If you like Tetris or Super Puzzle Fighter, then you’ll love Puyo Pop. Puyo Pop is one of those puzzle games that fall under the category of “simple to learn but difficult to master.” The player controls falling blobs (called Puyo) in groups of two. They can be rotated in any direction just like a Tetris piece. The goal is to group together packages of four same-colored blobs. Once four of the same colored pieces have been joined, they disappear. Kirby’s Avalanche on SNES is a spin off of this game.
Unlike Tetris, the possibilities of combos and bonuses are limitless. Stringing together multiple types of pieces is the single key factor in this game. Combos force opponents to suffer as Garbage Puyo are sent over to their screen. The only way to get rid of Garbage Puyo is to group together more Puyo. Just like any other puzzle game, once the pieces reach the top of the screen, the game ends.
The single player mode is a little strange. The player takes control of a little girl as she takes an adventure. On this strange adventure, she meets up with goofy characters like mermaids, skeletons, and ghosts. This single player story mode is just a loose way to link the main game together. It can easily be seen that the dialog has been heavily translated from the Japanese language, as most conversations do not make sense. But the story portion of the game is not important anyway. And if the Story mode was not enough for a single player, then Endless mode can be utilized.
The best part about this game is the multiplayer aspect. Up to four players can all compete off a single game pak. Multi-pak link mode offers a few more options but is available only if every player has a copy of the game. The game screen automatically formats itself according to how many people are playing so everyone’s screen is displayed at once. When playing with four players, the screen does get a little squished and cramped but it is nice to know what your opponents are planning. This game is worthy of a purchase just for the multiplayer aspect only.
Once you start playing this game, you will be hooked. The game play is fast, addicting and responsive, the multiplayer is one of the best on GBA through the use of a single game pak with short load times. The game even auto saves everything. The only thing weak about this game is the awkward story line, but it does not have a big role in this game anyway. This game belongs the cartridge slot of every GBA.
