets to set up safe rogue drops.
When mastered though, it leads to good drop points. Now, back to the puzzles
at hand...
Round P-3
_______________
B B B B
. .
Y Y R R
R R Y Y
B B B B
Y Y R R
R R Y Y
This round helps teach you how to use the ceiling to bounce bubbles into
popping position. The best way to start is to pop the highest right most
yellow or leftmost red clusters. Once you get the hang of angling off the
ceiling, shoot for the left most yellow and rightmost red clusters. If you
start out with a blue, either park it on the lowest clusters, or aim for the
blues at the very top of the field. You've got about 2 1/2 bubble lengths (5
rows game-wise) between you and The Line, so even if you stumble upon a swarm
of blues, you can just pop them three at a time with little consequence,
whether you decide to pop the pair of blues at the top or not.
Round P-4
_______________
W W
b 0 P
b P
. . .
This is possibly the hardest of the Practice rounds, requiring you get a good
grip on bouncing bubbles off the wall. The gem bubble is there for no good
reason... unless you happen to shoot it with a black bubble. If you do,
you'll drop the two whites (as well as anything else you may have slapped on
top or on the side of them). After popping the two purples, shoot any white
or purples under the three stabilizers if you're going for the Black Gem Drop
and clean them up later. Otherwise, pop the bubbles as they come to you and
move onto the last round in Practice mode.
Round P-5
_________________________________
P P R R O O b b W W Y Y G G B B
0 . . 0
B B P P R R O O b b W W Y Y G G
0 0 0 0
W W Y Y G G B B P P R R O O b b
r r r r r r r r r r r r r r r r
W W Y Y G G B B P P R R O O b b
The first big round and certainly not the last. Pop clusters as you get the
chance, and unless a specific color would be a better 'trigger' for a gem,
pop those as they become available. Pile up rogue bubbles to drop as needed.
When you get a crack at the stabilized bubbles, try and pop all four clusters
to insure big points.
Congrats, you've just cleaned out Practice. A good score to have after
cleaning out all five is 2 million. 3 million is great and anything higher
is excellent.
2.) Normal overview
Don't let the name trick you. There's no difficulty increase from normal PB3
to version 2.5 PB3. The only visible difference is that normal has 'tower'
rounds and that normal tends to avoid white and black bubbles for the first
few 'tiers'. Basically, 'tower' rounds are where the height of the round is
far beyond what the screen shows at once. Regular rounds tend to be anywhere
from two to ten bubble lengths from top to bottom. Tower rounds are MUCH
bigger; I'd say that twenty lengths is the minimum amount, to toss out a
number. If you clear the current screen of the 'tower', you get an 100,000
point bonus and the next six lines drop down. The time bonus points you get
in a tower round are different than a normal round. You get a lot of points
for finishing the round in less than two minutes, as a means of comparison.
Depending on your path, you'll need to complete anywhere from 14 to 30 rounds
in order to beat normal mode. Much like practice, after you beat round 30,
the word CONGRATULATIONS! in big orange letters in the background. Then, one
of several endings will appear. The ones I've seen so far are:
1.) Your character shows up onscreen and suggests that "NOW LET'S HAVE A
PARTY. ALL TOGETHER!", with a picture of the entire PB3 cast at a banquet
table, some of whom are busy fighting over food (Jack and Musashi), some of
whom are embarrassed at the sight (Luna Luna), some having a chat (Chinkulu
and Pulichio), some content with just eating (Malissa and Bub/Bob) and some
looking at all of the food (Drunk and Debblun). SSB is in the pic too, but
your character blocks him out.
2.)
3.)
4.) Your character shows up on screen with their 'machine' and say "The game
ended. Let's go home."
5.)
6.)
7.) Your character shows up onscreen and notes that "YOU'RE (sic) OBTAINED
THE TREASURE BOX!". A picture of a chest with jewels, gems and pieces of
gold is shown, with the chest itself lying on top of a veritable ocean of
gold pieces.
Afterwards, the credits roll with multiple Bub and Bob-type dinos doing
various acts, such as spinning, walking and flying in an arc across the
screen. Then another picture of your character is shown on screen, as well
as your ending score.
Both normal mode and Version 2.5 have stages set up in the spread pattern
familiar to players of previous versions:
U V W ? X Y Z
O P Q R S T
J K L M N
F G H I
C D E
A B
.
For those who are unfamiliar with the system above, your character starts at
the '.' and can choose from two stages, one to the immediate upper left
and one to the upper right (starting off, that means A or B). Once you clear
a stage, you can't backtrack (if you pick B and beat it, you can't go back
and do A) or choose a stage other than the upper left and right (if you pick
and beat A, you can't choose E). This gives 64 different paths you can take
to beat the game.
B = blue bubbles
R = red bubbles
Y = yellow bubbles
G = green bubbles
O = orange bubbles
W = white bubbles
b = black bubbles
P = purple bubbles
r = rainbow bubbles
X = inert blocks
. = stabilizer blocks
0 = gem bubbles
o = bowling ball bubble
_ = the top of the screen; the 'ceiling'
2a.) Level designs and walkthroughs
Round A-1
_________________________________
. .
Y Y Y
G G B R R Y Y R R B G G
G B B R R B B G
R R Y G G Y Y G G Y R R
R Y Y G B B Y B B G Y Y R
B B
A good stage to start with, having all of the bubbles bunched into clusters
that are easily popped. For a quick win, pop the two yellow center clusters
of bubbles. Otherwise, just practice your aim, trying to shoot bubbles to
land in whichever spots you want.
Round A-2
_______________
.
Y
G
B
P
R
O
Y
The quickest way to end this round is to get two yellow to accompany the lone
yellow at the very top. This round is also good for working on bank shots.
Round A-3
_______________
. . . .
P P O O G G
R R Y Y B B
O O G G P P
Y Y B B R R
G G P P O O
B B R R Y Y
There's no easy solution to this round, so just work on getting rid of some
bubbles as the opportunities present themselves. Work on setting up drops,
for upcoming stages and rounds.
Round A-4
_______________
r
r R Y
. r r
. . .
The key here is to NOT turn the rainbow bubbles yellow if you want to get rid
of them in one fell swoop. Cluster red and yellow bubbles on the underside
of the stabilizers until the bubbles on top have dropped far enough to give
you a shot at the lone red on top. Bounce any reds you get off of the wall,
trying to land them next to that red. After you pop it, all of the rainbow
bubbles will change to red and pop as well. After that, all there is left to
do is clean up anything you left on the bottom of the stabilizers.
Round A-5
_______________
B R Y
B R G G R Y
. Y B .
R Y B R
R
G G
Depending on which bubble you start with, you'll have to either shoot off of
a wall (red, lower blue and yellow clusters), or in a straight line (green,
upper blue and yellow) to pop bubbles immediately. Don't get into a rush;
there's nothing in this round that can stump you unless you pile bubbles onto
it needlessly.
Stage B
_______________
. . . . . . .
Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y
Y X Y
Y X X Y
Y X X X Y
Y Y Y Y
G G B P R O O
Y r P P r R
Y B r B r R R
O B B B R P
O Y P
R Y Y G
R r G
O O O O O O O O
G G Y Y R R B
R R B B G G Y Y
G Y Y R R B B
O P P P P P P P
O O O O O O O
G G Y Y R R B B
G G Y Y R R B
R R B B G G Y Y
R B B G G Y Y
This is the first tower round that you can play. Your chosen character will
be to the left of the playing field, instead of the center like they were in
practice mode. This round is fairly straightforward. Look to try to pop the
two lines of orange bubbles to get two 100,000 point bonuses, and the yellow
bubbles near the end for a chance at another 100k bonus.
Round C-1
_______________
. G B G .
B Y R B
G R O Y G
B Y R B
. G B G .
Y R
Keep misfires to a minimum. That's the best I can suggest, since there's no
quick and easy way to clear this round. Make use of the skills you learned
and worked on in Stage A, and you should have no problems.
Round C-2
_______________
Y
. .
Y
. .
Y
. .
Y
. .
This is the first real test of how good you are at bank shots. There is no
way for you to pop the bubbles on top without banking off one of the walls,
and the margin of error steadily decreases as you go after the higher bubbles
in this round. Since they're all yellow, there's no worry of pulling up a
bubble you can't use to work on a pop or drop. Keep your senses about you
and you'll do fine.
Round C-3
_______________
. . . .
Y G B P R O
P R O Y G B P
r G B P R O Y r
O Y G B P R O
B P R Y G B
A bit like C-1, except wider and with two colors added in. There are also
two rainbow bubbles, but they're just for show; there's no 'secret' solution
that utilizes them. Having six colors to work with means you have to be more
precise than you were in C-1. Stick to three bubble pops, unless you get a
lot of a single color in a row to work with. Don't be any fancier than your
skill level can handle. It won't take much to end your game here if you're
not careful.
Round C-4
_______________
. .
B G
B Y G
Y R R Y
P P R O R P P
Y R R Y
G Y B
G B
This round is a breeze compared to C-3. Break the six red bubbles the first
chance you get. Doing so will give you a clear shot at the top half of the
puzzle once you break the blue and green bubbles at the bottom. For a quick
win, break the two sets of purple bubbles first, if possible. This will give
you a shot at the top green and blue pairs of bubbles. Break those and the
rest of the puzzle drops out from under you, netting a healthy point bonus.
