Battle of the Ports - Puyo Puyo (ぷよぷよ) Show

[@glenolivier8099]

That combo on the Macintosh version was pretty amazing.

[@ExtremeWreck]

Glen Olivier Wait, HOW WOULD IT GET A MACINTOSH PORT!? I THOUGHT JAPAN NEVER HAD A MACINTOSH!!!!!!!

[@windowsxpnt2347]

Extreme Wreck 2000 they did have the Macintosh, in-fact japan got exclusive Macintosh variants like the color/colour classic 2

[@ktychp]

Not him

[@josephfrye7342]

@@ExtremeWreck actually they do have Macintosh

[@ExtremeWreck]

@@josephfrye7342 I've learned this all these years later...

[@Larry]

Have you ever thought of covering Lemmings yet? That got a ton of ports, even a cancelled Arcade version.

[@Jamesfo8rf]

Lemmings would be a good video. I only know of the 16bit versions but I think there are a number of 8 bit versions as well, the game gear comes to mind. I think there might have even been a Amstrad cpc version. No doubt it would be a bit crap, but I might be wrong.

[@Jamesfo8rf]

I think it might take Mark a while to do lemmings. There are over 25 ports according to wiki. It would be a very little big episode for battle of the ports. Are you up to the challenge Mark? 😅

[@RetroCore]

Maybe in the future. To be honest Larry, I'm not really a fan of the game. Probably because I was brought up on console games rather than computers. Back in the day my mates had speccys, CPCs, and the two rich kids had Amigas. I had a Master System which eventually became a Mega Drive and Super famicom. My first ever machine though was a Commodore Plus 4. however that broke after a year.

[@ChristopherSobieniak]

Larry Bundy Jr That arcade version sounds intriguing.

[@enigma776]

Could be wrong but I think it was planned to use the Amiga Arcade hardware which never really took off and probably the reason Lemmings arcade never happened.

[@geoserenity]

Me and my wife (at breakfast): Me: oh hey, battle of the ports...oh, puyo puyo My wife: ooh, puyo puyo (snatches tablet and proceeds to watch, spoiling it for me as she watches) Me: ...well, today sucks now...

[@RetroCore]

Cool to know your wife watched Battle Of the Ports. My wife thinks I'm a nut case for making them :p

[@josephfrye7342]

@@RetroCore yeah but puyo puyo was only just a Japanese thing until it got reskinned outside of japan.

[@Liansuo_Lv]

13:46 Draco just smoked all the weed.

[@aliffubuntu]

Don’t forget that many westerners got their first taste of the Puyo-Puyo franchise via Dr Robotnik’s Mean Bean Machine and Kirby’s Avalanche which is a western reskin of the Mega Drive and the SNES versions respectively.

[@RetroCore]

Yep, I know and both are awful compared to the original. Or at least I think so. Did you know that Kirby's Avalanche is also called Kirby's Ghost Trap in some parts of the western world.

[@ExtremeWreck]

Retro Core XD never knew that, but to me they're better. At least they didn't turning it into a Bubsy game, now THAT would be a HORRIBLE IDEA!

[@angelriverasantana7755]

Retro Core Kirby's Avalanche ended up being better, because it has a buncha added features because of using the Super Puyo Puyo 2 Remix engine (Accessed through a cheat menu, like offseting/Sousai), completely original backgrounds, nice Puyo-fied renditions of Kirby music, and some funny dialogue (Apparently, Kirby's just as snarky as Arle in that title)

[@ExtremeWreck]

Angel Rivera Santana Yeah, Kirby hates people, including Link.

[@marioghernandez4960]

Retro Core How are they so bad if they're the same game?

[@ChristopherSobieniak]

Well at least there's no UK computer ports to ruin this title!

[@RetroCore]

Ain't that the truth. I'm sure there are many crappy knock offs though.

[@ChristopherSobieniak]

Wouldn't doubt. It was a pretty easy template to crib from.

[@SAM-ru4vx]

what no us gold or ocean?

[@RetroCore]

Thankfully not 😁

[@ChristopherSobieniak]

Retro Core Thank goodness!

[@bit-ishbulldog2089]

I had a time when I was addicted to Poyo Poyo Fever on the PlayStation 2 in two player mode.... The first time ever playing a Poyo Poyo game was Mean Bean Machine on the Mega Drive.. Fantastic little puzzle game that is best played with a friend.

[@ExtremeWreck]

BIT-ISH Bulldog Woah, pretty dank history there.

[@greenknight9000]

14:52 Oh that was _chef kiss_ MAGNIFICENT

[@johns6265]

A great followup to the recent Columns BOTP. Puyo Puyo really demonstrates how simple concepts can be embellished and expanded into something much more interesting. Puyo Puyo Box for the Playstation is a good buy, it contains the Megadrive version of Puyo Puyo, Tsu, plus the Quest mode and various options to add rule set features from later Puyo Puyo games.

[@RetroCore]

I did plan on added the PlayStation Puyo Puyo Box to this video but sadly I ran out of time.

[@cloudusman90]

Fun fact: The PC-9801 had the soundfont which almost resembles the Arcade and Mega Drive/Genesis soundfonts.

[@Harp00nX]

There's an F1 Licenceware game on the Amiga called Outfall which is a very good unofficial Puyo Puyo clone.

