Tag Archives: Puyo Puyo

Puyo Puyo Cafe! Featuring An Extensive Menu And Other Special Treats!

InTheSky March 20, 2016 2 Replies

Lately it seems that cafes for many Sega franchises are operating in Japan! And certainly, why not? From Valkyria to Yakuza, if I had the opportunity, I’d check these out myself.

Sega opened up an official webpage for this new cafe, featuring image previews and menu item descriptions. There are quite a lot of menu items to choose from at this cafe! Patrons who purchase a set of menu items together (the set of descriptions that can be found above the beginning of the menu) will also receive special bonus items like coasters. The cafe is set to last from March 17 to May 15. Check out a gallery of menu item preview images below (credit to the Sega webpage linked in this paragraph.)

Puyo Puyo Quest Cafe Latte Mocha Green Tea Latte

Puyo Puyo Quest Fondant Chocolat

Puyo Puyo Quest Green Soda Red Juice

Puyo Puyo Quest Cafe Fluffy Soda

Puyo Puyo Quest Egg Sandwich

Puyo Puyo Quest Witch Drink

Puyo Puyo Quest Peach Parfait

Puyo Puyo Quest Pasta Tarako

Puyo Puyo Quest Omelette Rice

Puyo Puyo Quest Oekaki Pancakes

Puyo Puyo Quest Katsu Sandwich

Unfortunately, it’s not quite clear to me what the Witch Drink is comprised of. My apologies to our readers!

Additionally, there’s a special Puyo Quest promotion for those who order the Puyo Quest Cafe Special Set. The cafe has its own Wi-Fi hotspot set up – connect to it, and search for quests while connected, and you’ll find a Puyo Quest Cafe quest. You can participate in it by yourself or with a friend. Completion of the quest will net you special exclusive items.

In addition to this, there is a special booth for fingernail decoration at the cafe! The planners have certainly went all-out for this cafe. This Japan Trends article (written in English!) notes that this year actually marks the third year of cafes for Puyo Quest! Be sure to check out their writeup as well!

Additionally, Dengeki Online recently went live with a preview of a newly-opened Puyo Puyo cafe, based in Sweets Paradise at Ikebukuro, Tokyo. Their own article features many pictures of the menu items and some images of the cafe’s interior.

Puyo Puyo!! Touch Gets New Trailer

Draikin November 19, 2015 Leave a reply

SEGA have posted a new trailer for Puyo Puyo!! Touch, their upcoming mobile game for iOS and Android. The gameplay differs from regular Puyo Puyo in the sense that you need to swipe Puyo’s around. Swiping one Puyo on top of another one will make the latter change to the colour of the Puyo you dragged on top of it. Connect four or more Puyo’s of the same color and they’ll be cleared from the board. Clearing them also allows you to “fire” at objects outside of the board, as you can see in the trailer.

Puyo Puyo X Love Live!’s Rin Hoshizora Illustration Revealed!

InTheSky September 11, 2015 Leave a reply

Months ago we wrote about a poll determining which Sega franchise Love Live!‘s Rin would be promoting as part of the Love Live! X Sega Summer Campaign (which itself has birthed some interesting results, owing to Love Live!’s popularity!) While Yakuza missed its chance (wouldn’t that have been an interesting outcome!) Puyo Puyo was the victor.

In an illustration celebrating both Puyo Puyo‘s victory and the collaboration between franchises, we have Rin Hoshizora cosplaying as Arle Nadja on a Green Puyo. Those who Retweet the Twitter post featuring the illustration are eligible to win a copy of the illustration on a poster, with three posters available to be given away. As of this article’s writing, the Retweet count is past 25k. I can’t help but wonder where the numbers are coming from: Sega fans or Love Live! fans? As for the contest , it ends on September 23.

For those that don’t know, Love Live! is an incredibly popular multimedia franchise involving fictional school idol characters and music. Love Live! The School Idol Movie is premiering in theaters this weekend in the United States, and for many showings it’s difficult to secure a ticket by now.

SEGA 3D Reprint Archives 2 Includes Puyo Puyo 2 and Power Drift!

Draikin September 9, 2015 3 Replies

Famitsu had recently revealed the existence of SEGA 3D Reprint Archives 2, a second collection of SEGA 3D Classics which will be released in retail in Japan. Today, they also revealed that the collection will include 2 new and 2 bonus games which haven’t been released before on the 3DS yet. These include 3D Power Drift, 3D Puyo Puyo Tetris 2, 3D Maze Walker, and 3D Fantasy Zone II: The Tears of Opa-Opa!

At the moment it’s not clear if these new games will be heading West. We hope Sega considers releasing them on the Nintendo eShop, like they did with most of the previous 3D Classics games. I also hope they don’t reskin Puyo Puyo 2 if they do end up releasing it, given what happened with Puyo Puyo Quest.

Our Thoughts on Puyo Puyo Quest Being Reskinned as Cranky Food Friends

InTheSky August 29, 2015 Leave a reply

Puyo Puyo Quest is a fairly successful mobile game in Japan. For the West, the game is being reskinned and launched as “Cranky Food Friends,” with a soft launch that started in Canada and certain European countries. If there is any doubt, compare the featured image with the image below.

