Puyo Puyo (Arcade)

Puyo Puyo
Developer: Compile Publisher: Sega Platform: Arcade (Sega System C2) Released in JP: October 1992 Released in UK: c. 1993 This game has unused sounds. This game has regional differences. This game has revisional differences.

Unlike the MSX2 and Famicom Disk System games of the same name, the arcade Puyo Puyo focuses exclusively on competitive play, which would prove to be the franchise's ticket to success.

To do: Add more images. Look for unused graphics in both Japan and World versions. Getting complete graphical data requires interleaving .ic34 and .ic33 files. The English version has an unused "Winners Don't Use Drugs" message.

Regional Differences

The English version (labeled "World" in MAME) was, for years, one of the greatest Puyo Puyo-related mysteries. Much of the information regarding its release has been lost to time, and international fans initially assumed that it was a bootleg. References of any kind to this version in Japan are comparatively scarce, with a single mention on Japanese Wikipedia dubbing it "the Europe version" and a PCB recording by BEEP Akihabara being the only Japanese references to this version online. Its inclusion in the Sega Ages series for the Nintendo Switch confirms that it is an official translation, and a couple of 1990s developer interviews allude to a European version with name changes, but when, how, and precisely where this version released is completely unknown. Regardless, the English version features some aesthetic changes.

Copyright Notice

The Japanese versions display a copyright notice on boot. World doesn't have an equivalent notice, and instead goes straight to the title screen.

Title Screen

World's title logo is slightly different in style. However, it goes through the same stretching animations as the Japanese version.

Japan	World

Voice Work

The voice work was redone in English for the World version, with Carbuncle's catchphrase being the only voice sample that survives the transition. The World version has fewer samples overall; two samples used in the final sequence (いっきま～す at the start of the character reel and おしまい at the end of it) have no English equivalents, while other samples are used multiple times. For example, the "Puyo Puyo!" from the title screen is also used for a 5+ player chain.

Name Changes

A vast majority of the characters' names are changed. The four-letter abbreviation above each character's preview window is changed accordingly, with the exception of Arle, whose abbreviation becomes "YOU."

Japan	World
Arle Nadja [ARLE]	Silvana [YOU]
Skeleton-T [SKEL]	Skeleton [SKEL]
Nasu Grave [NASU]	Blue Ghost [GOST]
Mummy [MUMY]	Mummy [MUMY]
Draco Centauros [DRAC]	Dragon Woman [DRAG]
Suketoudara [TARA]	Goby Captain [GOBY]
Sukiyapotes [POTE]	Small Foot [FOOT]
Harpy [HAPY]	Dark Elf [ELF]
Sasoriman [SCOP]	Scorpion Man [SCOP]
Panotty [PANO]	Johnny [JONY]
Zombie [ZOMB]	Zombie [ZOMB]
Witch [WICH]	Witch [WICH]
Zoh Daimaoh [ZOH]	Elephant Lord [LORD]
Schezo Wegey [SHEZ]	Devious [DEVI]
Minotauros [MINO]	Max Minotaur [MINO]
Rulue [RULU]	Lulu [LULU]
Satan [SATN]	Dark Prince [PRIN]
Carbuncle	Carbuncle

Most of the name changes are exclusive to this version; only Dark Prince would be used in later games.

Harpy / Dark Elf

World removes Harpy's wings and flying animation, and also changes her dress's color from white to a dark shade of green. This is reflected in both her cutscene sprites and her battle portrait.

Japan	World

Japan	World

Other Graphical Changes

World slightly modifies the cutscene choreography, resulting in two animations (Draco's laughing animation and Satan's initial reaction to Arle calling him "Santa") going completely unused. The animations are still in the game, just never referenced.

Unused "Double" Diacute Voice Sample

Normal Diacute	Double Diacute

The Japanese versions contain an alternate, unused version of Arle's "Diacute" spell where she stutters the first syllable. This is a reference to the Madou Monogatari games, where the damage-doubling Diacute causes Arle to stutter the name of her next spell; in this case, it behaves as if she casted Diacute twice.

The following MAME cheat forces the game to play the double Diacute for any and all voice sample calls. Using an index of 05 will instead play the singular Diacute sample that is used in normal gameplay.

<cheat desc="D-D-Diacute Voice Lock">
	<comment>The game will play the double Diacute for all voice samples.</comment>
	<script state="run">
		<action>maincpu.pb@e0b0c5=04</action>
		<action>maincpu.pb@e0b008=04</action>
		<action>maincpu.pb@e00155=04</action>
	</script>
</cheat>

Sixth Puyo

The MSX2 and Famicom Disk System Puyo Puyo use six Puyo colors, and if this prototype footage is any indication, the Mega Drive version almost did as well. (P1's top Puyo at 5:45 never appears in the final game or any Puyo game.) As it turns out, the sixth Puyo does indeed exist in the arcade version, can be placed on the field with easy modifications to Mamecheat.co.uk's Puyo Puyo cheat files, and (aside from being visually broken) is fully functional.

Mamecheat intentionally skipped over the sixth Puyo for each of their Puyo-setting cheats. For example:

  <cheat desc="Select Perm. Next Top Bubble PL1">
    <parameter>
      <item value="0x00">Red</item>
      <item value="0x01">Yellow</item>
      <item value="0x03">Green</item>
      <item value="0x04">Purple</item>
      <item value="0x05">Blue</item>
    </parameter>
    <script state="run">
      <action>maincpu.pb@FFE127=param</action>
    </script>
  </cheat>

Adding the sixth Puyo as an option is a simple matter of filling in the unused slot.

  <cheat desc="Select Perm. Next Top Bubble PL1">
    <parameter>
      <item value="0x00">Red</item>
      <item value="0x01">Yellow</item>
      <item value="0x02">Sixth</item>
      <item value="0x03">Green</item>
      <item value="0x04">Purple</item>
      <item value="0x05">Blue</item>
    </parameter>
    <script state="run">
      <action>maincpu.pb@FFE127=param</action>
    </script>
  </cheat>

There are unrelated parts of the game that are affected by these cheats, so it is recommended to only activate them during battle.

Revision Differences

There are two bugs in the Rev. A (Japanese) version:

• The AI loses its ability to manually drop Puyo if the other joystick is held to the left or right (this effect is easily seen with Harpy who would normally start a match by quickly lining her far left and far right columns).
• When pressing UP on the BEST RECORD board, the player would be able to select from 29 letters instead of 28 letters.

The Rev. B (Japanese) version updated the code to fix the bugs (see table below for the changes). The World (English) version, Mega Drive port, and Dr. Robotnik's Mean Bean Machine were based on Rev. A, so the bugs were not fixed.

The SEGA AGES Puyo Puyo on Switch however does not have these bugs. These were fixed when porting the Rev. B and World versions.

Rev. A	Rev. B
E9CC = andi.w #$FD8F, D0 E9D0 = andi.b #$F3, D1 A1B0 = move.b #$1C, ($12, A0, d0.w)	E9CC = andi.w #0, D0 E9D0 = andi.b #0, D1 A1B0 = move.b #$1B, ($12, A0, d0.w)