I 1CC'd Super Puzzle Fighter II Turbo, but I'm not even going to bother recording it because, as always, I just don't like the game's rules or aesthetics. I actually enjoy the /first/ Puzzle-Dama more than this, which is kind of depressing to say.
I beat Devilotte though ^_^
It's sad, really… so many companies cloning Puyo Puyo without understanding where the characters came from, and just making up lumpy blorbo mascots with no design focus or soul… pity… *camera pans to reveal I'm looking at the character screen of SUPER PUZZLE FIGHTER II TURBO*
The garbage system in this is very unexpectedly Land Maker-like:
* Most damage goes into 6-wide lines from below (push)
* Remainder is dropped from above
* Garbage patterns matter VERY LITTLE compared to the general effect of adding lines that are guaranteed to have no Crash Gems
This (Super Puzzle Fighter II Turbo Z Mode, only on the Dreamcast) is also a true Panel De Pon successor because you constantly lose material (Crash Gems) from the slightest of mis-swaps, or the game just spawning things under you.
This is a game where you have to create your own Panel De Pon garbage blocks to attack with…!! And then downstack under them yourself.
Between this and StarSweep, there's so much about the Panel De Pon formula that's ripe for subversion.
I mean, Super Puzzle Fighter II Turbo also gave the objectively least-breakable pattern (nonstop diagonals) to the final boss, but at least it had the dignity to give him a huge multiplayer-only garbage quantity nerf (while sadly ignoring all the other characters…)
I think one of the more meaningful playstyle differences in an asymmetric versus puzzler is Puzzle Fighter II HD Remix, which buffs Chun Li by making her send 20% more garbage while retaining an easy-to-match pattern, thus increasing reward for big combos and risk for weak ones.
Super Puzzle Fighter II Turbo doesn't count because that one's actually part of the joke.
Puzzle Fighter score players who keep the match going for over 4 minutes so that the ghost from Spelunky appears and turns all their gems into diamonds
Top 10 Versus Puzzler Sound Effects (Non-Vocal)
1-6: The Tetris TGM next piece sounds
7: Top-out flourish (Panel De Pon 64)
8: "Here comes a new challenger" fanfare (Super Puzzle Fighter II)
9: Garbage queued (Soldam)
10: 20 garbage queued (Petal Crash)
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.
I don't dislike Super Puzzle Fighter II Turbo just because of its nonexistent game balance, but also the aesthetics. Not the characters or UI, but the board itself. The block-placing and matching noises are annoyingly high-pitched, and the garbage blocks just look ugly.
Why would they make a game where attack garbage falls vertically onto uneven surfaces and same colours match with each other, then give Ken THAT attack pattern and Ryu THAT attack pattern… I mean, I actually do know why, but really, just why…
I had to stop watching Super Puzzle Fighter II Turbo footage because it was making me hate Ken, the Street Fighter character, too much.
*innocently loads up footage of something called "Super Puzzle Fighter II Turbo – Z Mode", watches for 0.5 seconds, then feels every muscle in my face decide to go on a rollicking adventure*
I won't like, I don't really think too highly of Super Puzzle Fighter II Turbo, but I will say that this bit here is probably the funniest thing any versus puzzle game has ever done.
