Unused Stage Data

This is a sub-page of Bubble Symphony (Arcade).

Unused Stage Data#

Before the game was released, all unused stage layouts were removed. While the layouts may be long gone, other data like names, stage settings, and, in rare cases, enemy data, remains in the game ROMs. Put the following codes in the appropriate MAME cheat file (see below) to modify Stage A-L2, Step Cabinet, with unused stage data:

• bublbob2o.xml (Bubble Bobble II Ver 2.5 - World Set)
• bubsymphe.xml (Bubble Symphony Ver 2.5 - World Set)
• bubsymphu.xml (Bubble Symphony Ver 2.5 - USA Set)
• bubsymphj.xml (Bubble Symphony Ver 2.5 - Japan Set)

  <cheat desc="Round A-L2 Settings + Name">
    <parameter>
      <item value="0x0B100000">Stage 000</item>
      <item value="0x0B200001">Stage 001</item>
      <item value="0x0B600005">Stage 005</item>
      <item value="0x0B800007">Stage 007</item>
      <item value="0x0B900008">Stage 008</item>
      <item value="0x0BA00009">Stage 009</item>
      <item value="0x0BC0000B">Stage 011</item>
      <item value="0x0BD0000C">Stage 012</item>
      <item value="0x0BF0000E">Stage 014</item>
      <item value="0x0C500014">Stage 020</item>
      <item value="0x0CA00019">Stage 025</item>
      <item value="0x0CE0001D">Stage 029</item>
      <item value="0x0D400023">Stage 035</item>
      <item value="0x0D600025">Stage 037</item>
      <item value="0x0D800027">Stage 039</item>
      <item value="0x0DA00029">Stage 041</item>
      <item value="0x0DB0002A">Stage 042</item>
      <item value="0x0DD0002C">Stage 044</item>
      <item value="0x0DF0002E">Stage 046</item>
      <item value="0x0E300032">Stage 050</item>
      <item value="0x0E500034">Stage 052</item>
      <item value="0x0E600035">Stage 053</item>
      <item value="0x0E700036">Stage 054</item>
      <item value="0x0EB0003A">Stage 058</item>
      <item value="0x0ED0003C">Stage 060</item>
      <item value="0x0F100040">Stage 064</item>
      <item value="0x0F200041">Stage 065</item>
      <item value="0x0FB0004A">Stage 074</item>
      <item value="0x0FF0004E">Stage 078</item>
      <item value="0x10300052">Stage 082</item>
      <item value="0x10400053">Stage 083</item>
      <item value="0x10900058">Stage 088</item>
      <item value="0x10A00059">Stage 089</item>
      <item value="0x10C0005B">Stage 091</item>
      <item value="0x10D0005C">Stage 092</item>
      <item value="0x10F0005E">Stage 094</item>
      <item value="0x11300062">Stage 098</item>
      <item value="0x12600075">Stage 117</item>
      <item value="0x12700076">Stage 118</item>
      <item value="0x12B0007A">Stage 122</item>
      <item value="0x12F0007E">Stage 126</item>
      <item value="0x13100080">Stage 128</item>
      <item value="0x13400083">Stage 131</item>
      <item value="0x13700086">Stage 134</item>
      <item value="0x13900088">Stage 136</item>
      <item value="0x13C0008B">Stage 139</item>
      <item value="0x13E0008D">Stage 141</item>
      <item value="0x13F0008E">Stage 142</item>
      <item value="0x14100090">Stage 144</item>
      <item value="0x14200091">Stage 145</item>
      <item value="0x14500094">Stage 148</item>
      <item value="0x14600095">Stage 149</item>
      <item value="0x14700096">Stage 150</item>
      <item value="0x14800097">Stage 151</item>
      <item value="0x14900098">Stage 152</item>
      <item value="0x14A00099">Stage 153</item>
      <item value="0x14D0009C">Stage 156</item>
      <item value="0x14E0009D">Stage 157</item>
      <item value="0x14F0009E">Stage 158</item>
      <item value="0x151000A0">Stage 160</item>
      <item value="0x155000A4">Stage 164</item>
      <item value="0x156000A5">Stage 165</item>
      <item value="0x157000A6">Stage 166</item>
      <item value="0x159000A8">Stage 168</item>
      <item value="0x15B000AA">Stage 170</item>
      <item value="0x15D000AC">Stage 172</item>
      <item value="0x15F000AE">Stage 174</item>
      <item value="0x162000B1">Stage 177</item>
      <item value="0x164000B3">Stage 179</item>
      <item value="0x165000B4">Stage 180</item>
      <item value="0x167000B6">Stage 182</item>
      <item value="0x168000B7">Stage 183</item>
      <item value="0x16A000B9">Stage 185</item>
      <item value="0x16C000BB">Stage 187</item>
      <item value="0x16D000BC">Stage 188</item>
      <item value="0x16F000BE">Stage 190</item>
      <item value="0x170000BF">Stage 191</item>
      <item value="0x171000C0">Stage 192</item>
      <item value="0x172000C1">Stage 193</item>
      <item value="0x173000C2">Stage 194</item>
      <item value="0x175000C4">Stage 196</item>
      <item value="0x176000C5">Stage 197</item>
      <item value="0x177000C6">Stage 198</item>
      <item value="0x17D000CC">Stage 204</item>
      <item value="0x17E000CD">Stage 205</item>
      <item value="0x17F000CE">Stage 206</item>
      <item value="0x181000D0">Stage 208</item>
      <item value="0x186000D5">Stage 213</item>
      <item value="0x18C000DB">Stage 219</item>
      <item value="0x18D000DC">Stage 220</item>
      <item value="0x18F000DE">Stage 222</item>
      <item value="0x192000E1">Stage 225</item>
      <item value="0x195000E4">Stage 228</item>
      <item value="0x196000E5">Stage 229</item>
      <item value="0x198000E7">Stage 231</item>
      <item value="0x19E000ED">Stage 237</item>
      <item value="0x1B400103">Stage 259</item>
      <item value="0x1B600105">Stage 261</item>
      <item value="0x1B700106">Stage 262</item>
      <item value="0x1BB0010A">Stage 266</item>
    </parameter>
    <script state="run">
      <action>maincpu.md@477CC=param</action>
    </script>
    <script state="off">
      <action>maincpu.md@477CC=0x0F500044</action>
    </script>
  </cheat>

