A downloadable game

Download NowName your own price

Introduction

Bubble Bobble C64 Remastered is a fan-made radical enhancement—with all-new graphics—of the Commodore 64 version of Taito's Bubble Bobble, originally developed by Software Creations and published by Firebird in 1987. 

The game was met with critical and player acclaim upon release and is still regarded today as a great classic for the C64, as well as one of the best games ever released on the platform.

The project was started in January 2025 by Davide Bottino, retro games creator of Toki C64 Remastered fame and journalist at Zzap! Magazine Italia, with the goal of improving the graphical fidelity of the C64 version while preserving its classic gameplay. Here's what Davide says:

"Bubble Bobble was love at first sight. I was 11 years old when, at a friend’s house, I first saw that little cassette from a newsstand bootleg edition called Bolle Bolle. It only took a moment: those vibrant colors, the lively graphics, the quirky characters, the tons of bonuses and power-ups to collect, the catchy music that got stuck in your head, and the stellar gameplay. Whether playing solo or co-op, every game felt like an epic adventure, with hours flying by in the desperate yet wonderful attempt to clear all 100 levels. The C64 version was my first encounter with Bubble Bobble, and it’s with this version that I built my fondest memories.
Years later I stumbled upon the fabled arcade cabinet. It was a revelation. The game was even faster, more frantic, with a bonus system that responded almost magically to the player’s actions. Thanks to emulation, over the years I’ve been able to revisit both versions and study their differences. The C64 version remains an incredible technical achievement for its time—a solid recreation of the arcade original and an excellent game for our beloved breadbin, still enjoyable to this day. However, to be fair, it’s not a "perfect" port by any stretch. The simplified mechanics mean that the spirit of the original didn’t fully carry over, and while the graphics are overall very nice, they could have been more faithful to the coin-op and better optimized for both modern monitors and CRTs. Player characters could use a slight speed boost, too.
That’s why Bubble Bobble C64 Remastered was born. My goal is to bridge the aesthetic and stylistic gap with the original, making the game shine like never before on modern screens while staying true to its soul. And who knows? If the team grows with passionate and talented coders, we might even enhance it under the hood. That would be the ultimate dream! If there’s one thing Bubble Bobble taught me as a kid, it’s that teamwork always leads to the best things."

Key Enhancement Goals

Technically speaking, Bubble Bobble C64 Remastered is a hack of the original program rather than a complete rewrite, featuring fully redesigned sprites and backgrounds. The new graphics, directly converted from the arcade version, offer greater detail and fidelity to the original look and feel, while being optimized for both CRT and modern monitors, to offer the best possible experience on real hardware end emulators alike.

Development Status

v1.0 available!

Version 1.0 was released October 6 2025 with the following improvements.

  • Completely Redesigned Graphics
    • Bub, Bob, enemies, the final boss… everybody got a full makeover: redrawn and animated pixel by pixel, straight from the arcade original!
    • Most levels have been completely redesigned; the rest got a nice polish or color tweak. Some even proudly strut in 3 colors instead of just 2!
    • Food and bonus items are 100% juicier and some even got swapped out for fresher ones!
    • “Pon” is back when you pop bubbles (because yes, it matters)!
    • And the font? 100% Taito arcade approved!
  • Miscellaneous Fixes and Improvements
    • Popped enemies drop the right goodies (yes, peaches and grapes!).
    • Secret Doors and Teleport Doors each have their own graphics now.
    • Fixed several inaccuracies (potions, bombs making the screen flash green, big and small diamonds colors not matching...).
    • ...And more!
  • Continue System Fix
    • Forget the old split-second continue! Now you can press the button anytime after Game Over — credits permitting.
  • New Intro
    • A beautiful fan-made loading picture kicks things off in style.
    • A brand new rendition of the iconic arcade tune to get you in the mood.

Credits

Bubble Bobble Remastered Team

  • Graphics & Coordination: Davide Bottino 
  • Hacking & Tools: Victor Widell
  • Intro screen: Simon Marson
  • Intro music: Aldo Chiummo
  • Intro code: Antonio Savona

Original C64 Version Team (1987)

  • Coding: Stephen Ruddy
  • Graphics: Andrew R. Threlfall
  • Music: Peter Clarke

Disclaimer

This project has been created in good faith and with the utmost respect for Taito and their work. It is an unofficial hack of the existing official Commodore 64 port from 1987, with the goal of enhancing and celebrating a video game classic while preserving the spirit of the original game. The project is entirely free of charge and is not for profit. It has not been created or authorized by Taito and does not intend to infringe upon any intellectual property rights. It is a tribute to the game and its cultural legacy.