The similarity in structure of the two games should be immediately apparent. Even if Cranky Food Friends was simply inspired by the concept of Puyo Puyo Quest and didn’t involve the replacing of assets, it would beg the question of why Puyo Puyo Quest itself wasn’t released outside of Japan while Cranky Food Friends is going to see such a release. We each decided to write down our thoughts about this, which you can find below.

Winner of Sega Franchise X Love Live Collaboration: Puyo Puyo!

InTheSky June 24, 2015 1 Reply

Our readers may recall that of late Sega had been holding a poll to determine the next franchise that Love Live’s Rin Hoshizora would be promoting via a new collaboration project. Previously, Rin and Sonic the Hedgehog had appeared together in promotional materials to celebrate the Sega X Rin partnership. AnimeNewsNetwork writes a couple of weeks ago that Puyo Puyo clinched the victory in this poll.

The final standings weren’t different than what was provided in the interim results report. Yakuza placed second (Kazuma Kiryu would protect Rin’s smile) and Chain Chronicle came third. Other selectable options included Space Channel 5 and Virtua Fighter. Now that Puyo Puyo has been announced as the victor, I think seeing Rin drawn in the art style of the more recent Puyo Puyo games is a must. Here’s a Puyo Puyo 20th Anniversary art piece to get an idea of the style, for those who are unaware:

Très kawaii.

This is a good opportunity to note that the most recent Puyo Puyo title, Puyo Puyo Tetris, spans six platforms (PS4, PS3, Vita, Wii U, Xbox One, 3DS) and none of them have seen a release outside of Japan. As a unique crossover with online capabilities and plenty of game features and modes, it certainly has potential to succeed.

Love Live’s Rin to Promote Sega Franchises in Japan

InTheSky May 19, 2015 1 Reply

Last year, Sega of Japan announced a “Sega X Love Live” cross-promotional campaign wherein Love Live’s Rin Hoshizora would occasionally be used to promote Sega franchises. The campaign has already been put to work, with a handful of media featuring Sonic the Hedgehog and Rin making use of this promotion.

However, a new page for this promotion was created earlier this year, asking for input on a specific franchise (among a set of choices) that would crossover with Rin for promotional purposes. One known result for the winner: a special graphical illustration featuring Rin and the winning title. The choices were:

Yakuza
Puyo Puyo
Border Break
Chain Chronicle
Space Channel 5
Virtua Fighter
Wonderland Wars

Some current results for the poll were recently announced, and Puyo Puyo is currently in the lead. I can’t help but wonder how interesting it would be to have Rin help promote Yakuza or Virtua Fighter. In addition, that Space Channel 5 was a selectable option is a pleasant surprise, considering the franchise’s inactivity. If the results skew more favorably for Space Channel 5, it might suggest the desire for another Space Channel 5-related initiative. Or, to be more optimistic, perhaps the franchise being mentioned at all might portend good things. Let’s hope Space Channel 5 being featured in the SeHa Girls anime is the start of something more for the franchise!

In any case, Puyo Puyo was followed by Yakuza and Chain Chronicle in the polling results. Off of the heels of the Puyo Puyo play, it’s nice to see the franchise receiving continued attention in Japan. But of course, the polling’s not over yet – it closes on May 31st.

Puyo Puyo Receiving a Stage Play in Japan

InTheSky March 22, 2015 Leave a reply

The stage play fun just isn’t stopping with Sega’s properties. Phantasy Star, Yakuza, and now Puyo Puyo, all within a few months! Jin115.com reports that a new stage play called “Puyo Puyo: On Stage” is coming to Japan. The Puyo Puyo franchise is celebrating its 24th year in Japan, so this is one way to celebrate that occasion. One has to wonder what the play will be about, but since the project is so unexpected, I would personally be interested in seeing it. But of course, I can’t, and for that it’s a cruel world we all live in.

Sega of Japan has put up a website, which you can check out here. The play will run from May 2th to May 6th, with two showings on the 3rd, 4th and 5th (1:00 PM and 5:00 PM), alongisde one 5:00 PM showing for May 2th with a 1:00 PM showing to close out. Ticket prices and cast can also be found on the site, though not in English.

Regrettably there hasn’t been much to write about regarding Puyo Puyo lately. Hopefully Puyo Puyo Tetris gets localized and we can change that.

Puyo Puyo Tetris Xbox One and Playstation 4 Release Promotional Movie

InTheSky December 10, 2014 Leave a reply

It’s been a while since we’ve written about Puyo Puyo Tetris. Last week on December 4th, the Playstation 4 and Xbox One versions of Puyo Puyo Tetris hit retail shelves in Japan; this means that Puyo Puyo Tetris now exists on a total of six platforms!

