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Notes:Bubble Symphony (Arcade)

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This page contains notes for the game Bubble Symphony (Arcade).

Difficulty

Difficulty is based on three variables.

  • Rank (40ED3C) is the master variable of the dynamic difficulty system. Ranges from 0 to 30.
  • CooldownVar (40ED3E) will either add to or subtract from Rank depending on how long it's been since a new game was started. Ranges from 0 to 31.
  • RankFloor (40ED40) is the lowest possible value that Rank can be set to. Note that this is only checked when subtracting from Rank; the game can add to Rank and still have it be under this value. Ranges from 0 to 30.

What Affects Difficulty

When the machine boots...

  • CooldownVar is set to 10.

In attract mode...

  • The game adds 1 to CooldownVar every time the high score screen is viewed.
  • For game demos, Rank is set to 7, RankFloor is set to 0, and all of the adjustments listed below are skipped.

At the start of the game...

  • Rank is set to one of four values based on the game's difficulty setting: Easy is 4, Normal is 7, Hard is 10, and Very Hard is 13.
  • RankFloor is also set according to difficulty: Easy is 0, Normal is 2, Hard is 4, and Very Hard is 6.
  • A value based on CooldownVar is either added to or subtracted from Rank:
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15
+4 +3 +2 +1 0
16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31
0 -1 -2 -3 +3 -4

At the start of each stage, if Rank is 15 or less:

  • The game checks the number of rounds that the player has completed without dying. If the value is even, the game adds 1 to Rank.
In a two-player game, the game does this check for both players.
  • The game then compares this deathless round variable with a value in the first column of the table below. If it's equal to or greater than that value, the following occurs:
  • If RankFloor is less than the value in the second column, RankFloor will be set to that value.
  • If Rank is less than the value in the third column, RankFloor will be set to that value.
Deathless
Rounds
RankFloor
Value
Rank
Value
5 8 8
10 15 7
15 20 7
20 25 7
30 30 7
In the case of a two-player game, the game will use the lower of both players' deathless round values for this check.

At the start of each stage, if Rank is 16 or higher:

  • The game checks how long the player has been playing on their current credit. If the value exceeds the value in the first column, then RankFloor will be set to the value in the second column unless it's already greater than or equal to that value:
Game Time RankFloor
Value
600 Seconds 15
1200 Seconds 20
1800 Seconds 25
2400 Seconds 30
In the case of a two-player game, the game will use the longer of both players' timers for this check.

After getting a Game Over and reaching the high score screen...

  • CooldownVar is set to either 0 if a player got a high score or 1 if they didn't.

The following events immediately affect Rank:

  • Starting a two-player game adds 3.
  • A second player joining a one-player game adds 3.
  • Losing a life subtracts 1.
  • Either player continuing from a game over in a two-player game adds 3.
  • Spelling out "EXTEND" adds 1.
  • Collecting any key adds 1.
  • Entering any secret room adds 3.

What Difficulty Affects

  • Special Item Requirements: See next section.
  • "Hurry Up!" Timer Adjustment: If the value of Rank is 16 or higher, the amount of time that the player has before the "Hurry Up!" sequence starts is shortened by up to 7 seconds:
16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30
-3 Sec -4 Sec -5 Sec -6 Sec -7 Sec
  • Skel-Monsta Timer Adjustment : If the value of Rank is 16 or higher, the amount of time that the player has before Skel-Monsta appears is shortened by up to 7 seconds:
16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30
-2 Sec -3 Sec -4 Sec -5 Sec -6 Sec -7 Sec
  • Monster Speed Adjustment: If the value of Rank is 16 or higher, the speed of Monsters is increased.
16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30
+1 +2 +3 +4 +5
(The meaning of this value depends on each monster's movement code.)

Special Item Conditions

Each special item has four different thresholds that the game checks to determine whether or not it should spawn. For example, for a Cross of Thunder to appear, the player has to collect either 10 (D1), 12 (D2), 14 (D3), or 16 (D4) point items. The threshold that the game checks depends on the value of Rank at the start of the stage:

  • D1: 0 to 3.
  • D2: 4 to 7.
  • D3: 8 to 11
  • D4: 12 to 30.

