Mason's Bubble Blast 2

Mason's Bubble Blast 2
Mason's Bubble Blast 2 title screen.
Publisher	Jose Ortiz
Release Date	December 30, 2001
Genre	Run 'n Gun

“	Mason has to escape the evil ferrets, with only his bubble blaster to help him!	”
	— Mason's Bubble Blast description, Newgrounds.com

Mason's Bubble Blast 2, also known as Mason's Bubble Blast, is a flash game created by Jose Ortiz and Tom Fulp. It is a Run 'n Gun style game that was designed as a Christmas gift for Ortiz's girlfriend's son, Mason. In the game, Mason is captured by his his pet ferrets, and must fight them off to return home. Alloy and the CyberPitz from Ortiz's Alloy series make cameo appearances in this game.

Story

The game takes place the first Mason's Bubble Blast, where Mason has rescued his pet cat, Jinxie Cat. Mason is trapped in the Ferrets' Secret Hide Out, where Queen Peanut is seeking revenge. She commands her subordinates to dispatch a squad of Robo-Doggies. Armed with his bubble blaster, Mason eliminates the robots. Suddenly, two ferrets, Crash and Ginsu, burst through the hide out's wall in a tank, taunting him. Mason successful defeats them in battle, though Crash escapes. Mason grabs his snowboards and rides down a snowy mountain, and then lands on a sunny cliff. After fighting against more ferrets, he is approached by another one of his ferrets, Titus, who renounces his American name and embraces his Russian heritage, renaming himself Troyanovsky Gostev. Similar to Crash, he is defeated by Mason and flees the area. Mason arrives at the mountain again, and upon completed it, is transported to a city. Mason is confronted by Peanut, who is enraged at his victory over the others. Mason inquires as to why Peanut issued the order for the ferrets to attack him; Peanut responds that he inadvertently stepped on her while he was running around his house. Peanut is determined to trample Mason in retaliation. Mason doesn't take her seriously due to her size, but Peanut grows to a much larger stature and attacks him. Mason defeats Peanut, who runs away, defecating as she does so. Mason returns safely home, and drifts off to sleep. Unbeknownst to him, a pair of glowing red eyes leer at him in his closet.

If the player has at least three bars of health when they defeat Peanut, they will activate a secret boss fight against Jose Ortiz. Defeating him will have Ortiz commend Mason on his abilities, and say that he will return to fight him again someday. The ending will play as normal. If Mason is defeated, the ending will not play.

Development

Every Christmas, Ortiz would make a video game for Mason as a gift. In 2001, he asked Tom Fulp for help. Fulp agreed, taking a small break from the development of Pico 2. The game was made in less then a week, but Ortiz and Fulp enjoyed it so much that they publicly released it on the Newgrounds website. The original private release used Mason's real face on his character's design. For the public release, the photo was replaced by a caricature of Mason. In addition, the difficulty of the game was slightly increased.

The story of the game was inspired by Ortiz's pet ferrets. Due to their relationship with Mason, they are the villains of the game.

Gameplay

Mason's Bubble Blast 2 is a linear Run 'n Gun. and the space bar or A key can be used to fire bubbles from his bubble blaster. When enemies are hit three times by the bubbles, they become ensnared within them and subsequently float away. To complete each standard level, the player must capture a specific number of foes: fifteen in the first, twenty in the second, and twenty-five in the final. Mason has four points of health, and will take one point of damage if he comes in contact with enemies or their attacks. If he takes four hits, the game will be over; however, the player is granted the chance to retry the level or restart the game from the beginning. After completing the level, the player faces a boss, all of which have a charging attack and projectile attack. The projectiles are shot upwards by the bosses, and are fixed to land where Mason is standing. If the player successfully dodges them before they land, they may detonate and leave behind a cheese sandwich or an item shaped like Alloy's head when they explode. The sandwich will restore one point of health, while the head summons Alloy to Mason's side. Pressing the space bar with Alloy will make Alloy shoot a projectile out of his gun, which is stronger and faster than Mason's bubble blaster. Each boss has a health bar that will be reduced as the boss takes damage. Once depleted, the player will either watch a cutscene or will proceed to a bonus stage where Mason snowboards down a hill. If the space bar is pressed when he touches a ramp, he will jump into the air. Continually pressing the space bar while airborne will have Mason perform tricks. Mason will fall over if the player fails to leap over the ramp or attempts to jump while descending the hill. Although the level is designed to mimic a bonus stage, Mason does not receive any points for performing the feats successfully.

Series Represented

Series	Description
Alloy	Alloy appears as an assist character. When picked up, Alloy will be summoned and assist Mason in battle. Pressing the spacebar or A key will make Alloy shoot his gun alongside Mason. CyberPitz appear as enemies. Mason City appears as the setting of Level 2 and 3.

Alloy firing a gun in Mason's Bubble Blast.

References

Alloy
Characters	Alloy • CyberPitz • Minor Characters
Locations	Mason City
Crossovers	Newgrounds Rumble (2007)
Cameos	Mason's Bubble Blast 2 (2001)