Super Puzzle Fighter II Turbo: Saturn vs. Playstation

[Gamereviewgod]

Bumping for the release of Puzle Fighter for cell phones. The game went live today. Initial thoughts:

It uses A LOT of airtime. It's constantly sharing data, and there is NO single player. In other words, you have no choice but to use your minutes.

Haven't grasped all the changes. I killed in a guy in about 30 seconds, and then in round 2, all the pieces I had left were still on the screen. Round 3 started fresh, and I don't know why there was a 3rd at all since I won both.

All the base characters are included, not sure on Akuma/Devilot.

You can't see the other guys screen, no animation. It would be nice to have some sort of update as to their status.

Music is repeptitive, accurate, and complete.

Gameplay is slow and choppy, but I'm on a lower end phone. That's probably the reason.

All in all, for $7, it's worth a download if you have the minutes to spare and you're a die hard fan of the game. A higher end cell phone would be hugely beneficial I'm assuming to. I'm using a LGX 6100, so figure it from there.

[c0ldb33r]

I lost interest when you said it uses a lot of air time and there is no single player That could get expensive fast.

[secretvampire]

In my opinion the Japanese DC version is by far the best thanks to it's overall accuracy from the arcade and extra play modes. Hell, you can design your own block fall pattern!

[MegaDrive20XX]

Can't wait to see the PSP port in the Capcom Puzzle World

[Beefy Hits]

Can't wait to see the PSP port in the Capcom Puzzle World

Too bad it won't be online. It is the PSP or Capcom that's lazy about giving us Online games for that thing?

[Nz17]

[Rwise from yor gwave!]

We now know how all those versions are, but how about the newest ones? I know at least that it was "HD-ified" for PSN and XBLA. Aren't there some other, newer ports or enhanced releases?

[Vlcice]

PSN and XBLA port is pretty good. The presentation is a bit too barebones, but the game itself plays great. The original game mode was rebalanced, so it's worthwhile playing someone other than Ken or Donovan. Which is nice. It also features the extra game modes from the DC port, which are a fun bonus.

I haven't played any other recent ports.

[Frankie_Says_Relax]

PSN and XBLA port is pretty good. The presentation is a bit too barebones, but the game itself plays great. The original game mode was rebalanced, so it's worthwhile playing someone other than Ken or Donovan. Which is nice. It also features the extra game modes from the DC port, which are a fun bonus.

I haven't played any other recent ports.

Great on PSN and 360 for reasons mentioned above.

Also nice to pop online and get your ass kicked by people in Japan who likely spend most of their free time online still playing this and the original Tetris DS. (Seriously, I only ever run into Japan users in both games respective online mode *shrug*)

There's also a really nice port on the iOS (iTouch and iPhone only currently) Capcom Arcade, it's a pretty straight port of the arcade rom so it's as unbalanced as that was, and no special modes, but it works well with touch controls (or better than I would have expected it to).

I never got the Capcom Puzzle Collection for PSP because I heard that it actually shipped with some bugs in the software.

[wingzrow]

Not sure if it's been mentioned but the Original Playstation version does NOT work on certain models of PS2, possibly all of them. It's one of those 6 or so ps1 games that just starts up and then hangs at a loading screen forever.

[Frankie_Says_Relax]

Not sure if it's been mentioned but the Original Playstation version does NOT work on certain models of PS2, possibly all of them. It's one of those 6 or so ps1 games that just starts up and then hangs at a loading screen forever.

Only on SCPH-75001 and probably SCPH 77001 slim models. Works like a champ on fat and other model slims.

[spongerob]

PSX. Controller, controller, controller. The PSX version is what got me hooked. Well, obsessed is a better way to put it. I, no joke, saw this game in my sleep. The XBLA port hooked me but it'd just been too many years. I'm still proud that I made it to #1 in the world, but I just didn't have the kind of required time to stay there. Leaderboards obviously are more about time than talent.

