For the young people out there, Bubble Bobble is a puzzle platformer where two players can play as Bub and Bob - two humans who got themselves turned into Dinosaurs and their girlfriends taken away, which is what usually happens, I guess.

In the game your Dinosaur pals have to go through 100 different levels, all within a single screen, and your objective is to destroy all the enemies on screen. To kill enemies, the player can blow bubbles, which will capture them up, and then you have to Pop them. The bubbles can also be used to get up to high platforms you usually wouldn't be able to reach. The game would get harder and harder, to the point of near impossibility unless you were absolutely skilled at the craft.

Bubble Bobble has been keeping itself alive through hand held consoles with Bubble Bobble Old & New for GBA, Revolution for the Nintendo DS, Evolution for PSP and Double Shot for the DS - expansions on the original formula. While the original game still stands up to the test of time, they're missing one important ingredient - single screen cooperative play.

Now sure, these games have supported Cooperative, but the problem is you require two systems to play. That's already too much to ask for a simple, arcade puzzle game. It needs to be kept as simple as possible.

And that's why a remake for ALL downloadable services would be the next step.

A new Bubble Bobble game, in the same vein as Bomberman Live, would be a fantastic addition to the XBLA, PSN and WiiWare. Take the core aspect that everyone wants and give people exactly that for 10 dollars. Bubble Bobble in a simple 3D graphic style similar to the upcoming Lode Runner remake could be done across all platforms without much of a graphical dip.

A downloadable Bubble Bobble game could have new maps taking advantage of the wide screen format, 2-player local play which has been missing for some time, and online multiplayer. Even the Wii could do online cooperative play, and could be one of the few games to do so!

While Bubble Bobble is more fun with a person next to you, it's not the sort of game which requires players to tell their partner to "go here" or "go there" like many other cooperative games - everything is on the screen at all times, and is simple enough that the other player shouldn't need to be told what to do.

A game in this format would also bring back the big draw back in the arcade game - getting the high score. While hand held and regular console games still have a high score, they don't work on a worldwide scale like Leaderboards do, or don't get as much exposure.

The game should take a page out of the New Super Mario Bros. book - it could start with a set of similar levels to the original game, and then expand further with new levels. More levels can be easily supplemented into the game via downloadable content with new (or old) designs from Bubble Bobble Part 2, Symphony, and Memories with additional high score tables.

Bubble Bobble is a Taito franchise, however the past few games have not been made directly by them - Rising Star games have been responsible for the recent DS Bubble Bobble Double Shot and New Zealand Story Revolution - which for all accounts have been very close to the original games. Taito themselves however, have already got one title up on Xbox Live Arcade - EXIT, a port of the PSP puzzler. The guys behind EXIT have previous experience on XBLA and downloadable content, would be the best developers to take on this classic arcade title.

It would be a great addition to the Xbox Live Arcade, Playstation Network, and the Wiiware, and really could be released on all platforms, and bring out the fanbases that continue on all platforms. It'd be a great excercise in cross platforming, and one that could work within all contraints.