The table below is checked from top to bottom, and the game will select the first item it finds that has its requirements met. When an item is selected to spawn, its counter is cleared. Counters otherwise keep their values from game-to-game and are only reset when the cabinet is reset.

ID Item Value D1 D2 D3 D4 Condition Effect
0E6 Top Hat #1 1,000 Enter "BUNNY" on the high score screen. At the end of the stage:
  • All bubbles turn into 700 point Bunny Girls.
  • A Big Bunny Girl worth 100,000 points drops down from the top of the screen.
149 Taito Coin 10 777 Start X stages. Gives the player an extra life!
14A Crystal Ball 5,000 40 Collect X big point items. Reveals the location of hidden Notes in the next 2 stages.
11D Gold Skull 20 40 Spawn Skel-Monsta X times. Summons a purple comet that initiates the "HURRY UP!" sequence.
11E Silver Skull 10 20 Die by Skel-Monsta X times. Instantly spawns Skel-Monsta.
0E7 Bell 2,000 10 Trigger "HURRY UP!" X times. Chimes and screen flashes red if any offensive special item is set to spawn this stage.
129 Top Hat #2 3,000 Enter "GIRL" on the high score screen. Summons a Bunny Girl as an assist character.
0DB Blue Magic Cane 500 4 Collect X red "E" Extend Bubbles. At the end of the stage:
  • All bubbles turn into 700 point Soda Popsicles.
  • A Big Soda Popsicle worth 10,000 points drops down from the top of the screen.
0DC Brown Magic Cane 500 4 Collect X "X" Extend Bubbles. At the end of the stage:
  • All bubbles turn into 700 point Chocolate Popsicles
  • A Big Chocolate Popsicle worth 10,000 points drops down from the top of the screen.
0DD Orange Magic Cane 500 4 Collect X "T" Extend Bubbles. At the end of the stage:
  • All bubbles turn into 700 point Oranges.
  • A Big Orange worth 20,000 points drops down from the top of the screen.
0DE Red Magic Cane 500 4 Collect X blue "E" Extend Bubbles. At the end of the stage:
  • All bubbles turn into 700 point Watermelons.
  • A Big Watermelon worth 20,000 points drops down from the top of the screen.
0DF Yellow Magic Cane 500 4 Collect X "N" Extend Bubbles. At the end of the stage:
  • All bubbles turn into 700 point Eclairs.
  • A Big Eclair worth 30,000 points drops down from the top of the screen.
0E0 Gray Magic Cane 500 4 Collect X "D" Extend Bubbles. At the end of the stage:
  • All bubbles turn into 700 point Shortcakes.
  • A Big Shortcake worth 30,000 points drops down from the top of the screen.
0E3 Yellow Treasure Chest 1,000 3 Collect X Books of Death. At the end of the stage:
  • All bubbles turn into 700 point Yellow Diamonds.
  • A Big Yellow Diamond worth 70,000 points drops down from the top of the screen.
0E2 Blue-Purple Treasure Chest 1,000 3 Collect X Crosses of Thunder. At the end of the stage:
  • All bubbles turn into 700 point Blue-Purple Diamonds.
  • A Big Blue-Purple Diamond worth 40,000 points drops down from the top of the screen.
0E1 Blue Treasure Chest 1,000 3 Collect X Crosses of Water. At the end of the stage:
  • All bubbles turn into 700 point Blue Diamonds.
  • A Big Blue Diamond worth 50,000 points drops down from the top of the screen.
0DA Magic Necklace 5,000 15 20 25 30 Start X stages. Spawns a yellow spark that ricochets around the stage, destroying any enemies it hits.