[@fran5678can]

Or...Candy Crisis.You had to..PAY FOR THE FULL GAME!?!? I'm glad John Stiles(i actually managed to find his e-mail on his CandyCrisis) made the game opensource. ;)

[@fran5678can]

My YT-kind of-friend(man i forgot to write this part) has a video of gameplay on Outfall for Amiga.

[@Jamesfo8rf]

A very good video! I played the robotnik’s bean machine. A Great game.

[@meeptroid5634]

Oh my god dude. Thanks soooo much for doing this. I've been waiting for this to be brutally honest.

[@RetroCore]

I hope you enjoy it, Meeptroid Zero. This was quite a long one to make.

[@meeptroid5634]

I would imagine. Puyo Puyo and Tsu are full of all sorts of ports. I do have to say though, thanks for getting the MSX2 and FDS detail in there, some people tend to miss it.

[@fhagane6821]

As a puyo fan, it's sad Dr. Robotnik version gets very little love considering it was the entering point for many of us in the west.

[@RetroCore]

To be honest it mostly because it looks ugly and sounds bad unlike the original Puyo Puyo. Actually, Nintendo fans also had their version changed for the West too. Kirby's Ghost Trap in Europe and Kirby's Avalanche in the US.

[@RadioTails]

@@RetroCore This is the VS them for Puyo 1: kzbin.info/www/bejne/i2PGeniJq9erqac This is the VS them for MBM: kzbin.info/www/bejne/aXrXYWmvlKeCkNk The Puyo tracks sounds so happy and cheerful. Doesn't really get me in the mode to compete against my friends. Now the MBM track gets you pumped, ready to battle friends for the title of beat Mean Beaner! And yes, this is a remix of Satan's theme, but not only does it sound better thanks to the drum samples, but fits in really were for a VS theme!

[@josephfrye7342]

@@RetroCore mmh I’m sticking with Japanese one which shows me the original instead of these reskinned nonsense.

[@williamwilliam9993]

A PC-9801 port was released by Compile for the PC-9801 on March 19, 1993 this version also exist on macintosh and windows 3.1, windows 95, and handheld PC/PDA running windows CE

[@coreybookman5823]

14:01 it looks like those edibles are kicking in for Draco

[@topofbones]

I've waiting for this! Love the games saga and played a lot to dr.Robotnik's on megadrive and master system. In fact, I've a SFC cassette of Super Puyo Puyo 2 Amazing combo you did in Macintosh version ;)

[@RetroCore]

That Macintosh footage was a last minute addition. I found out about it's existence on Wednesday.

[@lightdark28]

A Windows 3.1 game? you didn't see those often , since 3.1 was quite cumbersome and apart from some Sierra adventure games, I can't remember too many Win3.1 games. In regards to the sound, Im assuming it only supports the Adlib/Sound Blaster? would be interesting to note if it supports the MT-32 , or a General Midi module.

[@RetroCore]

I'm not sure if the windows port supports other sound cards

[@retrozone_rrf]

Okay , just why the *fuck* this series earned so cult status?

[@RetroCore]

Because it's a fun and addictive game. The newer games from Puyo Puyo Fever are not as good mind you.

[@Bloodreign1]

Also of note, Arle in the PCE CD port is voiced by none other than Kitono Mitsuishi, the voice of Sailor Moon in Japan. She also voiced Arle in the second PCE CD game as well. I've this on Gameboy (might be best I play that on my TV screen via Super Gameboy), SFC, PS1 via PP Box (it's just the MD version again of course) and MD. This game so needed the treatment Puyo Puyo Tsuu got on the PS2, a great version. Shame Sega didn't hide an arcade perfect port within Sega Ages Puyo Puyo Tsuu Perfect Set on the PS2, as Tsuu on that to me IMO is the best version of Tsuu out there today. Come to think of it, surprised you didn't talk about the version on Box when you covered the MD version.

[@Bloodreign1]

I also own Kirby's Avalanche and Mean Bean Machine via Sega collections, I touch neither one as I hate how things were changed when I found out what the true games were later. Also why I don't play Tetris Attack anymore after buying Panel de Pon for SFC.

[@RetroCore]

I was going to cover the PSX Puyo Box set but never got around to it due to time constraints. Oh well, at least the more obscure versions were covered :) Personally I like Puyo Puyo Tsu the best. I played that to death on the Saturn.

[@RetroCore]

Yo and me too. I hate the Mega Drive on in particular. the music is God awful in Dr. Robotnick's Mean Bean Machine.

[@TheChompChamp7650]

@@RetroCore I respect opinions but that hurt!

[@ChikikyoKONAMI]

The MD/GEN port. A perfect PCB rom conversion!!!

[@RetroCore]

Better than perfect since the arcade has awful sound.

[@Nathan-rb3qp]

Why was the text corrupted in the PC-98 version?

[@RetroCore]

Bad version of the game.

[@RetroCore]

That would have been a lot of bad words.

[@Bloodreign1]

@@mastersproutgamer9327 More like just a bad dump of the ROM, happens sometimes. Games still very playable though.

[@tuxedeoproductions3844]

The windows version sounds like your going through a drug trip

[@gtrzdaddy]

nice 7 in a row chain reaction playing the mac version!

