Arcade Game #05: The first Puyo Puyo video game
ぷよぷよ
You know, we’ve been letting our physical/digital copies of Puyo Puyo Tetris on our Switches collecting dust . . . but in my haste, I still need to practice Puyo Puyo if I’m going to be pumped up for Adventure mode. This is the first Puyo Puyo game that we’re reviewing this weekend. Let’s get it (and win back the interest of Puyo Puyo).
Since this game is released on many consoles, we’re going to focus on three — and only three — formats. Since its creation, it uses characters from Madou Monogatari. It was created by Masamitsu “Moo” Niitani, the founder of Compile, who was inspired by certain elements from the Tetris and Dr. Mario series of games.
The main part of Puyo Puyo games is to defeat all opponents in a battle by causing the third spot from the left in the top row to become occupied by something that does not immediately leave. Puyo are round, slime-like creatures who, in most variations of the game, fall from the top of the screen in groups of two, three, and four. The piece can be moved, dropped, and rotated using the controller or joystick. The piece falls until it reaches another Puyo or the bottom of the screen. When four or more Puyo of the same color line up adjacent to each other, the Puyo will connect to each other, “Pop”, and disappear. Puyo of the same color can connect horizontally or vertically, but not diagonally.
The PC-Engine version features voice acting and improved music and sound effects. For your reference, here’s the cast for the PC-Engine version:
- Arle Nadja (v.b. Kotono Mitsuishi of Sailor Moon fame)
- Skelton-T + Sasoriman (b.v.b. Shigeru Chiba)
- Nasu Grave (v.b. FALCON… PUNCH!)
- Mummy (v.b. the late Toshikazu “Kaneto” Shiozawa)
- Draco Centauros + Sukiyapotes (b.v.b. the late Yuko Mizutani)
- Suketodara (v.b. the late Takeshi Aono)
- Harpy (v.b. Ran Mōri a.k.a. Rachel Moore (Detective Conan/Case Closed) is one)
- Panotty (v.b. Norio Hidaka)
- Zombie (v.b. Issei Tanaka)
- Witch (v.b. Akemi Enomoto)
- Zo-Daimao (v.b. the late Daisuke Gouri, who is the first Heihachi Mishima from Tekken and the first Mr. Satan/Hercule from Dragon Ball)
- Schezo Wegey (v.b. Reiji Arisu)
- Minotauros (v.b. Kyouji Amako)
- Rulue (v.b. first Xiaoyu from Tekken)
- Satan/Dark Prince (v.b. Kazuki Yao)
This is also the first game which Rulue (Arle’s rival) is barefoot before she started wearing sandals since ~n (except Puyo Puyo DA!, which she wears boots instead of sandals). I also have reviewed other Puyo Puyo games on Medium.
…But apparently, we’re not finished with the Sega subject on Medium, yet. We’ve spent the whole summer reviewing Sega games on Medium.