Round C-5
_________________________________
. . . . . .
R B G
G G Y Y R R B B G G Y Y R R
R G R G
R R B B G G Y Y R R B B G G
G Y B Y R
G G Y Y R R B B G G Y Y R R
Another fairly straightforward round, all you need to worry about here is
setting up drops. Pop and drop as you please and in no time you'll be ready
for the next stage.
Stage D
_______________
. . . . . . .
R R R R R R R R
X O X
X Y Y X
X X G X X
X B B X
0 0 0
Y G B R O Y G B
R O Y G B R O
Y G B R O Y G B
R O Y G B R O
Y G B R O Y G B
P P P P P P P
r r r r
r r r r
r r r r
r r r r
R R R R R R R R
Y G P Y G
R P B R P B
G Y P G Y
B P R B P R
Y G Y G
P P P P P P P P
O R Y P O R Y
R Y O R P Y O R
O R Y P O R Y
R Y O R P Y O R
O R Y P O R Y
R Y O R P Y O R
O R Y P O R Y
R Y O R P Y O R
First things first, do NOT immediately pop the purple bubbles. Unless it
means losing the stage, wait for the playing field to drop twice, which
turns that string into a 1.3+ million point bonus. A 100k bonus can be
gained if the line of red bubbles is open and are also the top line. The
rainbow bubbles aren't a major problem. If you set it up right, you'll
only have one color of bubbles to use until the line of purple bubbles
shows up. It's a downhill battle after that, with the last line of red
bubbles as your ticket to the next round.
Round E-1
_______________
R P P R
O r r R r r O
. r r .
R P R
P O r r O P
R P R
r r
If you manage to change the bottom rainbow bubbles to purple, they'll cause
a chain reaction that knocks out the lower half of the puzzle. After that,
you have a great deal of room to take care of what's left.
Round E-2
_______________
. .
Y b W G B P R O
G B P R O Y b
Y b W G B P R O
. . . . . . . .
0 0 0
Y b W G B P R O
It doesn't matter what kind of bubble you use to break the gem bubbles, all
you need to worry about is getting rid of them. Until you do, all of those
stabilizer blocks will keep you from reaching the upper half of this round.
There will be few drops to work with, unless you build them yourself.
Round E-3
_______________
B B P P
P W . 0 . b B
X W b X
b R X G W
B G R P
R G X R G
B W
X
Chip away at this round, piece by piece. Getting rid of the inert blocks is
the most important thing here. Once you clear some breathing space, you can
relax and try building some drops.
Round E-4
_______________
. . . .
R R B B Y Y O O
b P G Y
b P G Y
W W
Y G P b
Y G P b
O O Y Y B B R R
Getting access to the white bubbles gives you the opportunity to drop part of
the puzzle immediately, so if you get the chance, take it. Otherwise, just
pop pairs of bubbles as you get the chance and whittle away until there's no
more bubbles.
Round E-5
_________________________________
. . . . . . . . . . . .
B r r r B Y r r r Y
R B X O O X B Y B Y X G G X Y O
R B B G B B Y R B Y Y R Y Y O
R R G G Y R R B R R O O
R R G R R
G G
The green and orange bubbles situated below the rainbow bubbles are what you
should aim for once you get the chance. Those will remove all of the rainbow
bubbles at each side in one fell swoop, leaving shots at the curled bunches
of blue and yellow bubbles as prime pop and drop targets.
Round F-1
_______________
. B Y G B Y G .
Y B G Y
B Y G B Y G
Y G B Y G B Y
G B Y G B Y G B
Y G B Y G B Y
There's nothing special here to take advantage of. Just whittle away at the
bubbles as fast as possible; big drops will need to be built up instead of
found within the round, so work on getting the time bonus for points.
Round F-2
_______________
. .
R R R R
P P P P
b b
G G O O G G
Y W W Y
Y B R B Y
R R
Getting a clear shot at both pairs of red bubbles is the key. The earlier
you can get them out of the way, the better, because nothing else holds the
puzzle together. When they're gone, you're off to the next round.
Round F-3
_______________
. . . .
R B R B
G Y G Y
B R B R
Y O G Y P G
R B R B
G Y G Y
B R B R
G G
The bubbles you start out with can make or break this puzzle. Getting a lot
of purple or orange bubbles from the start can be a problem, since there's no
good place to put them until half of the puzzle is gone. You'll have to put
any rogue purple or orange bubbles in as good a place as possible and hope
you can get rid of them by dropping the more numerous bubbles in the puzzle.
Round F-4
_______________
. Y Y R R O O .
r G r G r G r
O O R R Y Y
r G r G r G r
. Y Y R R O O .
Try to pop the red bubbles first. This will clear the center of the screen
for you, giving you a place to bounce off any bubbles you don't want to use.
From there, this round is easy to get past.
Round F-5
_________________________________
R R Y Y Y Y R R
. . . . . . . .
It's just a matter of aiming your shots precisely. Eventually you'll place
the bubbles right where you want them and get rid of these four pairs. Bank
shots would be a safer bet, if you're worried about not getting a good time
bonus.
Stage G
_______________
. . . . . . .
P P P P P P P P
X X X X
P b
B
Y G
R
X X
Y 0 X X X 0 G
Y X X G
R B R B
G B Y O G B Y O
Y G B r Y G B
G B Y O X B Y O
Y G B r Y G B
G B Y X G B Y O
Y G B Y G B
b Y O G B Y O
r r Y G B
r r r r
r r r r
r r r r
r r r r
r r r r
b b b b b b b
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
0 0 0 0 0 0 0
X X
X X X
X X
0 0 0 0 0 0 0
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Nothing but gem bubbles and inert blocks to work with for now. Gem bubbles
apparently aren't considered to be normal bubbles, so the game thinks you
have seven blocks/ bubbles left (the inerts) near the top of the screen and
has the playing field shaking almost immediately. Don't get too upset by
this quick descent of the bubbles, because gem bubbles are easily dealt with.
You'll eventually break through to the black line of bubbles, and by popping
those, have a clear view of the playing field. After that, it's back to a
sporadic placement of rainbow blocks, and then a cluster of orange, yellow,
green and blue bubbles, with a black and inert thrown in for fun. Near the
end, the pair of gem bubbles will go a long way towards helping make or break
your chances of beating this stage. If you can, save one of them for when
the last layer of bubbles (purple) show up, so that you can get out of the
stage in style. By this point you have gotten halfway through Normal mode.
Stage I
_______________
. . . . . . .
b b
X b X b X
X X X X
X X X X X X
O O O O
Y r Y r Y r Y
G G G G
O r O r O r O
Y Y Y Y
G r G r G r G
P P P P P P P P
W b Y G B W b
Y G B W b Y G B
W b Y G X W b
Y G X W b Y G B
W b Y G B W b
b b b b b b b b
G R Y B R O P
G Y P Y G
G R B O R B O
G Y P Y G
G R B O R B O
G G G P Y G
W W W
r r r r r r r
G G G G G G G
G P R O Y B
G O Y B P R
G P R O Y B
G O Y B P R
G P R O Y B
G O Y B P R
G G G G
If you wait until the screen drops once, you can use a green bubble to drop
everything on the screen and get a 100k point bonus. After that, a line of
rainbow bubbles, as well as a small line of white bubbles is the next thing
you must get past in order to advance. After getting rid of those, a random
mess of bubbles with a green line along the left side, come to form. If you
wait long enough, the green line will come to an end at a solid line of black
bubbles. Clear a path to the black bubbles and you can drop everything that
is onscreen below it. Then you run into another mess of bubbles; you'll have
to chip away at them every chance you get. After you wade through a little
bit of those, you'll see a solid line of purple come into view. As before,
clear a path to them and utilize them to clean away everything below. There
is very little left after that, nothing more than rainbow bubbles and spaced
sets of green, yellow and orange bubbles, with a cluster of inert blocks
housing a pair of black bubbles.
Round J-1
_______________
. . .
R B B R R
P P R Y W
P R G G b b
R O P
R W W O O
R P G
b b Y Y
R B
Break the line of red bubbles as soon as you can. This gives you enough room
to do whatever kind of bank shot you want. Until you can get good shots at
the top set of blue and red bubbles, make do with whittling away at any of
the bubbles at the bottom of the puzzle.
Round J-2
_______________
. .
O O
Y X Y R Y X Y
Y X X X X Y
Y Y O Y O Y Y
X X R R X X
X Y X Y X
X X
Getting rid of the inert blocks at the start is important. Whether you do it
by popping the two bottom red bubbles, or by popping the two yellow bubbles
at the bottom is up to you. After that, you can put whatever bubbles you're
not using on the next sets of inert blocks, trying to get a shot at the two
sets of yellow bubbles. From there it should be easy to finish up.
Round J-3
_______________
. P G O O P G .
Y R B Y R B
O P G P G O
Y R B 0 Y R B
O P G P G O
Y R B Y R B
. P G O O P G .
The gem bubble isn't of much use from the start. Saving it as an emergency
would be your best bet. There's no quick way around this puzzle either, it's
going to be a gradual process. You'll come close to losing often, even with
good bubble selection. BAD bubble selection will doom you, and the worst
part is that you have no control over whether the randomizer smiles upon you
or if it laughs in your face.
Round J-4
_______________
. .
