I spotted this on eBay and it really confused me, i hadnt heard of such a game for the Megadrive. I was a little sceptical at first, incase it was a famicom bootleg, untested and marked up as a Megadrive game. However once i looked into some details, the only ones i could uncover, it seems there is a Korean Version of this avalaible (According to Guardiana.net) The seller offered a return within 14 days (according to the auction) if i wasnt happy so i leaped on it and had my fingers crossed It finally arrived today after being on the edge of my seat all week waiting for it to arrive It is indeed a Megadrive release/version! However all the mysteries need solving!! Now what makes me curious is that the Korean release, is actually written in Korean all over the box etc... Look at the pictures below... The box is completely different to mine, the dimensions of the Korean release suggest it was in a hard plastic case like most MD releases. But mine is in cardboard with english text on both the front and back! I havent been able to track down an existing Rom of Magic Bubble yet to see if there are any differences as of yet. I have tried to dump this game to Rom for further research using my Super Magic Drive, but im having no luck with that as of yet, just getting bad checksums, ill look into it as ive only tried twice... Here are some screenshots... The game jumps straight past the 'Licensed By Sega' screen into the game! Some bubbles dance for an intro scene... Gameplay is like a mixture of Pop n Pop, Tetris and Puzzle Bobble! Infact for the die hard gamers, gameplay seems to be the same as Bubble Bath Babes for NES!! The best screen, the pause screen A sleeping fish So i was wondering does anyone have any information on this, i cant find it in the DP guide nor anywhere on the net apart from scans of the Korean version on Guardiana. One guy did get in touch with me via eBay about my purchase claiming there are only 5 copies of this in existance, how true this is i do not know... So im hoping someone on here has some further information. Were there only so many copies made? Where was it sold? Who are C&E Inc (Computer and Entertainment Inc)? What rarity should be given to this? Pal Version or NTSC Version? (this ill be able to clarify once dumped) Is it somewhat based loosley on this? http://www.klov.com/game_detail.php?letter=M&game_id=8492 Is it a copy of Bubble Bath Babes for Kids!? Any information will be greatly appricated Thanks! :icon_bigg
http://www.guardiana.net/database/view.php?id=1263#v3168 That's all I got EDIT: Oups, I should have read your post before posting that
Iirc C&E were a Taiwanese company that produced several unlicensed games for the MD. Afaik this was the only one at the time to see an English release. (Beggar Prince has since seen one) I can't recall who localised it but it should be stated in the manual. It should run on both Pal and NTSC machines. Not overly rare but not too common either. I prefer 'original' pirates to unlicensed games nyself, but its all good. Edit I'm pretty sure I've seen a Tectoy version too (ie Brazil MD)
Cant find any info about it Adam. Looks like the guy sold one to someone else a few days prior to selling you that one, so maybe there are more than 5 in existance?
I've seen this one a couple of time on ebay. But each time, while checking ended listings rofl. I'll have to save a favourite search for it. BTW, could you provide front, back and side cover scans so I can add this version on guardiana ?
... Quoted directly from my post over @ Digital Press (in case anyone cares): "Magic Bubble was produced by C&E (Taiwan) for the Megadrive in 1992, and released in 1993. It is a new take on their Famicom game, "Mermaids of Atlantis", which was released in the USA by AVE. Magic Bubble is the only C&E game on the Megadrive which is in English. Perhaps, it was originally planned as an export to the USA but this is not yet known. However, as the president of C&E does not remember the game being exported to Korea, the Korean release of Magic Bubble may not have been authorized. I am learning more as I can."
... Actually I do not speak Chinese. But I work very closely with several game companies in Taiwan and have a few translators to help along the way.
Cool. How did BP go in the end, did you sell all the copies produced? And what about future projects? Keep the MD alive!
... We produced 900 copies. Out of those 900, we've sold over 850 worldwide, with the remaining copies continuing to sell at this point. Yeah, we plan to continue supporting the MD.
Great news on both counts! Any plans for a second run? What else could we expect (go on..give us an assembler exclusive;-)) ?
... Actually, the first run was for 600 copies and the second run was for 300 more. At this time, I think 900 is the final sum of our production. I can't announce anything yet, until we are ready to release... but thanks for your interest & support.
