Puyo Puyo Sun - Arcade/Saturn/Playstation (1996)

Japanese Saturn Cover	Puyo Puyo Sun Saturn	Puyo Puyo Sun Saturn

Compile brings the series into the 32-bit era with Puyo Puyo Sun. Puyo Puyo Sun has three story modes - an easy (and short) game starring Draco, a regular (and long) game starring Arle, and a hard (and medium sized) quest starring Schezo, all fully voiced. Other than the massive improvement in graphics - characters not only have unique backgrounds on their board but also show up onscreen when attacking - the only real addition are Sun puyos. These are occasionally dropped on the field, and if you work them into your combos, then you'll do some massive damage to your opponent. There's also a wider range of difficulty selections, to ease newbies into the game. The arcade original runs on the ST-V hardware, and the ports are all pretty much spot on. The Saturn and Playstation versions have full motion video intros, while the N64 version doesn't. The Playstation version is also the "expert" version with a few extra modes, like a gallery and themed unlockables The name "Sun" obviously derives from the sun puyos (and the game's plot revolves around the game world being far too hot), but the English word "sun" is actually pronounced closer to "san" when spoken in Japanese - which means "three". MP3s Arle

Puyo Puyo Sun Saturn Puyo Puyo Sun Saturn

Puyo Puyo~n - Dreamcast, Playstation, N64 (1999)

Japanese Dreamcast Cover	Puyo Puyo~n Dreamcast	Puyo Puyo~n Dreamcast

The biggest addition to Puyo Puyo 4 are the special attacks. These are all unique to each character, and can include getting rid of obstacle puyos, shaking the playing field upside down, or eliminating a certain color from your stack. While it's an interesting idea in theory, it really doesn't pan out. You're not allowed to use special attacks in the first stages of the Story mode (until you gain some allies and get their attacks), so it's unfairly difficult at the beginning. And they simply make multiplayer games long and drawn out, as players simply use their attacks over and over until they can't be charged up any more. This, combined with the slow speed in which the puyos fall, maybe Puyo Puyo~n feel very laid back compared to the other games. It's less manic, but at the same time, lets you formulate a strategy easier. Graphically, Puyo Puyo 4 is clearer, but much more subtle than Puyo Sun, with the characters appearing on the screen a la Puzzle Fighter. The art style is also a bit less cutesy and bright, but looking much better overall. There's only one story mode path, but it's quite long. This is made up by a few extra single player modes, including a task mode similar to Nazo Puyo, and an option for a gigantic playing field. The biggest draw is that four player mode has once again returned, turning Puyo Puyo into one of the best party games around. While it was originally released on the Dreamcast, it also saw release on the Nintendo 64 under the title "Puyo Puyo~n Party" with a few extra multiplayer modes, and later on the Playstation with the subtitle "Me and Car-kun". Naturally neither of these versions look as good as the Dreamcast version, due to the lower resolution. The pun in the title of Puyo Puyon is less interesting this time around - "yon" is simply Japanese for "four". MP3s Circus Stage - It's Showtime Pursuit Stage - Treasure Hunt

Puyo Puyo~n Dreamcast Puyo Puyo~n Dreamcast Puyo Puyo~n Dreamcast

Minna de Puyo Puyo/Puyo Pop - Gameboy Advance (2001)

Japanese GBA Cover	Puyo Pop GBA	Puyo Pop GBA

Unlike all of the other ports of Puyo Puyo, the Gameboy Advance got its own somewhat unique title, known as "Minna de Puyo Puyo" (Everyone Puyo Puyo) in Japan and "Puyo Pop" everywhere else. Its major feature is four player action using the system link cable, especially useful since you only need one cartridge - a rarity in GBA link games. Gameplay-wise, it's almost exactly the same as Puyo Puyo 2, right down to the background style. There's also a completely unique story mode, where you run back and forth through a variety of courses, earning prizes (such as galleries) and eventually unlocking the final levels. Given that a lot of the dialogue is actually tutorial entered (plus the relatively light difficulty level), it's clear that this is aimed towards beginners, though more difficult levels are still around. There's also a Mission Mode like Nazo Puyo, where your given a time limit and try to reach as many goals as possible. By this point, Compile was out of business, so Sega picked up the slack for them. Like many Sonic Team games, there's an option for both Japanese and English language in all cartridges. However, the English script in the American and European versions is much different from the Japanese one. While undoubtedly purists would find this to be a prime offense, the rewritten dialogue is actually much more amusing, and does a far better job at portraying the wackiness of the series. Here's an example of the speech between Arle and Incubus at the beginning: Japanese Version: Incubus: Hi, honey. Where are you off to? Arle: Whatever...Talk about your stuck-up smartalecks. Incubus: Oh, darling. Even your troubled face is cute in my eyes. Arle: Jeez...And fifty other lines to get you nowhere. Incubus: You poor baby... Here let me, beautiful me, warm you up. Arle: Stop it! American Version: Incubus: Hey baby. Come here often? Arle: ....Go away. Incubus: Hey! I just want to get to know you! What's your sign, baby? Arle: Octagon. As in "stop". Incubus: Ooh, I like a girl with a sense of humor! Let's make jokes together... Arle: That does it. Amusingly enough, the Japanese version translates the usual losing cry ("batan-kyu") as "baba bing", where it simply becomes "Oh no!" in the other versions.

