Taito F3 Bubble Bobble 2 PROTOTYPE PCB Discovered!!!!

[muddymusic]

I was going through a stack of untested pcb's at the recent Jamma+ Unigame arcade meet and it was reaching the very end of the last day and I just wanted to have a final rummage through some interesting looking Taito pcb's that were almost out of reach.
I grabbed the last one from the shelf I could get to and handed it to Roger/rcantor and asked him and Paulcan69 to go and stick it in a cab and see what game it was so we could bag it up and label it.

They came back and said it was some kind of Bubble Bobble type game but with no title screen and it all looked a bit weird, so I thought they were winding me up as I know my BB pcb's!

After looking this weird 3 layer boards several times I realised it was an uncased F3 mobo on the bottom, with 2 larger boards on top. Very unusual....

It was only when I went out to see for myself that this was something a bit special. The graphics were only showing in green and half the inputs weren't working so I couldn't credit it up, what I could do though was hit the test button. And that said 'Bubble Bobble 2 Ver 0.0J'. And the game had different graphics & sprites & levels in the demo...

I almost needed to change my pants

When I got back in the room I think it was pretty obvious to everyone that I was more than a little excited, I talked some crap for a while and Julian said it was obviously meant to go off with me Mr. Bubble Bobble, and I wasn't about to say no! What were the odds of finding that on the last few minutes of the last day after testing about 100 boards

I got it cleaned up last night and after a giving all the roms and board layers a good push it was working 100%

Here's a detailed examination of the board...

Bubble Symphony Release Version (F3 Cart)



Bubble Bobble 2 Prototype (PCB)



Big difference in the dates!

There are so many changes in this proto from the final release it's going to take me a while to work through them all! This really is a unique find, it's a massively different game and there really can't be many in existence.

Release version Demo


Prototype version demo


On the very first screen there are differences - the 'GAME OVER' font is completely different, and so is the default high score & some of the platform graphics.

A major gameplay aspect is missing from the prototype - on the final version you hold down fire for a few seconds and you can shoot a trio of bubbles, this way they appear varies for each of the 4 selectable characters. In the prototype this special move is completely missing.

Release version demo boss screen


Prototype version demo boss screen


Platform graphics are totally different, there is no 'Bubble' text in the bottom right, and also the way the boss moves & dragons move is completely different.

[muddymusic]

PCB Examination

Here is the pcb, I found a couple of images on Google of one other F3 prototype board.

Here's one of a Land Maker prototype for comparison:


Here is the Bubble Bobble 2 prototype pcb.




I've been reliably informed the label says " '94 Europa (European) System 4 "

Placed alongside a Bubble Symphony cart & mobo:


All the roms have hand written info.





Top layer examination






NICEB PCB
TK8X3004A

Rom list:

IC3 CQ80 SCR4 DFE1
IC4 CQ80 SCR3 4266
IC5 CQ80 SCR2 CC11
IC6 CQ80 SCR1 A5F3
IC7 CQ80 SCR0 5BA4

IC10 SND3 STD5 3A8C
IC11 SND2 STD6 A148

IC43 SND8 DATA0 DB5F
IC44 SND9 DATA1 933B

IC60 SOFT3 8C9B
IC61 SOFT2 0587
IC62 SOFT1 9A9C
IC63 SOFT0 A523

IC65 SNDL 4EC1
IC66 SNDH 348F

Pals 24,57,58,29,64.

Second layer examination






NICEPCA PCB
TK8X3003A

Rom list:

IC8 CQ80 OBJ 0L C166
IC20 CQ80 OBJ 0M 24F4
IC32 CQ80 OBJ 0H 99QD

Pals 12, 24


Motherboard examination

At first glance it looks to be identical to a production mobo, just without the cage. However I can see a number of differences - this may be specific to proto stuff, or it could be different revisions etc.