[@DanielMonteiroNit]

My N-Gage came with this. It was too easy and I finished it in one afternoon, to never look back

[@angelriverasantana7755]

Of all of the PC releases, I prefer the PC-98 release due to its music being pretty accurate to the arcade, even though it has different FM chip (Also, Windows 3.1, slightly better audio? For the sound effects, but Jesus, what the fuck is up with the music?!)... About the other versions on phone, there's the Futari Yoko version with the awkward horizontal set-up, and the later version of the phone release that follows the arcade's structure faithfuly and features better screen resolution and controls Also, do I hear Arle being voiced by Kotono Mitsuishi in the PCE CD release? That's just as cool as Hiroshi Fujioka voicing Kamen Rider Ichigo in the 1998 Kamen Rider '71 KaZe fighting game on PS1, like in the show (And in the wake of Segata Sanshiro, too)

[@ex_istence2381]

I will never forget when I first played arcade puyo it was great!

[@SPac316]

Nice video. I know the Mega Drive and Game Gear versions were reskinned and released out west as Dr. Robotniks Mean Bean Machine and for SNES as Kirby's Avalanche.

[@RetroCore]

Yes, that's right.

[@shinkenji]

It's funny to see that in the Mega Drive version the Puyos have transparent shadows while in the SNES version they are dithered.

[@RetroCore]

The Mega Drive can actually do that via hardware although it's always black. The Japanese version of Batman also makes use of this feature. For some reason they took it out of the western release.

[@ryzmaker11]

+shinkenji Another similarly funny case (given that SNES is supposed to have better transparency capabilities) is that Super Mario World has dithered water while the Sonic games (Sonic 1-2-3-& Knuckles) have translucent underwater sections. There are also fighting games where the Mega Drive versions have true shadow while SNES ones have dithered shadow.

[@ryzmaker11]

+Retro Core It's by using Mega Drive's shadow/highlight feature. This can generate shadow which match sprites shape. One of the first games I saw doing this was Budokan. btw it's not always black, shadow/highlight can be used for every colors.

[@uubrmanx]

I don't think you noticed, but the Windows 3.1 and MAC versions appear to have been redrawn at a much higher resolution. Also, doesn't the Puyo Box on PC also contain its own port of Puyo Puyo that's not emulated?

[@RetroCore]

You are correct about the Windows and Mac ports having redrawn art assets. I wasn't aware there was a Puyo Box release on the PC. I know there's a Play Station release.

[@AlviEao]

Ah yes, Puyo Puyo. It certainly laid the basic groundwork for its sequels, yet the series doesn't get many English releases that isn't altered like Dr. Robotnik's Mean Bean Machine and Kirby's Avalanche, although Puyo Puyo Tetris recently turned things around again. The PC Engine CD version included familiar voice talent at the time; the original protagonist Arle Nadja was voiced by Kotono Mitsuishi aka Sailor Moon, and she even says "oshioki yo" (I'll punish you!). Both the Mega Drive and arcade versions of Puyo Puyo were later re-released on the Japanese Wii Virtual Console in 2006 and 2011 respectively (the latter came with online multiplayer, until the Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection was shut down in 2014), while the Game Gear version was re-released on the 3DS Virtual Console in 2013 in that same region. The Game Gear version also featured an English translation titled Puzlow Kids when played on a non-Japanese system with a nearly identical script to the obscure English arcade release (whether it's official or not is still a mystery). Along with Ving, SPS also delivered quality Japanese computer ports on most accounts, and Puyo Puyo is no different. The same can't be said for CRI (later CRI Middleware), whose track record of Sega arcade ports is mixed especially with After Burner III (the bastardized ports of Sega AM2's 1991 arcade title Strike Fighter on the Mega-CD and FM Towns). The Game Boy version was handled by Banpresto's usual subcontractor WinkySoft of Super Robot Taisen series, Choujikuu Yousai Macross: Scrambled Valkyrie and Denjin Makai fame.

[@RetroCore]

CRI have always been a pretty awful developer. In fact, the only games they've made that were good are the Aero dancing Dreamcast titles. Oh, they also ported Virtual On to the Saturn which actually tuned out very well. that was a surprise.

[@AlviEao]

Come to think of it, CRI was better at middleware development than video games. Most of the Aero Dancing staff were transferred to Sega AM2, hence working on Aero Dancing 4 (Aero Elite: Combat Academy in North America) and the Bandai-published The Super Dimension Fortress Macross for PlayStation 2.

[@Jac2Mac]

To me, Puyo Puyo was the slow and painful death of Compile as they did nothing but Puyo Puyo games after this became a success while leaving their other franchises like Aleste and Golvellius to die.

[@RetroCore]

Actually, Compile did loads of stuff. The Aleste series was Compile as well as many other shooters that they went unaccredited for.

[@YuukoEnjoyer]

Is the text corrupted or something in the cutscenes in the PC-98 port? It doesnt look like Japanese text at all, not that i can read it either way.

[@RetroCore]

It's a font clashing issue. Nothing I could do to fix it unfortunately.

[@cntrn-ti6xy]

How were you able to record footage of the N-Gage version?

