Puyo Puyo
Encyclopedia
is the inaugural game in the Puyo Puyo series originally released in 1991 by Compile
for the MSX
2. Since its creation, it uses characters from . 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.
(published by Tokuma Shoten
) called Puyo Puyo Disk Drive. A cartridge version for the Famicom
would be released by Tokuma Shoten later in 1993. All of these versions are mostly one-player games with an Endless mode and mission modes, in which the player must eliminate all Puyos from the game field by using limited pieces, although the Famicom version includes a 2-player competitive mode.
A year after the MSX2 version, Sega
released an arcade version, which heavily expanded the previous versions by including a one-player story mode and a competitive mode. Ports from the arcade version have been released for many different systems, including Super Famicom
, Sega Mega Drive
, PC-Engine
, Game Gear and Game Boy
. However, most of these ports were only released in Japan
. The Sega Mega Drive
version was re-released for the Wii
Virtual Console
in Japan on December 2, 2006.,Coming To North America And Europe In Near Future. As Cost Of 900 Wii Points.
Before being branded as Puyo Pop internationally, the first game saw release outside Japan in 1993 as Dr. Robotnik's Mean Bean Machine
for the Sega Mega Drive, Game Gear, and Master System (The SMS version was released in Europe and Brazil
), and two years later as Kirby's Ghost Trap
(European Super NES
version) and Kirby's Avalanche
(North American Super NES version).
The game was also ported to Amiga by request of Amiga Power magazine
and was featured on a cover disk under the name Super Foul Egg
. It was then ported to RISC OS
on Acorn by Owain Cole (and featured on an Acorn User
cover disk), and finally ported to Java. In late 1995 it was ported to the Apple IIGS
by Bret Victor.
The N-Gage version of Puyo Puyo stories becomes different, however. The character's colour is different than the original. The stories about Arle save the world from Satan's grasp turn into a little girl (Arle's counterpart) that lost her way home. The characters are nameless and some opponents in some stages are replaced (though Schezo, Minotaurus, and Rulue don't appear in the N-gage version, they're replaced by the stronger version of Sukiyapodes and Harpy with different colours).
The game has been announced for the Wii
's Japanese Virtual Console
service for a Spring 2011 release, and will be the first Virtual Console title to feature WiFi support, allowing players to play each other online.
Even though the original game was never released outside of Japan, a fan-translated version of this game was released as a rom for the MAME
emulator entitled "Puyo Puyo World".
As in all main Puyo games, the story mode consists of playing Puyo matches against a fixed sequence of characters in one of three courses. The characters faced are listed below.
Compile (software company)
Compile Co., Ltd. was a Japanese video game company established on April 7, 1982, under the name Programmers-3. Founded by Masamitsu Niitani , they were famed for developing shooters and puzzle games such as Aleste and Puyo Puyo.Compile filed for bankruptcy and disbanded in 2003, but the franchise...
for the MSX
MSX
MSX was the name of a standardized home computer architecture in the 1980s conceived by Kazuhiko Nishi, then Vice-president at Microsoft Japan and Director at ASCII Corporation...
2. Since its creation, it uses characters from . It was created by Masamitsu "Moo" Niitani, the founder of Compile, who was inspired by certain elements from the Tetris
Tetris
Tetris is a puzzle video game originally designed and programmed by Alexey Pajitnov in the Soviet Union. It was released on June 6, 1984, while he was working for the Dorodnicyn Computing Centre of the Academy of Science of the USSR in Moscow, Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic...
and Dr. Mario
Dr. Mario (video game)
is an action puzzle game designed by Gunpei Yokoi and produced by Takahiro Harada. It was developed and published by Nintendo for the Nintendo Entertainment System and Game Boy consoles and released in 1990 and 1991....
series of games.