Alongside a release version:


Release:

Proto:


Release:

Proto:


Release:

Proto:


Release:

Proto:


Release version solder side:

Proto:


Notable differences:

No region lockout tabs on the motherboard OR the A+B layers - meaning you'd need a hacked mobo to try this on a different board.
No fan connection.
IC32 is missing on the prototype mobo.
Socketed chips at locations IC2, IC3, IC23, IC24, IC25, IC29, IC33, IC43.
Board label: BASE PCB, TK8X3018C

[IDCHAPPY]

, nice to see stuff like this still getting found

[LegoYoda]

What a great find! Gratuitous comparison shots like this are awesome. Well done indeed!

[Braintrash]

I'll be the one saying it: dump it.

*ninja escape*

[muddymusic]

I'll be the one saying it: dump it.

*ninja escape*

It will be dumped soon and added to mame. It's a very different game to the final release, and actually shares a lot more in common with the original game!
I'm a massive fan of the Bubble Bobble series and have played all the games a lot, from what I've seen of this prototype so far I think all the levels are different to the final version

[muddymusic]

Here are the A+B layers placed alongside a production cartridge.



Here's the bit you will all want to see - some video footage of it running...

Here's a 5 minute cycle of the attract mode from Bubble Symphony to show the final released version


And here's a 5 minute cycle of the attract mode from the prototype. There's one VERY big difference you'll notice right away!




Some differences in the prototype:

On demo screen the background is static and the tile graphics are different.
The points font is the same as the original game unlike the finished version, nice!
Sound effects are different.
The entire introduction story and music is missing.
There is no title screen at all.
There is no warning text or Taito logo on startup.
The enemies have different animation and things move differently.
The power up move is missing completely.
Game over font is different.
And the big one is an orchestral version of the original game's music!!!!! Really cool, I had no idea they had done that. Also you'll notice the little tune when it shows the different dragon pics is the game over music from the original game.

[Braintrash]

Impressive!
I already love it!

[emphatic]

Congrats on finding this, very cool!

[idc]

[mastercello]

Nice find and thanks for sharing!

[ninn]

Super-nice find ... kind of a grail.

Special thanks for your dumping-plans!! That's so very nice of you - not sure If I'd do it.
Respect!

[grainflavour]

Lovely thing to read about first thing in the morning. Top stuff

[Svovl]

Very cool read! In fact I discovered the same orchestrated version of the theme on the Bubble Memories board (from the test menu), but I don't know if it ever plays in game.

[Spectre]

Great stuff, congrats Olly

[muddymusic]

Playthrough of levels 1-21



So anyone who knows the game will see there's a lot of differences in this to the final version!

· The prototype has ALL the music from the original done in the new orchestral style, and it sounds bloody great if I may say so!

· The character select, intro music, 'extend' and potion music are like the original as well as the main theme.

· The game plays much more like the original, there's no path selection on level 1, you play through to 10, face a boss, then choose your next path of 10 levels.

· The intro text refers to the first game -

Release version - "THE NEW ADVENTURE OF BUBBLE BOBBLE - THE NEXT GENERATION - LET'S TRY AND CHALLENGE!"


Proto version - "THE NEW ADVENTURES OF BUBBLE BOBBLE - THE RETURN OF SUPER DRUNK - LET'S TRY AND CHALLENGE!"


· The level graphics are all different, as are many of the titles, the enemies on each level are different, and there are also a lot of completely new & different levels!!!!!

· There are no keys or ROD letters to collect, however there are still hidden musical notes to find on each level, but you just get points for them.

· Powerups are different, there are some new/unused ones, others are different from the final version, when you collect a potion the music & graphics are the same as the original game.

· Different extend letter graphics.

· Something quite fundamental to the way I play the original game is different here - I always make use of a simultaneous fire+jump move, so you can bubble an enemy and jump straight in to it to burst it which is essential on the hard levels. On Symphony you can't do it - pressing both buttons just makes you fire a bubble. I found this really frustrating as it's one of my main play techniques.
In this proto version you CAN do it, so they obviously deliberately changed it! I'd really like to know why!

[muddymusic]

A few more comparison shots & new levels:

[KmanSweden]

Way cool.

[crebou]

hmmm, beautiful board. Thanks for the description

[wonderbanana]

That's a fantastic find!