Bubble Bobble (RAZOR EXPRESS) Commodore 64 game

Now it is the start of a fantastic journey! Let's make a journey to the cave of monsters. And so begins a strange and surreal adventure through 100 caves filled with bubble-spitting Brontosauri, horrific hostiles, exotic fruits, wonderful presents, and a large assortment of generally useful items. Each cave consists of a screen filled with platforms, and progression from one to another occurs when the entire screen has been cleared.

An initial decision is made between either one or two-player mode. Choose the single-player option; however, a second player can still join in at any time during the action. When the start button is pressed, the Brontosauri appear at the bottom left and right. Shortly after, the hostile cave-dwellers emerge and rush around the network of platforms. These are deadly to touch and should be avoided at all costs.

The only means of defense are the bubbles which a 'saurus spits when the fire button is depressed. A bubble travels forward a short distance before floating upward, and any creature caught in its horizontal path becomes trapped and is helpless about its predicament. Now the fun begins - if the bronto jumps up and pops the bubble with his tough horny head, the creature within bounces around the screen, stunned, and turns into a banana which is collected for an extra score. Bubbles always mass at the top of the screen, and a cluster of bubbled enemies can be burst at the same time, resulting in different fruits worth bigger points.

Greed is a terrible thing though, and if a dinosaur waits too long for bubbles to mass, the creatures can escape. Their constant struggling weakens the bubble wall, and they break through after 15 seconds or so. An escapee is a horrible sight, all red and angry, and rushing around the screen in a complete strop, looking for the brontosaurus responsible for his imprisonment.

Another hazard which appears if a screen is not cleared quickly enough is the dreaded Baron von Blubba. This indestructible horror emerges to track down the heroic dinos, eventually giving his fatal touch if all the other creatures aren't destroyed quickly enough.

Throughout a level, bubbles float up from the bottom of the screen. Some of these are water-filled and cause a mini-flood when burst. This then pours down the screen, sweeping away any creature that stands in its path. Other bubbles contain letters, with an extra life awarded if the word EXTEND is formed. On some screens, bubbles containing lightning can also be burst to send deadly bolts of electricity whizzing across the screen.

Goodies appear randomly, either giving extra points or endowing the prehistoric pair with special bronto-powers. Trainers, for example, give a Bronto extra speed, and a Lamp either gives faster bubble-producing abilities or extra fire-spitting capabilities. Sometimes an object sets off a reaction—such as filling the screen with water, killing all dwellers within, causing a huge explosion, or sending huge bolts of lightning from above. On very rare occasions, collecting an item makes all the hostiles disappear, and the screen becomes filled with objects - which are collected within a 20-second time limit for a 100,000 points bonus.

As the dinosaurs progress through the levels, all manner of creatures are encountered. Early levels are inhabited by square-headed morons, whereas later screens contain boulder-lobbing ghosts, flying fish, helicopter hippos, springing things, gremlins, and missile-dropping Space Invaders. When the 100th screen