Super Puzzle Fighter II Turbo

"Great Puzzle Game from Capcom!!!"

After releasing countless top fighting games, Capcom decided to try something else. Yes, it's a puzzle game this time and Capcom decided to borrow certain characters from Street Fighter series and Dark Stalkers series.

The style of gameplay is quite similar to any other tile-dropping [Or in this situation, gem-dropping] game, particularly any other Tetris game but a catch makes this title many times more faster and thrilling than any other similar puzzle game genre.

Much like tetris concept, your task is to get rid of many gems as possible to prevent the gems from accumulating into a tower. But its innovative concept and its unqiueness make it stand out. When four or more similar coloured gems amassed in a cube, they become power gems, which can demolish your opponent by filling up his side in one fell swoop. Unqiue numbered tiles count down before they can be trashed-they are an uncontrollable obstacle when first dropped but can be your saviour when they turn into regular gems, thus adding furthur depth to the gameplay.

On the downside, the recycled Super Street Fighter II characters and Dark Stalkers characters don't serve much purpose as it doesn't really matter much about which characters you choose but how you play it and clear the stack of gems.

Of course, you can agrue that different characters have different moves. For example, if you succeed filling up your opponent sides with large number of gems in one swoop, you may see your character performing his or her special moves. For example, Ryu has his powerful fireball.

However, i have to admit that the characters are very well animated and because of the occasionally special moves that your character or your opponent may execute, it makes the gameplay far more exciting and challenging than any other similar game.

Sound is quite good and up to Capcom's standard. And, you can expect to hear some of the familar Street Fighter or Dark Stalkers tunes. There is a wide variation of challenge and Artifical Intelligence or Al is quite good.

Like any other Tetris game, Super Puzzle Fighter II Turbo is highly addictive and any puzzle-lover fans shouldn't do without it.

Graphics : 9.0/10.0
Concept : 9.5/10.0
Control : 9.0/10.0
Music : 7.5/10.0
Sound : 8.0/10.0
Gameplay : 10.0/10.0
Replay : 10.0/10.0
Overall : 9.0/10.0

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 01/25/00, Updated 12/16/02