Taito launched a new entry in its Bubble Bobble series today on modern platforms — and it includes the Saturn version of Bubble Symphony.
Bubble Bobble Sugar Dungeons is available digitally on PC via Steam, the Switch eShop and the PlayStation Store for US$39.99, albeit only in Western territories. The game will launch in Japan next year.
Today is also the 27th anniversary of Bubble Symphony’s Saturn release in 1997, which is probably no coincidence.
Bubble Symphony was originally an arcade game made in 1994. The Saturn port faithfully reproduces it but adds quite a few cheat codes, including one that adds a new menu option where the language can be changed to English.
The presence of English in the game is probably what made it attractive to bundle with Sugar Dungeons. The game now defaults to English in the Western release.
On Steam, Bubble Symphony is a separate app that can be started up independently of Sugar Dungeons. It has a user interface that looks very similar to the appearance of City Connection’s Saturn Tribute games, which run on a modified version of the SSF Saturn emulator.
There’s no official confirmation of a link between the two — although several of Taito’s Saturn games were re-released by City Connection, including Layer Section/Galactic Attack, Elevator Action Returns, Cleopatra Fortune, Puzzle Bobble 2X & 3 and Metal Black.
On the left is a screenshot of Sugar Dungeon’s included Bubble Symphony from Taito. On the right is a screenshot from the Saturn Tribute release of Advanced V.G. from City Connection.
Bubble Symphony’s interface includes “extra options,” including Super Mode, Human Mode, Power-Up, Original Game, Classic Mode and Credits. All of them line up with the extras hidden behind cheat codes in the game, essentially making them more easily accessible.
Screenshot courtesy of Primus.
Physical copies of the game on Switch can be preordered from Arc System Works’ website with a shipment expected in the fourth quarter of this year. The PS5 version is already sold out.
Taito and Arc System Works first announced Bubble Bobble: Sugar Dungeons in late June with a trailer. Its release date and planned inclusion of Bubble Symphony were announced in August, as SHIRO! reported at the time.
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