Puyo Pop Fever

"Innovative, mind-altering, and fun. Not without some let-downs though."

I played Dr Robotnik's Mean Bean Machine. I got super-addicted. Then I played Super Puyo Puyo on SNES. It was almost as great. And then I saw this out for DS and imported it. Now for the review.

Graphics
Flawless. What can I say? They have that brilliant 2D look usually associated with Super Mario World. The Puyos look nice when they pop, they backgrounds are lush and full of colour, they characters look fantastic. I don't see how they can be improved without changing completely. Simple, yet detailed, yet VERY effective.

Sound
Not bad. But not too good either. The menu music is merely a novelty. It's catchy and fun, but not for very long. Not to mention it's extremely odd. The character voices seem rather odd and seem to be aimed at either a very young audience, or some type of Japanese audience. In game music isn't annoying which is good enough. Very odd, yet very fitting.

Gameplay
It's a falling block game, how hard can the gameplay be to grasp? Well, the controls are just fine, buttons or stylus. Although using the stylus doesn't seem as effective for me it might for you. Whatever cooks your strudle. The differences from the SNES version are that blocks can now fall in clusters. This is a real pain. And also, when four "Nuisance Puyos" (rocks) form a square, they merge into a cluster. This is psychologically unbalancing as it looks different and scary. I don't like it when that happens.

Multiplayer
Up to 8 people from a single card. Nice. Let me rephrase. Up to 8 people SIMULTANEOUSLY from a single card. I've only ever done 2, which..... Put it this way - It wasn't awful. But I can see the potential for 4 players, or 8.

Replayability
Score based game. Infinite replayability. Although those with a weak psyche could need a doctor after too much Puyo Pop.

Use Of DS Features
Not the best, but at least it's using them. At the menu screen you can juggle a Puyo with the stylus in a minigame, initiated by blowing your mic. During the game you can blow the mic and your character will send out a remark. The mic is too sensitive though, as in a car where there is wind around, the taunt is repeated. Thank the gaming gods for volume control.

Rent/Buy
If you can find a place that lets you rent DS games, more power to you.

Conclusion
A great game that I am proud to have in my collection

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 09/12/05