Puyo Pop GBA r Puyo Pop GBA Puyo Pop GBA (Japanese) Puyo Pop GBA (Japanese)

Portable Editions:

Being that puzzle games are some of the best titles to play on the go, Compile ported all of the Puyo Puyos to various platforms. The first Gameboy one was a little bizarre, given that you had to match blobs with different shapes, making things a bit awkward. This was fixed a bit in Puyo Puyo 2 by introducing striped blocks, an incarnation which also made it to the Wonderswan, Game Gear and Neo Geo Pocket Color (which was the first Puyo game released unaltered in America, under the title Puyo Pop.) Naturally, Puyo Sun and Puyo~n look much better than their predecessors in the color incarnations. The screenshots:

Puyo Pop Neo Geo Pocket Color

Puyo Puyo Gameboy	Puyo Puyo 2 Gameboy	Puyo Puyo 2 Game Gear
Puyo Puyo 2 Neo Geo Pocket Color	Puyo Puyo Sun Gameboy Color	Puyo Puyo~n Gameboy Color

Puyo Puyo Box - PSOne(2000)

Puyo Puyo Box	Puyo Puyo Box	Puyo Puyo Box

In 2000, Compile released an interesting little collection for the PSOne, called Puyo Puyo Box. It includes the Mega Drive versions of Puyo Puyo 1 and 2, along with some Pocketstation games and a four player mode (since this was absent from the PSOne version of Puyo Puyo 4.) None of this is really all that exciting, especially considering they could've ported the arcade versions, but the real highlight is the Quest Mode. The Quest Mode is a pure Puyo Puyo RPG. You don't fight enemies normally - you challenge them to a game of Puyo Puyo. Each battle nets you the usual gold and experience, which in turn can be used to upgrade your stats. Higher strength will inflict more nuisance puyos on your opponent, while higher defense will absorb some of your enemy's attacks. You have to be careful not to equip too much heavy equipment however, as they cause your blobs to fall pretty fast. The plot is the same "find a bunch of medals" stuff in the Madou Monogatari games, although there's plenty of goofiness abound. For example, Arle doesn't just open doors - she bashes through them, sending the door flying into the stratosphere. Naturally, this mode isn't terribly long, and the dungeons are fairly short and easy, but it's an innovative framework for the Puyo series. I don't see why they couldn't have used better graphics and music for the Quest Mode, especially considering this came out after Puyo Puyo 4 (the battles look/sound like the Puyo 2.) And the random battles can get annoying after awhile. You can run away from most weaker battles, but stronger enemies need to be fought - and since match lasts at least a minute or two, you'd better be in love with Puyo Puyo if you want to stick it through to the end.

Puyo Puyo Box Puyo Puyo Box

Puyo Puyo Fever - Dreamcast, Playstation 2, Xbox, Gamecube, Gameboy Advance, Nintendo DS (2004)