Updated 7 days ago
StatusReleased
Rating
Rated 5.0 out of 5 stars
(9 total ratings)
AuthorDave's Retro Forge
GenrePlatformer
Tags2D, 8-Bit, Arcade, Commodore 64, Homebrew, Local multiplayer, Remake, Retro, Singleplayer
Average sessionAbout an hour
InputsJoystick
MultiplayerLocal multiplayer
Player count1 - 2
LinksCommunity

Download

Download NowName your own price

Click download now to get access to the following files:

Bubble Bobble Remastered 1.0 - Manual.pdf 24 MB
Bubble Bobble Remastered 1.0.prg 49 kB

Development log

Comments

Log in with itch.io to leave a comment.

Hello, in my last issue of Retro News Flash, I covered the game Bubble Bobble Remstered and ran a short report on it. It's a really great game, I really liked it. All the best from Magisthan´s Spielekiste. 🙂

thank you 😃

Excellent port!  Happy to see the continue but fixed as well.  Runs well on NTSC.  Could you implement pressing fire button on the main menu for starting the game instead of having to press 1?

Hi, thank you! Nice nickname, I love RoboCop! Yes, all going well, the fire-to-start feature is coming in v1.1, along with two-button controls.

I would like to see a fix on the "CONTINUE" issue. I don't understand why there is not a countdown if you want to start over again? 

(1 edit)

press Q to quit to the title screen. There are that much changes we can do to the original code

(1 edit)

Very nice remaster of one of the best C64 ports ever released. Our German-language review can be found in our recorded livestream starting at 01:26:33. English subtitles are also available. Subscription to our YouTube and Twitch channel is welcome. 🙂

(+1)

thanks for the video!

Thank you for this, here is my tribute...

Thank you for making a video for our little remaster!😃👍🏻

Absolutely amazing! Loved Bubble Bobble!

(+1)

thanks, enjoy!😃👍🏻

(+1)

My fiancée told me she used to love this game. So I want to play it with her.

(3 edits)

Amazing job! It's still worth playing the game again. ☺

Thank you! That's exactly what I hoped for. Enjoy!

(2 edits)

I played this game while helping the Zzap! team fix / test my new disk menu for the Zzap! 64 Micro Action covermount. I love the loading bitmap and the intro music. I am glad the main game music was kept from the original as I would have been lost without it, since I bought the original in a C64 "Taito Arcade Hits"  games compilation by Imagine back in the past, The game graphics are polished, and the game characters are still cute.  This game deserves a classic looking tape loader like Visi Load, (I have a tape loader that looks a bit like that loader in Totally Tape 1 called Totally Mad . I remember the original Bubble Bobble using Bleepload.

Thank you Richard for your kind words! My original copy of Bubble Bobble was on disk without any loading picture. Do you mean a classic tape loader with color bars? And music while loading?

Yes, I mean't exactly that. :)

Awesome remastered game !

Thank you!!

Great remaster - i always loved this game in the arcades and when it came out on the C64. Pretty good job ...only arrived to LVL 32 :)

thank you 😊 practice makes perfect 👍🏻 

I have a suggestion... on the screen for choosing the number of players (1 or 2), pressing FIRE will start the game with one player.

One of the worst things about many C64 games is that they rely on the keyboard to START playing.

(+1)

This is probably coming in v1.1 with two buttons control

Genial!!!!

Ragazzi complimenti, lavoro a dir po poco spettacolo!

grazie 🙏🏻 divertiti!

Surely a good work! Me and a friend did a longplay covering every level to show any difference!

And now i'm into Bubble Bobble so much i'm searching a c64 tape with the "old" version :D

Awesome job, thank you!!

As for the tape, I too went down the same rabbit hole in the past :D

what system does this code run on? How do I play it?

Commodore 64. You either play on a real machine or an emulator like VICE.

You should add sounds when they shoot the Bubbles out of their mouths.  Also would it be possible to shift the image to the CENTER of the screen and remove the scores from the right and put them on the top and bottom with transparency showing the game behinid the scores so that the game is FULLSCREEN?  Anyhow adding sound to themshooting the Bubbles would be great. Havent tried this in NTSC mode as I am used to a faster speed and music.. will try today.

(2 edits)

the play area is already “fullscreen”, it is exactly the same width as the arcade and just 1 row shorter, so removing the stats from the right side won’t do any good as there’s no room on the top or bottom.

This is my kind of Remaster - the Best kind. 10/10


Very nice!!

I loved this as a kid and still do today. Great remaster! Made a longplay as a tribute.

awesome man, thank you!

Total amazing work! Thank you for my C64 life!

thanks, enjoy!! 😉 

Hi, great job! However, I have some doubts: many of us would like to showcase this gem of a game at fairs and events dedicated to retrocomputing, so why not release this version with an attract mode that would help us preserve CRT monitors? Even just having the image cycle between the main title and the credits page would be enough. 

