#5
Down to the final five!
50: Battle Cross
49: Mickey Tokyo Disneyland
48: Little Magic
47: Rendering Ranger: R2
46: Violinist of Hamelin
45: Super Back to the Future II
44: Nangoku Shounen Papuwa-kun
43: Keeper
42: Ghost Sweeper Mikami
41: Go Go Ackman
40: Poko Nyan!
39: Araiguma Rascal
38: Super Tekkyu Fight!
37: Ganbare Daiku no Gensan
36: Power Soukoban
35: The Firemen
34: Super Genjin 2
33: Super Bomberman Panic Bomber World
32: BS Shockman
31: Majyuuou
30: Mickey and Donald: Magical Adventure 3
29: Ghost Chaser Densei
28: Magical Pop'n
27: Pop'n Twinbee Rainbow Bell Adventures
26: Pop'n Smash
25: Sanrio World Smash Ball!
24: Spark World
23: Super Bomberman 5
22: SD F-1 Grand Prix
21: Dossun! Ganseki Battle
20: Puzzle'n Desu!
19: Sutte Hakkun
18: Gundam Wing: Endless Duel
17: Pro Yakyuu Star
16: BS Zelda
15: Deae Tonosama Appare Ichiban
14: Umihara Kawase
13: Clock Tower
12: Rockman & Forte
11: Super Soukoban
10: Super Fire Pro Wrestling X Premium
9: Godzilla: Kaijuu Daikessen
8: Otoboke Ninja Colosseum
7: DoReMi Fantasy
6: Zen Nippon Pro Wrestling 2: 3-4 Budokan
#5: TSUYOSHI SHIKKARI SHINASAI TAISEN PUZZLE-DAMA
In the early 2000s I bought a rare Saturn puzzle game by the name of Chibi Maruko Chan No Taisen Pazurudama. It became one of my instant favorites. The bright colors, the whimsical atmosphere and the charming characters really brought that puzzle game to life for me. So when I found out in 2006 that Konami made its "prequel" for the Super Famicom, I knew I had to see if the first game had the magic touch as well. I dare call Tsuyoshi Shikkari Shinasai Taisen Puzzle-dama Konami's best kept SNES secret. It plays like an early beta version of Super Puzzle Fighter II Turbo. Select from one of 10 characters, each with their own block patterns, and duel it out to the death. The combos can get rather insane. It's not uncommon to pull off (near) double digit chain reactions. Match 3 (or more) like color faces to make a connection. Think Puyo Puyo but much more forgiving since it's 3 to match rather than 4. It's also made more forgiving because debris come in the form of imprisoned pieces. When you make a match next to an imprisoned block, it releases whatever piece is inside. You can thereby imagine the insane domino effect this may achieve. Sure, some may say it's way too easy to fall into big combos rather than skillfully and masterfully crafting them, but it also makes the battles a bit unpredictable. Skill still wins out (most of the time) but there's a certain luck and timing factor that plays a role too, and I like that actually.
Unlike many of the other games on this countdown, Tsuyoshi is going for peanuts even in 2016. Literally. I see two copies selling on eBay for a BIN price of $2 as of this writing. Two freaking bucks! It's definitely worth that and more. However, the game isn't without a few blemishes. One, it's a bit weak in the graphical department. Now I know puzzle games aren't known for their impressive visuals generally speaking, but the somewhat drab looking green background seen here isn't all that appealing. Thankfully though, the character animations in the background help to negate this negative somewhat. You feel their emotions when they're celebrating a big combo as well as when they're wincing in pain and anguish. Secondly, the pieces aren't as operational as in other puzzle games. You know how when you have two pieces going down a narrow column you can usually switch them, right? But in this game, once you go down a column where you're sandwiched in-between blocks on either side there is no more switching allowed. This may annoy puzzle fans who are used to a little more operational freedom with their blocks. However, it's not a deal breaker for me (obviously since I have it ranked this high). It's still an awesome puzzle game despite these two small blemishes. And in my book it's one of the best SNES puzzle games ever made. It's probably not a stretch to suggest that this is arguably the best Konami SNES game hardly anyone ever talks about.
The even superior "sequel" on the Sega Saturn
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