puyo-puyo
Latest
Puyo Puyo coming to Virtual Console in Japan with online multiplayer
After five years of the Wii's Virtual Console, a game will be released with Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection support for online multiplayer. What game will be the recipient of this totally unique, groundbreaking honor? The arcade version of Sega's jelly-creature matching puzzle game Puyo Puyo, of course. As one of the 20th anniversary projects announced today (on a date that can be pronounced "pu yo" using some obtuse Japanese wordplay), Sega revealed that the Virtual Console Arcade release of Puyo Puyo, due this spring in Japan for 800 Wii Points, will support online competitive multiplayer. Sega's other Puyo announcements include a contest in Japan to give away original Puyo Puyo bath towels, and a drawing contest.
Sega teases Sonic and Puyo Puyo anniversary projects
2011 marks the 20th anniversary for two Sega franchises: the Compile-developed Puyo Puyo puzzle series (which technically wasn't even a Sega-published game until 1992), and something about a blue hedgehog with shoes on. Sega has plans for both series in this milestone year, according to a Japanese press release received by Andriasang. According to Andriasang, Sega teased multiple "projects" for both series' anniversaries, though the nature of those projects is unannounced. The last Puyo Puyo game was 2009's Puyo Puyo 7 for PSP, Wii, and DS, so that series is ripe for another sequel. As for Sonic, it seems safe to assume we'll see a few Sonic games in 2011 -- not because it's a big anniversary, but because it's a year.
Puyo Pop 7 drops on DS, Wii and PSP
Looks like the Project RINGO mystery is solved. The latest issue of Japanese mag Famitsu (via 1UP) reveals a brand new Puyo Puyo game for Nintendo DS, Wii and PSP. The Puyo Puyo series (known as Puyo Pop in the States) is a puzzle game where players must move falling colored pieces to match four like colors together.Nintendo DS will be the first to receive Puyo Puyo 7, with a Japanese release on July 30th. Both Wii and PSP versions are scheduled for release in Winter. In addition to new online gameplay, the latest iteration of the Sega puzzler will also feature a new "transformation mode," which allows players to deflect enemy attacks and chain larger combos. We're certain Sega will highlight gameplay footage when the Project RINGO site goes live on April 3rd.
Another Week in Japan: Hardware and software numbers 6/16-6/22
The DS found itself back in cozy old third place in this week's chart, as the hype from Metal Gear Solid 4 died down a bit in Japan: PSP: 59,531 (5,325) Wii: 41,037 (4,527) NDS: 36,599 (2,602) PS3: 20,336 (54,975) PS2: 6,346 (951) Xbox 360: 2,555 (392) Meanwhile, Let's Make a Pro Baseball Team's steady climb back into the top ten makes us wonder if supply just wasn't meeting demand a few weeks earlier, when the game fell out of the top thirty. Yet overall, the DS had a relatively boring week in terms of software, with no exciting new releases to congratulate or poke fun at (unless you consider the budget-priced re-release of Puyo Puyo 15th Anniversary "exciting" and "new").If you want to see what Japanese gamers were buying last week, though, just click on past the break.
VC Friday: Cho Aniki and the return of the Neo Geo
We were already totally pumped about getting Cho Aniki on the European and Aussie Virtual Consoles, but our faces lit up when we saw what else was lying in store for us this morning. Metal Slug is the first Neo Geo game to appear on the download service since December 14th, but what a comeback!From a value-for-money perspective, we'd still recommend picking up Metal Slug Anthology (especially now that it's so cheap), but it's great to see SNK's classic series represented on the VC (and this version even has Classic Controller support). Puyo Puyo 2 and TurboGrafx billiards title Break In complete this week's line-up. Cho Aniki -- TurboGrafx-16 -- 900 Wii Points Metal Slug -- Neo Geo -- 900 Wii Points Break In -- TurboGrafx-16 -- 700 Wii Points Puyo Puyo 2 -- Mega Drive -- 900 Wii Points Hop in your Slug and blast your way past the break to see all four in action!
