Puyo Puyo (ぷよぷよ Puyo Puyo) 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 Dōji Keshi, simultaneous erasing) 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 Ojama Puyo, Hindrance Puyo) 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.
Games[]
Compile[]
- Original game
| Title | Publisher(s) | Platform(s) | Release date |
|---|---|---|---|
| Puyo Puyo | Compile | MSX | October 25, 1991 |
| Tokuma Shoten | Famicom Disk System | ||
| Tokuma Shoten | Family Computer | July 23, 1993 |
First-Party-Published Games[]
This section consists of games that were developed by Compile and published by Sega.[1][2][3]
| Title | Platform(s) | Release date | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Puyo Puyo | Arcade | October 1992 | |
| Mega Drive | December 18, 1992 | This version was remade and re-released in some other countries as Dr. Robotnik's Mean Bean Machine by Sega on November 26, 1993. | |
| Game Gear | March 19, 1993 | This version was remade and re-released in some other countries as Dr. Robotnik's Mean Bean Machine by Sega in December 1993. | |
| Nazo Puyo | Game Gear | July 23, 1993 | |
| Nazo Puyo 2 | Game Gear | December 10, 1993 | |
| Puyo Puyo~n | Dreamcast | March 4, 1999 |
Third-Party Games[]
This section consists of third-party games for Sega systems. All titles are developed and published by Compile unless otherwise stated.[4][5][6][7]
| Title | Platform(s) | Release date | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Puyo Puyo Tsu | Arcade | September 1994 | |
| Mega Drive | December 2, 1994 | ||
| Game Gear | December 16, 1994 | ||
| Sega Saturn | October 27, 1995 | This version was co-developed by Bits Laboratory. | |
| Puyo Puyo Sun | Arcade | December 1996 | |
| Sega Saturn | February 14, 1997 | ||
| Waku Waku Puyo Puyo Dungeon | Sega Saturn | April 2, 1998 | |
| Madou Monogatari | Sega Saturn | July 23, 1998 | This is the first console game to acknowledge Sega's ownership of the Puyo Puyo characters. |
| Puyo Puyo DA! | Dreamcast | December 16, 1999 | |
| Arcade | December 26, 1999 |
Non-Sega System Titles[]
This section consists of titles that acknowledge Sega's ownership of Puyo Puyo despite not being on a Sega system. All titles are developed and published by Compile unless otherwise stated.
- Ports
| Title | Platform(s) | Release date | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Puyo Puyo Sun | Game Boy Color | November 27, 1998 | |
| Puyo Puyo Tsu | WonderSwan | March 11, 1999 | This port was published by Bandai. |
| Neo Geo Pocket Color | July 22, 1999 | This port was published by SNK. It was also released in North America and Europe as Puyo Pop. | |
| Waku Waku Puyo Puyo Dungeon Ketteiban | PlayStation | March 8, 1999 | An upgraded version of Waku Waku Puyo Puyo Dungeon. |
| Puyo Puyo~n | Nintendo 64 | December 3, 1999 | |
| PlayStation | December 16, 1999 | ||
| Game Boy Color | September 22, 2000 |
- New Titles
| Title | Platform(s) | Release date |
|---|---|---|
| Puyo Puyo Gaiden: Puyo Wars | Game Boy Color | August 27, 1999 |
| Arle no Bouken: Mahou no Jewel | Game Boy Color | March 31, 2000 |
| Puyo Puyo Box | PlayStation | December 21, 2000 |
- Disc Station volumes
All of the Disc Station volumes were released by Compile for Windows PCs. Vol. 19 is the first volume to mention Sega owning Puyo Puyo.