[@RetroCore]

There's a N-Gage emulator that you recompile - github.com/NGEmu/NGEmu

[@cntrn-ti6xy]

Retro Core Nice, I've been looking for one recently! What's next, a Gizmondo emulator? 🤣

[@heathed4945]

The Windows and macintosh versions have draco centauros on high

[@thedylansang]

The reason for the removal of the voices in the Mega Drive version was actually because of the slight audio hardware differences. Also, I normally play with them disabled, because the stop sounds and music from playing when they're playing. Also, I won't criticize you for criticizing the FM Towns port. There were some people who said that it was GOOD, even someone even put in the title of their gameplay video, "Best Version of 'Theme of Puyo Puyo' Here."

[@RetroCore]

Probably they say the FM Towns version is best because they think it makes them look like elite gamers or something?

[@thedylansang]

@@RetroCore Well, I guess they liked the arrangement of that port, they called it "jazzy".

[@Charlie-Cat.]

Ooooh, That sounds great Mark. I can't wait to se it and listen to what you have to say. 8^) Anthony..

[@rockamuse617]

5:38 Me: Did Q*Bert wrote the cutscene text? (It's a joke).

[@IncaWarrior3000]

I knew puyo puyo has ports, but I did not know it has lots of them. There is also a puyo puyo game on the 3ds named sega 3d classic collection.

[@RetroCore]

That's right. I took a look at that one but it's not based upon the original so I left it out of this video.

[@IncaWarrior3000]

Retro Core : You are right, is different from the original arcade... Now that I remember is puyo puyo 2 on the sega 3d classic collection, but the gameplay still the same.

[@RetroCore]

I really do like Puyo Puyo 2. It was one of the games I played most on my Saturn.

[@mastersproutgamer9327]

8:17 Was that a Little Mermaid reference?

[@RetroCore]

Not that I know.

[@mastersproutgamer9327]

@@RetroCore Well, I can tell because you called Arle Nadja "Ariel".

[@dse763]

Just a correction : the MSX 2 version of Puyo Puyo is the original game and first Puyo Puyo to be released, later followed by the Famicom version. Compile later made a deal with SEGA to redesign their game and make the Puyo Puyo we all know. Still, I want to get my hand on the Windows port.

[@RetroCore]

It's a shame modern Puyo Puyo since Puyo Puyop Fever lost it's charm.

[@metalcoola]

Interesting, that so many Puyo Puyo games were later released again, but under different brand (Dr. Robotnik Mean Bean Machine, Kirby Avalanche etc.)

[@rockmanhunter]

2:03 - What!? Scaling on the Mega Drive?? Holy Compile and their tricks.

[@ryzmaker11]

You shouldn't be surprised because actually there are many Mega Drive games with scaling and/or rotation effects and some of them prior to Puyo Puyo. Some examples which come to mind are the Road Rash games, Super Fantasy Zone, Ranger-X, James Pond 3, Mega Turrican or The Lawnmower Man.

[@rockmanhunter]

It's awesome to see a Mega Drive showcasing scaling and rotation on its own, but how they managed to do It without proper hardware support is beyond me. Programing tricks, perhaps?

[@ryzmaker11]

Of course it's programming tricks. The Mega Drive has the best CPU of its time, the M68000, plus a very efficient GPU, all of which leaves lot of freedom for developers :) If you want further showcases, you can check out my playlist "Mega Drive expanded universe" and look after some demos there such as Overdrive 1 and 2 by Titan or Masiaka by Resistance. Also youtube channel "GameHut" which is run by Jon Burton, a cool guy who worked on many Mega Drive games back then and who explain some coding tricks in various videos. Very interesting and entertaining!

[@NightSprinter]

I know someone on a retro computing Discord server with a real X68k. I can ask him to test the game out for you to see if it flickers. Also, that horrible puyo elimination sound on the FM Towns.. Also, that awful MIDI "music" in the Win3.1 version.. Surprised you didn't mention the voice acted scenes of the PCE-CD port. Also, I believe GG Puyo was released worldwide under the title of "Puzlow Kids". Not included in comparison were licensed games "Kirby's Avalanche" ("Kirby's Ghost Trap" in PAL regions), and "Dr. Robotnik's Mean Bean Machine". Ok, so I got in touch with two folks on that server who both own an X68k and were able to play Puyo Puyo on it. Neither expirenced the sprite flickering you mentioned. So it must be the emulators used. Which I find surprisingly-odd that unlike some systems, emulators for this system aren't being improved on and made usable by fans world 'round. Also, for Pac-Mania, back in the day I used to be able to get into the DIP switch menu using EX68. Sadly, I don't remember what key or key combination would do so anymore.

[@RetroCore]

Thanks for checking the sprite flicker issue on the X68000 port. Strange that both emulators I tried it on had the sprite flicker issue. The game must use an odd type of programming.

[@NightSprinter]

What's neat is that most games for the system had a way to boot into native 15KHz (or for some games, in 24KHz like Bonanza Bros. can do for native res). Usually, you just hold the "help" key at boot.

[@ravagingwolverine]

I don't know a ton about x68000 but was curious about its sprite capability. I came across some claims of 16 sprites per line and another claim that this was increased to 32 for later models. I wonder if it is possible that they upgraded the system's sprite capability. If it is 16 sprites per line, I can see them possibly running into flicker. If the MD runs the game in high-res mode, 320x240, it would have 20 per line.

