Dreamcast Game #03: Puyo Puyo~n

ぷよぷよ〜ん (Puyopuyōn, aka Puyo Puyo 4)

Puyo Puyo~n, also known as Puyo Puyo 4 and Puyo Puyo~n Party (for the N64 version), is a 1999 video game and the fourth installment of the Puyo Puyo puzzle game series, created by Compile for the Dreamcast, PlayStation, Nintendo 64 and Game Boy Color. It was released on March 4, 1999 (Dreamcast), December 3, 1999 (N64), December 16, 1999 (PSX), and September 22, 2000 (GBC). We’re going to review the Dreamcast version.

Like many of the Puyo Puyo games, it was never officially released outside Japan. We only had Dr. Robotnik’s Mean Bean Machine, which is the Westernized version of the first Puyo Puyo game, after that, the Puyo Puyo series was rejected outside of Japan until we got Puyo Pop Fever. After Fever, the series was rejected outside of Japan again until we got Tetris. The title of Puyo Puyo~n comes from the Japanese word yon (四, meaning four), signifying the fourth game in the series.

The game also marks the first time Rulue wears sandals (which are carried on in the later Puyo Puyo games except for Puyo Puyo DA! in which she wears black boots, as opposed to being barefoot in the earlier games).

The gameplay of ~n remains similar to Puyo Puyo 2, with a new addition of character specials. As Puyo are erased from the field, a power gauge fills up, enabling the use of a special ability. Each character’s ability differs and varies between the home console versions and the Game Boy Color version. Each grid in the home console versions follows a Special Rule, where a preset field and special board rules are implemented. In the Game Boy Color version, whenever garbage is countered, Sun Puyo falls on the field. The game also features several Endless modes involving grids larger or smaller than 6x12, and a Free Battle mode allowing for matches against any unlocked characters. The art is also vastly different from its predecessors, adopting a more serious tone.

Wikipedia describes the game’s story:

Unlike previous games in the series where the plot is rather comical, ~n has a serious storyline, reminiscent of those in the Madō Monogatari games. The Dark Prince is found looking at some books in a magical library when he comes across a black box. He begins to examine the black box before it breaks free from his hands and opens. The next morning a Puyo Circus arrives, which Arle Nadja and Carbuncle go to check out. They are greeted by Pierrot, a mysterious jester-looking character.

When Arle arrives, something does not appear right, and Carbuncle disappears once more. Arle has to navigate her way past a number of foes as before. During her quest Draco, Serilly, Witch and Chico join up with Arle as they face Schezo and Rulue. Rulue knew something was up with the Dark Prince, and when Arle meets him, he appears strange and unlike his normal self. He freezes the other characters so that they do not interfere. Arle defeats the Dark Prince, who wakes up and asks why Arle is there. He further explains to Arle that he was brainwashed by a stronger foe, and Pierrot appears afterwards, revealing herself to be Doppelganger Arle. She and Arle fight to see who should exist, and Arle is victorious.

After the fight, Doppelganger Arle insists that she is “The Real Arle” who existed in the previous world. Weakened by her defeat, she soon fades away, much to Arle’s shock. Seconds later, Carbuncle reappears in the room and Arle is thrilled to see him again. The gem on Carbuncle’s forehead shines, and as Arle asks what was wrong, he discharges the beam from his forehead. The screen fades to white, then black, and the credits roll.

Serilly (Haruka Yoshimura in Japanese, Madoka Kaname in English) and Harpy (Risa Taneda in Japanese, Wendee Lee in English) both appear in Puyo Puyo Tetris 2 in the early 2021 update.

The game features Japanese voice actresses Yūko Mizutani (who is the original Sora Takenouchi from Digimon and the original Japanese dub of Minnie Mouse in the Disney property, including Kingdom Hearts series), who died 17 years later due to breast cancer after the game’s initial release date, Satomi Kōrogi (Kasumi/Misty’s Togepi → Togechick/Togetic in the Pokemon anime and Guilty Gear’s May), and Emi Motoi, who is the temporary Amy Rose in the Sonic franchise.

Since the game was never released outside Japan, there weren’t any reviews on Gamespot, Destructoid, or any other American/Canadian video game journalist websites or magazines.