Versions
The original MSX2 release was soon followed by a version for the Famicom Disk SystemFamicom Disk System
The was released on February 21, 1986 by Nintendo as a peripheral for the Family Computer console in Japan. It was a unit that used proprietary floppy disks for data storage. It was announced, but never released, for the North American Nintendo Entertainment System...
(published by Tokuma Shoten
Tokuma Shoten
is a publisher in Japan, that was established in 1954.The company was also the parent company for the film studio Daiei Motion Pictures, bought in 1974, and the record label Tokuma Japan Communications, bought in 1972, until both were sold off when Yasuyoshi Tokuma, who established this company,...
) called Puyo Puyo Disk Drive. A cartridge version for the Famicom
Nintendo Entertainment System
The Nintendo Entertainment System is an 8-bit video game console that was released by Nintendo in North America during 1985, in Europe during 1986 and Australia in 1987...
would be released by Tokuma Shoten later in 1993. All of these versions are mostly one-player games with an Endless mode and mission modes, in which the player must eliminate all Puyos from the game field by using limited pieces, although the Famicom version includes a 2-player competitive mode.
A year after the MSX2 version, Sega
Sega
, usually styled as SEGA, is a multinational video game software developer and an arcade software and hardware development company headquartered in Ōta, Tokyo, Japan, with various offices around the world...
released an arcade version, which heavily expanded the previous versions by including a one-player story mode and a competitive mode. Ports from the arcade version have been released for many different systems, including Super Famicom
Super Nintendo Entertainment System
The Super Nintendo Entertainment System is a 16-bit video game console that was released by Nintendo in North America, Europe, Australasia , and South America between 1990 and 1993. In Japan and Southeast Asia, the system is called the , or SFC for short...
, Sega Mega Drive
Sega Mega Drive
The Sega Genesis is a fourth-generation video game console developed and produced by Sega. It was originally released in Japan in 1988 as , then in North America in 1989 as Sega Genesis, and in Europe, Australia and other PAL regions in 1990 as Mega Drive. The reason for the two names is that...
, PC-Engine
TurboGrafx-16
TurboGrafx-16, fully titled as TurboGrafx-16 Entertainment SuperSystem and known in Japan as the , is a video game console developed by Hudson Soft and NEC, released in Japan on October 30, 1987, and in North America on August 29, 1989....
, Game Gear and Game Boy
Game Boy
The , is an 8-bit handheld video game device developed and manufactured by Nintendo. It was released in Japan on , in North America in , and in Europe on...
. However, most of these ports were only released in Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
. The Sega Mega Drive
Sega Mega Drive
The Sega Genesis is a fourth-generation video game console developed and produced by Sega. It was originally released in Japan in 1988 as , then in North America in 1989 as Sega Genesis, and in Europe, Australia and other PAL regions in 1990 as Mega Drive. The reason for the two names is that...
version was re-released for the Wii
Wii
The Wii is a home video game console released by Nintendo on November 19, 2006. As a seventh-generation console, the Wii primarily competes with Microsoft's Xbox 360 and Sony's PlayStation 3. Nintendo states that its console targets a broader demographic than that of the two others...
Virtual Console
Virtual console
A virtual console – also known as a virtual terminal – is a conceptual combination of the keyboard and display for a computer user interface. It is a feature of some operating systems such as UnixWare, Linux, and BSD, in which the system console of the computer can be used to switch between...
in Japan on December 2, 2006.,Coming To North America And Europe In Near Future. As Cost Of 900 Wii Points.
Before being branded as Puyo Pop internationally, the first game saw release outside Japan in 1993 as Dr. Robotnik's Mean Bean Machine
Dr. Robotnik's Mean Bean Machine
-External links:* at Game Rankings* at The Internet Movie Database...
for the Sega Mega Drive, Game Gear, and Master System (The SMS version was released in Europe and Brazil
Brazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
), and two years later as Kirby's Ghost Trap
Kirby's Avalanche
Kirby's Avalanche, known in Europe as Kirby's Ghost Trap, is a Puyo Puyo game developed by Compile and HAL Laboratory, released by Nintendo in 1995. It is a localization of the Japanese game Super Puyo Puyo in much the same way that Dr. Robotnik's Mean Bean Machine being the localization of the...
