SUPER PUZZLE FIGHTER II - CAPCOM

What an interesting concept! Take the popularity of the Street Fighter and Darkstalkers series, and combine the addictive gameplay of Tetris or Bust-AMove, and one would have Puzzle Fighter. Eight characters from the aforementioned fighting game rosters have been "super-deformed," or given the small-bodied, big head treatment, in order to do battle not by fighting skill, but instead by quick-thinking puzzle configurations.

The traditional Capcom visuals have been converted to a cuter, more compact representation for Puzzle Fighter. Two vertical playfields adorn each side of the screen, with the player's character and opponent facing each other in the middle. The fighters remain accurate to their previous games, though with a cartoony exaggeration, and do battle within miniamalgams of various Street Fighter Alpha and Night Warriors sceneries. The puzzle pieces are multi-colored gems, with the occasional obstacle dropped

within to impede game play. Most fascinating to watch are the warriors reacting to successful puzzle matches, attacking the opponent with a fireball or combo move in response.

The simple panel uses only a joystick for controlling puzzle piece mop ement and speed, and a two-buttoned toggle pad that rotates the pieces right or left. A skill level is chosen among easy, medium and hard, followed by character selection. Warriors such as Ryu, Ken, Chun-Li, Donovan, and Hsien-Ko are available, each with their own patented attack responses. Promptly, the four colored gems descend in two-piece shapes, requiring the player to rotate and place them in a strategic position on the pile of accumulated gems. Occasionally a colored star replaces one of the gems in the puzzle piece, and will eliminate any of the same colored gems in the pile that it contacts. The gems above those eliminated fall to the bottom and may clear more gems in that area. This causes a combo move and deposits obstacles on the opponent's playfield, reducing the amount of space available. When one's gems stack over

the top of their playfield, the opponent wins.

Puzzle Fighter II greatly

resembles Tetris combined with Bust-a-Move's colors, both in game play and graphics. The recent Battle Balk by Fabtek also presents similarities with the use of warrior likenesses. I

believe this is a good inexpensive way to keep Street Fighter afficionados satisfied until the rumored Part Ill. The game has tested well at my local arcades, but proper placing is important for this or anv kit with ~uhducd v isuals to he noticed

VIRTUAL ON -- SEGA

Sega's vision of future warfare involves huge mecha (the common term for cybernetic machines manned like tanks) battling much the way ancient gladiators

I would. Eight machines, each with various weaponry, are available for combat in futuristic urban and rural arenas. The simulators resemble a hi-tech game of tag as players hover and dodge among buildings

I and other obstacles trying to score hits on

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RePlay Magazine

September 1996

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