Puyo Puyo 2 is the second installment of the Puyo Puyo games; the sequel to Puyo Puyo, made in 1994 by Compile. Compile put more thought into this game after its predecessor became successful, but never knew how much of a turnaround the game would bring. Due to its highly acclaimed success, it became the most predominant game of the series. Though with many of its rules being experimental, the ability of Sousai and Rensa Sibari became a top hit immediately, thus creating longer matches for better gameplay. Also due to its successes, it became the most widely known multiplatform game in Japan, appearing in the Arcade, on major domestic consoles, on major handhelds, on the NEC PC-9800 series, on the PC, and on others. The name of Puyo Puyo 2/Tsū derives from an English pun, as "tsu" when spoken aloud sounds similar to the English word "two". Compile used similar puns for Puyo Puyo SUN and Puyo Puyo~n.
Gameplay
Just like the first game, Puyo fall from the top of the screen in pairs, can be moved left and right, and can be rotated clockwise and counter-clockwise by 90°; if the third column from the left fills up to the top, the game is over. The game has multiple new rules. The first extended rule added to this game was called "Offsetting". This will allow a player to counter and negate Garbage Puyos being sent by the opponent with chains of their own. Offsetting can also be used to send the Puyos back to the opponent, known as "Garbage overflow". The standard ojamas were kept with the release of Puyo Puyo 2, however, two new garbage types also appeared, known as Point Puyos and Hard Puyos. Point Puyos, when erased adjacently with neighbouring groups of Puyos, add points to your overall score, and can also make your chains more powerful in the short-term. Hard Puyos, when they land on the field, are harder to erase than Standard Garbage or Point Puyos, and are often referred to as Steelies. Unlike its predecessor, Puyo Puyo 2 has three different modes for each type. The three main modes are, Single Puyo Puyo, Double Puyo Puyo, and Endless Puyo Puyo. For Super Puyo Puyo 2, and Super Puyo Puyo 2 Remix, using a Super Multitap, an additional mode known as Minna de Puyo Puyo, means that up to 4 players can play. Single Puyo Puyo is a story mode. In an attempt not only to steal Arle's heart, but also to nab Carbuncle, the Dark Prince sets up a battle tower, in which Arle has to beat characters on each floor to climb up the tower. As Arle wins every match, she gains bonus points which add on to her total score, and this acts as Experience. The chains are balanced to be weaker and do less damage than in the first game, providing a greater chance to make a comeback. There are five predefined rule sets available in the versus menu. The player can set custom rules. Multiplayer lets multiple players play together.
Development and legacy
Puyo Puyo 2 was originally developed by Compile and released by Sega for arcades in 1994, and became the biggest arcade game to have been played in Japan since the arrival of Street Fighter II. The success of the game prompted Compile to port the game to several consoles and computers, including the Super Famicom, Mega Drive, PC Engine, Game Boy, Game Gear, Sega Saturn, PlayStation, PC under Windows 95, WonderSwan, Neo Geo Pocket Color, PlayStation 2, et al. The Game Boy Advance and N-Gage games Puyo Pop are also heavily based on this particular installment of the series, a Virtual Boy port was in development, but never released due to the system's failure. The Super Famicom version added a 4-player mode - Compile's first attempt at such a mode for a domestic console - with the use of a multitap. Without a multitap, 3 and 4 MAN players cannot be played. Translation group J2E would translate this version in 2001. Months later, Compile released Super Puyo Puyo 2 Remix, a special version of the Super Famicom game that allowed up to 4 players to play without the need of the multitap, by replacing the human players with computer ones. A port was also released for the PC Engine titled Puyo Puyo CD 2. Super Puyo Puyo 2 Remix also included two new Extended Training and Special Modes, as well as other features. Another case are the PC-Engine CD, Saturn and PlayStation versions, which add voice-overs and cutscenes. The PC version of Puyo Puyo 2 was the only version to include a separate Nazo Puyo quest, as the CD versions had a "cut-down" version included into them. This version was also translated into Korean. To show the success of Puyo Puyo 2, in the Sega Ages 2500 series for the PlayStation 2, Sega released a version titled Sega Ages 2500 series Vol. 12: Puyo Puyo 2 PERFECT SET, which paid tribute to one of the most popular versions, the Sega Saturn version. Only one version of Puyo Puyo 2 was internationally released, and that was Puyo Pop for the Neo Geo Pocket Color, which was the first Puyo Puyo game to use the international title of Puyo Pop, but the third Western release after Dr. Robotnik's Mean Bean Machine and Kirby's Ghost Trap/Avalanche. For the first time, the arcade version of Puyo Puyo 2 finally saw a western release on April 26, 2016 by developer M2 for the Nintendo 3DS as a part of the Sega 3D Classics Collection game pack after nearly twelve years of being exclusive to Asia. The game itself remained untranslated. In 2019, Sega announced the Arcade version will be re-released for the Nintendo Switch under the Sega Ages Puyo Puyo 2 brand. The Super Famicom version was released on SNES and Super Famicom Nintendo Switch Online and again remained untranslated for release in the west.
Reception
In Japan, Game Machine listed Puyo Puyo 2 on their November 1, 1994 issue as being the fourth most-successful table arcade unit of the year.