As long as this game plays on a TV, with a controller, it's great. Doesn't matter which version it is. If I had to pick though, I'd take the PSX version. The DC version has an uncomfortable puzzle controller, but has more content.

[gameofyou]

Only ever played the Saturn version, & it's awesome.

[NayusDante]

I got the PC version new for $5 at Toys R' Us back in the day, and always loved it. I always played it with a gamepad though, so I don't really know what I was missing on the consoles. The extras are there, but stuff like the music, you could just open in Windows Media Player. I was sad that the current console port was lacking the unlockables, but it's still pretty good.

I will say that I prefer the low-res PC block graphics to the HD edition block graphics. Can't speak for the PSX or Saturn version.

[A Black Falcon]

Between the PSX and Saturn versions, I don't know which is better. Featurewise they're they same though.

Of the older versions, I like the PC version the most. The (Japan-only) DC version (and its ports) does have some interesting features as well, though. It's missing some other ones, though, so it's not the only version to have. The PC has an additional mode not present in the other versions, as far as I know, and it was the one I played the most of -- Original mode. Arcade mode, Street Puzzle mode, and Versus mode are all just the same as they are on PSX, Saturn, and GBA, but that other mode isn't in the other versions.

In Original mode, there are several changes from the Arcade mode. First, you can set the drop timer and wait speed (that is, the countdown number on the timers on dropped blocks and the amount of time until drop you send to the other player falls on their side). I think similar options may exist in the DC version and its descendants, but perhaps not? There is also one major rule change in this mode, that, again as far as I know (I could be wrong, I'm not certain) isn't in any other version of Puzzle Fighter -- a Super Combo gauge. The gauge fills as you break blocks, and when it gets high enough, if you press rotate left and rotate right simultaneously, you can turn any pair of normal blocks (the ones that are currently dropping) into Crash Gems. You can do different combos based on which pair of rotate buttons you press (there are two pairs of rotate buttons). It's a pretty cool and interesting feature, and definitely can save you sometimes. Also, the hidden characters Devilot, Dan, and Akuma are selectable just like the other eight characters in Original mode, with their portraits on the screen to the right of the main eight. In the PSX, Saturn, and GBA versions, you have to use cheatcodes to access those three characters (it was even harder in the arcade original I think). In the DC and its ports, they're there, but hidden below the lower row of characters, so they don't have on-screen portraits. PC has the edge here. You are still given the codes, though, because you'd need them in Arcade mode, but in Original they're just unlocked. It's great to actually have their portraits on the screen, and combined with the other modes, Original mode really is interesting. It's too bad that the DC version didn't keep it in the game, given that that's the version both more recent ports are based on.

The other extras unlockable in the PC version are the same as they are in the GBA, PSX, and Saturn versions -- a Master Arcade mode, which is harder than the normal arcade mode, an illustration gallery (normal image files you can also view outside of the program are put in the install directory too, which is nice if you want to use them elsewhere), an option to view all of the humorous little demo-reel scenes, and a sound test. The PC does have one additional feature, IPX network play is there, for use with an IPX-to-internet play emulator or something like that for internet play. Oh, and yes, it does support gamepads natively. So yeah, the PC version is best. It is a little tricky to get running now -- I can't make any bets that it'd work in a 64-bit OS. In my OS, Vista 32-bit, it does work, but only after I ran the Startup program on the CD in Win95 compatibliity mode, before that it wouldn't work. You then run the game via that same file, not from the folder it installs on the hard drive. It also won't let me change resolution or color depth, so even though the game supports more (640x480 or 800x600, and 256, thousands, or 32-bit color), it's stuck at 640x480, 256 color for me. Oh well, that's probably all it was designed for anyway, and it works fine otherwise.


As for the Dreamcast version (Super Puzzle Fighter II X For Matching Service), it has some interesting features, but also some missing content. On the bad side, it's got no Street Puzzle mode. This is unfortunate. Instead, like in the other "for matching service" DC titles (SFIIT and Vampire Chronicles), there are no unlocks at all. Instead, everything's unlocked from when you first turn the game on. The games were mostly released for their long-offline online play modes, and don't have much that a normal console release of those games would, including features from past versions of those games on other consoles. However, they do let you play those three greats on the DC, and the ports are good. But the only modes here are Arcade and Versus, that's it, and it's just like it is in the arcades... almost.

