SEGA AGES Puyo Puyo 2 turns a classic into the perfect entry point for the series
by Amr (@siegarettes)
- SEGA AGES Puyo Puyo 2
- Developer: M2
- Publisher: SEGA
- Switch
“Learning Puyo Puyo” is one of those intangible goals I always come back to, in the same way I tell myself that I’m going to get good at fighting games, or learn Japanese. SEGA’s been making that goal a little easier lately, localizing new entries like Puyo Puyo Tetris, Champions and now returning with an official English release of the highly regarded Puyo Puyo 2, two and half decades later. The AGES release is a port of the arcade game, specifically worth noting as it’s talked about in the same way as SEGA Tetris or The Grand Master in terms of the specific feel and details serious players prefer.
The package feels as celebratory as its history might suggest, with developer M2 adding several special features to make it the definitive edition. But there’s one standout feature that changed my approach to Puyo entirely: the ability to rewind moves.
Rewinding the game isn’t a new feature for retro collections, becoming more common in modern releases, but Puyo Puyo 2’s implementation is slightly different. Instead of simply rewinding in real time, leaving you to find out the specific point to release it, the game records each move, letting you step back and forth between them.
In essence its works like a game record for Chess or Go, letting you see how each move played out, then correct mistakes or find alternative solutions. It doesn’t record every move from the start of the game, with a limit of about 60 previous moves, but it’s generally enough to get you out of any bad situation. If you want, you can even play Puyo Puyo 2 semi-turn based, using the rewind to pause the game and give you time to decide your next move before you play it.
As a Puyo novice who often finds it difficult to put anything I learn into practical use, being able to stop the clock and plan out moves has been immensely helpful for trying to develop a sense for building chains and how to look at the board. It even helps with trying to learn to be more reactive, since it gives you more time to react to what’s happening on their side of the board, or rewind and take into account a move of theirs you didn’t expect. There’s also been plenty of times where I’ve made a single bad move, or dropped a piece in the wrong place, which ended up costing me a game, and the ability to rewind a few steps back and correct it, rather than restart the whole match, is incredibly gratifying.
I could go on and on about the other features of this release, the adorable artwork and characters, or the much appreciated accessibility features like the colorblind options, but for me, the rewind function alone makes this version of Puyo Puyo 2 worth it. It gave me a totally new way to play Puyo Puyo, slowing it down and allowing me to plan ahead proactively, instead of desperately trying to put down Puyos to keep up with an opponent thinking faster than I ever could.
Puyo Puyo 2 may have forever achieved a permanent place in the history of the series, but the SEGA AGES release manages to somehow make it even more essential.