Fringe theory that the only reason Columns (1990) even involves columns at all is because the programmers didn't feel like implementing piece rotation collision detection
On another note, I think it's very funny how Columns, Puyo Puyo, and other stuff like this game all avoid the big difficulty issue with Tetris (overhangs) by simply not allowing pieces to overhang ever.
*thinking to oneself in meditative contemplation* If the Columns magic gem was in Tetris, it would land on a row, and then all rows with an identical number of holes would be erased. *the corner of my lip imperceptibly twitches in satisfaction*
I'm really curious about the decision to make this game's board 7-wide instead of the Columns standard 6… I'm convinced that after they figured out that masterfully elegant garbage formula, 7-wide was the ingenious little hack they needed to make the numbers work out just right.
*imagines how popular Columns, the falling block puzzle game, would be if its name wasn't freaking "Columns"* Wow
My feelings about the Columns "magic gem" in versus puzzle games are very deep and complicated.
Wondering if Columns (1990) is the origin of "6-wide" (the rule that non-Tetris versus puzzle game boards are exactly six blocks wide). Puyo, Panel de Pon, other stuff like Taisen Puzzle-Dama, all 6-wide. Only major exceptions are Wario's Woods and post-90's stuff like Meteos.
I suspect versus puzzle games got into the somewhat lazy habit of using gems for their pieces from Columns, but the Puzzle Fighter gems look so unappealing and cheap compared to most games' gems.