| Graphics: |   4 |
| SFX: | 4 |
| Music: | 4 |
| Gameplay: | 5 |
| Challenge: | 5 |
| Replay: | 5 |
| Overall: | 5 |
| Genre: | Puzzle |
| Reading ability: | Not required |
| Company: | Compile |
Background:
If you ask a typical Japanese gamer what is the most popular versus puzzle game, They'll probably say Puyo Puyo. Instantly recognizable for boys and girls of all ages, this series of puzzle games is widely known in Japan. However, it's not so well known outside of Japan. You may already be familiar with the Puyo Puyo series, but under different names. Two that I know of are Dr. Robotnik's Mean Bean Machine for the Sega Genesis and Kirby's Avalanche for the Super Nintendo. This game was released outside of Japan under the name of Puyo Pop for the Neo Geo Pocket, which was an unimpressive port. Minna de Puyo Puyo for the Gameboy Advance has been released outside of Japan under the same name, Puyo Pop, and the newest Puyo Puyo Fever is readily available too.
The Game:
If you have played any VS. battle puzzle games, then it won't be very difficult to learn the basic gameplay of Puyo Puyo. However, becoming good at playing Puyo Puyo is a real challenge. Puyo Puyo games lack the fast, furious, and frantic gameplay of Super Puzzle Fighter II Turbo for the Saturn/Playstation/Dreamcast. To play the game, little colored blobs called "Puyos" fall two at a time on your side of the screen, and you need to have four of the same color touching to clear them away. The puyos will cling together, making it easier to see the combinations (especially helpful for colorblind people like myself). Puyo Puyo is an easy game to learn how to play, but it takes skill and technique to play it well. Where Super Puzzle Fighter II Turbo is a game where you can easily send an avalanche of blocks onto your opponent's side, quite often by accident, Puyo Puyo 2 requires a bit more thought and advanced planning in order to win. You have to remove the Puyos in chain combos in order to do much damage to your enemy, which takes a bit of finesse. When you remove Puyos, colorless "Jamma Puyos" fall on your opponent's side and get in their way. The only way you can remove these is when you clear away regular Puyos that are touching them.
Graphics:
Graphics and animation are very well done. Characters are cute, and the colors of the puyos are easy to see.
Music/Sound:
Music and sound are quite charming, and character voices shout when chain combos are made.
Challenge and replay:
As said before, Puyo Puyo is not the sort of puzzle game where combos can randomly occur on accident. You have to know what you are doing when you play the game, so the challenge value is quite high. Replay value is also quite high, especially because this game is compatible with a multi-tap, allowing up to four players to simultaneously battle it out! Graphical detail is
The Good:
The game play is great and the graphics are very clear. The anime characters are very cute. The gameplay is simple, yet challenging to master. When you use a controller expansion port, up to four players can play together for a frantic free-for-all gaming party!
The Bad:
Sometimes I wonder if the learning curve is a bit to steep for me. I enjoy this game, but it seems that whenever I am pelted with a ton of Jamma Puyos, I just can't recover fast enough. But I guess it just goes to show that playing this game truly takes skill instead of luck in order to win.
Overall:
Besides this game, I have the port of Puyo Puyo 2 for the Neo Geo Pocket, Puyo Puyo Sun (3) for the Saturn, and Puyo Puyon (4) and Puyo Puyo Fever for the Dreamcast. I was a bit disappointed with the Neo Geo Pocket version with its drab colors and lack of music, and I really didn't care for the graphical presentation of the Dreamcast version (although this version also allows four players to play at once). My favorite is probably Puyo Puyo Sun for the Saturn, which allows you to choose from three different characters in Story Mode. But anyway, Puyo Puyo 2 presents the gameplay in the purest form before additions were made, making this one a pretty cool game to play. I have a big poster of this game I bought in Osaka a while back and it hangs on my bedroom wall. The Puyo Puyo series is one of my favorite puzzle games, along with Ranma 1/2 Ougijaanken for the Super Famicom, Super Puzzle Fighter II Turbo for the Playstation/Saturn/Dreamcast, and Sakura Taisen Hanagumi Columns For the Saturn/Dreamcast. I'd wish that Compile would maybe go back to making more 2D shooters in the future, but I guess that is just wishful thinking.
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