Sega dishes out new Puyo screens
If there's one complaint we have for the first Puyo Puyo game on the DS that Atlus brought to North America, it's that it lacks Wi-Fi Connection compatibility. But, that's understandable, seeing as how the game released before the service launched on the handheld. It looks like Sega is fixing that this time around, however.The latest Puyo Puyo game on the DS is due out in Japan on June 19th and will feature full Wi-Fi play. It will also feature the weird board mechanics that the last Puyo game did. We would hold off on importing this one for now, unless you're some kind of Puyo Puyo junkie that spends your days and night grouping together similarly-colored objects in the hopes that they will erase themselves from existence.%Gallery-19975%
Atlus signs 'family-friendly' Wii puzzler Octomania for North America
Atlus' long history of niche import localizations has extended to nearly every genre under the sun, from turn-based strategy and role-playing to games like Cubivore that simply defy convention altogether. Now, however, it appears that the publisher is looking to carve out its own slice of the growing casual games space, as Atlus USA has inked an agreement to distribute Idea Factory's multiplayer "family friendly" puzzle game Octomania for the Wii in North America. The cephalopod-centric game was developed under the watchful eye of Puyo Puyo mastermind Moo Niitani, and promises addictive color-matching gameplay not all that dissimilar from Compile's classic puzzler. Even better, the title boasts multiplayer gameplay, both locally and online, though given the game's March 11 release chances are the lion's share of Wii owners will be too busy playing a certain other game to give Octomania the time of day.
The VC Advantage: Puyo permutations
The internet has made it easy to find cheats for games, but we miss the tips pages from game magazines, when the discovery of a new code could inspire you to go back to an old game. These codes aren't exactly new, but oldness is the essence of the Virtual Console! We're bringing back the classic codes every week on The VC Advantage.Puyo Puyo, Compile's series of falling-blob puzzle games, currently has two iterations on the American Virtual Console. Neither of these games contain the words "Puyo" or "Puyo" in their titles. But Kirby's Avalanche and Dr. Robotnik's Mean Bean Machine are Puyo through and through(yo). Which automatically means that they're cute and enjoyable Tetris/Columns-esque puzzle games. And (insert segue here) here are some codes for them.Dr. Robotnik's Mean Bean Machine (GEN)Skip to the final boss: Yes, it's weird that a puzzle game like this has level passwords. It's even weirder for it to have bosses. Should you want to experience the weirdness for yourself, you can take advantage of the fact that level passwords are delightfully easy to share on the Internet -- much more so than, say, save files. To access the final boss, enter the following password: for easy mode, enter Yellow, Has, Blue, Blue. For normal, enter Purple, Yellow, Has, Clear. Hard: Has, Clear, Purple, Has. Hardest: Red, Red, Clear, Yellow.Kirby's Avalanche (SNES)Custom options menu: Hold down all four face buttons on controller 2 during gameplay, then reset the game. Go into the options menu and more options will appear, including level select and a sound test. We cannot guarantee the utility of this code; in fact, it's a bit of a research interest for us. Does the soft reset of the Virtual Console work like a real reset? If this code works, it does![Codes via GameFAQs]
Puyo Puyo screenshots, no Bean Machines to be seen
Sega's Puyo Puyo franchise is heading to the Wii, to be released in Japan on July 26. It actually exists on the Wii right now in the form of Dr. Robotnik's Mean Bean Machine on the Virtual Console. So why would you want to buy a full-priced Puyo game when there's a perfectly serviceable entry available for cheap? We actually have an answer for this one (the best kind of question, we think): sumptuous four-player Puyo-ing. Check out some screens and decide for yourself if that and the wacky new play modes (co-op, a single-player dual-Wiimote mode) are worth the price of admission. Of course, there's another possible motivator for wanting this version over the Genesis version: fear of Dr. Robotnik and his foul machine.