[@NightSprinter]

Also, since the release of "Puyo Puyo Tetris", the series is now known worldwide as "Puyo Puyo" finally.

[@toshiohoge]

Sprite flicker of X68k can be avoided by setting the CPU clock to 10MHz. AC/MD/SNES port draws shadowless Puyo on BG. And the seismic effect uses BG's vertical split scroll, but with the X68k it has no vertical split scroll so all Puyo are drawn with sprites.

[@shiru8bit]

I thought it was the other way around, first the MSX2 version, then FDS, then arcade and everything else. Seems it was kind of common practice for a short period of time to release MSX/FDS ports closely to each other (Castlevania comes to mind).

[@RetroCore]

I thought so too although there seems to be conflicting reports saying it was made as a cover disc game first.

[@mypkamax]

[9:42] You do realise that the NEC PC Engine only has one background layer, right? You have pointed that out before in ports of other games.

[@RetroCore]

Yes, but that isn't really an excuse when many games on the system can do some very need tricks. I was playing Metamor Jupiter earlier today which uses a trick to make tit look like the game has 2 background layers.

[@darkerfalcon3747]

Don't forget that Puyo Puyo was localized in Dr. Robotnik Mean Bean Machine (Genesis/Mega Drive) and Kirby Ghost Trap (Kirby Avalanche on US) (SNES)

[@RetroCore]

And don't forget it was called Kirby's Avalanche on the PAL SNES.

[@darkerfalcon3747]

@@RetroCore Really? But the PAL title isn't Kirby Ghost Trap?

[@MarcBarkyMarta]

I used to own the English-language PCB for Puyo Puyo. I never noticed the audio being harsh compared to the MD game; perhaps you were experiencing a MAME issue, or maybe the gain was set too high?

[@RetroCore]

I've played the real arcade too. It's just the same.

[@JomasterTheSecond]

N-Gage stuff is a rarity but at least Puyo Puyo's got a decent-ish version.

[@RetroCore]

I was surprised it even got a port at all.

[@tatertot64]

I wonder why, on the WIN3.1port the clear puyos are higher rez than the normal ones.

[@madsceptictrooper6803]

Compile was very underappreciated video game developer that created impressive games for NES (The Guardian Legend), Master System (R-Type port), MD (Musha Aleste), SNES (Super Aleste), PC Engine (Devil's Crush) and many other systems. Too bad they went bankruptcy and Sega and Sonic Team milked Puyo Puyo to a dry zombie franchise. Both Mega Drive and SNES/SFC ports are my personal favorites. It's pretty disappointing SFC port has slowdowns while Super Aleste has none. At least SFC/SNES port has, at least in our opinion, the best music. Fun fact: Compile even sampled some MD FM instruments for SNES/SFC. Both of the western versions are my guilty pleasures. It's interesting how Compile changed their sound driver to Cube for Mean Bean Machine, possibly to make the game sound like other Sonic games or PAL optimization easier. I think Masahiro Sakurai might hate Kirby's Avalanche/Ghost Trap, considering the fact he's frustrated of endless Kirby sequels. 8-bit ports are very good. I'm amused by the fact Puyo Puyo FC port is for both Disk System and cartridge. I personal don't find other ports interesting at all. I have an idea of Puyo Puyo inspired Tanoshii Mūmin Ikka/90's Moomin puzzle game for SNES, MD, NES and possibly for Master System, GB and GG. First I would develop prototype demos for C64, Apple IIGS and Amiga. If these versions play perfectly and run at smooth framerate, I might develop them into actual ports. If not, I'll just bring assembly code to the consoles and enhance the game for the standards of each console (C64 -> NES, Apple IIGS -> SNES and Amiga -> MD). GB port will be based on NES version and Master System and GG ports are ground up. All I need are PAL NES and MD, NTSC NES, MD and SNES, C64, Apple IIGS, Amiga, perfect development tools, publisher, copyright license and some sort of acceptance from Nintendo and Sega. All I have is PAL SNES.

[@netako]

“Too bad they went bankruptcy and Sega and Sonic Team milked Puyo Puyo to a dry zombie franchise” Sorry, but I have to disagree with you on that part. Sonic Team actually does a very good job at reinventing the series (especially with the Fever ruleset which is really good), the comedic tone of the Compile Puyo games is still here, and we even got Puyo Puyo Tetris, a crazy crossover between Puyo and Tetris that actually sold very well outside of Japan, and thanks to the success of this game, they started releasing more Puyo games outside of Japan such as Puyo Puyo Champions (also known as Puyo Puyo eSports in Asia), Puyo Puyo Tetris 2 and even Puyo merchandise on their shop. So yeah, it's definitely not a dry zombie franchise nowadays, at least in my opinion.

[@josephfrye7342]

yep those are all original japanese ports releases. during localization.

[@josephfrye7342]

i don't care if they will pair with nintendo or sega's counterparts worldwide nah they won't lol i don't think so (so that is a spoiler alert). Flipping hell including nec turbo graphic 16 etc but what it did got ported in japan which it is called pc engine. because this particular game got reskinned outside of japan.

[@Bro3256Films]

It's weird that you didn't do this one first then the sequel. Oh well at least we have the episode now! I'm surprised that they're this many ports of this game. I only knew about the 16 and 8 bit home console ports.

