There are quite a few different types of puzzle games. While all are challenging and satisfying to complete, my favorite type by far are the falling block style puzzle games.
Essentially any game where you have a board and blocks or other items fall from the top or bottom of the screen and you fill your board more and more with those blocks until you match a certain number and then they're cleared from the board. I have a heavy addiction to those types of puzzle games and I don't ever plan to quit them! And neither should you!
If you're also addicted to falling block puzzlers, keep reading and I'll share 5 of my favorites! If you're trying to quit them, I feel bad for you.
Let's go!
Dr. Robotnik's Mean Bean Machine - Genesis/ Mega Drive
This game is basically a Sonic reskin of Sega's own Puyo Puyo, but I still love it! What sets it apart from Puyo Puyo is that you'll be battling different robots and eventually battle Dr. Robotnik himself.
Pairs of Puyos constantly fall from the top of the screen and you can rotate them in different directions to setup your combos and clear your board. After matching at least 3 adjacent Puyos of the same color, they'll disappear. As you slam out combos, your opponent's board will receive a few gray-colored garbage Puyos that take up space and can only be cleared out by matching adjacent Puyos of the same color and you keep going back and forth until someone's board is filled. Absolutely insane and addictive as hell.
Columns 3 - Genesis/ Mega Drive
Another Genesis gem! In Columns, like the name suggests, columns of three gems fall from the top and you can reorder the gems in the column until they hit the bottom of the board. To clear them out, match 3 adjacent gems, either horizontal, vertical, or diagonal. You can even reduce the size of your opponent's board by spending points which you gain from clearing combos. It has a really cool Egyptian visual style and plays so smoothly. Another one that's incredibly tough to put down.
Baku Baku Animal - Saturn
Look at that insane cover art! In this game, combinations of animals and food fall from the top of the screen. Once an animal is lined up next to its favorite food, it'll eat it, clearing it off of the board, and then send garbage blocks to the opponent's board. The visuals are bonkers as fuck and exactly what I'd expect from a game from that generation.
Super Puzzle Fighter II Turbo - Dreamcast
The Dreamcsst version of this one didn't come to the US, but you can get a fan translation pretty easily. The Dreamcast version is definitely the best version of the game, despite the HD remaster on PS3 and 360 due to cut content.
This game actually has THREE different gameplay styles - X, Y, and Z mode.
X-mode is the original gameplay style. Gems fall from the top and you can rotate them however you like as they fall. When they drop, if they come in contact with gems of the same color, they'll combine into a big gem that grows bigger as you merge more and more gems with it. To clear them, you'll need to match an orb of the same color as the gem.
Y-mode is similar to Puyo Puyo. When 3 or more gems of the same color come into contact they'll disappear. This can be done vertically, horizontally, or diagonally.
Z-mode is similar to Tetris Attack. Gems appear from the bottom of the screen and you'll rotate gems to match three or more of the same color.
Slap all of that on top of some great music, deformed versions of Street Fighter characters, and some hidden goodies and you've got one of the best damn puzzle games ever made.
Magical Drop III - Arcade
This one would've quarter-munched me right into extreme debt. Magical Drop III is a game by SNK for their Neo Geo arcade machines and is also as addictive as snack cakes.
In this one, colored bubbles will descend ever so slowly from the top of the screen. To clear them, you can grab a stack of bubbles from on the board and match 3 or more bubbles of the same color to pop them. There are also different characters to choose from that have different attack patterns, determining how columns of bubbles descend when sent to the opponent's board. Each character is based off a different tarot card.
There you have it! My 5 favorite falling block puzzle games. Essentially cocaine in digital form. I'd love to clear out my backlog of games, but I can't stop coming back to these 5. Crazy how 4 are from Sega consoles (go figure).
I'd love to know your favorites in the comments below!
I'M OUTTA HERE.
