Super Puzzle Fighter II Turbo


Super Puzzle Fighter II Turbo, released in Japan as, is a 1996 tile-matching puzzle video game developed and published by Capcom for arcades. The game's title is a play on Super Street Fighter II Turbo, as there were no other Puzzle Fighter games at the time, and the game includes music and interface elements spoofing the Street Fighter Alpha and Darkstalkers games. It was a response to Compile and Sega's Puyo Puyo 2 that had been sweeping the Japanese arcade scene.
A high-definition remake version titled Super Puzzle Fighter II Turbo HD Remix, is available on Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3. A successor, Puzzle Fighter, was released for mobile devices in 2017. Super Puzzle Fighter II Turbo HD Remix was made backwards compatible on Xbox One in June 2019. In 2022, the game was re-released in both the Capcom Fighting Collection and Capcom Arcade 2nd Stadium compilations on Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, Windows and Xbox One.

Gameplay

Puzzle Fighter is a puzzle game which is similar to the Sega arcade game Baku Baku Animal. As in the Capcom arcade game Pnickies, the player controls pairs of blocks that drop into a pit-like playfield. In Puzzle Fighter, however, gems can only be eliminated by coming into contact with a Crash Gem of the same color, which eliminates all adjacent gems of that color, setting up the potential for huge chain reactions. When gems are eliminated, "garbage blocks" called Counter Gems drop into the opponent's playfield; these will eventually become normal gems, but only after they count down to zero. Most Counter Gems start at "5" and are reduced by one each time a new pair of gems is dropped on that board. The only way to eliminate Counter Gems before they become normal gems is to place a Crash Gem of that color nearby so it eliminates at least one normal gem. If this is done, all Counter Gems immediately adjacent to the Crash Gem will be taken out as well. Additionally, gems of the same color that form squares or rectangles in the pit become a giant Power Gem of that size and color; eliminating these as part of a combo increases the number of Counter Gems that would otherwise normally appear on the opponent's board. The only other type of piece to appear is a diamond, which eliminates all the gems—normal, Power, Counter, and Crash alike—of whichever color gem it lands on. The diamond piece appears every 25 pieces.
Puzzle Fighter borrowed rules originally found in Puyo Puyo 2 called Sousai. This will allow a player to counter and negate garbage being sent by the opponent with chains of their own. Sousai can also be used to send garbage back to the opponent, known as Garbage overflow.
During the game, super deformed versions of various characters from Capcom's two main fighting game series act out a comical battle based on how the game is going. Every time one player sends Counter Gems to their opponent, their character will perform a typical fighting-game action, anything from a taunt to a special move. The more Counter Gems the player sends over, the "bigger" the move the character will perform. These animations, however, are purely cosmetic and have no actual bearing on the gameplay other than to indicate the magnitude of the counters.
The game continues until one player's field reaches the top of its fourth column. That player is the loser.
The Dreamcast version of the game adds three separate modes: X-Mode, Y-Mode and Z-Mode. Whereas X-mode is the original version of the core game, Y-Mode and Z-Mode have more drastic gameplay changes. Y-Mode makes the gems break as soon as three or more are aligned in a row, column, or diagonally, like in Columns, whereas Z-mode makes lines of gems rise up from the bottom of the screen, and the player controls a 2x2 square cursor, with which they rotate already-placed pieces, similarly to Tetris Attack.

