Few spin-off series have been as successful as Taito’s Puzzle Bobble. The 1994 arcade game successfully used characters from the Bubble Bobble series of platformers in a brand-new puzzle game. It would go on to spawn dozens of sequels and ports (not to mention clones), most recently with Puzzle Bobble 3D for PlayStation and Oculus/Meta Quest....

We've been excited for Puzzle Bobble Everybubble, the upcoming Switch-exclusive entry in Taito's Puzzle Bobble series, since the game was announced last year. All signs point to Everybubble being the biggest and best game in the series. This one will feature numerous modes, including the exciting "Puzzle Bobble VS. Space Invaders." Despite the "VS" in the title, said mode actually allows up to 4 local players to play against the famous Space Invaders.

Taito's Bubble Bobble series started out in 1986 and remains popular to this day. Bubble Bobble 4 didn't get the world on first (though I like it), but there will be plenty more adventures for Bub and Bob in the future, including the upcoming Puzzle Bobble Everybubble. Merchandise for this series doesn't come to international markets very often, but Strictly Limited Games currently has a bundle of Bub and Bob plushies available to order. Quantities are already shipping and super limited, so don't delay!

Back in August, Taito and ININ Games announced Puzzle Bobble Everybubble, a Switch-exclusive installment in the venerable Puzzle Bobble series. This one will be the first game in the series to feature 4-player local co-op. Not only that, Everybubble will also add a unique 2vs2 Battle Mode which is playable against other players or the CPU. 2vs2 Battle Mode is one of several new details announced by ININ today.

The venerable Puzzle Bobble series (a puzzle game spin-off of Bubble Bobble) has seen many iterations over the years, including the pretty decent Puzzle Bobble 3D. That game wasn’t quite as refined as we'd prefer, but the newly announced Puzzle Bobble Everybubble looks like a return to form. It will feature traditional 2D Puzzle Bobble graphics and gameplay, plus four player local co-op! Everybubble is due out exclusively on Nintendo Switch in 2023.

Welcome back to Beyond Co-Op Reviews, our critical look at games that don't feature co-op modes....