Released by Taito.
STORY : After the Bubble Bobble fiasco, Bub and Bob (now humans again) went back to their normal lives on the Rainbow Islands. For some time, no more demons attacked. Then a new crisis arose... an evil told about in stories, the Dark Shadow, appeared in the islands. It cast a spell that turned all of the people of the islands into bubble dragons, just as had happened to Bub and Bob! Then the Dark Shadow, also called Krabo, took them away to a secret place. With another evil spell, the Islands began to sink into the sea. As a final safeguard on top of all of this, Krabo released monsters on each island, with a boss monster ruling over each one. Bub and Bob, however, were still safe. In their human form, they could use magic to create rainbows. These rainbows could be thrown or dropped on the monsters to kill them! Bub and Bob set out separately to search the islands for clues on how to free the people and destroy Dark Shadow. They had to hurry, because the islands were already sinking fast.... and neither of them could swim very well!
CHARACTERS :
Bub : The boy who USED to be a bubble dragon, but is now human again. (Gets confusing, doesn't it?) His home, the Rainbow islands, are in danger! So, using rainbow magic, he sets out to find where his neighbors have all been taken. His rainbows can crush the monsters, turning them into food or jewelry. (That sounds awfully familiar....) Also, occasionally, they turn into multicolored diamonds. This is important for Bub! These diamonds hold the key to finding everyone... and only by shining their light all together can he find the secret... Hurry Bub! Defeat the monsters of each island, or we're all doomed!
Bob : Bob is kind of goofy, and often gets caught by the monsters. You never get to use his abilities, but he often gives you hints that he picks up while doing his own search. Listen to him, for he'll be a big help.
Sally : She is a girl that Bub meets during his journey. She asks Bub if he will free her grandfather. Bub already has a girlfriend, though, doesn't he? Hmmmmm..... At any rate, Bub agrees to find him during his search.
Spidey : The monster of Insect Island. He's a big spider that moves up and down in his lair. He doesn't do much else than that. Bub should be able to squash him pretty easily if he keeps attacking with his rainbows.
Choppy : The monster of Toy Island. (Unusually, in the arcade this island was Combat Island, while Toy Island was a completely different one.) Choppy flies back and forth and tries to keep level with you so he can run you down. He also drops tons of bombs. (Where does he get all of them?) The only way to stop him is to dodge him and constantly hit him with a torrent of rainbows.
Fangs : The monster of Monster Island. He's a vampire, blah, blah! He moves in small increments towards you and will attempt to get on top of you to suck your blood. His bat pals, wanting to help out, will shoot out in a fan from him towards you. Just keep nailing him with rainbows and you'll be fine. (If you can dodge him.)
Robby : The monster of Robot Island. This large robot fires rockets straight ahead as he shuttles back and forth. This wouldn't be a problem if he wasn't trying to keep on your level constantly. Keep moving up and down in the room, and drop rainbows on him as often as you can. Try not to be above or below him when he changes levels!
Doh : Have any of you heard of the SNES game, "Arkanoid : Doh it Again"? If so, this guy will seem familiar. He's the monster of Doh Island, which is a big Arkanoid game. (You see, Doh is the main villain in Arkanoid.) In his room on the island, he floats in place, spitting tiles at you. He spits them at the place where Bub is standing the second before, so you have to keep moving. (Preferably, it's good to start on one side of the room and rush to the other as he starts spitting.) Other than dodging his projectiles, you just have to pelt him with rainbows, and you'll be fine!
Cindy : The (monster?) of KikiKaikai Island. She's the giant ninja girl who throws cards at anyone who gets in her way! You see, what see does is bounce around her lair and throw a fan of cards at the intruders. It can be difficult to dodge her AND her cards, but if you can manage that while hitting her, you'll be okay.
King Fossil : The monster of Darius Island. Actually, it's a big battleship that takes up almost the whole width of the screen. It moves back and forth (to the extent that it can) and tries to keep level with you. It also shoots three energy balls at you, one at a time. This huge ship can be hard to dodge. Just hang in there and keep shooting it with your magic!

