Puyo Puyo

About

Puyo Puyo is a puzzle game where players link colored gelatinous blobs to clear them from a grid while sending obstacles to opponents. Single-player follows Arle Nadja, a spellcaster battling 12 rivals and a prince企图 to seize the world. Matches rely on chaining combos to maximize cleared blocks, with each connection sending garbage rows to the enemy’s board. Double mode pits two players directly against each other, turning every match into a back-and-forth battle of chain-building skill. Endless mode focuses on scoring as high as possible by clearing blocks nonstop. The game’s straightforward yet strategic gameplay helped it become a staple in Japan’s puzzle scene. Though its story is light, the competitive mechanics and variety of modes kept players engaged. It spawned a decades-long series known for its frantic multiplayer and annual tournaments. While later entries added depth, this original version remains a template for its genre’s reactive, high-stakes matches. Still played in local competitions, it holds a 8.5/10 average on Japanese retro forums.

Storyline

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. In Single mode, the player takes on the role of Arle Nadja, a 16-year-old female spellcaster that has the pleasure of foiling the Dark Prince's plans. The Dark Prince wishes to take over the world, and Arle stands in his way. As such, Arle must first however battle her way through 12 opponents before facing the Dark Prince. With the exception of Rulue, they are not sent by the Dark Prince, and mostly they just want to pull shenanigans with her (for Rulue, she fell in love with the Dark Prince). Once Arle has beaten the Dark Prince, 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. In Double 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 Offsetting in Puyo Puyo 2 and onwards. This lets players counter opponents' attacks with chains of their own, sending any garbage blocks back to them as a result of overflow. In endless mode, the player must continually match puyos to get the highest score they can. In Mission mode, the player must complete 52 missions requiring the Puyos on the field to be eliminated by using limited pieces.