B B
B O
. P G R O
B G
B W
P Y b
Breaking the blue bubbles is your first task. Pile up bubbles on the right
as long as you can; breaking that pair of blue bubbles will remove the bottom
half of the puzzle. From there, it's pitifully easy.
Round J-5
_________________________________
P R O Y G B
P P R R O O Y Y G G B B
. . . . . .
The better you are at precise shots, the quicker you'll finish this round.
Depending on the kind of bubbles you're given, you can finish this round in
six shots. Clearing room to bounce 'useless' bubbles off of the ceiling is
a good idea.
Stage K
_______________
. . . . . . .
b b b b b b b b
X X X X X X
X X b b X X
X X
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
R O P R O P R
O P O P
R O P R O P R
O R O P R P
R O P R O P R
P O P O
R O P R O P R
O R O P R P
R O P R O P R
b b b b b b b b
X b b X b b X
b b X b b X b b
b b b b b b b
G B P R O G B P
R O G X P R O
G B P R O G B P
R O G B P R O
G B P R O G B P
G Y P
R O
r
r r r r r
r r r r r r r
r r r r Y r r
r r O O Y r r
B r r R P P
B G G r R r
Sadly (or happily, depending on how sick you are of towers), no more towers
are accessible after clearing this stage. Starting off, it's simply a matter
of popping bubbles and trying to get rainbow bubbles do extra work for you.
After that, there's no real strategy involved until you get access to the
black bubbles. Pop them as soon as you can. Then it's back to more simple
bubble popping until a set of black bubbles and inert blocks remain as the
only obstacles between you and the next round.
Round N-1
_______________
. .
R R
R O O R
O Y Y O
Y G G Y
G B B G
B P P B
P b b P
b b
Clearing a path to the top set of orange bubbles is important to a quick
finish here. Eat away at the bottom bubbles until you get your chance. In
the meantime, drop any sets of bubbles that get too close to the bottom of
the screen, so that you don't find yourself losing before you get to break
the orange bubbles.
Round N-2
_______________
W b Y G B P R O
.
W b Y G B P R O
.
W b Y G B P R O
You can get a quick drop on the bottom row of bubbles, but from there, it's
going to be slow, as the stabilizer blocks put a damper on almost any other
drops of interest. If you get an open shot at the top red bubble, though,
you can get one more good drop out of the round.
Round N-3
_______________
. B G Y B .
Y G B Y
G B G R
B Y O B
Y P G Y
G B G
B Y B
Y G Y
Hope that you don't start out with red or purple bubbles, because all they'll
do is make a somewhat difficult level that much harder to complete. In any
case, try to set up four bubble pops if you can; most of them should drop off
parts of the puzzle, leaving more room to work with.
Round N-4
_______________
B P
G . R
Y O
.
. .
There's not much in terms of strategy here; just make your shots count, since
the fairly low bubble count means the ceiling will drop at a good rate. Make
sure you get the orange and yellow bubbles out of the way as soon as you can.
With them gone, the bottom stabilizers will fade out, giving you more angles
with which to shoot.
Round N-5
_________________________________
. .
. O Y Y Y Y Y G G Y Y Y Y Y O .
. O . Y Y Y Y G Y Y Y Y . O .
. R Y 0 B B 0 Y R .
. R X B B X R .
X X
X X X X
Getting rid of the orange bubbles will give you the chance to bank shots off
the sides to reach the yellow bubbles. After they're gone, popping the reds
will end the level. If that lucky chain of events isn't possible, just pop
any clusters you can; the round isn't too hard.
Round O-1
_______________
O Y
Y X G
. G B .
R O Y P B G
. O R .
R X P
P B
If you went through Stage C, you may recognize the general design of this
round. Unfortunately, it isn't nearly as easy as C-4 was. Pop and drop
bubbles as you get the chance, making sure not to cover up bubbles if you
don't need to.
Round O-2
_______________
. . . . . . .
B B G G Y Y R R
X r X r X r X
G G Y Y R R B B
X r X r X r X
Y Y R R B B G G
X r X r X r X
R R B B G G Y Y
X r X r X r X
You'll always start with blue bubbles, so use them to pop the left rainbow
bubble, causing a chain reaction that cuts off about half of the puzzle and
nets you a lot of points. If you set up a pair of blue bubbles to hang from
the two rightmost inert blocks, the chain reaction should net you 1.3 million
points. Work your way up from there, which should be easier at this point.
Round O-3
_______________
Y . . Y Y .
G G G
B P B R B
Y O Y Y
G P G R G
B B B
Y G B P R O Y G
Nothing too complicated here. Just take it slow and easy, removing bubbles
when you get a chance, otherwise leaving them hanging from bubbles you've got
a chance of removing in the near future.
Round O-4
_______________
Y . . R
. R Y .
. .
. Y R .
R . . Y
. Y R .
. .
. R Y .
They're be little chance of getting many drops here. Break the bubbles when
you get a chance; the majority of the points you make here will come from a
time bonus, if the randomizer is nice to you. Otherwise, you'll have to make
do with 30 point clusters or making your own drops.
Round O-5
_________________________________
. X X X X .
0 X X 0 X X X X 0 X X 0
X 0 X 0 X 0 X 0 X 0
X X X X 0 X 0 X X X
X X X 0 X X X X X
X X 0 X 0 X X 0 X 0 X
0 X X X X X X X
All you'll get is blue bubbles. Shoot every gem bubble you can get a bubble
on, and the round will fall apart on its own. After you finish here, there's
only one more stage left before your game is complete; it's up to you to pick
which stage it'll be.
Round Q-1
_______________
. .
Y b b Y
b W Y W Y W b
W b b W
b Y Y b
b Y W W Y b
b b
Y Y
W b Y W Y b W
Break open the bottom of the 'triangle' as soon as you can, because without a
path to the inside, this round will not last long. Once you do get that path
open, the stage becomes much easier. Get a few bubble drops along the way to
salvage a decent point total.
Round Q-2
_______________
. .
P P P P P P P P
R O R Y G
R B G O
B O G
r R B r
r r Y r r
r r r r r r
R B G Y P O
Try to break the rainbow bubbles with a yellow or green bubble. I find that
makes it easier to access the purple bubbles and finish the round in no time.
If luck is not on your side, just make sure you make good use of the rainbow
bubbles. Getting a clear shot of the line of purple bubbles is ultimately
your goal, so factor that into your battle plan.
Round Q-3
_______________
. . . . . . .
0 R O 0
X X
B P Y G
O X R B R X O
G r P r r Y r B
O Y X X R O
P R O Y
Take this one slow and easy. I really can't suggest a good strategy for this
round, short of use the rainbow bubbles to the best of your ability. The gem
bubbles will be very useful for getting you out of trouble in this round, so
keep one available just in case things go sour.
Round Q-4
_______________
. . . . . . .
Y Y Y W O R P B
b Y W O R P B
b Y W O R P B G
Y W O R P B G
Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y
W O R P B G Y
W O R P B G Y b
O R P B G Y b
Pop the yellow bubbles right away. It makes the round so much easier and
nets a nice 1.3 million point bonus. After that, it's incredibly simple.
Round Q-5
_________________________________
Y B
. R P .
. .
O G
. .
I dislike this round very much. The first three bubbles you're given are
bowling balls. If your bouncing skills are excellent, you can use one to mow
down the orange, red, purple and green bubbles. The last two can be used on
the yellow and blue bubbles. Even if you don't go 3-for-3, the round isn't
really difficult. Once the orange and green bubbles are cleared, it's just
a matter of bouncing bubbles you don't need off the ceiling and popping the
rest.
Round T-1
_______________
. . . . . . .
b b b b
W W X X X W W
Y X X X X Y
G P X X X G P
B G Y B
P Y 0 P Y
R P R R
The key here is clear a path to the gem bubble and then trigger it with a
black bubble. If you can do that, the round is as good as done. If not,
it'll be a long round, with small pops and drops until you can reach the
black bubbles the 'normal' way.
Round T-2
_______________
. . . . . . .
Y W
Y W P B Y
r P B Y W r
P B Y r P B Y
Y W P r r W P B
B Y W B Y W
P B Y W P B
Y W B Y
Work on chipping away on this round. There's no quick way out of it, so you
will need to concentrate on little chunks at a time. Try to waste as few of
the bubbles you get as you can; there's little margin for error.
Round T-3
_______________
W W W W B B B B
B B W W
B B W W
W B
W B B W B W W B
P P P P
B W W B W B B W
P
The majority of the bubbles you'll get will be blue and white. Make a point
of getting rid of as many purple bubbles as possible to prevent them from
becoming a nuisance. The earlier you can get down to blue and white as the
only choices, the better.
Round T-4
_______________
. . . .
O B R G
X G X O X
X G B Y O X
Y X P X G X Y
X R B X
R X G X R X R
X O Y B P X
X X
This level will not be easy on you; you'll have to make every shot count and
hope that the randomizer doesn't act too hard on you. Any drops you can get,
you should take.
Round T-5
_________________________________
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Y G B P R O Y G B P R O Y G B P R
Y G B X R O Y G P R O X G B P R
Y G B P R O Y G B P R O Y X B P R
X G B P R X Y G P X O Y G B X R
Y G B P R O Y G X P R O Y G B P R
Y G B X R O Y G P R O X G B P R
Y G B P R O Y G B P R O Y G B P R
If you can angle the bowling ball you start with to bounce off of the right
wall, so that it avoids all of the inert blocks and comes bouncing off the
left wall, you can cut out a lot of the round at once. From there, it turns
into a manageable situation.