ENDING? :

Well, if you defeat King Fossil but didn't collect all of the huge diamonds (more on that later), then Bub and Bob discover Dark Shadow's treasure mound, but still haven't found the citizens. Where could they be? Only one thing to do, and that's continue the search...

PLOT TWIST : (If you don't want the story spoiled, then don't read this.)

Bub and Bob, after collecting all seven of the big diamonds, set them all next to each other at the final island. Then, they start to glow, and cause the last island to rise up out of the ocean! It is Bubble Island, and the hideout of the Dark Shadow. With courage, the two brothers enter to stop the monster's plans for good...

Dark Shadow : This is the evil being who has placed the curse on the islands. Surprise! Krabo takes the form of a giant, armored Bubble Dragon! And he even shoots bubbles at Bub as he slowly moves around to catch him! When it seems Krabo's finally been destroyed, his flesh decays..... but his head turns into a giant Skel-Monsta! It floats diagonally around the room, trying to eat Bub! By standing out of its path, and attacking rapidly with rainbows, the Dark Shadow is finally destroyed for good.

ENDING : (You may want to avoid looking at this if you want to see it yourself.)

I'm a little fuzzy on this, and there's more than one ending, all of which I haven't gotten, so please excuse me for being incomplete.
The giant magic diamond wand descends from the sky. Its power was used by the Dark Shadow to cause all of the trouble. Now that Dark Shadow is killed, Bub and Bob have command of its power. There are all kinds of things that they want to wish for, but the wand tells them that they can only choose one thing. Now here's where my memory becomes vague. There are three wishes, one is fame, one a beautiful girlfriend, and the last to help the victims of the islands. Now, of course, any hero would pick the last one, but let's look at the other ending I got first.
- If you choose the girlfriend choice, Bub marries the famous singer, Singy Singy. (I think that was her name.) This is reported by a news man. However, the anchor wonders if there are problems that haven't been taken care of?
- If you choose to help the others, then Bub says that they have to help the islanders and they go to the area where they are being held. They are all bubble dragons, and locked up in cages. However, by the magic of the wand, the cages are opened and the people are turned back to normal. The wand's magic was all that kept the island above the ocean, so it now begins to sink as the power fades. The people all swim away from the sinking island. Back on one of the other islands, Bub is with Sally and the islanders surround Bub and Bob. They celebrate, praising Bub and Bob as heroes, and tossing them in the air. The celebration lasts all night. After all of this trouble, Bub and Bob relax, but prepare for their next adventure, almost certain that their heroics will be needed again....
Sorry I don't have the other endings yet. Maybe sometime, I'll have the patience to play the game again, and so clarify my mistakes and write in the other ending(s).

TIPS : - Okay, first off, how do you get big diamonds? Simple. When you drop rainbows on your enemies, every third enemy (I think that's how it goes?) turns into a diamond. Depending on which section of the screen they fell in, they become a different color diamond. From left to right, the sections make them become Red, Orange, Yellow, Green, Light Blue, Blue, and Purple. (The Light Blue is called "Cyan" in the game.) If you want to get a certain diamond, make sure an enemy falls in the right section of the screen. Once you get all seven, and beat the island, you will get the big diamond in that island! (I must thank the Bubble Bobble sites for this one, really. Plug! Visit http://www.bubandbob.com/ to see more tips and game info like this, and to be directed to other Bubble Bobble sites.)
- Oh, yeah. In one stage, at the end, you can get a hint about the fifth, sixth, and seventh island that tells you to pick up crystal balls. On each of these islands, PAY ATTENTION as you work your way through each stage. Eventually, you'll see a crystal ball just sitting in the air (if you don't pass it up in a frenzy). PICK IT UP. If you don't, you have to fight the monster of that island while they are INVISIBLE. This makes it all the more difficult to defeat them. So, watch out for that ball.

MY OPINION : Yaaaaaay! Taito games are fun. Try it before I steal your soul. (holds hand out menacingly) This really is a fun game, and it can be challenging in the later islands if you don't watch your step and react immediately. Now, let's clear all round!

Now, let's head to NES list Island.