  <cheat desc="Round A-L2 Enemies">
    <parameter>
      <item value="0x21E6">Stage 053</item>
      <item value="0x2200">Stage 054</item>
      <item value="0x2270">Stage 058</item>
      <item value="0x2400">Stage 078</item>
      <item value="0x300C">Stage 262</item>
    </parameter>
    <script state="run">
      <action>maincpu.mw@477C4=param</action>
    </script>
    <script state="off">
      <action>maincpu.mw@477C4=0x2328</action>
    </script>
  </cheat>

Stage Names#

Return of Ishtar Rooms#

It seems that prior to coming up with their own stage names, the developers instead used the full set of room names from The Return of Ishtar as filler. These placeholder names can be found throughout the name table and appear in the exact same sequence as The Return of Ishtar. The first twenty-nine names are from removed stages:

Copies of the "Jailer Chamber" name also appear in the following slots: 117, 118, 131, 134, 148, 150, 157, 165, 182, 183, 185, 188, 190, 193, 194, 197, and 222.

The thirtieth placeholder name, "Cursed Room", is actually used by the training stage! Accessing Round Q-1 through the stage select will display the stage name and give the player full control. Beating the stage takes the player to Round A-2.

Two other stages, "Junction" and "Water Duct", share the names of rooms in The Return of Ishtar but are out of sequence, so they were probably picked deliberately. The name "Large Hall" appears twice: Once in slot 006, where it's used as the name of Round G-1, and once at 025 as filler in the correct Ishtar sequence

Boss Stage Names#

In the prototype, boss stages had their names displayed at the start like any other stage. The final game checks whether or not the player is entering a boss round, and will disable the display if true. While Rounds A through E have blank entries for their boss stages, other rounds have names that are simply not displayed:

It seems that the developers never settled on a name for the Mighta boss, switching between "Super Maita", "Super Mighta", and "Great Mighta".

To force the game to display names during boss stages, place the following code in the appropriate MAME XML cheat file:

  <cheat desc="Force Stage Names">
    <script state="run">
      <action>maincpu.mw@045744=0x600C</action>
    </script>
    <script state="off">
      <action>maincpu.mw@045744=0x6708</action>
    </script>
  </cheat>

Other Unused Names#

Thirty-seven names come from rounds that were removed from the game:

"Opera House, "Fish", "Pachinko", and "Present For You" all appear in the prototype. The maps for "Cat" and "Main" are also in the prototype but cannot be accessed without cheating.

All of the game's secret rooms share the same name, "The Rainbow", which uses name slot 255. Enable the "Force Stage Names" cheat before entering a secret room to see it.

This name appears fourteen more times in the name table in the following slots: 204, 205, 206, 208, 213, 225, 228, 229, 231, 237, 259, 261, 262, and 266.

Prototype-Era Stage Data#

The layouts for the following stages can be seen in the prototype. Any stage not listed here lacks enemy data and uses the exact same stage settings from the prototype. Again, stage layouts are not in the ROM; the maps shown here are for illustrative purposes only.

