Puyo Puyo Champions
By Chad Sapieha,
Common Sense Media Reviewer
Common Sense Media Reviewers
Family-friendly puzzler encourages social play.
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Puyo Puyo Champions
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What’s It About?
PUYO PUYO CHAMPIONS collects and remasters a pair of earlier games -- Puyo Puyo 2 and Puyo Puyo Fever -- in Sega's popular puzzle series and adds a variety of online play options. Puyo Puyo 2 represents the game in its traditional form, with players trying to match falling puyos (blocks) with those already laid down in the play area in groups of four or more of the same color to make them disappear. Strategically placed puyos will set up cascading combos, as groups of puyos disappear and cause those above them to fall down and match puyos below. These chains result in junky white puyos falling into and cluttering your opponent's play space. Puyo Puyo Fever is similar, except that players occasionally enter a "fever" mode in which they're provided groups of puyos that can be easily chained together to drop huge amounts of junky puyos in their opponent's play area. Players can play solo against computer-controlled opponents, in local multiplayer matches on one screen or with multiple Switch consoles networked together, and online where they can compete in both ranked league matches to see how they fare against players around the world and unranked matches just for fun.
Is It Any Good?
It's hard to improve on a classic. Puyo Puyo Champions' designers were wise in their decision not to mess with the series' winning formula but instead preserve play from two of the franchise's most beloved entries while modernizing the presentation and providing a few bonus features. These include elements like player statistics, the ability to record and watch replays, and the option to customize your avatar's background, music, and style of puyo -- including a retro pixelated design that hearkens back to the very first Puyo Puyo game. Both of these games are focused on strategic play that rewards players who plan ahead; they deliver a sense of fast-paced competition regardless of whether you're playing against AI or human opponents. Make no mistake: While chance plays a role, these are games of speed and skill. They take time to master. And without a tutorial mode to explain some of the subtler elements, new players may be left wondering how to take their game to the next level.
Still, with its bargain price, Puyo Puyo Champions is an easy recommendation for fans of classic puzzle games. The real question is whether it's worth picking up if you've already purchased the much more expensive Puyo Puyo Tetris for Switch, which offers similar Puyo Puyo play along with Tetris puzzling and a story mode thrown in. The answer depends largely on how important the Fever variation is to you, and whether or not you want to prove yourself by chasing a global ranking in online play. Fair warning: Online matches can be extremely challenging, with many seemingly preternaturally gifted players just waiting to eat rookies whole. Puyo Puyo Champions is a good game with an attractive price, but it's likely to appeal to the franchise's existing fans rather than draw in a new generation.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about using games to teach kids empathy. When playing Puyo Puyo Champions against other people in the same room, do you think about how they feel when they win or lose? Does this influence your behavior?
Sometimes thinking about what to do right now isn't effective in achieving what you want to do later. How far ahead do you try to plan when playing puzzle games like Puyo Puyo Champions?
Game Details
- Platform: Nintendo Switch
- Pricing structure: Paid
- Available online?: Available online
- Publisher: Sega of America
- Release date: May 7, 2019
- Genre: Puzzle
- ESRB rating: E for No Descriptors
- Last updated: May 10, 2019
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