Stack Columns (1994, Arcade) - Full Longplay (Hardest)[1080p60]

When you compare this game with Columns II [ • Columns II: The Voyage... ] and Columns III [ • Columns III (1993, Arc... ], I think you'd say this game is closer to Columns 2½...
Stack Columns feature even more advanced AI compared to Columns III, also feature a slightly altered scoring and attacking mechanics.
I Also have a feeling that this game has a hidden "Margin Time" feature, similar to one seen later in Puyo Puyo Tsu, where the later the match drags on, each match made will score more chips.
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- Arcade Originals -
Columns 2 - • Columns II: The Voyage...
Columns 3 EN - • Columns III (1993, Arc...
Columns 3 JP - • Columns III (1993, Arc...
Columns 3 (Bad Ending) - • Columns III (1993, Arc...
Stack Columns - You are here
Sakura Taisen Columns - No videos yet
- Home Console Releases -
Columns 3 (Take 1) - • Columns III (1994, Meg...
Columns 3 (Take 2) - • Columns III (1994, Meg...
Magic Jewelry - • Magic Jewelry (1990, N...
Magic Jewelry 2 - • Magic Jewelry II (1991...
Dossun Ganseki Battle - No videos yet
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See my other gameplays of Arcade games:
• Arcade Games
See my entire gameplay collection
www.youtube.co...
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You call THAT an ending?!

[@danielernsberger3771]

Very interesting that what is called the "crush bar" attack in Columns III is a money attack! Are the players lobbying or something? This may not be as fast or high-scoring as the one from Roy's Gaming Garret, but it's good to have a video that shows everything about the single player mode in this game like this! Also, the one from Roy was done years later. Still, it beats my best score of 210,785 which lost to Marine, but beat some of the earlier enemies very fast for big points! The fastest I have defeated anyone so far is Richard in 35 seconds. I have a few videos of myself battling the sphinx at Columns III on KZbin, and this is pretty much where my skill at Stack Columns comes from. The main thing I had to get used to was losing only when your third column reaches the top after your board is resolved, as opposed to when any column is over the top in Columns III as well as the original Columns after the board is resolved. So this makes me work harder to finish off opponents! Since making chains punchs [sic] some stack chips off your opponent, those can actually be lost if you like to save them! For some reason, I beat Kitty and Sir Lawrence my very first try playing them, after losing to Colum13 once, but now they give me trouble! That first game using multiple credits, I lost to Marine once, she claimed it was going to be a "long night" when I tried again, and I proved her wrong by beating her in 43 seconds! I used six other credits against the Babus to discover the "bad" ending where you don't get any information about your father. I also find it funny that Marine's nickname is "Spider", the weakest enemy in Columns III, but she's way better than that spider! She's more like a tarantula! Well, the second enemy in Columns III - the bat - seems to be a little weaker than the spider since it doesn't drop its pieces any faster, and I usually beat it a little more handily. And then why doesn't the old man Babu tell the protagonist that he is their father, win or lose? And why doesn't he warn the player that beating Mr. Babu (the baby) will cause the end of the world? All the Monaco opponents and Babu (and also Colum13 if you lose to him) assume that the player is male, but there's no way I can judge a 1994 game by 2021 Woke standards. So congratulations on ending the world, I guess? EDIT 6/16/2021: This was on Hardest?! I found out how to adjust the difficulty (it's in "Dip Switches" in MAME), tried it three times, and lost to Richard all three times. I then put it back on Medium and immediately made it to Colum13, which is more typical of me. I once 1CC'd it on Medium with a score of 214,231. Comparing the video with the one from Roy's Gaming Garret years later, the AI in yours does seem to go a little faster than that in Roy's video, so your score could actually be about as good as Roy's given the difficulty levels! So this kind of throws a wrench in the high score board I have on my door for this game. I'm just going to count all scores on Medium or above on it. 3rd through 10th place are all mine on Medium, with a 10th place score of 183,171. If I tried Easy, I would not want to exceed 184,715 (my personal 7th) and so to see how much easier the Babus are and get the "true" ending, I would need to deliberately play weaker against the weaker enemies so I don't get as many points, in hopes of not being able to catch up at Marine or so so I can play those enemies my hardest. A "low score 1CC" on Easy would be very interesting... not quite like a "slow run" since the time bonus eventually drops to zero, and any more time will just get points from clearing gems.