Characters

The puzzle fighters on the roster are crossing over from Capcom's two major fighting game sequels that were recent at the time, such as Street Fighter Alpha 2 and Night Warriors: Darkstalkers' Revenge. A spin-off that uses most of these character sprites called Super Gem Fighter Mini Mix was released in 1997.
  • Ryu from Street Fighter
  • * Ryu is an eternal warrior. He searches the world for opponents, but the person he competes most against... is himself. Ryu strives for fighting perfection. Every battle is an opportunity for self-analysis and reflection; to refine weaknesses and strengthen already powerful attacks. Puzzle Fighter proves that Ryu is just as serious when it comes to strengthening his mind. Unfortunately, Ryu lacks creativity, and the Attack Pattern that he has devised for himself is the second most easiest in the game next to Dan's red only pattern.
  • * Ryu's attack pattern is, without question, the easiest attack pattern to counter in the entire game. With six solid columns of unchanging color, opponents of Ryu find themselves with ready made towers of linked gems that they can crash for tremendous damage. There are two distinct ways to counter Ryu's attack pattern. One is to align your own tower of Gems next to where one color is naturally bound to fall, creating a large Power Gem in the process. Another is to build bridges of red and yellow gems from the left side of the play field to the right, which allows you to destroy one side of the tower and watch the reaction cascade down, over, and back up the other side. Truly, selecting Ryu is something player's only do to handicap themselves against weaker players.
  • Ken from Street Fighter
  • * When it comes to fighting, it's hard to beat Ken. He exudes confidence, and believes in his ability to beat all challengers. So naturally, when it comes to Puzzle Fighting, Ken is just as sure that he can puzzle fight with the best of them. He may not have been the most disciplined before he left home to train in Japan as a young boy, but after his experience under Gouken's tutelage, and befriending the quiet but powerful Ryu, he returned home with a greater sense of self. Deep down inside, however, he always longs to prove himself against the greatest rival he has ever known; his friend Ryu.
  • * In the hands of a novice, Ken is terrible. In the hands of an expert, Ken is near unstoppable. The problem with Ken is that chip damage results in a flood of small red Counter Gem blocks, which will quickly amass and create a large red Gem chain, or Power Gem, which can be saved up by an opponent, and used to instantly wipe Ken out. However, large drop of alternating rows of color can be devastating to opponents. Uneven playfields create few to no opportunities for chains or Power Gems at all. A good Ken player will save Crash Gems for particularly huge amounts of destruction and flood an opponent with a difficult situation to dig out of, rather than sending small amounts of red Counter Gems that are easily countered.
  • Chun-Li from Street Fighter II: The World Warrior
  • * Chun-Li has been a mainstay of the Street Fighter series since her introduction as the world's strongest woman since 1991. She has appeared in just about every Street Fighter franchise, and then some. Her design, combined with her indomitable spirit, has catapulted her popularity to the top of the list alongside Ken and Ryu.
  • * Chun-Li's attack pattern is not as easy as Ryu's, but it's not much better. The biggest problem with it is that it results in the automatic creation of a number of power gems for the opponent if a large number are dropped on a relatively level surface. Even when it's not, the green and red Counter Gems tend to create links, making it easier to return punishment back to Chun-Li. For chip damage, she's not much better, as the near constant pairs of red, green, and blue tend to create large columns in the opponent's play field. Chun-Li's best tactic is to bombard opponents with one large drop, followed by continuous chips to overwhelm the opponent before he or she has a chance to clear out the initial drop.
  • Sakura from Street Fighter Alpha 2
  • * Sakura is the young competitive school girl who seeks to train under Ryu, after seeing him foil armed robbers with just his fists. She loves to compete and strives to be the best at everything she does. So naturally, she enjoys a good round of puzzle fighter as well. Her spirit is almost unstoppable—even in defeat, she makes sure to learn how she can do better the next time and win. Sakura may be young, but she is fast becoming one of the best puzzle fighters around.
  • * Sakura's attack pattern have been described as a mix of Ryu's attack pattern on the outside, and Ken's attack pattern in the middle. While an accurate description, it's not much better than Ryu's, and has considerably less potential than Ken's. Sakura's attack pattern has the same weakness as Felicia; opponents can easily counter it by positioning green Gems to the left and yellow Gems to the right. When Rainbow Gems arrive, landing one on top of a blue Gem typically results in a large red Power Gem being formed in the middle. It can be tough to win with Sakura. Chip damage just sets opponents up for a large red Gem, and large attacks are still vulnerable on the sides.
