Puyo Puyo Sun (ぷよぷよSUN) is the third title in the Puyo Puyo series, initially released for Sega Titan Video arcade hardware in 1996. Like most Puyo Puyo games, Puyo Puyo Sun did not see a release outside of Japan. Like its prequel, Puyo Puyo Tsuu, the "Sun" part of the name is a pun on the number "San (三)", which is Japanese for "three" (in Puyo Puyo Tsuu, "Tsu" means both "Expert" in Japanese and sounds like the number "two" in English when spoken).
After reading a magazine, Satan gains the desire to get a tan and a lot of female attention, and so uses his magic to make the sun much larger, raising the temperature and turning the land into a tropical paradise. Arle and Carbuncle both find this new weather too hot, and seeing Satan's castle as the source of the heat wave set out to stop Satan's scheme and bring the temperature back to normal. Schezo also sets out on a journey to stop Satan's scheme in order to bring back the night. Draco, however, loves the new weather, so she takes out her bikini and sets out to sunbathe in her own short story.
Gameplay
Puyo Puyo Sun builds on the gameplay seen in Puyo Puyo Tsuu, however now includes "Sun Puyo" - Ojama Puyo which will amplify the damage done to the player's opponent. The changes are otherwise subtle, but lead to a more combative game than its predecessor - trends that would continue in the Puyo Puyo games which followed.
Puyo Puyo Sun introduces matches with as little as three colours of Puyo in play. This changes the dynamic of the game significantly - fewer colours means popping occurs more often, and in turn, chains are easier to create, allowing for stronger attacks. With Sun Puyo then amplifying these attacks (the popping of one Sun Puyo can easily create a row of Ojama), matches become less about careful placement of Puyo in the field, and more about being able to counter the opponent before being flooded.
In practice, this means matches in Puyo Puyo Sun are generally shorter than Tsuu, as chaining is no longer a requirement for large attacks. It also means the weakest computer players in Sun have far more of a chance of winning than in Tsuu.
The game's three difficulty settings are represented by different playable characters, meaning for the first time, player one does not need to be represented by Arle (or nobody). Each character also has their own complete set of voice samples (as opposed to Tsuu where the enemy only speaks its name and makes a noise when defeated).
Characters
Main characters
Arle Nadja
Arle serves as the protagonist for the Normal difficulty, where she travels with Carbuncle to foil Satan's scheme. She is also the stage 7 opponent in Schezo's story.
Draco Centauros
Draco serves as the protagonist for the Easy difficulty, where she sets out to get a tan in the intensified weather. She is also the stage 1 opponent in Arle's story, which takes place after her story had concluded.
Schezo Wegey
Schezo serves as the protagonist for the Hard difficulty, where he follows his own path to stop Satan's scheme, but only because the hot weather makes it harder for him to sleep. He is also the stage 12 opponent in Arle's story.
Other characters
All of the characters listed here can also be played as in the 2-player versus mode. The last two characters in the list, Satan and Carbuncle, must be unlocked through cheats in order to play as them.
Skeleton-T
He is the stage 1 opponent in Draco's story.
Harpy
She is the stage 2 opponent in Draco's story.
Choppun
He is the stage 3 opponent in Draco's story, and the final opponent for her story.
Incubus
He is the stage 2 opponent in Arle's story.
Suketoudara
He is the stage 3 opponent in Arle's story.
Kikimora
She is the stage 4 opponent in Arle's story.
Nohoho
He is the stage 5 opponent in Arle's story.
Kodomo Dragon
He is the stage 6 opponent in Arle's story, and the stage 1 opponent in Schezo's story.
Witch
She is the stage 7 opponent in Arle's story, and the stage 2 opponent in Schezo's story.
Zoh Daimaoh
He is the stage 8 opponent in Arle's story, and the stage 3 opponent in Schezo's story.
Honey Bee
She is the stage 9 opponent in Arle's story, and the stage 4 opponent in Schezo's story.
Lagnus the Brave
He is the stage 10 opponent in Arle's story, and the stage 5 opponent in Schezo's story.
Rulue
She is the stage 11 opponent in Arle's story, and the stage 6 opponent in Schezo's story.
Satan
He is the stage 13 opponent in Arle's story, and the stage 8 opponent in Schezo's story, typically serving as the final opponent for both stories.
Carbuncle
Carbuncle is a secret opponent who can be fought in Arle's and Schezo's stories. To challenge it, the player must clear Schezo's story without continuing, or use 20 or more continues in Arle's story.
Carbuncle can only be fought once per session - the player will not be able to continue if they lose to Carbuncle.
History
Legacy
The game was brought to the Sega Saturn and PlayStation (Puyo Puyo Sun Ketteiban (ぷよぷよSUN決定盤)) in 1997 with various extra features. It was also brought to the Nintendo 64 and Windows PC and a handheld version was released for the Nintendo Game Boy. Again, neither of these versions left Japan. In 2003, Sega rereleased the PlayStation version with a cheaper price. This version, SLPM 87213, is one of only two PlayStation games (the other being MiniMoni. Shakka to Tambourine! Dapyon!) released by Sega.
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Saturn version (XBAND)
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