Review: Sega Ages Puyo Puyo 2

Sega has been hitting it out of the park recently by bringing us classic arcade games and their classic Genesis games under the Sega Ages moniker. M2 has been doing a great job porting these classic titles to the current generation of consoles. They have been adding little aspects to the game that make it more enjoyable and a little less tough seeing as this was the HARDEST age of gaming.

The first one that I got to take a look at was Shinobi and for the bargain bin price these games are sold at, Sega may have some classic hits on their hands. The second one that I’ve been privileged to take a gander at is Puyo Puyo 2.

This is only the second time that Puyo Puyo 2 has been released in the West. Japan saw it in 1994 and at that time it was the most popular game in arcades. The West didn’t get a look at it until 2016 when the Sega 3D Classics Collection was released on the 3DS. That was our first taste of Puyo Puyo 2 until Sega decided to release it under the Sega Ages name.

I’m glad they did, while the game is still untranslated and you really don’t know why you’re fighting against these characters with little slimes, I had fun.

Now when I was first told to review this game I thought it was some sort of JRPG, boy was I wrong! This game resembles Tetris and Dr. Mario in many ways, but there are mechanics in the game that make it much, much tougher; especially when you enter higher Levels. As you destroy the different colored blobs on the screen you can drop beads that stop the colors from matching.

This can seriously hinder your match rate and fill your screen so that you lose horribly. The computer is very good at kicking my newbie ass, I will warn you of that.

There are several options for you to play the game, Arcade Mode, Endurance Mode, Online Match, and VS Match. I started with Arcade Mode to get my feel for the game, and I realized that I was just playing a weird mashup of Tetris and Dr. Mario.

You get different colored Garbage Puyos that drop down and you have to match up the four colors in stacks of lines or cubes of four or more to get them to disappear. Instead of being by yourself like other games in this genre you are facing either the computer or a person. I can tell you that the computer is a PAIN to beat, my God.

Endurance Mode is the same as Arcade but you see how long you can stay winning. I stopped winning at Level 4, could not beat my computer opponent, damn Skynet! Online match is exactly what you think it is as is VS Mode. The VS is just you against the computer, you can pick the level of difficulty and such. I would just suggest to play Arcade or Endurance; VS was kind of boring to be honest.

The online mode is actually harder than the computer. I got my butt kicked by some random dude who obviously LOVES this game, props to him for being a badass! If you’re new to the game style stay away from online battles, you may never be good enough. I know I won’t be!

The game itself plays great, the D-pad moves the Puyo and pressing A rotates it right and pressing B rotates it left. That helps you line up the Puyos by color and eliminate them from your side of the screen. As you do this you fill a meter above your opponents and when you get enough quickly clear Puyos block the colored ones so you can’t stack. As you’re attempting to stay alive the music in the background is great; I loved it and it really pulls you into the game. The music, the fast paced decisions and the challenge of the game kept bringing me back for more.

I’m thrilled that Sega is bringing these games that we’ve never seen before over the West with a nice new paint job on them. These Sega Ages classics really play well on the Switch, most of the levels are short and you can play one then be back on your day without having to invest hours into the game to have fun. Puyo Puyo 2 is fun, difficult and has a lot of replay value.

Being new to the series made me enjoy it even more due to how unique it is. Even though it shares some similarities with other classics it felt new and fresh to me while still being an early 90’s game. Price of admission to this title is worth every penny.

This review is based on a review copy provided by SEGA