Round U-1
_______________
.
B 1 B R
Y 1 r P Y
R B 1 r r G R B
P r r r r r P
R Y r r r r Y B
P B R r P R P
R Y Y B Y B
P P
You've got two colors from the start that you can use to pop all the rainbow
bubbles in one fell sweep: red or purple. It'll take longer, but you can
eventually do the same with blue or yellow. I'd suggest using purple, since
the chain reaction will end up cutting away part of the bottom half of what's
left over. From there, take out the other dangling piece, then pop bubbles
at your leisure. Set up the next attack right and you can pull off a 10 mil
point drop by taking out any of the bubbles that I've numbered as 1 on the
puzzle chart.
Round U-2
_______________
Y . . . . P
O R . B G
Y O R P
O R Y B G
Y B G P
O R P B G
Y O R P
O R Y B G
This round can get complicated in a hurry if you start out with a few purple
bubbles. If that's the case, hang them from the edge of a green or orange
bubble and hope for the best. In general, don't get fancy. There will be
other levels to pull off trick shots and big drops on. Just pop bubbles as
you get the chance and try to keep as few bubbles hanging around as possible.
Round U-3
_______________
0 . 0 . . 0 . 0
O b G
G B Y P O W
O W b G B Y
G Y P O W R
W b R B Y P
You're given enough room to work with at the start, but make sure you get rid
of some of the bubbles as soon as possible. They're all fairly isolated into
single bubbles, so stringing together bubble pops and drops won't be a common
occurrence. Open a path to the gem bubbles at the first opportunity; they'll
come in handy should you get into a jam.
Round U-4
_______________
. . .
b b
Y G B P
B P R O Y G
O Y G B P R
B P R O Y G
O Y G B P R
B P R O Y G
P O R Y
This level isn't as hard as it looks. If you bust a way to reach the black
bubbles, you can end this round the moment you get one to fire. If you have
enough bubbles left when this shot comes around, you can net yourself an easy
10 mil. Otherwise, get rid of bubbles when you can, to keep yourself from
running out of room. Make it past this round and all that's left to do is:
Round U-5
_________________________________
Y G B P R O Y G B P R O
. . . . . .
Like round F-5, except not nearly as easy and it requires a better sense of
pinpoint accuracy. Getting bubbles into the spaces between the stabilizers
is the most important thing. If you can do that, this level will go much
quicker.
Round ?-1
_______________
. .
G r r G
B r r B
P R r r P R
O r r r O
G Y r r G Y
B r r B
P R r r P R
Use the rainbow blocks to chew through this round. Try to stick to one color
that break the rainbow blocks for better overall results.
Round ?-2
_______________
. .
B P R O Y 0 0
Y G B P .
B P R O Y
Y G B P
B P R O Y
Y G B P
B P R O Y
Y G B P
Trigger at least one gem bubble as soon as possible. After you get one of
the gems, work on popping bubbles until you get a clear shot at the last one.
Pick the best bubble to shoot it with and clean up the leftover bubbles. A
slower and more risky way is to trim off the yellow bubbles, so that you have
a good shot at both gem bubbles.
Round ?-3
_______________
.
P X P P W
X W X W X
P P W X P
X W X P W X
P W X P
W P X P W
P X W X
W X P X P W
This round is harder than it looks. The field drops at a fast pace, so make
every shot count. Drops will make things much easier on you. More to the
point, drops will insure you don't lose. This is one of the few rounds where
luck has to be on your side (getting a lot of one color in a row will not be
a good thing).
Round ?-4
_______________
. .
B O 0 B O
P B P B
R P R P
O R O R
R B P O R B P O
P O R B P O R
R B P O R B P O
There's no truly superior strategy for this round. Just pop bubbles as you
get the chance and keep your mistakes to a strict minimum. The gem bubble is
just there as a distraction; by the time you reach it, there shouldn't be a
lot you can use it with. Clean up here, and there remains only one round
between you and victory.
Round ?-5
_________________________________
G G G B B B P P P R R R
G G G B B P P R R R
G G r r R R
. P P . r R O r . Y Y .
r r X X R X X O X X r r
P X X X R O X X X Y
P P R R O O Y Y
P P P P P X R O X Y Y Y Y Y
P P P P P P Y Y Y Y Y Y
X X X X X X X X X X
This is it. The final round of the fourth of seven final stages. There are
four key bubbles you need to pop and (this is ESSENTIAL) all eight rainbow
bubbles need to be intact. The first is the purple bubble dangling below the
leftmost pair of rainbow bubbles. The second is the red bubble that's below
a stabilizer block and a rainbow bubble. On the opposite side is an orange
bubble also below a stabilizer and a rainbow. Finally, there's the yellow
bubble hanging below the rightmost pair of rainbow bubbles. Pop the load of
purple and yellow bubbles to get a clear shot at the respective solo bubbles
they guard. With those out of the way, angle red and orange bubbles to hit
the last two triggers. If everything goes your way, pulling this off will be
no problem at all. The key is removing the blobs of purple and yellow; the
rest will come eventually, unless the randomizer tosses you a bunch of bubbles
you have no good use for.
Round Z-1
_______________
B W
W . B
P G B W
G . P
P G
This round is fairly easy, given how far into the game (round 26) it is. All
you have to do is get rid of the green and purple bubbles, to give yourself a
better shot at the blue and white bubbles.
Round Z-2
_______________
Y . G G . B
G Y B G Y B G
Y B r Y B r Y B
. . . . . . . .
G . B
B G Y B G Y B G
Y B G r B G Y
Clean out the first set of bubbles as soon as possible, so that the top half
is available. If you set up drops on the bottom half, that will make ending
the round that much easier. After you get to the top half, it's more of the
same.
Round Z-3
_______________
. . . .
R . R X P . P
P P R R
R G R P G P
B Y B Y
r O r r O r
R R P P
P P R R
Take your time here, making sure to keep mistakes to a minimum. Pop the two
pairs of bubbles by the bottom of the screen; it'll be hard to get through
the round otherwise. A big drop is going to be hard to set up; you'll need
to remove most of one of the columns of bubbles to do so.
Round Z-4
_______________
. .
R O Y G B O
G B R X
R O Y G O X
G B G X
R O B R O X
G O Y G X
X
X
X
X
Don't worry about the inert blocks on the left; they'll drop off harmlessly
whenever the ceiling drops. Getting rid of the bubbles on the higher inert
blocks is something you DO need to deal with. If you keep the location of
the inert blocks from getting to you, it should be easy to finish this round.
Round Z-5
_________________________________
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Y Y Y G G G B B B P P P R R R
Y Y G G B B P P R R
Y G B P R
r r r r r r r r r r
Y 0 Y G 0 G B 0 B P 0 P R 0 R
r r r r r r r r r r
Y G B P R
Precise shots will guide you to a quick victory, and to the end of the game.
If you can get one of the gems open, you'll be able to remove one of the five
columns instantly. Keep that up and you'll give yourself enough room to do
whatever you want to win.
3.) Version 2.5 overview
As far as I can tell, all Version 2.5 is is a remix of the levels from PB2.
Being familiar with those levels will be helpful, but it won't guarantee
success. As with PB2, you'll need to complete 30 rounds in order to beat
Version 2.5. Just like in normal mode, the word CONGRATULATIONS! appears in
big orange letters in the background after you beat round 30. Your character
shows up on screen with their 'machine' and say "The game ended. Let's go
home." Then the credits roll with multiple Bub and Bob-type dinos (as well
as our heroes) doing various acts, such as spinning, walking and flying in
an arc across the screen. A picture of your character is shown on screen,
as well as your ending score.
Both normal mode and Version 2.5 have stages set up in the spread
pattern familiar to players of previous versions:
U V W ? X Y Z
O P Q R S T
J K L M N
F G H I
C D E
A B
.
For those who are unfamiliar with the system above, your character starts at
the '.' and can choose from two stages, one to the immediate upper left
and one to the upper right (starting off, that means A or B). Once you clear
a stage, you can't backtrack (if you pick B and beat it, you can't go back
and do A) or choose a stage other than the upper left and right (if you pick
and beat A, you can't choose E).
B = blue bubble
R = red bubble
Y = yellow bubble
G = green bubble
O = orange bubble
W = white bubble
b = black bubble
P = purple bubble
r = rainbow bubble
X = inert block
. = stabilizer block
0 = gem bubble
o = bowling ball bubble
? = random bubble
_ = the top of the screen; the 'ceiling'
3a.) Level designs and walkthroughs
Round A-1
_________________________________
Y
Y Y
. R R R Y Y Y Y G G G .
R B G G B B R R B G
R B G Y R B G
Y B B Y Y B B Y
Y Y R R G G Y Y
The red and green clusters attached to stabilizer blocks should be your
primary targets. Pop both of those and the round is done. If you can't
immediately pop both of those, try to save at least half of the round setup
in order to gain a 1.3 million point bonus by popping whichever 'hub' is left.
Round A-2
_______________
. r r .
R r
R
P
P
B
B
G
Hopefully the first bubble you get is a red one. If so, this is a one-shot
round (pop the reds and the round is over). If not, it's still very easy.
