Bubble Witch 3 Saga 8.2.2

Some games have a tried and true formula and their mechanics seem to be reproduced over and over again, even after decades. Bubble Witch 3 Saga picks up Puzzle Bobble (Bust-A-Move), and adds a lot of new twists to make this old game feel fresh again.

Stella, the Witch walks out of her forest hut one morning, just to witness Wilbur the tom cat kidnapping a bunch of fairies (not the confused type). In her pursuit, she must solve a series of bubble puzzles, using the standard bubble launching technique in which you aim at hitting bubbles of the same color in order to break them apart. Level objectives aren't always complete removal of bubbles. In some you will need to burst specific bubbles in which owls are trapped. Poor owls, they barely fit in one of those orbs. Some orbs can also contain imprisoned fairies. Bursting such ones will release the fairy, who will immediately burst another bubble of a different color. Isn't that nice of her! New mechanics and level types are introduced as you advance through the game. One permanent upgrade that will come in handy fairly often is Nero's power. Nero is your trusty familiar, who absorbs destroyed bubbles to charge up a super shot, that bursts everything in a radius of two bubbles (hexagons).

The levels are fairly easy to complete, but that is because the bubble arrangement is not random. usually there are big chunks of a single color, hanging from small chunks of one different color. You'll often get exactly the colors that you need, so you'll even get to ignore Nero's power.

Visually, the game is very well done. Stella is a peach, and all the characters are well drawn and animated. Special occurrences are followed by busy animations that are pleasant to the eye.

Conclusion

Considering the difficulty ramp, I'd say Bubble Witch is most likely addressed to a younger audience. Either that, or to people who'd rather have a relaxing game experience.