Puyo Puyo

Puyo Puyo (ぷよぷよ) is a series of tile-matching video games created by Compile. Sega has owned the franchise since 1998, with games after 2001 being developed by Sonic Team. Puyo Puyo was created as a spin-off to Madou Monogatari, a series of first-person dungeon crawler RPGs by Compile.

Primary Gameplay
The objective of the game is to defeat all opponents in a battle by causing the third spot from the left in the top row (which is depicted with a red X in later versions of Puyo Puyo) to become occupied by something that does not immediately leave. The Puyo are round, slime-like creatures who, in most variations of the game, fall from the top of the screen in pairs, triplets, or tetrads. 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, they disappear. Puyo connect horizontally or vertically, but not diagonally; the whole group doesn't need to be a line, but can be any tetromino or larger.

The Puyo above those that are cleared fall onto other pieces or the bottom of the screen. Simultaneous Pops (同時消し) are created when more than one group is formed at a time.

A Chain is made when falling Puyo cause a new group of Puyo to Pop, making a chain reaction. For example, grid 7 will form a 2 Chain, grid 8 will form a 3 Chain, and grid 9 will form a 5 Chain.

When a Chain is achieved, Nuisance Puyo (お邪魔ぷよ) are sent to either clog the opponent's screen or to cancel out (offset, 相殺) the Nuisance Puyo sent by the opponent. Nuisance Puyo are translucent pieces that disappear when Puyo are popped next to them. If multiple groups of Puyo are cleared in succession due to a chain, the amount of Nuisance Puyo will increase based solely on the number of steps in the chain. Nuisance Puyo are cached above the opponent's playing field, and do not fall until the attacker's chain concludes, and then the defender puts down a piece. Nuisance Puyo block the opponents' playing fields, and can cause them to lose if one is placed the third spot from the left in the top row.

Franchise History
Puyo Puyo was developed by Kazunari Yonemitsu.

In an attempt to get rid of their debt, Compile sold the rights to Puyo Puyo to Sega in 1998.

Print Media
The following print media was released around the time Sega gained ownership of Puyo Puyo.