Bubble & Squeak
Bubble & Squeak (AGA), developed and published by Audiogenic in 1994.
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Player's Review
"Your mission - guide Bubble through level after level of PLATFORM action involving flying elephants, ducks with baseball bats, and countless other wacky creatures. Collect a submarine token and you'll get a chance to shoot it out under water with the evil Kat-o-Nine-Tails and his fishy friends (or should that be fiends?). Each SHOOTEM-UP is tougher than the one before-be careful YOU don't end up feeding the piranhas!
So who's Squeak? Well, there had to be a catch, didn't there. You see, it isn't enough for Bubble to find his way through the level-he's got to take his monster friend along too.
Which can be a bit of a PUZZLE. You see, Squeak's not as agile as Bubble, and he's none too bright, either (but don't tell him to his face!).
However, give Squeak some bubble gum and he's a different animal. He'll let you ride on his back-so you can jump all over the pesky creatures that keep getting in your way. Find the right gum and he'll even be able to fly! And if you kick Squeak, he'll curl up in a ball and roll around the landscape at supersonic speed.
Two Great Characters. Thirty Huge Levels. Ten Bonus Levels. Five Tough Shoot-em-ups. INCREDIBLE GAMEPLAY!
It isn't a PLATFORM game. It isn't a PUZZLE game. And it isn't a SHOOT 'EM-UP IT'S ALL THREE ROLLED INTO ONE!"
Overview
There are thirty main levels in the game. Bubble and Squeak need to get to the end of each level, marked by a flashing post. Of course, the creatures that the Kat of Nine Tails has left on guard aren't exactly going to help you - so watch out!
On each level there is a submarine icon to collect. Pick this up, and at the end of the level Bubble and Squeak will get in a submarine to battle against the Kat of Nine Tails in a shoot'em-up. There are five different shoot'em-ups, and you must complete one before you go onto the next.
In addition, if you free three of Squeak's little monster friends from the Bozo Domes you get to play a bonus game - in all there are ten different bonus games. There is a Bozo Dome on most, but not all of the main levels.
As if it wasn't already tricky enough, you'll find that most of the main levels gradually flood with water. Whilst Bubble and Squeak can survive under water for a short time, you shouldn't push your luck!
The longplay plays through all 30 levels which is no easy task as this A1200 version has quite a few game breaking bugs to contend with. Firstly in the original game, the copy protection will fail loading level four asking for a non existent disk 3. So a fixed cracked version is being played here however another issue is is that if you collect a third sub icon then the game will fail to load sub level three asking for disk 2 that is already in the drive. The only solution to this is to avoid collecting more sub icons which is easier said than done as they are often placed in a position hard to avoid as if even if you don't collect it, your furry friend can. On some levels you can also rescue some furry friends by spending 50 gems at the Bozo Domes (each houses one furry) After collecting 3 furries you are awarded a bonus stage where you can collect 50 gems for an extra life, but you have only a short time to do it! There are 10 bonus levels in total ranging from spring jumping, maze running and lift jumping. Another issue is that the password system is completely broken and the given passwords are unusable.
Note: Disk copy protection issues are with the IPF disk images as well as the ADF cracked versions running in emulation. It needs to be confirmed if the original disks on original hardware have the same issue with copy protection based errors.
This is one of those games where no matter which difficulty level you play, you don't get the proper ending and are instead told to play a higher difficulty level. The worst type of ending you can get. Completing the expert levels awards a password for the aardcore difficulty which I am playing here. (MAXIBABY). This makes the game super challenging with a tight time limit on some levels with fast rising water. It can be frustratingly difficult or impossible to collect enough diamonds for the bonus stages as well as completing the level especially if Squeak starts at the bottom of the stage. Some levels have a gumball machine to give Squeak some extra abilities. 3 coins are needed with a coin dropped by each enemy destroyed.