Just pop the bubbles as you get the chance and bounce ones you don't need off
of the ceiling.
Round A-3
_______________
. R R R R
O O O O R
O Y Y Y Y
G G G G Y
G B B B B
P P P P B
R O Y G B P
One shot is all you need. Point the gem bubble at the orange bubble and fire
away. You'll pop the lines of orange bubbles at the top... which happen to
be the only thing holding up the entire round's worth of bubbles. If you miss
it, don't worry. Try to pop the line of purple and blue bubbles as soon as
possible, to keep the round from getting out of hand.
Round A-4
_______________
. .
G Y B R
G R
Y Y G B
B B G Y
R R G
R R B Y G
B
Y G G Y B R
Try to pop pairs of bubbles as you get the opportunity. Strand bubbles you
can't pop on the end of a cluster that you can for drop points. Ultimately
you'll need to pop the red and green pairs at the very top to end the round,
or at least you will if you don't end up stranding bubbles somewhere else on
the stabilizer blocks.
Round A-5
_______________
. . . .
R R Y Y G G B B
Y B R O
P G P Y
P R O Y B Y
P Y B
G P G Y R O
R r r G
I in all honesty cannot suggest a viable strategy for this round. The main
reason is that this is one of the 'random' rounds that I made the important
note for, at the start of the Puzzle section. Except for the highest level
of bubbles and the two rainbow bubbles, the color of the bubbles is entirely
random. What I have listed above is just one of several possible setups.
Again, the only guarantee with a 'random' round is the shape. If a random
round has gaps in certain places the first time you play through, those gaps
will always be there when you play it later on.
Round B-1
_________________________________
B B B B B B B . B B B B B B B
B R R G G Y Y B B Y Y G G R R B
B R R G G Y Y r Y Y G G R R B
B Y Y R R G G G G R R Y Y B
r Y Y R R G r G G r G R R Y Y r
This one is quite straightforward; find a way to the blue bubbles as soon as
possible, so that you can move on to the next round.
Round B-2
_______________
. .
O R
r O O r R R r
Y Y
r
G G
r
B B
Another fairly easy round, where nothing is hidden. Get your hands on red
and orange bubbles as soon as you can, or just get rid of any of the bubbles
you can if those two colors prove evasive early on. This round is not good
for quick score bonuses, so speed is the best option.
Round B-3
_______________
. . . .
B W Y Y W B
G W P P W G
G B Y Y B G
R R R
G b b P P b b G
G O O G
This is the first of the B rounds to not be a pushover. It's not difficult,
but how you use bubbles matters on here, where you could afford to be sloppy
in the first two rounds. Make your shots count, or you could be in for a
headache.
Round B-4
_______________
. . . .
W W W W W W
R G O W
Y G W B W Y
G B R
G R Y R W R
G O G O
G B Y B Y G W Y
This can prove to be vaguely annoying if you're not careful where you put the
bubbles you're given. Be sure to get rid of bubbles as you get the chance.
This is no place to go for big scores; just get as much breathing space as
the round will give you and move onto the last B round.
Round B-5
_______________
. .
B B P P W W
X R X
W P B W P B W P
b r r r b
b B B P P W W b
X r X
Compared to the previous round, this one is easy. Several pairs of bubbles
are just waiting to be popped, with a cluster of rainbow bubbles helping you
to make more pairs if needed. It'd be easy to get a good speed bonus out of
this round.
Round C-1
_______________
R . B R . B
R P B
R R B B
R B
R B Y R B Y R B
P G O P G O P
If at all possible, get rid of the purple bubble in the middle first. That
way you have access to the lines of red and blue bubbles, instead of just one
(popping the orange or green bubble on either side of the purple one). Those
lines of bubbles are the key to clearing out a great deal of the round. With
them gone, all that is (hopefully) left is the triangle of bubbles in between
the stabilizers.
Round C-2
_______________
Y .
R O Y G B b W
P Y Y r
W b B G Y O R
Y Y P
R O Y G B b W
P Y Y r
W b B G Y O R
The first eight bubbles you get to use are always the same (red, green, blue,
purple, orange, white, black and yellow). Place the red and orange bubbles
southeast of where they show up on the bottom row of the round itself. Cram
the rest (except for the yellow bubble) anywhere you want on the leftmost
part, just so long as you can use the yellow bubble to pop the zigzag pattern
of yellow bubbles for a hefty bonus. From there the round slows down a bit.
Now your main objective is to pop/ drop the pair of orange bubbles you just
made. After that, clean up what is left over (which shouldn't be hard unless
the randomizer doesn't like you).
Round C-3
_______________
. . . .
R B Y P O R B Y
P O R B Y P O
R B Y P O R B Y
P O R B Y P O
R B Y P O R B Y
This is by far my least favorite part of level C. I lose at this round more
often than ANY other round I've gone through. It is one of several rounds
that requires more than a little help from the randomizer in order to beat.
You will need to make every single shot count... and even then you may end up
losing. Again, if luck never smiles upon you in any other round except this
one, be happy. (is bitter)
Round C-4
_______________
. . . . . . .
Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y
Y
Y r R P b P R
Y r r B W R
Y P R
W R
G W B W
G W B b R
If you can hit the yellow bubbles while the multicolored block below it is
still in the way, then you can end the round instantly. It will be easier if
you get rid of that mishmash of bubbles, but try not to remove too much or you
won't be able to get an 1.3 million point bonus when you do pop the yellow
bubbles. This turns out to be another random round, with everything except
the three rainbow bubbles and the line of yellow being random.
Round C-5
_________________________________
. b
b R B Y G O P b R B Y G O P b
R
R B Y G O P b R B Y G O P b
b
R B Y G O P b R B Y G O P b
R
R B Y G O P b R B Y G O P b
This is quite possibly my favorite round, out of ALL of them, not just level
C rounds. If you play it right, you can theoretically get four 10+ million
point bonuses. First off, break the right most black bubble on the bottom
row, piling up bubbles on the left half of that row. If luck holds out,
you'll get the first ten million bonus after popping that bubble. Repeat the
process with the leftmost red bubble on the next line, then the rightmost
black bubble on the line above and finally the pair of black bubbles on the
top line. The key is to get several 'junk' bubbles piled onto the bottom of
the line you're currently trying to drop, to insure that the bonus hits 10
million. I usually only get two such bonuses, but occasionally I can get
three. It should be easy to get at least one of the bonuses without getting
into too much danger. If you're more concerned with surviving than racking
up a high score, go for only the top row of bubbles and whatever may be
hanging off of them. Leaving half of the row below it intact almost always
guarantees receiving the full bonus.
Round E-1
_______________
. . . . . . .
G Y R O R
Y Y
O O O
G G G G
P P P P P
G G G
Round E starts off with a very easy setup. If you find yourself doing poorly
on here, then I think that more practice is necessary. The gem bubble should
be used on the lone red bubble, leaving you with three bubbles. After that,
you can do the rest without my help.
Round E-2
_______________
. . . . . . .
R B B B B B B R
R P P P P P R
Y R P P P P R G
O R P P P R P
Y r R P P R r P
B P R P R G B
G P B R R P Y O
G B O r B P O
Aside from the fact that you only start out with three lines worth of space
to shoot with, this round isn't that hard. I must stress that getting access
to the red bubbles is key. Once you can reach them, get them out of the way
to turn the round into a joke. Just pop the large blob of purple bubbles and
the line of blue bubbles to finish it off.
Round E-3
_______________
. . . .
B B P P
P W R b B
G W b R
b R P G W
B G R P
R G b R G
W B W b
P R B
This is the first real challenge you'll face, compared to the earlier rounds.
Accuracy is the primary key to keeping yourself from making an early exit.
There is very little I can offer in the way of strategy, since every bubble
is isolated from others of the same color until you break some of the bubbles
in the center column. It will not be easy, but a steady hand will guide you
to victory.
Round E-4
_______________
. . . .
R Y Y P
R W O Y G B P
W X
W P B G Y O R
R X
R O Y G B P W
P W R O Y G B P
While not as difficult as E-3, this round still demands that you be accurate,
lest you find yourself in grave danger with very little chance of escape. At
its worst, this round will be a burden, due to the randomizer being against
you. At its best... you might get a decent speed bonus, but little else,
unless you make good use of the gem bubble you get near the start.
Round E-5
_________________________________
. X X P P P X X .
R O Y G X P P P P X G Y O R
B r P P r B
O R P X O Y G B X P R O
Y O R Y
G B P R r r r r r r B P B G
The upper-left and right red bubbles are all you need in order to drop every
single bubble on the level. As such, it would be in your best interests to
open up paths to each bubble, so that you can actually get rid of them. This
is easier said than done, given that there is no surefire way to gain access.
Round F-1
_______________
. .
B G B G B G B G
Y Y Y Y
G G G G
B b B B W B
Y Y Y Y
G W G P G b G
B B B B
Y Y Y Y
The black, white and purples are there only to interfere with a round that is
not that troublesome. The sooner you can get them out of the way, the better.
Pop yellow and blue bubbles at the start, hanging bubbles you can't yet use
where popping those yellows or blues might get rid of them. Once you get past
the line containing the black, white and purple bubbles, you should hopefully
have breathing room in order to finish off what's left.