  • Morrigan from Darkstalkers: The Night Warriors
  • * Morrigan simply loves conflict. It's not about a victory for her, it's about the effort expended and the pain inflicted. She loves that, and thrives on it. She's also a playful flirt. She enjoys toying with her opponents as much as she enjoys fighting them. As a succubus, she has many powers, most of which are not fully understood. She has an ability to quickly alter her appearance from her original outfit to that of her opponents, which she does, again, for fun.
  • * Morrigan certainly has one of the better attack patterns after Donovan and Ken. With three different colors in her bottom row and a complete change in columns after two rows, Morrigan can punish players with both chip damage, and large attacks. Small attacks result in a variety of colors being dropped. Large attacks may commonly result in Power Gems being created in the middle, but rarely ever chains. Countering Morrigan can be a little difficult, but even arranging towers of blue or yellow Gems along the sides can help create counterattack opportunities. Alternatively, opponents may choose to amass red Gems in the center, with hopes of creating a large Power Gem.
  • Donovan from Night Warriors: Darkstalkers' Revenge
  • * Donovan is the mysterious Dhampir, half-man half-vampire, as well as the Vampire Hunter. A practitioner of a very mystical form of Buddhism, Donovan wields an enchanted sword named Dhylec.
  • * Donovan's attack pattern is considered one of the stronger, if not the strongest, attack patterns in the game. Expert match-ups are dominated by Ken and Donovan players. While Ken is only deadly in expert hands, even weaker players can do relatively well against opponents as Donovan. This happens for a number of reasons. In small doses, Donovan's pattern appears as weak as Ryu's. However, with only two colors dropping, players may find it hard to take advantage of the solely red and yellow bands that build up if they receive a lot of blue and green Gems. On the other hand, when Donovan does a lot of damage, the bands are interrupted by green and blue Counter Blocks which, if they land fairly close to one another, can form chains, if not Power Gems, but not very big ones. Building towers of red in the even columns, or towers of yellow in the odd columns is a good strategy to counter Donovan's attack pattern.
  • Hsien-Ko from Night Warriors: Darkstalkers' Revenge
  • * Hsien-Ko's innocent nature belies her deadly abilities. As a hopping corpse of Chinese legend, her power is only kept in check but the talisman that accompanies her, a form that is taken by Hsien-Ko's twin sister Mei-Ling. Should the talisman ever be absent, Hsien-Ko would lose control of the immense power within her, and kill indiscriminately. Hsien-Ko fights only when necessary, and is driven by the desire to save her mother's soul.
  • * Hsien-Ko's pattern is great for chip damage, but terrible for large attacks unless they completely overwhelm the opponent. Any attack up to 12 blocks does a decent amount of disruption to opponent's chains and Power Gem attempts. However, a large attack that doesn't force an opponent to lose, will put Hsien-Ko in a dangerous position. Her large stairways of Counter Gems quickly become fodder for new chains and counterattacks that can be returned to punish Hsien-Ko. If you're going to send a large number of Gems with Hsien-Ko, check to see that the opponent's field is either very uneven, or already full of blocks.
  • Felicia from Darkstalkers: The Night Warriors
  • * Felicia is probably the second most popular Darkstalker warrior after Morrigan, judging by the number appearances she has made outside of her original series. She is presented as a good-natured optimist who only sees the best in people, and she wants to be a star. Puzzle Fighter shows off her light-hearted sense of humor, as well as her penchant for taking cat-naps after a battle.
  • * Felicia's pattern is pretty decent against average players, but expert players can exploit it rather easily. With just a tiny amount of chip damage, Felicia still drops four different colors on her opponents, enough to screw up long-term plans for wide chains and Power Gems. With a full damage attack, even Power Gems are unlikely unless the middle four columns are even. Chains will definitely form on either outer-column, and this is where counter-attack experts will thrive. By restricting green blocks to the left side of their play field, and yellow block to the right side, players can take advantage of Felicia's continuous column drop of green and yellow Gems. Opponents of Felicia are advised to use Rainbow Gems primarily on red or blue Gems, in hopes of creating a large central Power Gem out of the remaining color.