Puyo Puyo Tsu
| Puyo Puyo Tsu | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Developer(s) |
Compile SEGA Bits Laboratory Goo! M2 (Nintendo 3DS) |
| Publisher(s) | |
| Series | Puyo Puyo |
| Platform(s) | |
| Release date(s) |
July 6, 1994
|
| Genre(s) | Puzzle |
| Mode(s) | Single-player, multiplayer |
Puyo Puyo Tsu (ぷよぷよ通 Puyo Puyo Tsū, also known as Puyo Puyo 2, Puyo Puyo Tsuu or Puyo Puyo 2: Tsuu) is the second installment of the Puyo Puyo games; the sequel to Puyo Puyo, made in 1994 by Compile. Compile put more thought into this game after its predecessor became successful, but never knew how much of a turnaround the game would bring.
Due to its highly acclaimed success, it became the most predominant game of the series. Though with many of its rules being experimental, the ability of Sousai and Rensa Sibari became a top hit immediately, thus creating longer matches for better gameplay. Also due to its successes, it became the most widely known multiplatform game in Japan, appearing in the Arcade, on major domestic consoles, on major handhelds, on the NEC PC-9800 series, on the PC, and on others.
The name of Puyo Puyo Tsu derives from an English pun, as "tsu" (通 tsū, meaning Expert) when spoken aloud sounds similar to the English word "two". Compile continued this pun for Puyo Puyo SUN and Puyo Puyo~n.
Gameplay
Just like the first game, Puyo fall from the top of the screen in pairs, can be moved left and right, and can be rotated clockwise and counter-clockwise by 90°; if the third column from the left fills up to the top, the game is over. The game has multiple new rules. The first extended rule added to this game was called Sousai (Garbage Countering). This will allow a player to counter and negate garbage being sent by the opponent with chains of their own. Sousai can also be used to send garbage back to the opponent, known as Garbage overflow. The standard ojamas were kept with the release of Puyo Puyo Tsu, however, two new garbage types also appeared, known as Point Puyos and Hard Puyos. Point Puyos, when erased adjacently with neighbouring groups of puyos, add points to your overall score, and can also make your chains more powerful in the short-term. Hard Puyos, when they land on the field, are harder to erase than Standard Garbage or Point Puyos, and are often referred to as Steelies.
Unlike its predecessor, Puyo Puyo Tsu has three different modes for each type. The three main modes are, Single Puyo Puyo, Double Puyo Puyo, and Endless Puyo Puyo. For Super Puyo Puyo 2, and Super Puyo Puyo 2 Remix, using a Super Multitap, an additional mode known as Minna de Puyo Puyo (Everybody Puyo Puyo, also the name of a Puyo Puyo game for the Game Boy Advance), means that up to 4 players (though for Remix, including a COM player) can play. Single Puyo Puyo is a story mode. In an attempt not only to steal Arle's heart, but also to nab Kaa-Kun, Satan sets up a battle tower, in which Arle has to beat characters on each floor to climb up the tower. As Arle wins every match, she gains bonus points which add on to her total score, and this acts as Experience. As a result, the chains are weaker and do less damage, but it means the game is harder. There are five predefined rule sets available in the versus menu. The player can set custom rules. Multiplayer lets multiple players play together.
Development
Puyo Puyo Tsu was originally developed by Compile and released by Sega for arcades in 1994, and became the biggest arcade game to have been played in Japan since the arrival of Street Fighter II. The success of the game prompted Compile to port the game to several consoles and computers, including the Super Famicom, Mega Drive, PC Engine, Game Boy, Game Gear, Sega Saturn, PlayStation, PC under Windows 95, Wonderswan, Neo Geo Pocket Color, PlayStation 2, et al. The Game Boy Advance and N-Gage games Puyo Pop are also heavily based on this particular installment of the series, a Virtual Boy was in development, but never released due to the system's failure.
The Mega Drive version added a 4-player mode - Compile's first attempt at such a mode for a domestic console - with the use of a multitap. Without a multitap, 3 and 4 MAN players cannot be played. Months later, Compile released Super Puyo Puyo Tsu Remix (す〜ぱ〜ぷよぷよ通リミックス Sūpā Puyo Puyo Tsū Rimikkusu), a special version of the Super Famicom game that allowed up to 4 players to play without the need of the multitap, by replacing the human players with computer ones. A port was also released for the PC Engine (in Super CD-ROM² format) titled Puyo Puyo CD Tsu (ぷよぷよCD通 Puyo Puyo Shī Dī Tsū). Super Puyo Puyo Tsu Remix also included two new Extended Training and Special Modes, as well as other features. Another case are the PC-Engine CD, Saturn and PlayStation versions, which add voice-overs and cutscenes. The PC version of Puyo Puyo Tsu was the only version to include a separate Nazo Puyo quest, as the CD versions had a "cut-down" version included into them. To show the success of Puyo Puyo Tsu, in the Sega Ages 2500 series for the PlayStation 2, Sega released a version entitled Sega Ages 2500 series Vol. 12: Puyo Puyo Tsu PERFECT SET (セガエイジズ2500シリーズ Vol.12 ぷよぷよ通パーフェクトセット Sega Eijizu Shirīzu Boryūmu Touerubu: Puyo Puyo Tsū), which paid tribute to one of the most popular versions, the Sega Saturn version. Only one version of Puyo Puyo Tsu was internationally released, and that was Puyo Pop for the Neo Geo Pocket Color, which was the first Puyo Puyo game to use the international title of Puyo Pop, but the third Western release after Dr. Robotnik's Mean Bean Machine and Kirby's Ghost Trap/Avalanche. Like some other Neo Geo Pocket Color games, the Japanese version of the game feature options in English, since the console is set for that language.
For the first time, the arcade version of Puyo Puyo Tsu finally saw a western release on April 26, 2016 by developer M2 for the Nintendo 3DS as a part of the Sega 3D Classics Collection game pack after nearly twelve years of being exclusive to Asia.
References
- ↑ Nintendo (March 10, 2008). "Puyo Puyo 2". Archived from the original on November 22, 2010. Retrieved 10 April 2016.
- ↑ Roberto Magistretti (September 11, 2015). "Sega Classics 2: Power Drift arriving and Puyo Puyo 2!". Retrieved 12 September 2015.
- ↑ SEGA (April 8, 2016). "SEGA 3D CLASSICS™ COLLECTION". Retrieved 10 April 2016.