(European Super NES
Super Nintendo Entertainment System
The Super Nintendo Entertainment System is a 16-bit video game console that was released by Nintendo in North America, Europe, Australasia , and South America between 1990 and 1993. In Japan and Southeast Asia, the system is called the , or SFC for short...
version) and Kirby's Avalanche
Kirby's Avalanche
Kirby's Avalanche, known in Europe as Kirby's Ghost Trap, is a Puyo Puyo game developed by Compile and HAL Laboratory, released by Nintendo in 1995. It is a localization of the Japanese game Super Puyo Puyo in much the same way that Dr. Robotnik's Mean Bean Machine being the localization of the...
(North American Super NES version).
The game was also ported to Amiga by request of Amiga Power magazine
Amiga Power
Amiga Power was a monthly magazine about Amiga computer games. It was published in the United Kingdom by Future Publishing, and ran for 65 issues, from May 1991 to September 1996....
and was featured on a cover disk under the name Super Foul Egg
Super Foul Egg
Super Foul Egg is a computer game for the Amiga and the Acorn Archimedes.The game, a Super Puyo Puyo clone, was inspired by Amiga Powers comment that no decent clone of the game was made for the machine...
. It was then ported to RISC OS
RISC OS
RISC OS is a computer operating system originally developed by Acorn Computers Ltd in Cambridge, England for their range of desktop computers, based on their own ARM architecture. First released in 1987, under the name Arthur, the subsequent iteration was renamed as in 1988...
on Acorn by Owain Cole (and featured on an Acorn User
Acorn User
Acorn User magazine was founded by Acorn Computers in 1982, contract-published by Addison-Wesley, to coincide with the launch of the BBC Micro. It covered the range of Acorn home computers, the BBC Micro and Atom at first and later the Electron, Archimedes and Risc PC.The first issue was dated...
cover disk), and finally ported to Java. In late 1995 it was ported to the Apple IIGS
Apple IIGS
The Apple , the fifth and most powerful model in the Apple II series of personal computers produced by Apple Computer. The "GS" in the name stands for Graphics and Sound, referring to its enhanced graphics and sound capabilities, both of which greatly surpassed previous models of the line...
by Bret Victor.
The N-Gage version of Puyo Puyo stories becomes different, however. The character's colour is different than the original. The stories about Arle save the world from Satan's grasp turn into a little girl (Arle's counterpart) that lost her way home. The characters are nameless and some opponents in some stages are replaced (though Schezo, Minotaurus, and Rulue don't appear in the N-gage version, they're replaced by the stronger version of Sukiyapodes and Harpy with different colours).
The game has been announced for the Wii
Wii
The Wii is a home video game console released by Nintendo on November 19, 2006. As a seventh-generation console, the Wii primarily competes with Microsoft's Xbox 360 and Sony's PlayStation 3. Nintendo states that its console targets a broader demographic than that of the two others...
's Japanese Virtual Console
Virtual console
A virtual console – also known as a virtual terminal – is a conceptual combination of the keyboard and display for a computer user interface. It is a feature of some operating systems such as UnixWare, Linux, and BSD, in which the system console of the computer can be used to switch between...
service for a Spring 2011 release, and will be the first Virtual Console title to feature WiFi support, allowing players to play each other online.
Even though the original game was never released outside of Japan, a fan-translated version of this game was released as a rom for the MAME
MAME
MAME is an emulator application designed to recreate the hardware of arcade game systems in software on modern personal computers and other platforms. The intention is to preserve gaming history by preventing vintage games from being lost or forgotten...
emulator entitled "Puyo Puyo World".