Enemies drop 6,000 point Purple Diamonds.
117 Fire Necklace 4,000 20 Start X new games. After clearing the stage, 10 Extend Bubbles are added to the game's reserve.
126 Pink Heart 3,000 50 51 52 53 Pop X Water Bubbles. Summons a large purple bubble dragon as an assist character.
124 Orange Scroll 3,000 45 46 47 48 Pop X Water Bubbles. Summons Chack'n as an assist character.
123 Red Scroll 3,000 40 41 42 43 Pop X Water Bubbles. Summons Tiki as an assist character.
122 Green Scroll 3,000 35 36 37 38 Pop X Water Bubbles. Summons Hippopo as an assist character.
121 Blue Scroll 3,000 30 31 32 33 Pop X Water Bubbles. Summons Bob as an assist character.
120 Purple Scroll 3,000 25 26 27 28 Pop X Water Bubbles. Summons Ptolemy as an assist character.
11F Gray Scroll 3,000 20 21 22 23 Pop X Water Bubbles. Summons the Cannon from Space Invaders as an assist character.
0F1 Star Tiara 3,000 16 18 20 22 Defeat X enemies with Thunder Bubbles. Conjures a star storm that destroys all enemies. Enemies drop 6,000 point Purple Diamonds.
0F2 Moon Tiara 3,000 16 18 20 22 Defeat X enemies with Rainbow Bubbles. Intense sunlight destroys all enemies. Enemies drop 10,000 point Chocolate Cakes.
0F0 Book of Death 3,000 16 18 20 22 Defeat X enemies with Fire Bubbles. Triggers an earthquake, destroying all enemies. Enemies drop 8,000 point Yellow Diamonds.
10B Holy Grail 1,000 16 18 20 22 Defeat X enemies with Wind Bubbles. Destroys enemies with holy light. Enemies drop 10,000 point Gold Crowns.
10A Cannon? Laser Gun? What is this thing 1,000 60 Collect X end-of-stage drops. Doubles the value of popped enemies for the duration of the stage.
0EE Cross of Water 3,000 10 12 14 16 Collect X special items. Floods the stage, drowning all enemies. Enemies drop 7,000 point Blue Diamonds.
131 Cross of Fire 3,000 10 12 14 16 Defeat X enemies with Water Bubbles†. Gives the player 16 uses of fire breath for the current stage.
0EF Cross of Thunder 3,000 10 12 14 16 Collect X point items. Conjures a thunderstorm. Enemies hit by lightning bolts drop 8,000 point Yellow Diamonds.
10C Transformation Potion 1,000 80 Collect X treasure items. Changes all enemies into Zen-chan.
0D9 Ruby Ring 1,000 6 Collect X Pink Candies. Player gains 100 points when blowing bubbles for the duration of the stage.
0D8 Amethyst Ring 1,000 6 Collect X Green Candies. Player gains 500 points per jump and 50 points per bounce for the duration of the stage.
0D7 Crystal Ring 1,000 6 Collect X Blue Candies. Player gains 10 points per frame while walking for the duration of the stage.
127 Onusa 3,000 1 Collect X Big Onusa. Summons Sayo-chan as an assist character.
128 Magic Staff 3,000 1 Collect X Big Magic Staves. Summons Mr. Mikata (1P) or Peppl (2P) as an assist character.
125 Red Item. That's the closest thing to a name I could find for these Darius power-ups 3,000 1 Collect X Big Red Items. Summons Silver Hawk as an assist character.
0D6 Chack'n Heart 3,000 40 40 50 60 Collect X monster drops. For 20 seconds, enemies freeze and are destroyed on contact. Drops vary based on species.
0D5 Purple Holy Water 300 29 Fall into X pits. Turns the stage into a card-collecting bonus game with Joker Cards.
0D4 Red Holy Water 300 28 Fall into X pits. Turns the stage into a card-collecting bonus game with Diamond Cards.
0D3 Yellow Holy Water 300 27 Fall into X pits. Turns the stage into a card-collecting bonus game with Club Cards.
0D2 Gray Holy Water 300 26 Fall into X pits. Turns the stage into a card-collecting bonus game with Heart Cards.
0D1 Orange Holy Water 300 25 Fall into X pits. Turns the stage into a card-collecting bonus game with Spade Cards.
0D0 "Dynamite", supposedly. That's a cartoon bomb if ever there was one 200 70 80 90 100 Pop X Fire Bubbles. Explodes, destroying all enemies. Enemies drop 10,000 point Blue-Purple Diamonds.
0CF Clock 200 100 Pop X Thunder Bubbles. Stops time for 20 seconds.
109 Hourglass 1,000 100 Pop X Rainbow Bubbles. Slows down enemy movement for 20 seconds.
12F Pinwheel 2,000 100 Pop X Wind Bubbles. Greatly slows down the stage's air currents for 20 seconds.
102 Gray Scepter 1,200 20 Collect X bubble potions. Transforms all bubbles on the field into 700 point White Turnips.
101 Yellow Scepter 1,200 18 Collect X bubble potions. Transforms all bubbles on the field into 700 point Red Turnips
100 Red Scepter 1,200 16 Collect X bubble potions. Transforms all bubbles on the field into 700 point Onions.
0FF Orange Scepter 1,200 14 Collect X bubble potions. Transforms all bubbles on the field into 700 point Carrots.
0FE Brown Scepter 1,200 12 Collect X bubble potions. Transforms all bubbles on the field into 700 point Eggplants.
0FD Blue Scepter 1,200 10 Collect X bubble potions. Transforms all bubbles on the field into 700 point Green Peppers.
0CE Geta...I think. Maybe a skateboard? I dunno man 1,000 24,576 Walk for X frames. Increases player's speed by 3.
0CB Shoes 100 3,072 Walk for X frames. Increases player's speed by 1. Can be stacked up to three times.
0CA Green Candy 100 35 Perform X jumps. Enables rapid fire bubble blowing.
0C9 Blue Candy 100 35 Pop X normal bubbles. Increases player's bubble speed by 3. Can't be stacked.
0C8 Pink Candy 100 35 Shoot X normal bubbles. Increases player's bubble range by 3. Can't be stacked.