Legend

	Point item spawn coordinates.
	Special item spawn coordinates.
	Music note spawn coordinates.
	The amount of seconds it takes for the "Hurry up!" warning to appear after the stage starts.
	The amount of time it takes for the Skel-monsta to spawn after the "Hurry up!" warning appears.
	The amount of time it takes for a bubble to pop after it starts moving.
	Enemy speed modifier. Along with the difficulty variable, this influences how fast enemies move.
	Bubble speed. The actual speed is (X / 32) pixels per frame, so a bubble with a value of 16 would move 1 pixel every 2 frames.

While this stage was already finished and part of the prototype's normal gameplay loop, the enemy speed modifier changed from +2 to +4 at some point afterwards.

This stage originally used placeholder data for enemy spawns and stage settings. The stage settings were properly filled in some time after the prototype, while enemy changes, if any, have been lost to time.

• The point item now spawns on the highest platform above 1P's spawn area, the special item on the platform below that, and the music note was hidden on the platform in the upper-right. Note that both the point and special items would actually be floating 8 pixels above their platforms using the prototype layout; it's likely that both platforms were lowered one block down before the stage was discarded.
• The stage clear time was reduced by 10 seconds.
• The bubble popping speed changed from 15 seconds to just 5 seconds.
• Whatever enemies would have been placed in here would be 4 stages faster.

Like Opera House, this stage was already complete and put to use in the prototype. The only known difference is the reduction of Rainbow Bubble spawns from 50% to 25%.

This stage used placeholder data in the prototype that was later filled in. Unlike the Shunned Cavern, this also includes enemy data:

• Two Bake Chouchins were placed on the mountain's peak, and four Puka Pukas now spawn inside the mountain.
• The point item was placed in the left cloud, the special item in the right cloud, and the music note was hidden in the mountain's snow-capped top.
• Enemies were given a +2 speed boost.

• The spawn coordinates of the second and fifth Pulpuls were changed to fix an issue where they'd end up inside the Trophy's handles. The first and fourth Pulpuls' X coordinates were changed for symmetry reasons.
• The point item was moved closer to the neck of the trophy.
• Players have ten less seconds to clear the stage, and enemies were sped up three stages.
• Rainbow Bubbles were removed from the stage; bubble popping times were increased from 15 to 20 seconds to compensate.

• While this stage was given proper enemy spawns and stage settings, they don't match up with the prototype layout at all, suggesting that this stage was heavily reworked after the prototype:

:*The three Yuki-Bombos spawn below the plus sign, in the middle of the second 1, and on top of the second 1 respectively.

:*The two Hidegons spawn in the middle of the lowest bar of the equal sign and directly below that bar.

:*The two Mightas spawn on the tip of the third 1 and in the middle of the third 1.

:*The point item spawns in-between the first 1 and the plus sign, the special item on the left edge of the lower bar of the equals sign, and the music note is hidden in the upper-left corner.

• 10 seconds were taken off the clock.
• Enemy and bubble popping speeds were increased, and bubble speeds were doubled.

While this stage still mostly uses placeholder data, the positions of three of the four enemies were adjusted to match the layout: Knightron appears on the Silver Hawk's top wing (albeit 8 pixels above where it was in the prototype), the Uni Bo was moved below that wing, and the Zen-Chan's spawn position was moved to the Silver Hawk's nose. For whatever reason, the Invader wasn't changed at all, so it still spawns in the ceiling.

• In the prototype, the point item is in the large pit in the center, and the special item spawns in 2P's starting area. The updated locations spawn them near the 4 block wide platforms to the left and right of the pit.
• Standard 10 second reduction in stage clear time.
• Both enemy and bubble popping speeds were greatly sped up after the prototype.

Players were given five more seconds to beat the boss (whatever it would be) before Skel-monsta appeared.

New Stages#

The following stages postdate the prototype, so their layouts are a complete mystery: The only hints are the stage names and item spawn locations.

Round L-8 is "The Chase One". Its followup was cut, leaving the name as something of a non sequitur.

"Tyuruntyurun" (ちゅるんちゅるん) is an onomatopoeia for slowly slurping or sipping something, like noodles or a soda through a straw.

"Amedama" (あめだま) refers to any round or ball-shaped candy. There's an enemy in the game with the same name that looks like wrapped candy.

"Yamasan no Hako" is "Yama-san's Box". Whoever that is.

"Buhi Buhi" (ブヒブヒ) is an oinking sound, like from a pig.

"Tukubai" or tsukubai (蹲踞), is a washbasin that's placed at the entrance of holy places for visitors to ritually purify their hands and mouth.

This is the only "new" stage to have its enemy data intact...and it's a single Monsta. Wow.