Japanese Dreamcast Cover	Puyo Puyo Fever	Puyo Puyo Fever

After taking a portable detour with the GBA game, Sonic Team finally buckled up and made a new Puyo Puyo game, hitting the Dreamcast, Playstation 2, Xbox, Gamecube and Gameboy Advance. Perhaps feeling all of the old characters had worn out their welcome, Sonic Team tossed in a whole slew of new guys, including the heroine Amitie, her friend/rival Raffine, crazy skeleton Oshare Bones, guest stars from Arle and Carbuncle, and the usual assortment of wackos. And if you somehow thought that the designs couldn't get any ridiculous cuter - Puyo Puyo Fever should prove you nicely wrong. Puyo Puyo Fever also has some of the most radical changes in the series. In addition to the standard two-blob formation, you'll get sent other combinations of blobs as well. There are also gigantic blobs that you can alter the color of before it falls. There are vertical guidelines onscreen that show where blobs will fall and combos can be mode, which oddly can't be turned off, but they reduce the mental workload a bit. The biggest addition is the fever mode - this builds up whenever you get rid of garbage blobs that are about to drop on your side, and when the meter reaches its brim, you're sent into a chaotic state where a premade stack of blobs is dropped on the ground. If you can create massive combos using a single block, then you can really whallop your opponent. It can get a little unbalanced sometimes, if you're opponent drops too much stuff in Fever Mode for you to counterattack, but it can be turned off in multiplayer. As weird as it is, it's definitely favorable over the special attacks from Puyo Puyo~n. The graphics, while seemingly sparse, are actually much more animated, with blobs bouncing joyfully every time they're connected. The music is also some of the best of the series, as if the composer just ate a whole bag of sugar and wrote some of the craziest upbeat pieces imaginable. The only real downfall is the lack of modes - four player option is gone entirely (WHY) and some of the cooler modes from Puyo Puyo~n are sorely missed. For some reason, while the Gamecube, Xbox and PS2 versions came out in Europe, only the Gamecube version came out in America. All of the versions are pretty much the same - the Dreamcast version uses sprites for the puyos, while the rest uses polygons. This isn't a major difference, but the GC/XB/PS2 versions zoom around the playing field when you make a combo, as a nice graphical bonus. The Japanese and American versions include both English and Japanese voice acting, which is good, considering the English voiceovers are sickeningly bad. Puyo Puyo Fever also hit the Gameboy Advance - it's pretty much the same game, with scaled down visuals, although it actually does have a four player mode. It's nicer looking than the original GBA Puyo Pop game, probably making it the preferable of the two. While the GBA version was never released in America, the DS version was brought overseas courtesy of Atlus. It only looks marginally better, but it does have superior music, as well as full voice. MP3s Main Last Battle

Puyo Puyo Fever Puyo Puyo Fever Puyo Puyo Fever Puyo Puyo Fever GBA

Puyo Puyo Fever 2 - Playstation 2, Nintendo DS, Sony PSP (2005)

Japanese DS Cover	Puyo Puyo Fever 2	Puyo Puyo Fever 2

Puyo Puyo Fever 2 greatly expands the single player game with a bunch of quests, mini-games, and options. When you begin, you're given control over a map, which allows you to select various modes. Each of these locations is staffed by one of the game's strange characters, who will sit around and chat if you'd like. Spelled out in Japanese, the title is "Puyo Puyo Fever Chuu" - "chuu" is the standard way to pronounce "two", but it can also mean "kiss", which lends to the cutesy atmosphere. It also refers to the new "Endless Chu Panic" mode, a single player mode where puyos come down at set intervals, which is designed for casual rather than competitive play. The Nazo Puyo task mode is back as well. There are now three main characters - Amitie, Raffine and the new guy, Sig - and each of them have three separate story modes, making for a much longer game. After each battle, you're awarded points, which can be used to purchase items. When brought into matches, these items will have varying effects on the gameplay - some will strengthen your attacks if you clear more than four puyos of the same color, for example. With forty items total, there's a lot of variety. Unfortunately, most of them disappear after using them in a single battle, so you have to keep them fully stocked. Beyond that, however, there's very little new in Puyo Puyo Fever 2. Other than some new backgrounds, all of the graphics are the same, and a vast majority of the music is recycled from its predecessor. Other than a few new characters, multiplayer mode is barely any different, especially since you can't use items. And unlike the first game, it has only been released for the Playstation 2 and the portable systems. There's no English mode this time around either. It doesn't seem like any of them will be released outside of Japan, but it's not a huge loss.

Puyo Puyo Fever 2 Puyo Puyo Fever 2

Haro no Puyo Puyo - Gameboy Advance (2005)

Japanese Cover	Haro no Puyo Puyo	Haro no Puyo Puyo

Here's a crossover I'm sure no one expected - Sega combined Puyo Puyo with Gundam to create Haro no Puyo Puyo for the Gameboy Advance. All of the puyos have been replaced by haros (those small goofy flying things) and the characters are super deformed renditions from the original Gundam (none of this Wing or Seed nonsense here.) The gameplay is pretty much the same as the original GBA Puyo Puyo, although it only offers two-player battles. I'm sure this is great for classic Gundam fans, but it's otherwise kinda pointless.

Haro no Puyo Puyo

Random Images:

Puyo Beancakes	Puyo Puyo~n Cast
Madou Monogatari Craziness	Waku Waku Dungeon Cast