Super Columns (スーパーコラムス) is an update to Columns, released exclusively for the Sega Game Gear in 1995.
Story
The evil merchant Surhand wants to harness the power of a mystical amulet in order to conquer all of Phoenicia. His citadel is guarded by four henchmen, who are all masters of Columns. They must be defeated to save Phoenicia.
Gameplay
Endless mode and Story mode
Super Columns is a falling block puzzle game like its predecessor. Columns of three differently colored gems fall one at a time, and the player must arrange three gems of the same color in a row, column, or diagonal line to eliminate them. The game adds new types of blocks and the ability to rotate the columns horizontally. The player moves columns with 
and 
and drops them faster with 
. Their colors are cycled with 
, and they are rotated with 
.
The game adds a Story mode, wherein the player must defeat five opponents three times each in order to advance in the game. During Story matches, both the player and the player's opponents can unleash various spells, indicated by a numbered display that ascends as gems are matched. Each spell has a different effect, such as increasing the speed at which opponent columns fall or restricting the opponent's ability to rotate their columns. There is also a Versus mode that follows the same rules as the Story mode where two players can compete over a Gear-to-Gear Cable.
Like in previous Columns games, there are also Endless and Flash modes. In an Endless game, the player matches gems until inevitably reaching a game-over. The player progresses to a new level at certain points thresholds, and the speed of the gameplay increases with each level. Flash mode presents the player with 10 puzzle stages where all flashing gems must be matched and eliminated in order to progress to the next stage.
Spells
In the Story and Versus modes, gaining points increases the gauge. The player can select a spell with 
+ and perform the selected spell with +.
| Gauge Number
|
Points
|
Spell
|
| 1
|
50
|
Sends stone blocks to the other player.
|
| 2
|
100
|
Prevents the other player from rearranging his or her columns.
|
| 3
|
150
|
Increases the speed at which the other player's columns drop.
|
| 4
|
200
|
Lowers the player's base level.
|
| 5
|
250
|
Gives the player a magic gem.
|
Special Blocks
|
|
Bomb Block
|
| Eliminates the entire row, column, or diagonal line when three are matched.
|
|
|
Glitter Column
|
| Appears in Flash mode. When it makes contact with a gem, it causes all gems of that color to disappear.
|
|
|
Stone Block Column
|
| Appears in the Story and Versus modes. Stone blocks can only be removed by Magic Columns and cannot be set horizontal.
|
|
|
Magic Column
|
| Appears in the Endless, Story, and Versus modes. The upward arrow causes gems above it to disappear, the center square causes gems the color as those that are touched by it to disappear, and the downward arrow reverses the screen.
|
|
|
Reversal Column
|
| Appears in the Endless, Story, and Versus modes. It causes all gems the same color as the one that the column contacts to disappear.
|
|
|
Vanish Column
|
| Appears in the Endless, Story, and Versus modes. It causes all gems above the column to disappear.
|
Stages
Flash Mode
Production credits
Digital manuals
Magazine articles
- Main article: Super Columns/Magazine articles.
Promotional material
{{gallery
Print advert in
Todo Sega (ES) #26: "Mayo 1995" (1995-0x-xx)
Print advert in
Hobby Consolas (ES) #51: "Diciembre 1995" (1995-xx-xx)
also published in:Physical scans
| {{{{{icon}}}|L}}
|
Division by zero.
|
Based on
0 review
|
| Game Gear, JP
|
|
|
 Cart |
| Game Gear, US
|
|
|
 Cart  Manual |
| Game Gear, EU
|
|
|
 Cart  Manual |
Technical information
ROM dump status
| System |
Hash |
Size |
Build Date |
Source |
Comments |
|
|
|
| ?
|
| CRC32
|
2a100717
|
| MD5
|
3696ab241bbe66846a0ad00a50ca289b
|
| SHA-1
|
a1de915b0f10894bedc6ee8f0fd1f2da65bcfa68
|
|
128kB
|
|
Cartridge (JP)
|
|
|
|
|
| ?
|
| CRC32
|
8ba43af3
|
| MD5
|
8f1de0caa864beed2a61f391795b0a10
|
| SHA-1
|
ce59845e973b7fb7b3b2121b35a95fba5727df62
|
|
128kB
|
|
Cartridge (US/EU)
|
|
|
|
|
| ?
|
| CRC32
|
f28f89d1
|
| MD5
|
1513e04ab34ff687e6bfcf89199cce5a
|
| SHA-1
|
e5b23a687c9dd285970f4783369e36c7a96d19fa
|
|
128kB
|
1994-11-11
|
CD-R disc[22]
|
|
|
|
Page
|
| ?