First, the three main hidden characters aren't hard to access here -- they're available from the start and you don't need a code, they're just below the lower level of the eight characters, so just go down from them to find the three others. Not as nice a solution as PC Original mode, which actually gives them full character select boxes, but better than the PSX and Saturn versions.

Also, DC Puzzle Fighter added one more interesting feature -- it has two entirely new game modes included, Y mode and Z mode. X mode is the normal game, but in Y and Z modes the rules completely change. Y mode is basically like Columns or Puyo Puyo or something, where the blocks break when three are touching and there are no crash gems. Z mode is like Tetris Attack, as you flip blocks with a square cursor, as the blocks come from below. That square cursor does make it a little different from Tetris Attack/Puzzle League, though, because you rotate in a square, you're not flipping pairs. These two added modes are interesting, and having at least one of the versions with them is worthwhile, but as none of these versions have the unlocks or Street Puzzle mode, they aren't replacements, just supplemental versions, in my opinion. And anyway, of the three X mode is probably best. (Though it, too, isn't entirely original -- Puzzle Fighter is, after all, pretty much a shameless clone of Sega's Baku Baku with a couple of rule changes. They ripped off a great game, though... Puzzle Fighter is one of my favorite puzzle games ever. Baku Baku is a great game too though.)

Getting back to the versions, PSP SPFIIT, which is included in the Capcom Puzzle World title, is apparently based on the DC game, so I'd expect it to be pretty much the same, just without the online play.

These two added modes are also in the PS3/X360 download title Super Puzzle Fighter II Turbo HD Remix, which is a graphically enhanced port based on the DC version. So, like the DC game, Street Puzzle mode (and Original mode of course) are not in the HD Remake. You don't unlock anything, and just like with the DC game this means that many of the PC/PSX/Saturn/GBA unlockables aren't available in this version. Oh well, at least it has online play. It's also got a rebalanced X' mode, with some balance changes versus the original. Like with the DC and PSP versions Akuma, Dan, and Devilot are accessed by pressing down from the lower row of characters, they don't have their own visible boxes.

[Nz17]

Thanks Black Falcon, that was thorough!

[A Black Falcon]

Thanks Black Falcon, that was thorough!

Oh, I should add, the GBA version is the worst one. It's a little better if you're playing with a Gamecube plus GB Player on a television, but on an actual GBA the screen is pretty small, telling some of the colors apart can be tricky sometimes, between green and yellow particularly. The music's not as good either, of course. The GBA has good visuals, but somewhat mediocre audio. it's still a fun game, but not quite as good as the others.

I do like that they have a two-player single-system mode in the game, though. It does add something. The controls are somewhat limited, but they had to be, given the number of buttons -- left and right, or A and B, move the block left and right, while L or R rotate. Hold L or R down for a second to drop the block quickly.


I also somehow forgot one more important change that is made in the PC's exclusive Original mode and that, as far as I know (I could be wrong, I haven't checked to be certain) isn't in any other version of Puzzle Fighter -- a Super Combo gauge. The gauge fills as you break blocks, and when it gets high enough, if you press rotate left and rotate right simultaneously, you can turn any pair of normal blocks (the ones that are currently dropping) into Crash Gems. It's a pretty cool and interesting feature. I'll add this into the original post too.


Also, some of the things that you can't get in the DC/PSP/PS360 versions include: two of the four colors per character (only two colors in those versions), Special Win Icons (just V's for everybody), and some more stuff I think. And of course you can't fight any of those really challenging Street Puzzle fights either.

[kedawa]

I'm surprised you had issues with the colours on the GBA.
I play it often on my GB micro and never have any trouble distinguishing between the colours. I don't recall it being a problem on the GBA SP1 either.