Round F-2
_______________
B
. B P X
X O Y R P
O Y X R Y
R B B Y X
R G G
X
This round is fairly easy to clear. Pairs of bubbles are almost always open,
and when there aren't any, it usually doesn't take bunch to reveal some. Pop
them as you get to them and move onto the third round.
Round F-3
_______________
. .
P O
P R O
R O P R
O P R O P
P R O P R O
R O P R O P R
O P R O P R O P
R O P R O P R
This one is harder than it looks. Take your time and carefully pop clusters
as you get the chance. While not as harsh as round C-3 is (IMO), making a few
mistakes here will quickly end your game.
Round F-4
_______________
. .
R R
B R B
Y B B Y
r Y B Y r
r Y Y r
Y r Y r Y
O r r O
G P r P G
The key to turning this into an easy round is to get rid of the center wedge
of rainbow bubbles. Whether you do this by turning them purple, or by turning
them yellow (not as easy), getting them out of the way is crucial. After that
is accomplished, the last part is fairly simple.
Round F-5
_________________________________
. .
b b b b b
W B Y G
P G b W B
W B Y G
P G b Y B
W B Y G
P G b Y B
To finish this one quickly, angle a black bubble off of either side wall and
pop the top line. Gradually chipping away until that black bubble turns up
won't hurt any, just so long as you don't chip off TOO much (no 1.3 million
bonus).
Round I-1
_______________
. .
Y B R P R G O Y
O X G O B X G
B O R G R B O P
X O B X R P X
O Y O P R B G B
R X O Y R O P
Make good use of the bowling ball. If you aim your shot just right, you can
cut off about half of the round from the very start. Just aim straight for
the bubble to the left of the left stabilizer, or the bubble to the right of
the right stabilizer. After that, make sure you keep your shots on line,
since the round itself does not have many easy point opportunities.
Round I-2
_______________
. .
P P W W
P b G W
O P O R W Y
B O Y R R
B W
O G O R Y P
b G
P
The main foe you will face in this round are dangling bubbles. Get rid of
them the moment you can, so that you can concentrate on getting rid of the
rest of what this round has to offer.
Round I-3
_______________
. . .
b W P
X X X
B G B R
P b W
X X X G
R G B
b W P
B R G
This round shouldn't be a serious problem, as long as you keep an eye out for
opportunities to drop a few bubbles here and there. Failing that, just keep
it simple, and avoid setting up dangling bubbles unless you can get them out
of the way within a turn or two.
Round I-4
_______________
. .
W W Y Y
b R b B W B W
B B W R b b
R Y R P B P B
P P B b R R
Y R Y W P B P
You're given a lot of breathing room here, which makes this a somewhat easy
level. Take your time here; speed bonuses are not going to be commonplace.
If you can get the upperleft and upperright bubbles open, it can be possible
to break one, leaving a bunch of bubbles connected only to the other, which
is good for a big drop bonus.
Round I-5
_________________________________
. B G Y O R P W b
B G Y O R P W b .
. B G Y O R P W b
B G Y O R P W b .
If everything goes your way, this round is an easy 10 mil (just break every
bubble directly connected to a stabilizer). More often than not though, you
will be stuck with what modern thinkers call 'normal luck'. No matter what,
this is far from difficult to beat. Get rid of the four extensions and the
center blob falls out, moving you onto your next set of rounds.
Round K-1
_______________
. .
Y Y Y b b Y Y Y
G B R b R B G
B R G Y Y G R B
G B R Y R B G
B R G b b G R B
G B R b R B G
B R G Y Y G R B
G B R Y R B G
This one is tricky, and having a good grasp of finishing a cluster of bubbles
with angled shots will help you a great deal. Anything less than an average
grasp will not bode well. Break all of the yellow and black bubbles in the
center, so that you can eventually use angled shots to break the top two trios
of yellow bubbles. Chip away in the meantime, because you start dangerously
close to the loss line. In fact, you may spend the entire time with your
character going in and out of panic mode after every other cluster you pop.
Keep your calm and hope that the randomizer isn't feeling particularly cruel.
Round K-2
_______________
. .
B W
Y Y B
W B W Y
B W Y B W
Y B W Y
B W Y B W
W Y B W Y B
Y B W Y B W Y
This setup reminds me a lot of round F-3, and a similar approach works just
as well. Take your time and miss as few shots as possible. Look out for a
chance to make a sizable drop by breaking the leftmost and rightmost links
that hold up the center blob of bubbles. With the center gone, the round is
a piece of cake.
Round K-3
_______________
. .
P R
Y O P
R P Y O
Y O R P Y
R P Y O R P
Y O R P Y O R
R P Y O R P Y O
O R P Y O R P
Speaking of Round F-4, this one has the exact same shape, but an extra color
has been added in (yellow). You start off with a gem bubble, and you should
use it based on what the next bubble is. If the next bubble is orange, use
the gem on yellow bubbles. If it's purple, gem either red bubble, and so on.
After that, treat it like F-4 and/ or K-2, and you should make it to the next
round.
Round K-4
_______________
R
R .
R
R
b b
B G b P b G B
Y O Y O Y O Y O
Open up a spot to shoot a black bubble into the u-shaped cluster below the
string of red bubbles when you get the chance. Pop that, and all that is
left is that string of reds. I believe you know what comes next.
Round K-5
_________________________________
. .
X R R b b X
X R B Y G P O W W b R B Y G b X
X X R B Y G P O W b R B Y G b X X
X X R B Y G P O W b X X
X X X X X X
X X X X X X
X X X X X X X X
X X X X X X X X
X X X X X X X X X X
X X X X X X X X X X
X X X X X X X X X X X X
Don't let the appearance of inert blocks one drop away from the loss line get
on your nerves. If they drop past the line they'll harmlessly fall off and
leave your chances of winning intact. Worry about the actual bubbles that
come down with each drop instead. If your aim is true, all you'll be needing
is a red bubble for the upper-right cluster and a black bubble for the upper-
left cluster. Pop those and the round is done. Get rid of those fast and a
ten million point bonus can be yours.
Round N-1
_______________
. . . .
B Y B Y
Y O B G Y P B
B Y B Y
Y B Y B
B Y B Y
Y B Y B
B Y B Y
Y B Y B
B Y B Y
I've mentioned accuracy being important many times before now, but if there
ever was a moment where it was the difference between victory and defeat,
this would be that moment. If you make more than one error here, it's almost
guaranteed to kill you. Worse still, since the non-blue and yellow bubbles
are considered to be reachable as far as the game is concerned, you also have
to worry about getting some of those bubbles, which can make what was already
next to no room for error equal none at all. Leave these rogue bubbles one
move away from being dropped every chance you can. The longer you keep them
in your path, the higher the chance of the game spitting more of them out,
and the lower the chance of you getting out of this round intact.
Round N-2
_______________
. . . .
R P B B Y G
O R P Y G B
O Y O B P B
B G Y 0 P R O
P B G R O Y
O R P Y G B
G Y O B P R
G Y P R
The quest for high accuracy continues, as this too is a round that can get
out of hand within one or two miscues. If you make every shot count and the
randomizer is in a good mood, then you'll be on your way.
Round N-3
_______________
. .
Y Y B G
Y B G
G B G
Y Y B G R
Y G B R R
Y Y B G B G B
Y G B G R R G
G G B B R R W
After the previous two rounds, something like this is a welcome sight. The
white bubble is there only in an attempt to hinder what is otherwise a very
easy round. It shouldn't take more than a minute to get past this round,
given the high amounts of grouped bubbles.
Round N-4
_______________
. .
O 0 0 O
R R 0 R R
G P B O O B P G
Y B Y b Y B Y
R b G R R G b R
P O B b B O P
b Y Y b
O B B O
After the nice little break you got from the previous round, it's back to
challenging layouts. Take your time, and pick off bubbles when you can, and
hope for a kind randomizer.
Round N-5
_________________________________
. .
b W
X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X
W X X X X X X X X X X X b
Before you fire the gem bubble, take a look at what the next bubble after it
is. If it's black, aim for a white bubble. If it's white, aim for black.
With this done, you'll only have two or three bubbles left before you beat
the whole round, since the gem bubble would have wiped out the opposite color
from the screen.
Round Q-1
_______________
. . . . . . .
b b b b b b b b
P P P P P P P
B X B B B B B B
G G G G X G G
R R R R R R R R
O O O O O O X
Y Y Y X Y Y Y Y
W W W W W W X
Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y
O O O O O O O
R R R R R R R R
Try to bounce the bowling ball up as high as possible and shoot the gem bubble
up the same path, unless it wouldn't do much good. A reliable method is to
shoot the bowling ball anywhere you want, and fire the gem bubble at any red
bubble in sight. This will give you a lot of breathing room and make the rest
of the round a breeze.
Round Q-2
_______________
. .
O O
R R r r r R R
G P B G G B P G
Y B Y Y B Y
R b G b b G b R
P O r r r O P
b B Y P P Y B b
This one will take a bit of planning to beat. The way I always take is to pop
the purple bubbles, which leaves the pair of black bubbles open. After I pop
the black bubbles, I try to pop the green bubbles and chip away at the bottom
of the screen (preferably chip first, so I don't run out of room). Once the
two green bubbles are taken care of and the bottom of the mess is not so close
to the edge, I try to angle a red bubble off of the ceiling to take out one of
the strings of gibberish. With that one down, the other is easier to pop, and
all that leaves is two orange bubbles, one of which may have a minor mess on
it. Then it's just a matter of getting rid of those and moving on.