[@Rubycored]

One thing I noticed after playing this game at the time is that unlike Columns 3, Stack Columns actually makes you develop a strategy as to _when_ to attack with your chips, since it has a dual power of pushing the opponent's stacks _up, as well as_ pushing yours _down_ , it is actually more advantageous to hold onto your chips, let the opponent stack your field up a couple, and then go for the slam with your 4 or 5 layers (pushing 4/5 of theirs up _and_ pushing 4/5 of yours _down_ , which could be a life saver especially with heavy attackers in Monaco and later). When you put this into account, you can logically conclude that 1) making consecutive chains knocks chips off your opponents and 2) game only ends when the invisible "X" on 3rd column is filled in are features both introduced/changed in Stack Columns compared to Columns 3 purely because of this strategy in mind. Also, I am still amazed with myself at being able to one-credit this entire run, at hardest, no less (no, this isn't my first time ever playing, numerous times i fell at Monaco and Babu, - i generally give up and delete recordings if i failed twice in a single run - before this successful run). Besides, if you analysed this video deeper you could very easily see various rather elementary mistakes I had made in this run, so obviously i was prioritising on clearing this game alive than going for anything spetacular.

[@Ninetails2000]

Columns 1: Ancient Greek jewel stacking. Embrace the zen. Columns 2: Haphazard time travel. Watch out for magic skulls. Columns 3: Find the ancient pharaoh's treasure deep within the pyramid. Stack Columns: LOS VEGAS MURDER MYSTERY WORLD TOUR TOURNAMENT STORY ARC!

[@n-ergythemighty2283]

I like how the sniper guy at the end of the second tournament has a mask of a Puyo Puyo-esque character for a "disguise". One of the best things about this game IMO.

[@danielernsberger3771]

It kind of reminds me of The Wizard of Oz. When you beat Colum13, it's like the great and powerful Oz is shown to be a nervous little man!

[@Sebastianlogin]

With these words the world was over... The End....... VERY GOOD Rank 1

[@MrJoshuaSalway1990]

This is shockingly dark for a puzzle game. Sega what the hell?

[@Ninetails2000]

Sega does what NintenDEATH!

[@michaelbullen3104]

The entire Columns series is surprisingly dark lol

[@jongbingham4349]

10:09 That man decapitated Draco cut off her horns and dyed her hair blue.

[@kagechu2005BISVG]

Hmmm... I guess... Column 13 sure is one hella of a cosplayer...

[@tankster27]

That is one of the most creepiest true endings I have ever seen. I thought streets of rage 3 was creepy.

[@sergiomendoza251]

Battle Golf from Sega Genesis

[@damitosodapop]

Puyo Puyo: Happyland, cute characters, magic spells, world exploring, everyone is having a blast. Columns: 💀💀💀

[@hirotrum6810]

madou monogatari: decapitated schezo

[@lunaticone6668]

One of the weirdest ending in video game history lol

[@kitninglau8711]

When I played it on Sega Saturn: Columns Arcade Collection version, I was lose many times and finally beaten Babu, but the ending isn't that freaking end of the world, it JUST some fireworks and celebration only in Japanese. And adding an English word: "to be continued?" Maybe I shown the normal ending on beginner mode, and the expert mode shows the-end-of-the-world-ending?

[@kitninglau8711]

You can see the alternative ending on here: ?v=QWuJP8_rIDQ

[@sergiomendoza251]

Yeah like the true ending of Battle Golf

[@bluewater8084]

Man, this game is Grand Theft Auto themed

[@FloofPuppy]

What the hell us up with that ENDING?!??!?!

[@Kemuja]

Mr. Babu destroys the entire world with his crying because he lost a game of Columns, making him tonight's biggest loser.

[@cmyk8964]

Literally what the fuck is this game’s plot.

[@retropixel1272]

"With these words, the world was over" DAMMIT PLAYER. YOU HAD ONE JOB

[@Sebastianlogin]

So thats what happens between every columns game, first the ancient greeks, then that civilization with the time machine, after that the chickens and piramids civilization, and now the"present day" humans civilization

[@chriscollins2339]

That ending is kinda like a reverse good ending.

[@chriscollins2339]

Sure you found your father but you also doomed the whole world in process of finding your father.

[@jn2481]

Hmm...?