Game modes
The main game of Puyo Puyo is played against at least one opponent, computer or human. The game itself has three modes, Single Puyo Puyo, Double Puyo Puyo, and Endless Puyo Puyo.Double Puyo Puyo
In this mode, two players play against each other. In exactly the same fashion as before, by out-chaining one another, the player tries to fill up their opponent's grid. Since the rules of sending so many garbage blocks made games short-lived, no matter how many chains are sent, Compile added the rule of Sousai in Puyo Puyo TSU and onwards. This enables players to counter opponents' attacks with chains of their own, sending any garbage blocks back to them as a result of overflow.Single Puyo Puyo
In this game, the player takes on the role of Arle Nadja, a 16 year old female spellcaster that has the pleasure of foiling Satan's plans. Satan wishes to take over the world, and Arle stands in his way (as the games' series develops, the plots get even more bizarre). Arle must first however battle her way through 12 opponents before facing Satan, and unlike Dr Robotnik's Mean Bean Machine, with the exception of Rulue, they are not under Satan's control, nor were they created by him (for Rulue, she was brainwashed by Satan due to her own reasons). Once Arle has beaten Satan, the world is saved, so she can return home.As in all main Puyo games, the story mode consists of playing Puyo matches against a fixed sequence of characters in one of three courses. The characters faced are listed below.
Characters
- The heroine to the series; she loves Carbuncle/Kaa-kun (her pet) more than anything. She is also a sorceress, and can manipulate fire, ice, and lightning among other things. During chains, she can be heard yelling, "Fire!" and "Ice Storm!" in a Japanese accent.
- Arle's beloved pet, one SatanSatanSatan , "the opposer", is the title of various entities, both human and divine, who challenge the faith of humans in the Hebrew Bible...
tries to steal away from her. A fun-loving, curry-eating, bunny-like creature that turns out to be one of the strongest players of Puyo later in the series. He is more of a helper in Puyo Puyo. He is called Has-Bean in Mean Bean Machine.
Beginner levels
- A skeleton that takes a liking to herbal tea (He sometimes calls it a potion which will make him virtually invincible.) His skills are among the weakest, and is usually one of the first opponents that you face.
- An eggplant who wears square glasses. He mainly bounces up and down, as his stubby legs cannot run that fast.
- An Egyptian mummy who seems to be over-wrapped in bandages.
Normal levels
- A female human-dragon hybrid who wishes to be the greatest rival to Arle, not just in Puyo Puyo. She, like a dragon, possesses the ability to breathe fire (shown in Puyo Puyo Sun). She has quite a fiery temper, and aggressively challenges other girls to beauty contests.
- A large fish with muscular arms and legs. He is very proud of these and tries to use them in any way he can. For some reason, whenever he's around, nearby people begin to crave fish.
- A sciapod (one legged monster) who looks quite young and/or baby-faced.
Normal & Difficult levels
- An angel like monster who sings enchanting songs (mostly out of tune, and very high-pitched.)
- A guard dressed like a scorpion.
- A sprite who plays panpipes. He likes to see people dancing to his music (or wants to.)
- A zombie which looks like it was put together with spare parts.
- A witch dressed from head to toe in blue. She also gets the giggles at random moments.
- An Indian elephant with a mighty strength. He's provoked easily, as if insulted.
- A swordsman who longs for Arle's magic powers (or perhaps something else?).
- Rulue's bodyguard and a bull with a scar over one eye.
- A girl with magic powers, like Arle, and has a liking to Satan, and will do pretty much anything he says. She is also a skilled martial artist, although her magic skills are not very good.
- The comical villain of the Puyo Puyo series. He, like Draco, has dragon horns and cape wings. He also takes a liking to Arle and Carbuncle, but mostly Carbuncle. He is known as "Dark Prince" outside of Japan for obvious reasons.
External links
- Hardcore Gaming 101 - Puyo Puyo Details the entirety of the series and all of its spinoffs
- Puyo Nexus, a website about Puyo Puyo, including a Wiki.