Glossary

  • Point items: These items spawn in a stage's point item slot two seconds after the stage starts.
  • Special items: These items spawn in a stage's special item slot seven seconds after the stage starts.
  • Big point items: Includes the items that drop down at the end of a stage after collecting a Top Hat, Treasure Chest, or Magic Cane, and the Big Diamonds that appear after collecting three Notes when the player already has a key of the same color.

    The Big Diamonds that pop out of treasure chests do not count as big point items.
  • Monster drops: Any item that spawns from the body of a defeated monster. The lone exceptions to this are the Gold Crowns created by the Holy Grail item, which are counted as point items.
  • Treasure items: Includes all items that pop out of treasure chests and the Diamonds that appear in secret rooms.

Counter Anomalies

  • Items that share the same conditions share the same counter, except for the Taito Coin and the Magic Necklace. Both check the number of stages started, but they use different counters: The Magic Necklace counter is at 40EA6A in RAM, and the Taito Coin counter is at 40EA6C.
  • The requirements for item 0CE make it nigh-impossible to get without credit feeding. For reference, 24,576 frames is equal to about 6 minutes and 50 seconds of walking. They'd also have to avoid having the Shoes spawn, which would reset the counter.
  • The counter for the Cross of Fire is bugged. Instead of increasing by 1 every time an enemy is defeated by a Water Bubble, it instead increases by 1 every frame a burst Water Bubble comes into contact with a bubbled enemy.
  • Hippopo's water bombs count as Water Bubbles for the purposes of the Cross of Fire and Pink Heart / Scroll counters.
  • The Big Candy item adds 1 to each candy collection counter.
  • The game keeps track of how many keys have been collected at 40EA8A in RAM, but no special item uses this as a spawn condition.

Miscellaneous

When the game is generating ceiling / pit bubbles, there's a small chance that a Special Bubble will spawn. The Special Bubble gives sixteen uses of fire breath for five stages. In Bubble Symphony, the chance of one spawning is even rarer than in the original Bubble Bobble: 1 in 16,384. The code for this starts at 0x44B02 in the main CPU.