Overall, this is a nice platform puzzle game. The levels are not too big to start with as you are eased into the games mechanics. Squeak can be a bit annoying sometimes as the controls to control him can be unresponsive at times and sometimes hes just stupid and jumps or falls off platforms sending him back to the bottom which can be real annoying. The A1200 version in particular with all it's game breaking issues including getting stuck in parts of the scenery and really sloppy collision detection don't help and are probably better off playing the A500 game with no reported issues or the Megadrive game which feels more refined and more rewarding and better presented overall with a proper ending and what the Amiga game should have been all along.
00:00:00 Title Screen
00:01:27 Stardust Caverns 1
00:05:00 Strawberry Lagoon (Sub Level 1)
00:07:17 Stardust Caverns 2
00:09:50 The Neverglades 1
00:12:34 Stardust Caverns 3
00:15:23 Stardust Caverns 4
00:18:33 Bonus Stage 1
00:19:27 Stardust Caverns 5
00:22:52 The Neverglades 2
00:25:19 Diamond Foundry 1
00:27:40 Crabapple Lagoon (Sub Level 2)
00:29:54 Bonus Stage 2
00:30:27 Diamond Foundry 2
00:32:40 Diamond Foundry 3
00:34:29 The Neverglades 3
00:36:44 The Neverglades 4
00:38:20 Bonus Stage 3
00:38:57 The Neverglades 5
00:43:11 Stardust Caverns 6
00:45:54 Stardust Caverns 7
00:50:02 Bonus Stage 4
00:50:48 Diamond Foundry 4
00:54:49 Diamond Foundry 5
00:57:00 Diamond Foundry 6
00:59:54 Sandcastle Desert 1
01:03:37 Bonus Stage 5
01:04:22 Sandcastle Desert 2
01:09:23 Sandcastle Desert 3
01:12:14 Neon City 1
01:15:08 Bonus Stage 6
01:15:50 Diamond Foundry 7
01:18:11 Diamond Foundry 8
01:20:06 Sandcastle Desert 4
01:25:38 Bonus Stage 7
01:26:30 Sandcastle Desert 5
01:31:34 Neon City 2
01:34:20 Neon City 3
01:36:50 Bonus Stage 8
01:37:30 Neon City 4
01:40:15 Neon City 5
So who's Squeak? Well, there had to be a catch, didn't there. You see, it isn't enough for Bubble to find his way through the level-he's got to take his monster friend along too.
Which can be a bit of a PUZZLE. You see, Squeak's not as agile as Bubble, and he's none too bright, either (but don't tell him to his face!).
However, give Squeak some bubble gum and he's a different animal. He'll let you ride on his back-so you can jump all over the pesky creatures that keep getting in your way. Find the right gum and he'll even be able to fly! And if you kick Squeak, he'll curl up in a ball and roll around the landscape at supersonic speed.
Two Great Characters. Thirty Huge Levels. Ten Bonus Levels. Five Tough Shoot-em-ups. INCREDIBLE GAMEPLAY!
It isn't a PLATFORM game. It isn't a PUZZLE game. And it isn't a SHOOT 'EM-UP IT'S ALL THREE ROLLED INTO ONE!"
Overview
There are thirty main levels in the game. Bubble and Squeak need to get to the end of each level, marked by a flashing post. Of course, the creatures that the Kat of Nine Tails has left on guard aren't exactly going to help you - so watch out!
On each level there is a submarine icon to collect. Pick this up, and at the end of the level Bubble and Squeak will get in a submarine to battle against the Kat of Nine Tails in a shoot'em-up. There are five different shoot'em-ups, and you must complete one before you go onto the next.
In addition, if you free three of Squeak's little monster friends from the Bozo Domes you get to play a bonus game - in all there are ten different bonus games. There is a Bozo Dome on most, but not all of the main levels.
As if it wasn't already tricky enough, you'll find that most of the main levels gradually flood with water. Whilst Bubble and Squeak can survive under water for a short time, you shouldn't push your luck!