[@RetroCore]

I like the second game more :D But yeah, in hindsight it would have been better to cover the original first.

[@Bro3256Films]

Yeah the second one is also my favorite compared to this one.

[@mypkamax]

The FM Towns port feels like a rushed Flash fangame from the mid-2000s.

[@RetroCore]

It was certainly rushed, that's for sure.

[@mypkamax]

@@RetroCore The port has that distinct feel associated with 2000s Flash games.

[@RetroCore]

It does. I guess it is because of the higher resolution sprites.

[@mypkamax]

@@RetroCore The resolution is about the same judging from the footage. I was referring to the FM Towns port, by the way, not the NEC PC-9801.

[@Frikinautas]

Well, I had this one... Partly, as Dr. Robotnik's Mean Bean Machine. At the beginning it was my younger brother who was hooked on it, but it's me who as an adult ended up buying Puyo Pop Fever for the PS2 and Puyo Tetris for the PS4. Arle, Carbuncle, Amity and all the bunch really grow on you... They're so kuso kawaii...

[@RetroCore]

For me the newer Puyo Puyo games do play well but because I was brought up with the compile style of art I can't get in to the new looking Sega style. This came in to effect from Puyo Puyo Fever on the Dreamcast.

[@MVC2fan1]

For the most part, compile got bankrupt in 2001. Is why they passed Puyo Puyo on to Sonic Team.

[@ianvallender7892]

A couple of variations on puyo puyo first up you replace the characters from the Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog 🦔 cartoon to get Doctor Robotnik's mean bean machine. Second another take on Puyo puyo is with Kirby characters to get either Kirby's avalanche or Kirby's ghost trap!

[@josephfrye7342]

I’m glad I got proper puyo puyo like of puyo pop in Japanese for snes and genesis but called megadrive and sfc which I technically used on retroarch on steam.

[@fernandocollazo8705]

Compile was a major MSX developer like Konami, so the very first version of Puyo Puyo is for MSX2 computar, not FDS...

[@rafaellima83]

I must say I find weird to see the MSX and NES/FC versions together with all the other ones. This was the original Puyo Puyo.. the 2 player mode of those versions is kinda different (both players do not receive the same puyos, which can make the match unbalanced), it has the very cool puzzle mode and it was more geared towards the "Marathon" Mode. With the arcade release is that Compile actually build an incredible competitive game. But I first got to know Puyo Puyo with the MSX release :) - One curiosity, Capcom has an 1991 arcade game called "Pnickles" which has basically identical gameplay to their later game "Super Puzzle Fighter", and that game was ALSO DEVELOPED by Compile. I still wonder these days how much Compile is responsible for Super Puzzle Fighter :D

[@RetroCore]

Compile were behind so many great games but often uncredited. It's a shame they are now gone.

[@rafaellima83]

Compile Heart was founded by Moo Nitanii, president of the original Compile. He is now retired, but the studio is still going on, though they are heavily focused on JRPGs. Some ex-staff from Compile founded Milestone Inc (which made a few shmups), some went to found Aiky (Who inherited a few of Compile IPs), but both companies are already gone too. And some other staff from Compile went to go work at Cave. But yeah, I am really impressed by their output in the 80s, they developed a HUGE amount of games, often without receiving credits, and considering the studio at that time was made of less than 10 people, this is freaking impressive, I am really amazed of how they managed to make SO MANY games and always keep the quality at such a high level while being such a small studio (They actually got bigger by the time of Puyo Puyo :D ). For most of the 80s, Compile was basically made of Janus Teramoto, Jemini Hirono, Pac Fujishita, Masatomo Miyamoto and Moo Nitanii, with some freelancers coming and going from time to time. I really wonder where those guys (Except Moo, which I know) went to. The most of Compile output at that time was made by just this team, and it's really amazing how they managed to make so many games that were so good. I am a big fan of Compile, and I was really sad when I read the news when they went bust back in 2003.

[@AlviEao]

It's worth noting Masamitsu "Moo" Niitani came out of retirement and recently established another new company called Compile-O (pronounced Compile Maru). Their only release so far was the puzzle game Nyoki Nyoki Tabidachi Hen for the Japanese 3DS eShop in 2016, a spiritual sequel to Pochi to Nyaa for the Neo Geo and PS2 (which Niitani worked on at Compile offshoot Aiky before that company went bankrupt in 2006).

[@RetroCore]

Milestone Inc had a few issues of illegal money laundering from what I remember.

[@rafaellima83]

AlviEao Pochi to nya actually begun it's development as a compile title. I remember I was looking forward to it when it was announced. When compile went busy and aiky was founded, they "inherited" the game. I have the PS2 version of it here.

[@Charlie-Cat.]

Hahaha. Do I really have to say anything about this timeless classic Mark? 8^) But of course, I will say another well done video by you bro. Keep it up for sure. Anthony..

[@RetroCore]

I hope to show my new Neo Geo MVS console in a few weeks. I think you'll love that.

[@dr3344]

It seems like a Columns Clone, or Sequel. But it looks Nice and plays certainly very well. Nice is the Manga Session from the Game.

[@RetroCore]

To be honest, this is a much better game than Columns. It's quite different in how it's played too but there sure as similarities.