[@Ninetails2000]

Nice Job Breaking It Hero.

[@kagechu2005BISVG]

Did I see "SEGA SONIC(S)" in the Vegas Tournament background?

[@qtrainprod]

Casino Night Zone from Sonic 2 is basically Las Vegas so i think it is

[@xRed5433x]

3:56 - ...a reference to Alexey Pajitnov? (creator of Tetris)

[@adhitamaprasetya4220]

I think so, the monkey appears in Sega version of Tetris.

[@figment1988]

@@adhitamaprasetya4220 it was the arcade version that was going to be ported to the Mega Drive but was cancelled and never saw the light of day officially until it showed up as one of two ''new'' games on the Sega Genesis/Mega Drive Mini

[@bartdude82]

Ugh finally a full playthrough of this game on here. I wish someone uploaded the OST for this game. But on another note, fuck the AI in this game. I've always had to use continues smh...

[@Rubycored]

The game ROM itself contains in-build sound test, so I could in theory extract the music from there...

[@bartdude82]

RubycoredBejeweled Really? Well I don't wanna be too pushy or anything, but if you find the time to do it, please do. The second to last boss fight is my favorite.

[@Rubycored]

They're up incase you wanna jam to them.

[@sergiomendoza251]

I prefere the AI of Columns 3

[@doncarleon4940]

This dude a beast!

[@cherrystimezoneradio2520]

You monster! The ending turns the earth into a lavascape!

[@Bennijin]

6:48 *MISTER BEEEEEEEAST!*

[@KLEDEFOX]

LOL! 🤣

[@michaelbullen3104]

Why the hell does that sniper wear some unspecified anime mask?

[@ryanprjgamingchannel9437]

What the heck was that ending? Also, are the opponents seriously difficult on the last few rounds?

[@diaquallo]

That's what I'm saying

[@Cyclon32289]

11:30 That opponent predicted the average male internet user in 2024

[@ilovekatsumi]

10:09 WTF HAPPENED TO DRACO ITS JUST HER HORNS AND HAIRS.. AND CLOTHES? SEGA WTF!?

[@houstonhelicoptertours1006]

It's a spoof and a fun poke at "some other" series going on at the same time

[@Jac2Mac]

I remember beating this arcade game years ago, yet I got a fake ending where it says you won the tournament but couldn't find you where your father was. What gives?

[@Rubycored]

That ending occurs if you used Continues, to get this ending you have to one-shot it through

[@chriscollins2339]

RubycoredBejeweled have you ever play Pac mania?

[@chriscollins2339]

Jac2Mac so you must beat the entire game without using a continue.

[@RenegadeScooter]

Even then you end up destroying the Earth when all you wanted to do was find out the truth about your father's death. I have no words for how twisted that is.

[@Countsmegula]

I'm going to contact whoisthisgit over that fucking ending. Holy shit, I have no fucking words.

[@sergiomendoza251]

Yeah

[@sergiomendoza251]

Wtf? This was the wierdest Columns game ever and that ending was so out of place like the true ending of Battle Golf.

[@spartan.falbion2761]

The music in Columns 2 is much better.

[@diaquallo]

Never seen it before..

[@icycandiee6343]

I've seen it twice.

[@diaquallo]

@@icycandiee6343congratulations

[@brandonmorris92]

What system was this played on?

[@diaquallo]

Sega system can arcade hardware.

[@jballs5434]

So Columns III wss basically this but pyramid themed?

[@danielernsberger3771]

Pretty much. The one difference in both the console and arcade versions of the game is that you lose when ANY column of yours is over the top after your board is resolved - not just when your third column where the pieces initially fall from reaches the top like in Stack Columns. And in the console version of Columns III, the attack maxes out at 30 instead of 50. In the console version, you start with one hourglass (used to continue should you lose a match), get two more from the first two enemies, then random items (or perhaps nothing) from the skeleton through the witch (7 more enemies), then the last two enemies don't give you any items (though the sphinx gives you the treasure buried within the pyramid!) The arcade version has no items, you continue by putting in another coin (of course), and it doesn't seem to matter if you 1CC it or not.

[@bluewater8084]

I love it!!!!!!!

[@Oysterblade84]

The story to this game makes absolutely no sense and the English on screen is really bad.

[@sergiomendoza251]

Yeah,was on of the most wierdest story ever