The longplay plays through all 30 levels which is no easy task as this A1200 version has quite a few game breaking bugs to contend with. Firstly in the original game, the copy protection will fail loading level four asking for a non existent disk 3. So a fixed cracked version is being played here however another issue is is that if you collect a third sub icon then the game will fail to load sub level three asking for disk 2 that is already in the drive. The only solution to this is to avoid collecting more sub icons which is easier said than done as they are often placed in a position hard to avoid as if even if you don't collect it, your furry friend can. On some levels you can also rescue some furry friends by spending 50 gems at the Bozo Domes (each houses one furry) After collecting 3 furries you are awarded a bonus stage where you can collect 50 gems for an extra life, but you have only a short time to do it! There are 10 bonus levels in total ranging from spring jumping, maze running and lift jumping. Another issue is that the password system is completely broken and the given passwords are unusable.
Note: Disk copy protection issues are with the IPF disk images as well as the ADF cracked versions running in emulation. It needs to be confirmed if the original disks on original hardware have the same issue with copy protection based errors.
This is one of those games where no matter which difficulty level you play, you don't get the proper ending and are instead told to play a higher difficulty level. The worst type of ending you can get. Completing the expert levels awards a password for the aardcore difficulty which I am playing here. (MAXIBABY). This makes the game super challenging with a tight time limit on some levels with fast rising water. It can be frustratingly difficult or impossible to collect enough diamonds for the bonus stages as well as completing the level especially if Squeak starts at the bottom of the stage. Some levels have a gumball machine to give Squeak some extra abilities. 3 coins are needed with a coin dropped by each enemy destroyed.
Overall, this is a nice platform puzzle game. The levels are not too big to start with as you are eased into the games mechanics. Squeak can be a bit annoying sometimes as the controls to control him can be unresponsive at times and sometimes hes just stupid and jumps or falls off platforms sending him back to the bottom which can be real annoying. The A1200 version in particular with all it's game breaking issues including getting stuck in parts of the scenery and really sloppy collision detection don't help and are probably better off playing the A500 game with no reported issues or the Megadrive game which feels more refined and more rewarding and better presented overall with a proper ending and what the Amiga game should have been all along.
00:00:00 Title Screen
00:01:27 Stardust Caverns 1
00:05:00 Strawberry Lagoon (Sub Level 1)
00:07:17 Stardust Caverns 2
00:09:50 The Neverglades 1
00:12:34 Stardust Caverns 3
00:15:23 Stardust Caverns 4
00:18:33 Bonus Stage 1
00:19:27 Stardust Caverns 5
00:22:52 The Neverglades 2
00:25:19 Diamond Foundry 1
00:27:40 Crabapple Lagoon (Sub Level 2)
00:29:54 Bonus Stage 2
00:30:27 Diamond Foundry 2
00:32:40 Diamond Foundry 3
00:34:29 The Neverglades 3
00:36:44 The Neverglades 4
00:38:20 Bonus Stage 3
00:38:57 The Neverglades 5
00:43:11 Stardust Caverns 6
00:45:54 Stardust Caverns 7
00:50:02 Bonus Stage 4
00:50:48 Diamond Foundry 4
00:54:49 Diamond Foundry 5
00:57:00 Diamond Foundry 6
00:59:54 Sandcastle Desert 1
01:03:37 Bonus Stage 5
01:04:22 Sandcastle Desert 2
01:09:23 Sandcastle Desert 3
01:12:14 Neon City 1
01:15:08 Bonus Stage 6
01:15:50 Diamond Foundry 7
01:18:11 Diamond Foundry 8
01:20:06 Sandcastle Desert 4
01:25:38 Bonus Stage 7
01:26:30 Sandcastle Desert 5
01:31:34 Neon City 2
01:34:20 Neon City 3
01:36:50 Bonus Stage 8
01:37:30 Neon City 4
01:40:15 Neon City 5
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