[@thrillington2008]

It's a decent puzzle game in the similar vein of tetris and columns

[@johnd5307]

Cool video😎😎😎😎😎😎😎

[@sonicmario64]

I'm just curious when I ask this, but have you played "Puyo Puyo Tetris" yet? I have the game for my Nintendo Switch, and it's definitely one of my favorite games to play on console. :D

[@RetroCore]

Yes, I've played it on the Switch with my son. It's an interesting idea although I'd rather just play one or the other.

[@dbnpoldermans4120]

I was waiting for this one

[@RetroCore]

Hope you enjoyed the show.

[@rocko0214]

Ah, the Ngage... that one console that existed... and that's pretty much the one thing it did.

[@RetroCore]

It's funny how we remember the N-Gage as a console rather than a phone :)

[@antarcticpenguin1151]

yeeaahhh, i have a knockoff console which suffers from serious input delay, and bad music doesnt bother me, and therefore im ready to play puyo puyo for the fm towns

[@mercuryq1144]

Battle of the ports Madou Monogatari?

[@RetroCore]

Some day in the future once i'm done with the arcade games.

[@williamwilliam9993]

Hello mark the mobile version in japan can be found either in sega's puyo puyo and sonic cafe mobile portal website

[@RetroCore]

It needs a phone with a working sim card. Those types of old phones use old style sim cards that modern phones can't use. So there's no way to dowoad it.

[@williamwilliam9993]

What's your old phone from 2003?

[@RetroCore]

I have a few. I don't remember the model numbers but one is a Sh11 or something like that. It's a wide-screen phone.

[@alvinbautista1450]

Every character doing Bayoen in the PC Engine version and that is not my favorite port of the Arcade one. My favorite is always, the Arcade version. It got even ported to the Switch as well.

[@yukatoshi]

MD FTW! SNES is too grainy here.

[@josephfrye7342]

Hmm.

[@yukatoshi]

@@josephfrye7342 ?

[@Fortuna1]

Interesting, remember played Kirby's avalance in snes and later has Puyo puyo Tsu for gameboy In puyo puyo gamegear, if this game you runs in a american GameGear, the title change to Puzzlow Kids

[@RetroCore]

That's right.

[@marioghernandez4960]

This was a really good game, but there are still better puzzlers out there in my opinion.

[@RetroCore]

I prefer Puyo Puyo 2 over this one.

[@theminecraftace]

Now if I had to choose 2 versions that were bad, I would choose Mobile and FM Towns. For the Mobile version, I don't like how the controls are bad and the fact it is worse than the N-Gauge version tells me. For the FM Towns version, the look and feel are just too rough for it to handle, and for having it worse than PC Engine CD's voice acting tells it. PC Engine's voice acting is just somehow bad to hear coming from a system that came out in 1989. Other than that, CD fells decent for its platform. Now 2 great versions (Not counting arcade although it had better voice compression than the Genesis) are the Super Famicom and the Sega Mega Drive versions (Sorry Windows and Mac, both of those had problems). The Sega Mega Drive is just the arcade version, but it's audio voices are well...worse and more compressed than the arcade. The Super Famicom version was just almost perfect, but the slowdowns you mentioned make the experience not as great as it should be. The Sega Game Gear port is fine, but lacks animation for the opponent. It was going to be released as Puzlow Kids in the US but got scrapped to make room for Dr. Robotnik's Mean Bean Machine to coexist with the Genesis version of the same game.

[@RetroCore]

The ideal port would be the Mega Drive gameplay with the SFC sound. Graphics....... Hmm, probably stay with the Mega Drive there. More animation.

[@davidvfx]

I have always had the doubt of who has the rights over the Puyo Puyo franchise. It looked like Deba but I always saw that this game was published on rival consoles. Changing, it seems to me that the logic of the game is based on that of the game Columns only adding easier unions in more allowed chains.

[@RetroCore]

Sega bought the rights completely around 1998 I believe. Before then it was owned by Compile with Sega being a main licensee.

[@davidvfx]

Retro Core this makes another question, SEGA has rights over Madou Monogatari?

[@RetroCore]

Hmm, I wonder. I know a lot of the games did appear on Sega consoles.

[@fnjesusfreak]

LOL codepage fail on the PC98 footage.

[@RetroCore]

hehe, even though my PCs are running Japanese OS the NEC98 just didn't like the font :(

[@JaxCoolKartunes]

I watched this video on subtitles because I might have some trouble on your accent and I notice carbuncle is misspelled.

[@RetroCore]

That maybe due to the auto correct.

[@ilovekatsumi]

*did u done SUN?*

[@RetroCore]

You mean, Did I do Sun? No, not yet.

[@mastersproutgamer9327]

@@RetroCore Actually, you already did last year because of the recent Mega Drive Mini 2.

[@DarkMastaC]

I love how the farther we went in the video the less we saw of female anime char abuse via the slime things.

[@RetroCore]

I guessed people would be getting tired of that :)

[@frankschneider6156]

Very interesting Kanjis on the PC-98 from 5.38 to 5:45 .. must be Japanese Braille I guess ;) Some Nitpicking: N-Gage spelling on both overview screens. Sadly I could somehow never get into this game like into Tetris or Lumines. Also didn't know that it was actually an arcade game. This must haven taken you an awful long time to put together, so thanks for that.

