This is Saturn gets puzzled, with Puyo Puyo Sun

This is Saturn bounces back with Puyos, Suns, Arle Nadja, Satan, and more!

This time, we’re having a look at the third game in the incredibly popular Puyo Puyo series, Puyo Puyo Sun! Many’s first experience with the puzzler series was Dr Robotnik’s Mean Bean Machine; a game I personally still don’t like much. But can the same be said of Sun? Find out in this episode of This is Saturn!

This is Saturn is a video series created by British teenager Liam ‘TrackerTD’ Ashcroft, aiming to give an alternative and in-depth look at the good, the bad, and the ugly of SEGA Saturn gaming, all whilst maintaining a somewhat strong accent.

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SEGA in the Media: No Continue Kid shows SEGA lots of virtua love

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The arcades were a big part of Japan’s youth group up in the 80’s and 90’s, so its no surprise that a Japanese drama show based around these time periods would be created. No Continue Kid: Our Game History (ノーコン・キッド ~ぼくらのゲーム史~) is a TV show revolving around Reiji Watanabe, who in 1983 isn’t very interested in arcade games. The only reason he has to put up with them is because his father owns a game center. Reiji sees a girl he likes come in daily named Fumiyoshi Takano, she usually plays Xevious and leaves. Reiji decides to give this Xevious game a try to impress her and gets the best local player, Akinobu Kido (who goes by ‘Kid’, his high score handle) to teach him.

The show focuses on the friendships of these characters along with a new ‘Game Center’ trends throughout the decades (this show spans from 1983 to 2013 in 12 episodes) and even some console gaming love. Today we will be looking at some of the SEGA centric episodes including one for Columns, Fantasy Zone and two whole episodes based around the Virtua Fighter 2 fighting phenomenon. Let’s take a dramatized trip to the arcade scene in Japan from the 80’s through the 90’s, SEGA style!

SEGA in the Charts: MediaCreate charts for Feb 03 – Feb 09 2014

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It’s not been long since the last “SEGA in the Charts” posts where I reported the sombre news of SEGA’s rhythm dance title Umetaki 575 failing at retail. This week however we see one of SEGA’s big hitters arrive in the Japanese market, the latest entry into the Puyo Puyo series where SEGA mixes and matches it’s traditional puzzle series with the 80s classic Tetris. Launching on several SKUs (Nintendo 3DS, Wii U and Sony Playstation 3 and Vita) promises to be one of SEGA’s strong sellers this year, hit after the break to find out how well the title did.

Why YOU should be interested in Puyo Puyo Tetris

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I’m sure by now you have heard of Sonic Team’s Puyo Puyo Tetris crossover game. I’m not going to give any long-winded lectures about why you should get this game. I’m only going to give you a few facts from the Japanese site along with videos that I hope will get you interested in the game if you weren’t interested before. There are some really cool looking modes and I wanted to spread awareness.

Update: We’ve been informed by @STORMKAMI that a demo went up on the JP PSN store yesterday. If you want to, try out the demo and let us know what you think in the comments.

Puyo Puyo Tetris trailer solves the ‘how it plays’ puzzle


We announced that SEGA was planning the ultimate puzzle crossover earlier this week and now we have a trailer (above) of the game in action. Knowing that both Puyo Puyo and Tetris have their own rules, how would SEGA combined them? It seems that one player will be able to play either Puyo Puyo rules or Tetris rules or vice versa.

As far as the trailer go, it is really in the vein of ‘Puyo Puyo’ with bright cheerful tone that reminds us of Puyo Puyo Fever. At TGS SEGA showed off ‘swap mode’ that will have players switching between Tetris and Puyo Puyo games or the option to play Tetris vs Tetris/Puyo vs Puyo. The game is set to release in Japan on the Playstation 3, Playstation Vita, Nintendo 3DS, and Wii U sometime next year.

Famitsu reveals Puyo Puyo Tetris for Playstation and Nintendo platforms

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Yes, that’s right puzzle fans. The “Mario & Sonic” of puzzle games is coming.

Famitsu reports that a Puyo Puyo Tetris game is due out in 2014 for PlayStation 3, PlayStation Vita, Nintendo 3DS, and Wii U. This wouldn’t be the first time SEGA has been involved in a Tetris game. In 1989 SEGA developed and published Tetris for the SEGA System 16 and SEGA System E hardware. In 2000 the SEGA Dreamcast saw the release of The Next Tetris, a Tetris title that took advantage of the console’s modem for online gameplay.

Nothing more has been revealed of this unique collaboration, but as soon as we learn more we’ll be sure to share it!

Free to play Puyo Puyo! Quest releases to the Japanese App Store

File this one under “release this West, SEGA!”. The free to play iOS game Puyo Puyo! Quest has released to the Japanese App Store. Described as a puzzle RPG, the game has players challenging their friends to see who is the strongest player. The game appears to be a bit different than traditional Puyo Puyo titles, relying on teams, character cards, creating guilds, and utilizing power ups. While the game is free to play, there are some pay elements. The game looks just as bright and colorful as the excellent Puyo Pop Fever, fingers crossed that SEGA brings this west.

Puyo Puyo 20th Anniversary Trailer

Sega’s popular (in Japan) puzzle series Puyo Puyo marks it’s 20th anniversary this year and Sega is putting out a new Puyo Puyo game for PSP, 3DS, DS and Wii this year (again, in Japan). Western Sega fans may know this game more when it was Dr. Robotnik’s Mean Bean Machine. Don’t expect to see any of these Puyo Puyo games reach the states as the market for them here doesn’t exist.

[Source: GoNintendo]

Puyo Puyo 20th Anniversary – Trailer

This year isn’t just Sonics 20th birthday! No, this year is also the 20th anniversary of one of the best if not the very best ‘falling blocks’ puzzle game ever, Puyo Puyo! To celebrate, Sega is releasing a Puyo Puyo 20th Anniversary game for the Nintendo DS which will feature 20 years of Puyo Puyo game modes and characters.

These modes are from fan favourites like Puyo Puyo Sun, Tsu and Puyo Pop Fever amongst others. Returning characters range from the early days right up to Puyo Puyo 7. The Puyo Puyo 20th Anniversary game features coop and competitive wireless gameplay for up to 8 players!

If nothing else, the trailer is worth a watch simply for that man in the ball… Good stuff Japan!

Puyo Puyo 20th Anniversary Game Announced for Japan

From French gaming sites Gamekult and jeuxvideo24 comes information on Puyo Puyo’s 20th anniversary game. That’s right, Sonic isn’t the only one having a birthday in 2011. A translation of one of the articles reveals quite a bit of information. First off, the game will be for the Nintendo DS. There will be 15 variations on the rules, such as rules from Sun (the third game) and Fever (the fifth game). Also, the game will include a tag team mode, featuring two on two play. It also sounds like you will be able to purchase items in a shop mode. Very cool!