Round Q-3
_______________
. .
R b
R G B b O
R Y b O b
b O b O
b O b O b
O b O b O
b O b O b
O b O b O
b O b O b
The layout here lends itself well to making minor and medium point drops. Get
rid of orange and black clusters as you get the chance and look for a chance
to pop the line of red bubbles so that you (hopefully) get back to using only
orange and black bubbles.
Round Q-4
_______________
. .
R R r R R r R R
B P B Y O W P
O W R P B Y
B Y O W R
W R P B Y O
Y O W R P
Do everything you can to preserve the rainbow bubbles until you get an open
shot at the red bubbles on the same row. It won't be easy, and you can clear
the round without saving them to turn red, but it'll end the round instantly.
Chip open a path to either side, if you plan to go for the chain reaction that
popping one of the side pairs of red bubbles yield.
Round Q-5
_________________________________
. .
R R B B
W O O W W r r r r r r W W G G W
W Y Y W W r r r W W Y Y W
W G G W W W W O O W
W B B W R R W
W P P W
W
Hit the white bubbles with the gem, then work on hitting the red and blue
bubbles wedged into the top corners. If you can get both pairs to pop without
doing too much popping on the other colors, you can net another 10 million
point bonus.
Round T-1
_______________
. .
b b b b
R P b W 0
G O B b W
R P Y G
G O B R P
P Y G O r
O G O B r r
Reaching the gem bubble can prove tricky. If you shoot the black bubbles
around it, it'll be dropped. You need to pop the white bubbles, and then
utilize the gem to the best of your ability, preferably using a black bubble
on it (which destroys the big blob of bubbles on the left).
Round T-2
_______________
. . . . . . .
Y W b Y W b Y W
b Y W b Y W b
X W b X W b X W
b Y W b Y W b
Y W b Y W b Y W
b Y W b Y W b
The good part is that all you have to worry about is three colors. The bad
part is that this means the game will drop the ceiling more often, and those
inert blocks can prove to be annoying if you're not careful.
Round T-3
_______________
. .
. R G G B .
Y O R
. B P 0 Y .
W 0 b b
. G W 0 P .
O B O
P R Y G
Open a path to the gem bubbles as soon as you can, because they will make
things a lot easier for you. If you hit one with a green bubble, it is worth
losing the rest of them, just you have a lot of room in the center.
Round T-4
_______________
. .
Y G G G
O 0 R B B
b W P
P G B
G B b W P
b W P G B
b W P G B b W P
B b W b W P G
If at all possible, save the gem bubble until you get a blue or green bubble.
Using one of those two on it will net you a massive point bonus, as well as
clear out the eastern side of the screen. Until you can reach it though,
chip away at the giant blob, so that you can actually hit the gem bubble when
you have a chance.
Round T-5
________________________________
. P . Y . P . Y . P
P B Y P B Y O P B
P B G Y O R P B G Y O R P B G
Y r r P r r Y r r P r
Y O P B 0 Y O P B
Y O R P B G Y O R P B G
This proves to be an interesting round, if only because every color starts
out with at least one set of bubbles to be popped, save green and red.
This leads to a quickly killed round, especially if purple and yellow bubbles
prove to be frequent.
Round ?-1
_______________
. .
R 0 P 0 B 0 G
O r W P r B
Y b 0 W P
G r R b r W
B O 0 R b
P r Y O r R
W G 0 Y O
b B G Y
With gem bubbles all over the place, working on a way to make them do your
bidding is essential to get a time bonus as well as low to mid drop bonuses.
Don't go out of your way to set up the perfect gem-induced drop though, just
take them as they come.
Round ?-2
_______________
. .
b W 0 W b
P B X B P
W b X b W
B P r P B
b W r W b
X
X
Getting rid of the rainbow bubbles is very important. Opening up one or both
sides in order to use the gem bubble is also important. Doing both will most
likely guarantee your victory. The only thing that may get in your way is a
finicky randomizer.
Round ?-3
_______________
. . .
R R R
O O O
B R B O B
P P P
Y B Y P Y
W W W
R b O R b O R b
This one can be deceitfully annoying. It doesn't look too bad, and the bottom
row is not close to the loss line. Yet. Making zero mistakes will help you
a great deal, because the ceiling seems to lower faster than normal for this
round. Get in, pop clusters and move on.
Round ?-4
_______________
. . . . . . .
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
G B Y O R G B
B Y O r r B Y O
R G B Y O R G
G B Y O R G B Y
O R G B Y O R
This reminds me too much of round C-3. I _hate_ round C-3. Luck isn't as big
of a requirement here, since the gem bubbles are there to save you if you have
them available. On the downside, there are FIVE colors to work with, which
can be a headache if the randomize decides to thumb its nose at you.
Round ?-5
_________________________________
X Y Y Y X
X Y Y Y Y X X Y Y Y Y X
X Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y X
X Y Y r r Y Y r r Y Y X
X Y Y r X r X Y Y X r X r Y Y X
X Y Y r r Y Y r r Y Y X
X Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y X
X Y Y Y O O Y Y Y X
X X X X X X X X X X X X
This is it, and I don't have a solid strategy for this round. What I usually
do is keep firing bubbles straight up. Eventually you'll get an orange bubble
somewhere in the center, which will eventually let you nestle a yellow bubble
next to part of the giant chain of yellow bubbles, which ends the round and
subsequentially, the fourth path to the end of the game. Sit back and watch
the credits, or just fast forward to the high score screen (if applicable).
Round Z-1
_______________
.
b W
0 W b
X X X X
B P
0 P B
X X X X
Y O
0 O Y
X X X X
To put it simply, the only colors you want to break gem bubbles with on here
are orange, purple and white. If you get a white bubble from the start, be
very happy, because it makes the round pitifully easy.
Round Z-2
_______________
. .
0 b
P R G B Y P O
R Y P O R G B
O G R G B Y P
Y r r Y P O R G
G Y G R G B Y
B Y P O R
If you should somehow find a way to reach the gem bubble and also get a black
bubble, then put the two together and hopefully clear out most of the round.
Failing that, just apply basic tactics, removing bubbles whenever you can.
This round only gets bad if your accuracy takes a hit, or if the randomizer
decides not to play nice.
Round Z-3
_______________
. .
R G
P 0 B
O X X Y
W 0 b
G R
Y 0 O
X X X P
This round is harder than it looks. None of the gem bubbles are immediately
accessible, and the inert blocks mean that you'd better have polished wall
bounce skills, in order to pop most of the bubbles. In fact, you may not get
out alive unless you are very good (or lucky).
Round Z-4
_______________
. .
W b
W X b X b X W
X X W r W b
b b X
X W b X W b W
X b W b X
b W X b X b X
b X W
This round is only as hard as the randomizer decides to make it. Getting a
lot of one color in a row at the start can be hard, unless you have pinpoint
accuracy. Even if the randomizer is kind, you still have to worry about the
ceiling falling faster than normal.
Round Z-5
_________________________________
W W W W
W r r W
W r . r W
W r r W
W W r . r W
X X W W r r W W
X W r r r W X X X
X W W W W W
X X X X X X
There are two ways to get this round out of the way in one shot. Either aim
for the white bubble ticking out from between the western inert blocks, or
bounce a shot off the west wall. Either way, it'll set off an explosion that
removes everything from the screen. Congratulate yourself on having beaten
one of the seven 'final' stages, and watch as much of the ending as you wish.
-= Versus Computer Mode =-
1.) General overview
As the title of this section implies, this deals with the part of PB3 where
you face off against the computer. There are three difficulty levels:
1.) Easy, where it seems that the computer will try very hard to kill
itself,
2.) Normal, where the computer only tries this during the first or second
level before taking you seriously, and...
3.) Hard, where the computer would probably give you a swift punch to the
throat if it was able to.
Easy lasts for three matches (Bub/Chinkulu/Pulichio) and is basically Versus
Computer's Practice Mode. Normal lasts for ten rounds, as does Hard. The
character order is the same, no matter which mode you use (although again Easy
only lasts for three matches). You always start off against Bub, and you
always finish against Drunk. You still get points for bursting and dropping
bubbles, although now the amount you burst and drop translate into attack
bubbles you send to the opponent (with some exceptions based on character).
A pet peeve of mine has always been how you get bonus points based on time in
Versus CPU mode. It is difficult, if not impossible, to complete a round fast
enough to achieve the maximum 500,000 point bonus (which requires you beat the
opponent in less than five seconds). A compromise between the time bonus
system used for Normal Mode tower rounds and the 'standard' time system would
have been a better fit. As it is, I am elated whenever I win and receive more
than 200,000 points for the time bonus (and usually, this only happens when I
play Normal Mode and steamroll Bub or Chinkulu).
As with Normal and Version 2.5, you can choose which character you wish to use
for Versus CPU mode. Unlike those modes, your choice of character MATTERS.
Bub and Bob's attack pattern is not the same as Pulichio's, who has attacks
differently than Luna Luna, and so on. Also, each character has a certain
way their stages have the bubbles setup. The colors are not always the same,
but they'll always have the same general shape. For more precise details as
to who attacks in which way and such, I direct you to...
