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3DS

Japan

Puyo Puyo Tetris Review

by Daan Koopman - February 26, 2014, 2:32 pm EST
Total comments: 1

8.5

When the two best puzzlers combine their powers, something simply amazing happens!

Puyo Puyo and Tetris seems like a weird mix at first. The rapid nature of Tetris versus the more strategy filled Puyo Puyo are not quite in the same league. Despite this, I was incredibly hyped and was hoping for it to be something I could spend a lot of quality time with. It turns out that my excitement was completely justified, and Puyo Puyo Tetris is one of the best things that I ever downloaded to my Japanese system.

When you boot up the game, you are instantly greeted by the colorful title screen. You are also greeted by three options that allow you to instantly start a game of Puyo Puyo, Tetris or Mix Mode. The reason why that is so important is that a puzzle game should wear its pick-up-and-play factor on its sleeves and Puyo Puyo Tetris does exactly that. The fact that I can boot up the game and be in a game in less than a minute is perfect for a handheld experience like this. It also helps that the gameplay runs quite smooth, which certainly keeps you coming back for more instant fun.

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After starting the game a whole selection of modes open up to you and it is impressive that no content is lost between any of the versions. No matter if you want to play it on your Nintendo 3DS, Wii U or any other platform, there is a good chance that all of the options are available for you to tinker around with. It is certainly an impressive package in that regard and all of the versions offer the same fun experiences for their package. Every version also shares the same crisp look with some nice music to go along with it.

First of all, there is full story mode in which you follow the characters of the Puyo Puyo franchise. They will meet new friends who don't seem to know your game and only play something called Tetris. In fact, their names are pretty much the titles of the blocks that are used to play the title. In this story mode, you will play missions which vary from duking it out against opponents to rapidly clearing certain objectives. The structure is once again perfect for on the go and you can easily knock out a couple of the missions while you are not busy.

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If you are not interested in the dialogue, you can also choose to just play random modes. This is also where my only complaint comes into play, although I will admit that it is somewhat personal. There are not many single player focused modes found here; there are just three for each puzzler. Even with those, they don't change up the rules all too much, which is a shame. Tetris and Puyo Puyo had both brilliant side dish stuff in the past, but Puyo Puyo Tetris doesn’t push those boundaries. Puyo Puyo just gives you a bigger field mode and Tetris asks to clear 40 lines as quickly as possible or score big within three minutes. Then again, the standard basic mode is available for each side so there is that.

For the most fun, single player or with others, you need to be in the various versus options. The creativity shines through these modes and they all quite prove to be really replayable. Of course, there is the basic VS Mode and here you can freely choose between Puyo Puyo and Tetris. Mix Mode makes things really intense as you tackle both Tetriminos and Puyos on the same playing field. The additional layer of strategy involved with this puts you at the edge of your seat and it becomes quite intense once you get the hang of it. Then there is Swap Mode, where you swap every 30 seconds between a Tetris and Puyo Puyo field. Party Mode offers the same basic gameplay as the versus mode, but with the twist that they are now items in play. You can really screw over others by preventing them from twisting any of their pieces, for example. Last but not least, there is the Big Bang Mode, which is basically an Endless Fever game. You will have to continue solve easy puzzles for points and build up an attack bar. After a certain amount of time has passed, you will duke it out and those with an edge can deal some hefty damage to the opponent's hit points.

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Download and multi-card multiplayer is available for those with friends with Japanese units and everyone will have a great time. Download play is quick to setup and the download time is very short. All modes can also be enjoyed over the internet, that way you can play anyone who has a copy in his or her possession. You can play against random folk or easily set up a match with a friend. Even crazier, you can make your own lobbies and add specific rules to challenge the internet at large. Throughout all of it, you try to reach the top and increase your rank score to become the number one player in the world. SEGA is also planning to expand the game with some DLC and they have released quite a few pieces of content already. You will not find any gated features though, as this mostly concerns additional skins and characters.

Puyo Puyo Tetris is a colorful and bright puzzle game that succeeds in hitting the right notes. There is much creativity found in all the newly designed modes and the story component, though the single player offerings could have been expanded. The game offers the full suite of multiplayer options, making it a great party game. The ability to make lobbies with your own rules and duke it out against an online community is impressive and outshines many other Nintendo 3DS offerings. If you need one puzzle game to rule them all, you can't go wrong this one.

Summary

Pros
  • Crisp and clear style
  • Full suite of multiplayer options
  • Fun mission mode
  • Newly designed modes are excellent
  • Perfect for that pick-up-and-play feel
Cons
  • Single player offerings could have been stronger

Talkback

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DkbZu3I94wI

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Puyo Puyo Tetris Box Art

Genre Puzzle
Developer Sega
Players1 - 4

Worldwide Releases

jpn: Puyo Puyo Tetris
Release Feb 06, 2014
PublisherSega
RatingAll Ages

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