Additionally, I find anachronistic that the game still uses the keyboard to start. I understand that you've tried to be as faithful to the original as possible, but by keeping that cumbersome aspect, you're not really doing justice to the original arcade title. Nevertheless, you've done an excellent job. Well done!

(1 edit)

Hi!

Thanks a lot for your kind words and great suggestions! 😊

We’ll definitely consider adding an attract mode in a future update. The main challenge is technical — we have to stick closely to the game’s original structure, and deeper changes require a full reverse engineering, plus there’s very little free memory left, if at all.

Same goes for the keyboard start: we agree it would feel more natural on joystick, let’s see what happens in v1.1!

Thanks again for the support!

Crystalct from lemon64 has modiefied the original BB (and many others) to start with fire button, perhaps he can help? https://github.com/crystalct/5plusbuttonsJoystick

(1 edit)

He is in fact already helping us for v1.1, but thank you very much for the heads up anyway!!👌🏻👌🏻👌🏻😃

maybe add "How to run" instructions for noobs like me, pls?

(+1)

Sure! 😊

If you’re using VICE, it’s super easy — just drag and drop the .prg file onto the emulator window, and the game will start automatically.

If you don’t have VICE yet, you can grab it for free online (it’s the most popular Commodore 64 emulator). Once installed, you’re ready to play!

Brilliant job

Awesome video thank you!

(1 edit)

Sounds great! 😊 Did you fix that special items appear on the right condition?(https://strategywiki.org/wiki/Bubble_Bobble/Special_items)

Hi there, I hope you don't mind, but I put this awesome release in with this months best homebrew releases.

Awesome, thank you!

you are most welcome :)

Excellent!! Well done and thank you!

enjoy!!😃👍🏻

Deleted 10 days ago
(+1)

thanks 😊 

does it support a second button for jump?

(+2)

not yet but it’s coming in version 1.1!

Nice!!

nice

Looks great! Also love that I can continue now! although if i don't continue the game seems to go on forever even though I am dead

oh i can hit q to go back

(1 edit)

thank you, enjoy!! Yes the game now waits for your input, we could only fit that much new code without breaking something. You can hit Q to quit to the home screen. I hope it’s an acceptable compromise

Awesome game!

thank you enjoy!!

Awesome, can't wait to give this a try! The original version has a bug where you can kill enemies through walls when both you and the enemy are touching the wall and you're facing right (your bubble pops and takes the enemy with it).  Will that be fixed? It makes some levels very easy. I like that there is a strategy for each level, but this bug makes it easier to "break" levels rather than solve them properly.

Isn't this also a thing when facing left?

Nope, only in one direction (just tried it out again, in level 9 where the enemies drop down along the side of this funnel/chute thing and you can hide behind it). It's also not possible on the PC version, FWIW. Another level that "breaks" is the "heart" (level 13?), where you can stand on the upper left edge and just shoot bubbles until you've hit all enemies inside (though sometimes time runs out first).

Due to my style of play, I never really noticed or assumed it was a bug. Now I want to try!

One thing I’ve always noticed, which I believe is related, can be clearly seen in level 13, the “heart.” If you stand on the highest platforms of the heart, just under the openings in the ceiling, and grab a water bubble from a precise spot, the stream passes through the platform. This is very useful for safely sweeping away enemies or entering the heart. You can do this from both sides, but on the right the correct position seems to be shifted further to the right.

Dave let me know if you would like me to promote your remastered Commodore 64 games on my X channel, for free of course. x.com/museumcommodore

(1 edit)

A speed-up using C128 2mhz mode would be great as the original occasionally stutters or slows down.


I wonder if you could get some nice colour effects using the C128's extra video ram bank?

(+1)

Sorry but a heavy rewrite of this old game is out of the scope of the remaster... Unless some expert C64 coder wants to join, but I doubt it.

(+1)

Looking good, can't wait to play it :)

(+1)

thank you 😊 hopefully it won’t be too long 

When ?

(+1)

looks really nice so far! bravo!

thank you 😊 

Ciao Davide, avresti spazio per aggiungere la gestione del 2° fire (gestione POTX) opzionale per saltare?

Ciao, è una cosa che verificheremo

Se vuoi dare un occhiata su come viene giocare con due fire, nella mia pagina github https://github.com/crystalct/5plusbuttonsJoystick trovi la mia versione di bubble bobble per C64 GS

Ciao, come possiamo sentirci in pvt?

Deleted 106 days ago

Oppure se hai un account su lemon64, rispondimi in questo thread:
https://www.lemon64.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=80233

very good

😃👍🏻