2.) Character-specific info
2i.) Bub/Bublen and Bob/Boblun
Attack pattern: Y W R P O G B
Bub and Bob are the 'average' characters. They can send any color bubble to
the opponent. A good choice if you don't care what kind of stuff you attack
with.
Bub's/Bob's Stage (normal):
_______________
Y G P R Y P Y P
Y G B G Y P G
P B Y P B G R G
Y G P R Y R G
2ii.) Chinkulu/Chincle/Twinkle
Attack pattern: Rainbow bubbles
Chinkulu's pattern is great if you can keep up a semi-constant assault. Lay
it on too hard and the opponent will eventually get only one type of bubble
to work with. This means that in three shots they'll be able to break just
about every single rainbow bubble you sent over and bury you as a result. It
can be hard using Chinkulu against an expert, because her pattern opens her
to counterattacks easily. If you can constantly keep up the pressure though,
you may not give the opponent a chance to capitalize on all of the rainbow
bubbles she gives.
Chinkulu's Stage (normal):
_______________
R Y O R B O Y B
Y R G O G R B
O B O G O P R O
Chinkulu's Ending:
A picture of Chinkulu without her cap is shown (check out her ponytails with
puffballs on the end!). After that, a picture of her in a fuku running out
a door is shown. Most of her costume is on the ground. Finally, a picture
of Chinkulu running with one of her shoes from the costume still on is shown.
Apparently she's running late for classes again.
2iii.) Pulichio/Prichio/Prettio
Attack pattern: Y G B P B G Y
Her pattern has a lot of yellow, green and blue, so she is vulnerable to a
counterattack in those three colors. If the opponent's field is uneven, they
shouldn't stack themselves into long strings, so damage would be kept to a
minimum.
Pulichio's Stage (normal):
_______________
W O W P O R
O B Y B O R W
O Y W B W Y
O P R B G B
2iv.) Malissa/Marina
Attack pattern: R B Y B Y B R
Malissa's attacks end up giving a lot of blue to the opponent, so it's not
uncommon to see blue counterattacks sent her way. The red is separated
fairly well, more so than the yellow. So, the most likely cause of defeat
by counterattacks would come due to the blue or yellow bubbles.
Malissa's Stage (normal):
_______________
B G O G R Y R O
B O B W R P O
G O B W B Y R B
2v.) Musashi
Attack pattern: Y W R P O G B (under seven bubbles)
Ceiling drop (seven or higher)
Musashi is versatile. He can attack small and act just like Bub and Bob, or
he can attack big and act like Luna Luna. The ceiling drop is an excellent
attack, since it is not counterable. It adds no bubbles to the opponent, so
you don't have to worry about sending ammo that can be used to counterattack.
The drawback is that since it sends no bubbles, your opponent is more or less
free to continue arranging an attack with their own bubbles; the worst you
can do to them is send over six bubbles at a time. So, the use of being able
to make the opponent's screen drop almost at will depends on your play style.
Musashi's Stage (normal):
_______________
P G O P G O
Y P R Y
R G Y P O B
G Y B Y
2vi.) Luna Luna
Attack pattern: None
Luna Luna does not attack in the way of bubbles. Once she collects one red
attack bubble, it results in the opponent's screen being dropped once. So,
unlike Musashi, you don't have a choice of either bubbles or a drop. You
can't do much with small attacks; you'll have to get red attack bubbles as
often and as fast as possible to get anywhere with her. The same perks and
drawbacks ceiling dropping has for Musashi apply to Luna Luna.
Luna Luna's Stage (normal):
_______________
O W G B
Y G Y B
G O R W
R O B
W G P
B W R
2vii.) Jack
Attack pattern: X r r 0 r r X
Jack sends a mix of rainbow bubbles and inert blocks with his attacks. This
is good. He also sends a gem bubble from time to time. This is bad. VERY
bad. All it can take is a single gem block-induced combo to get him into
trouble. Burying gem bubbles sent to the opponent is very important. If
doing so is not possible, then hope that the damage done to you is an amount
you can survive. The inert blocks will be a major thorn in your opponent's
side, which is of some comfort to know.
Jack's Stage (normal):
_______________
R P W b G R b O
R W 0 Y b
G W G Y B
P W 0 Y P
Y B O b P
2viii.) Sonic Blast Man/SSB
Attack pattern: X R R Y Y B B
He sends three different colors, all closely spaced together. Unless a good
amount of inert blocks collect on the opponent's screen, SSB is leaving the
opponent a wide-open chance to counterattack.
SSB's Stage (normal):
_______________
P O Y R O B W G
B W R
B G O Y R P O W
R P O
2ix.) Debblun/Deburun
Attack pattern: Unknown (Bub and Bob's?)
Debblun's Stage (normal):
_______________
G O W R Y R W R
B W P B P B W
O P G O P W O G
R W Y W O R Y
2x.) Drunk
Attack pattern: Unknown
Drunk's Stage (normal):
_______________
B O Y R Y P
O Y R
G Y R O B Y
R O Y
O P Y G R Y
Assuming that both versions of Drunk use Bub and Bob's drop pattern, all
this would mean is that the computer is basically playing Bub and Bob from
an expert's point of view. Were they playable, they'd be no different than
Bub and Bob, short of having reduced attack bubbles sent to them, and/ or
more attack bubbles sent to the opponent.
-= Miscellaneous =-
1.) Point layout
The point system in PB3 is relatively easy to understand. For each bubble
you pop you get 10 points. If you pop three you get 30 points, and so on.
For each bubble you drop, you get 10*2^x total points, where x is the number
of bubbles dropped. This holds true until you drop 17 bubbles (1,310,720
points). After that point, the system changes. I've gotten 1,310,720 for
much more than 17 bubbles, yet I've also gotten 2,621,440 or 5,242,880 or
even 10,485,760 for about the same number.
After seemingly endless play and study, I've gotten the vague idea that for
the point values past 1.3 million, the wad of bubbles you drop must be one
bunch; popping two sets of bubbles at once when one and/ or the other are 1.3+
fodder will result in only 1,310,720 points. A run through K-5 in Version 2.5
yielded me that many, despite having dropped far past 17 bubbles. The break
in question also dropped the rightmost set of inert blocks, which is what
first piqued my curiosity towards the path of enlightenment. Still, if anyone
knows _exactly_ what must be done for those higher drop values, let me know.
2.) History
July 11, 2001: I start work on this FAQ.
July 12, 2001: I finish v1.0. All that remains now is to get in touch
with pre-readers and people I used info to make certain I have permission
to use it.
July 16, 2001: All the necessary permission checks were received and v1.0
is sent out for its initial run.
July 31, 2001: Work on Version 1.1 starts, due to various minor typos and
slip ups (Malissa/Marina was fifth on the index, but should be fourth). I
also receive the first e-mail with helpful info for the FAQ (hello again,
Jacks!).
December 1, 2001: After several months of school and general laziness, v1.1
rises from the dead and has a complete walkthrough for one of several paths
in Normal Mode. Minor biz for Debblun and Drunk is added, as I have started
to play Versus Computer mode on a regular basis.
December 7, 2001: A complete walkthrough is started and finished for one out
of several Version 2.5 paths in v1.1.
December 11, 2001: Jack's true gender is revealed, ushering in the official
start of v1.2.
March 16, 2002: A lone e-mail finds its way into my inbox, reminding me that
this FAQ exists, and more importantly, that this FAQ is STILL incomplete.
Jack's true gender continues to cause nervous twitching.
August 10, 2002: Putting the finishing touches on my King of Dragons FAQ,
I am reminded once more that this FAQ is sitting around, waiting to have the
finishing touches put into the latest version. Needless to say, more stages
for normal and Version 2.5 are added, as is basic info for Versus Computer or
Versus Player mode, depending on what you're competing against. Jack's true
gender no longer causes trauma to my brain cells.
September 23, 2003: ...so, yeah. *uncomfortable silence* I am reminded
that I really need to get to work on this, after someone sends me an e-mail
asking for permission to host my FAQ. Various minor additions that I had
made (but not considered noteworthy for an update) are cobbled together into
what becomes version 1.2. Jack's true gender amuses me slightly now.
3.) Thanks and Mentions
Thanks go out to:
- Taito for making Puzzle Bobble 3.
- Otto Chan (chanh@ecf.toronto.edu) for having the initial PB3 FAQ I read
and unknowingly inspiring me to write one of my own.
- Bubandbob.com (www.bubandbob.com) for having a good PB3 section I could
read and get information from.
- Steven Ives (saives@gameoverdude.com) for having a good 'legal crap'
setup I could use.
- Nere (email@withheld.com) for letting me know that Sonic Blast Man had
been in a pair of SNES games.
- Jacks Nanana (email@not.here) for supplying me with a great deal
of the voice clips for the characters.
- Madam Luna (probably@not.yourname) for being the first to inform me that
Jack is decidedly not comparable to King from Art of Fighting and King of
Fighters in terms of gender.
- bubandbob.com, GameFAQs, NeoBubblum and GameOverDude for hosting the FAQ.
Mentions of note:
Version 1.3 of this FAQ will, at the very least, add:
- All levels through both main puzzle versions.
- The level layouts for Hard Versus Computer difficulty.
- Removal/changing of various errors I may have made in this version.
- Addition of any info people provide.
- Addition of any sites I decide are trustworthy enough to the point where
they can host my FAQ.