Short answer
This is a faithful JavaScript port of the 1987 ZX Spectrum Bubble Bobble, by cookertron, rebuilt from the original Z80 code with both the 48K and 128K versions. The repository holds nothing from the tape, so the full page is built from your own copy. A debug page is on the Releases page for testing. Created on 16 October 2026.
Bubble Bobble is Taito’s 1986 arcade game. This project ports the ZX Spectrum conversion that Firebird Software published in 1987, written by Software Creations: code by Mike Follin, graphics by Andrew R. Threlfall and music by Tim Follin. The tape holds one game with two branches, the 48K version with beeper sound and the 128K version with AY music; the port reproduces both.
This site is not affiliated with the project, Taito or the original publisher.
What it is
- A single-file browser page that reproduces the Spectrum game in JavaScript. It boots like the machine, through the load’s control select.
- Not an emulator: it was reconstructed from the original Z80 code and runs none of it.
- A method as well as a port: it was made with the author’s “Spectrum Port Kit”, and the repository includes the measuring tools, tests and findings.
What you need
- Your own copy of the 1987 Spectrum tape: the repository holds the port’s source, tools, tests and docs, but not the tape image, the decoded assets or the built pages, so the page can’t be built from the repository alone.
- The project’s tools to build the page from your tape, as the README describes.
How to play
Each player picks Keyboard (and can redefine keys), Sinclair, Kempston or Cursor at the control select; 1 or 2 at the title starts a one- or two-player game. The page’s own keys are Alt combinations, and Alt+M switches between the 48K and 128K versions; 128K is the default. Sound starts at the first key press or click.
Not working?
- No sound: browsers wait for a key press or click.
- Kempston does nothing: the README lists this as a declared departure on the faithful page.
More classics in a browser: Alley Cat, SimCity Classic.
FAQ
Can I play Bubble Bobble in a browser with this port?
Only partly without effort. The full page is built with the project's tools from your own copy of the 1987 ZX Spectrum tape, because the repository holds nothing from the tape. The author also publishes a debug page as a ZIP on the Releases page so people can test the port.
Is it an emulator?
No. The README says the page reproduces the game in JavaScript, reconstructed from the Z80 machine code of the original, and executes no Z80 code.
Which version of Bubble Bobble is it?
The ZX Spectrum version published by Firebird in 1987, written by Software Creations under licence from Taito, with code by Mike Follin, graphics by Andrew R. Threlfall and music by Tim Follin. Both the 48K game and the 128K branch with AY music are reproduced.
Was AI used?
The repository has a CLAUDE.md file with house rules for Claude, an AI coding assistant, which suggests it was used. The README doesn't say how much.
Unofficial. This page is written by an independent directory. It is not made by, endorsed by or affiliated with Firebird Software (under licence from Taito) or cookertron (Bubble Bobble ZX Spectrum JavaScript port's author). We do not host any files, and we never link to game files, ROMs or ISOs.
Sources
This page was last updated on Oct 24, 2026. A date after a source is the day we read it. Versions and steps follow the official project; if they differ, the official source wins.
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