[@RetroCore]

hehe, I had a problem wit the fonts during the PC98 footage. Yeah, I didn't realise N-Gage is missing the "u".

[@pablodaniel-retrogamer716]

Mega drive and Super famicom are My Favorites.

[@Ai-fj1dc]

Bayoeeen !

[@oxygenchinchillaangel02]

Madou Monogatari!? I havent heard of that game.

[@fran5678can]

Many never did-it was released as a Japan-exclusive

[@SKiNT3ASTWOOD]

I thought there was a lot more versions than that, DS , Dreamcast , Ps2 , PsP , Playstation, 3ds , wii even neo geo pocket. defo not my cuppa tea i have a version somewhere i do however prefer Puzzle bobble i dont think that game has had an update for some years.

[@RetroCore]

Puyo Puyo is on those systems but it's not the original. Dreamcast has Puyo Puyo Yon and Puyo Puyo Fever for example.

[@fran5678can]

The disk system in fact is the first seeing of Puyo Puyo,so its very basic.

[@loganjorgensen]

The Famicom port surprised me but even on NES we got a lot of puzzle games for many of the last releases so funny it never came to NA. Do you have a real PC98, there's a funny wobble in the footage? Shame the FMTowns was poor, no reason for that other than bad work. PC-Engine, maybe the lack of hardware layers had something to do with the lack of shadows. I could see getting the MD & GG version myself. :)

[@RetroCore]

Sadly I no longer have a NEC PC98. I sold it a few years back with my Sharp X68000. They were taking up too much space due to the monitors and so on. I would have kept them it I lived in a much bigger house. The footage on this show from the PC98 was emulated. this is why the text font was all messed up and the strange lower section wobble appeared.

[@chunkycjw]

Always thought Pyo Pyo was a Sega only franchise. Did it become Sega only once it was renamed and reskinned as Dr Robotinik's Mean Bean Machine ?

[@RetroCore]

Sega bough the rights in the 90's but became the exclusive owner of the property in the late 90's.

[@TheChompChamp7650]

That windows 95 Draco looks like a drugo

[@JohnGotts]

Hmm, this game uses two identical looking colors to everyone who is colorblind.

[@RetroCore]

Bummer for those people :( I guess the developers were not aware of this.

[@marioghernandez4960]

Hmm.... The System C2 is sure quite similar to the System 18.

[@shalpp]

Good god the PC98 version looks a mess, especially when compared to the port of tsuu it got

[@mypkamax]

Calling the audio from the Windows 3.1 port "better" is being generous.

[@RetroCore]

I guess it's a matter of opinion. Sound is one of those things which is very subjective. For example, many people insist that the SFC / SNES sounds like crap because everything has reverb. This isn't true of course and the SFC can sound amazing. What it can't do well though is bass. It really struggled when producing a bass heavy track. The bass often sounded muddy. Now on the Mega Drive, Bass could sound fantastic with a clear heavy thud.

[@marioghernandez4960]

*cue the Rulue fanbois*

[@natecronnon4736]

Cool

[@quincyq-radio6300]

👍😄🎮🎮

[@ExtremeWreck]

Amazing videos as always. I still want to know the reasoning behind the fact that you have very little interest in western exclusives. Maybe there's a backstory on your western exclusives experience?

[@RetroCore]

I'm sure I've mentioned this before. I was brought up playing Japanese games. Most western games of the time on the SNES or Mega Drive were awful. Not all, but most. I play loads of western games now. Currently about 30 hours or so in to Skyrim on the Xbox One X.

[@ExtremeWreck]

Retro Core Yea, but I was expecting the reason being the Bubsy series. No really, it's so bad that'll make you feel like you're playing a cringy sonic fan game.

[@BAKU2K2]

Fun Fact, even though the West got Mean Bean Machine, the Gear Port can translate itself into English by inserting the cart into a North American Game Gear. Also, at least you covered the good version of the Arcade version, instead of that poorly localized English (or should I say Engrish) version, that features several unnecessary name changes in character names. kzbin.info/www/bejne/faKThmCjoZZ7iZY

[@RetroCore]

Oh yes, I know about that Engrish version. Horrible stuff. It is actually quite a rare PCB now.

[@MVC2fan1]

Pal regain also has Mean Bean Machine. For the most part, Kirby's Avalance & Dr. Robotnik's Mean Bean Machine are considered Spin off of Puyo Puyo in which is horrible (to some people i guess).

[@bhirawamaylana466]

I bet for next video its Tetris Battle Port, please make it happen Mark.

[@RetroCore]

Sorry dude. That's going to be quite some time away. I'll be in another city most of next week so the next show will be a short one.

[@bhirawamaylana466]

Okay, another Life in Japan video then, cannot wait for it.

[@SomeOrangeCat]

I think both Kirby and Sonic got weird spin offs of this game. The Sonic one was based off that really shitty slapstick cartoon.

[@RetroCore]

Ah, they are the bastardised western released. Sega got Dr. Robotniks Mean Bean Machine while Nintendo got Kirby's Avalanche / Ghost Trap.

[@MarxasThomas]

i miss compile:'(

[@MVC2fan1]

Yeah, me too man.

[@noop9k]

should have used a different Windows logo obviously, and WTF with out of tune music?

[@RetroCore]

Yeah, I was too lazy to make a new PNG file for it.