| Title | Release date | Content | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Disc Station Vol. 19 | July 6, 1998 | Madou RUN | ||
| Disc Station Vol. 20 | September 6, 1998 | Comet Summoner | Nazo Puyo | Nazo Puyo Editor v.1.00 |
| Disc Station Vol. 21 | December 6, 1998 | Nazo Puyo | Nazo Puyo Editor v.1.01 | |
| Disc Station Vol. 22 | March 6, 1999 | Comet Summoner: Time Trial Version | Nazo Puyo Editor v.1.02 | |
| Disc Station Vol. 23 | June 6, 1999 | Puyo Card | Nazo Puyo Editor v.1.03 | |
| Disc Station Vol. 24 | September 6, 1999 | Nazo Puyo Editor v.1.04 | ||
| Disc Station Vol. 25 | December 6, 1999 | Nazo Puyo Editor v.1.05 | ||
| Disc Station Vol. 26 | March 6, 2000 | Nazo Puyo Editor v.1.06 | ||
| Disc Station Vol. 27 | June 6, 2000 | Restaurant King | Nazo Puyo Editor v.1.07 | |
Sonic Team/Sega[]
| Title | Platform(s) | Release date |
|---|---|---|
| Minna de Puyo Puyo | Game Boy Advance | October 18, 2001 |
| Puyo Puyo Fever | Arcade | November 26, 2003 |
| PlayStation 2 | February 4, 2004 | |
| Dreamcast | February 24, 2004 | |
| GameCube | February 27, 2004 | |
| Xbox | ||
| Mac OS X | June 24, 2004 | |
| Game Boy Advance | July 24, 2004 | |
| Microsoft Windows | September 24, 2004 | |
| Pocket PC | October 24, 2004 | |
| Nintendo DS | December 24, 2004 | |
| PlayStation Portable | ||
| Puyo Puyo Fever 2 | PlayStation 2 | November 24, 2005 |
| PlayStation Portable | ||
| Nintendo DS | December 24, 2005 | |
| Puyo Puyo! 15th Anniversary | Nintendo DS | December 14, 2006 |
| PlayStation 2 | March 21, 2007 | |
| PlayStation Portable | ||
| Wii | July 26, 2007 | |
| Puyo Puyo 7 | Nintendo DS | July 30, 2009 |
| PlayStation Portable | November 30, 2009 | |
| Wii | ||
| Puyo Puyo!! 20th Anniversary | Nintendo DS | July 14, 2011 |
| PlayStation Portable | December 15, 2011 | |
| Wii | ||
| Nintendo 3DS | ||
| Puyo Puyo Tetris | PlayStation 3 | February 6, 2014 |
| Nintendo 3DS | ||
| PlayStation Vita | ||
| Wii U | ||
| Xbox One | December 4, 2014 | |
| PlayStation 4 | ||
| Nintendo Switch | March 3, 2017 | |
| Microsoft Windows | February 27, 2018 | |
| Puyo Puyo Chronicle | Nintendo 3DS | December 8, 2016 |
| Puyo Puyo Champions | PlayStation 4 | October 25, 2018 |
| Nintendo Switch | ||
| Puyo Puyo Tetris 2 | Nintendo Switch | December 8, 2020 |
| PlayStation 4 | ||
| PlayStation 5 | ||
| Xbox One | ||
| Xbox Series X/S | ||
| Microsoft Windows |
Print Media[]
The following print media was released around the time Sega gained ownership of Puyo Puyo.
| Title (English) | Title (Japanese) | Title (Romanized) | Publisher | Imprint | First release | Last release |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Puyo Puyo: 4 Panel Gag Battle | ぷよぷよ4コマギャグバトル | Puyo Puyo: Yonkoma Gyagu Batoru | Kobunsha | Shonen-O Hitama Game Comic Series | April 1996 | October 1998 |
| More! Puyo Puyo | とっても!ぷよぷよ | Motto! Puyo Puyo | Shogakukan | Tentomushi Comics Special | October 1996 | May 2000 |
| Madou Monogatari '98 - The Terrifying Dimensional Lifeforms! | 魔導物語’98―次元生命体の恐怖!の巻 | Madō Monogatari '98 ― Jigen Seimeitai no Kyōfu! no Maki | ASCII | Famitsu Bunko | August 1998 | |
| Puyo Puyo | ぷよぷよ | Puyo Puyo | Enix | Hyper G Comic Anthology | December 1998 | |
| Ma Madou Monogatari | 真・魔導物語 | Ma Madō Monogatari | ASCII | Famitsu Bunko | December 1998 | March 1, 2001 |
| Puyo Puyo: 4 Panel Kings | ぷよぷよ4コマKINGS | Puyo Puyo: Yonkoma Kings | Studio DNA | DNA Media Comics | January 1999 | |
| Puyo Puyo Short Comic Kings | ぷよぷよショートコミックKINGS | Puyo Puyo Shōto Komikku Kings | Studio DNA | DNA Media Comics | February 1999 | |
| Cho Madou Monogatari | 超・魔導物語 | Chō Madō Monogatari | Kadokawa Shoten | Sneaker Bunko | March 1999 | February 2000 |
| Puyo Puyo Gaiden: Puyo Wars | ぷよぷよ外伝 ぷよウォーズ | Puyo Puyo Gaiden: Puyo Uōzu | ASCII | Famitsu Bunko | August 1999 | |
| Puyo Puyo Gaiden: Puyo Wars 4 Panel DX | ぷよぷよ外伝ぷよウォーズ4コマDX | Puyo Puyo Gaiden: Puyo Uōzu Yonkoma DX | Soft Bank Creative | SB Comics Game Series | November 1999 | |
| Waku Waku Puyo Puyo Dungeon | わくわくぷよぷよダンジョン | Waku Waku Puyo Puyo Danjon | Enix | Gangan Fantasy Comics | November 1999 | May 2003 |
| Puyo Puyo Fever 4 Panel kings | ぷよぷよフィーバー4コマkings | Puyo Puyo Fībā Yonkoma kings | Ichijinsha | ID Comics/DNA Media Comics | June 25, 2004 | |
| Puyo Puyo | ぷよぷよ | Puyo Puyo | Kadokawa Shoten | Tsubasa Bunko | April 11, 2014 | July 11, 2015 |