Bubble Bobble 4 Friends details ‘EXTEND’ skill upgrade system
Enhance your dragons with new skills or upgrades to existing skills.![](https://www.gematsu.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/Bubble-Bobble-4-Friends_11-08-19-320x180.jpg)
ININ Games has shared new information on Bubble Bobble 4 Friends introducing the new “EXTEND” skill upgrade system.
Here are the details, via ININ Games:
EXTEND: Skill Upgrade System
This is a new skill upgrade system that will allow players to boost their dragons with additional features. To unlock the upgrades, players will need to collect letter bubbles, each containing one of the letters of the word “EXTEND.” In every stage, one of those special letter bubbles appears briefly and has to be collected before it bursts. If the player manages to collect all letters of the word “EXTEND” within a world and also win the boss battle, the player will receive either a new skill or an upgrade to an existing skill to become even more powerful.
The following skills can be unlocked:
- Long Shot: increases the range of the bubbles.
- Thunder Bubble: attacks enemies in a horizontal line when bubble bursts.
- Bomb Bubble: The bubble explodes after some time and causes damage.
- Stop Wind: air flows are interrupted for a short time.
- Dash Skill: lets characters pass through enemies unharmed.
Before entering a new world, players can equip their dragons with the skills they’ve learned so far, using a variety of tactical variations to master even the most difficult stages and clear a stage particularly quickly.
Apart from skills, there are other features that increase the replay value of Bubble Bobble 4 Friends and spur players on to ever wilder maneuvers. Chain reactions from multiple bursted bubbles with captured enemies generate more and higher quality food for players to collect—the higher the number of bubbles, the more points and food you get as a reward. Special bubbles, such as bomb or lightning bubbles, provide new aspects of the game and tactics.
And here is an overview of the game in general, via its official website:
About
The popular dragons Bub and Bob are back! Bubble Bobble 4 Friends is the latest game in the legendary Bubble Bobble series from Taito.
Play alone or with up to three friends in couch co-op mode and jump your bubble dragons through 100 levels to defy the wicked magician Bonner and his henchmen. The bubbles don’t just let you trap your opponents, either—your dragons can also jump on them to reach higher platforms.
Collect E-X-T-E-N-D bubbles to activate and upgrade skills, such as lightning and bomb bubbles. Develop countless new strategies to travel through the worlds and take advantage of air currents.
The original Bubble Bobble arcade game from 1986 is also included, which captured the hearts of players around the world and still has fans humming its title melody today.
A celebration for fans and fun for the whole family!
Key Features
- Single-player mode.
- Up to four players in cooperative play.
- 100 stages and five bosses.
- Skill system: Learn and upgrade special skills.
- Includes legendary Bubble Bobble arcade game from 1986 (with two-player co-op mode).
Bubble Bobble 4 Friends is due out physically and digitally for Switch on November 19 in Europe and Australia. A Special Edition including two key chains, a poster, and four trading cards will also be available on December 13. In North America, the game is due out in Q1 2020.
Watch a new trailer below. View a new set of screenshots at the gallery.