Leading up to its release, Sega released a two-minute promotional movie explaining some basic concepts of Puyo Puyo Tetris. It’s a crossover of two prominent puzzle gaming franchises, also featuring a colorful story mode and online play options. Beyond that, there are a variety of multiplayer mode options. Puyo Puyo and Tetris both have long histories of competitive play, so these choices will hopefully have something to offer for everyone:

VS is a traditional competition between two players, where the players can either compete in Puyo Puyo, Tetris, or both at the same time.
Puyo Tet Mix is a mode featuring Puyos and tetriminos in the same grid.
Swap is a mode where the game type (Puyo Puyo or Tetris) switches once a countdown on the screen reaches zero. There are two grids, one for Puyo Puyo and the other for Tetris.
Party allows up to four players to compete against each other with the addition of power-up items. Items act as either buffers or de-buffers for players.
Big Bang is a mode where players have to create as much garbage (deleted Puyos or tetriminos) as possible. Periodically, a countdown timer will reach zero during the course of a game of Big Bang. Whenever it reaches zero, player(s) who do not create as much garbage as any opposing party does will lose more HP than the other player(s). Last player standing wins! The game starts off in fever mode or Lucky Attack depending on whether you choose the Puyo Puyo or Tetris style.

Players can compete globally for rankings in the National Puzzle League mode. The article also notes that replays of your gaming sessions can be saved and shared with other Puyo Puyo Tetris players.

Check out the movie after the break!

Sega and Atlus’s Tokyo Game Show 2014 Lineup Announced

InTheSky September 14, 2014 1 Reply

We now have confirmation about Sega and Atlus’s lineup at Tokyo Game Show 2014, and which titles will be playable. This article will cover games that are not under the banner of Segalization’s localization requests and will simply present the entirety of Sega and Atlus’s offerings.

Please be aware that Sega and Atlus will also be holding stage events and broadcast streams throughout the weekend of Tokyo Game Show, which you can find near the end of the article! Italicized games are titles that currently have localizations planned for them, for reader convenience, but keep in mind that localization status is still a tentative thing. Here is a list of what can be expected:

Playable from Sega:

Phantasy Star Nova (Vita)
Puyo Puyo Tetris (PS4, One)
Dengeki Bunko Fighting Climax (Vita, PS3)
Hero Bank 2 (3DS)
Sonic Toon: Rise of Lyric (Wii U, known as Sonic Boom in the West instead of Sonic Toon)
Sonic Toon: Shattered Crystal (3DS, known as Sonic Boom in the West instead of Sonic Toon)

Promotional Trailers from Sega:

Phantasy Star Online 2 (PC, Vita)
Phantasy Star Nova (Vita)
Yakuza Zero (PS3, PS4)
Shining Resonance (PS3)
Puyo Puyo Tetris (PS3, Wii U, 3DS, Vita, PS4, One)
Dengeki Bunko Fighting Climax (Vita, PS3)
Hero Bank 2 (3DS)
Sonic Toon: Rise of Lyric (Wii U, known as Sonic Boom in the West instead of Sonic Toon)
Sonic Toon: Shattered Crystal (3DS, known as Sonic Boom in the West instead of Sonic Toon)
The World End Eclipse (PC, Vita, iOS, Android)

Promotional Trailers from Atlus:

Etrian Odyssey II Untold: The Knight of Fafnir

Stage Events from Sega and Atlus, scheduled according to Japan Standard Time:

Phantasy Star Nova presentation (9/18, 12pm)
Yakuza Zero presentation (9/18, 1pm)
Hatsune Miku Project new title presentation (9/18, 3pm) (update: this was Hatsune Miku: Project Mirai Deluxe, an expansion of Hatsune Miku: Project Mirai 2)
Phantasy Star Online 2 presentation (9/19, 3:30pm)
Phantasy Star Nova live demo playthrough (9/20, 2pm, different from recently released Battle Demo)
Atlus presentation (9/20, 2:30pm)
Shining Resonance live gameplay presentation (9/21, 3pm)

To speak for myself, the lineup that Sega is presenting is especially strong this year. A sizable portion of their prominent active franchises in Japan are being represented with Phantasy Star, Yakuza, Shining, and Hatsune Miku. We are also seeing a push for Sonic Boom in Japan too. Besides the representation for major IP’s, newer franchises such as Hero Bank and The World End Eclipse are being promoted. In addition, Puyo Puyo Tetris and Dengeki Bunko Fighting Climax should have broad appeal: the former for its accessibility and crossover novelty and the latter for being a crossover fighter featuring popular characters. The real wildcard here is Atlus and their presentation on the 20th. Hopefully they will have more to offer regarding Persona 5 and Shin Megami Tensei X Fire Emblem! I am also excited to finally see what Shining Resonance looks like in action.

Kudos to this Gematsu article and this NeoGAF thread, and additional thanks to the topic creator of the NeoGAF thread for translated descriptions and scheduling of stage events. Kudos also to the PSUBlog for the entry linked in the description on the Phantasy Star Nova live demo presentation.

Update, 9/18/2014: Edited to reflect that there is very likely no additional Hatsune Miku game announcement besides Hatsune Miku: Project Mirai Deluxe.