|
| CRC32
|
56cf1d4f
|
| MD5
|
d829d132768af645ec9770ce7751aeb6
|
| SHA-1
|
29dac0da809c8a74c6610e4dde300efaddaca29a
|
|
128kB
|
1994-11-30
|
CD-R disc[23]
|
|
|
|
Page
|
| ?
|
| CRC32
|
abe92434
|
| MD5
|
d592e3ac72db3d3829b5c56fd9b6c0e4
|
| SHA-1
|
3edad6d335d5f6ec3dc403fd642cd6a71e3c053d
|
|
128kB
|
1994-12-15
|
CD-R disc[24]
|
|
|
|
Page
|
| ?
|
| CRC32
|
81451fc0
|
| MD5
|
eef5e19e5314cd512bbf9cfe700c9482
|
| SHA-1
|
b7cabe08f0e0850b055fd0e694e175e8f1c47e4d
|
|
128kB
|
1994-12-21
|
CD-R disc[25]
|
|
|
|
Page
|
| ?
|
| CRC32
|
5c4c633d
|
| MD5
|
9c8597827b2b6632288dcd2e518c5ea1
|
| SHA-1
|
d3050de383e772bb068d4c722bbe91ff05172d45
|
|
128kB
|
1994-12-26
|
CD-R disc[26]
|
|
|
|
Page
|
| ?
|
| CRC32
|
3d931952
|
| MD5
|
af4aa4dfc874b945fbe61d31d8c20c00
|
| SHA-1
|
b2bc04e1f7a00ec5431774db0b47da53db57d3a3
|
|
128kB
|
1994-12-28
|
CD-R disc[27]
|
|
|
|
Page
|
| ?
|
| CRC32
|
096f4ff5
|
| MD5
|
0f9eb3b55945f0057e0e1a04424a64fc
|
| SHA-1
|
fed437cf7d22c685fef7b2e55579cd77bb48e232
|
|
128kB
|
1995-01-06
|
CD-R disc[28]
|
|
|
|
Page
|
| ?
|
| CRC32
|
8ba43af3
|
| MD5
|
8f1de0caa864beed2a61f391795b0a10
|
| SHA-1
|
ce59845e973b7fb7b3b2121b35a95fba5727df62
|
|
128kB
|
1995-01-09
|
CD-R disc[29]
|
|
|
|
Page
|
References
- ↑ File:SuperColumns GG EU Box Back.jpg
- ↑ File:SuperColumns GG JP Box Front.jpg
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 https://sega.jp/history/hard/gamegear/software.html (Wayback Machine: 2018-12-07 04:57)
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 GamePro, "June 1995" (US; 1995-xx-xx), page 106
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 Sega Magazine, "April 1995" (UK; 1995-03-15), page 88
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 Mean Machines Sega, "April 1995" (UK; 1995-02-28), page 89
- ↑ http://www.sega.com/palm/purchase/buy_select_columns.jhtml (Wayback Machine: 2003-04-17 04:38)
- ↑ Hobby Consolas, "Enero 1996" (ES; 199x-xx-xx), page 83
- ↑ Consoles +, "Mai 1995" (FR; 1995-0x-xx), page 124
- ↑ Electronic Games (1992-1995), "July 1995" (US; 1995-0x-xx), page 89
- ↑ Famitsu, "1995-06-02" (JP; 1995-05-19), page 33
- ↑ Freak, "7/95" (IL; 1995-xx-xx), page 1
- ↑ Joypad, "Juillet/Août 1995" (FR; 1995-0x-xx), page 57
- ↑ Mega Force, "Mai 1995" (FR; 1995-0x-xx), page 67
- ↑ Mega Fun, "06/95" (DE; 1995-05-24), page 90
- ↑ Player One, "Mai 1995" (FR; 1995-0x-xx), page 98
- ↑ Play Time, "7/95" (DE; 1995-06-07), page 110
- ↑ Sega Saturn Magazine, "June 1995" (JP; 1995-05-08), page 135
- ↑ Todo Sega, "Mayo 1995" (ES; 1995-0x-xx), page 49
- ↑ Top Consoles, "Juin 1995" (FR; 1995-0x-xx), page 106
- ↑ Video Games, "6/95" (DE; 1995-05-17), page 108
- ↑ Hidden Palace: Super Columns (Nov 11, 1994 prototype)
- ↑ Hidden Palace: Super Columns (Nov 30, 1994 prototype)
- ↑ Hidden Palace: Super Columns (Dec 15, 1994 prototype)
- ↑ Hidden Palace: Super Columns (Dec 21, 1994 prototype)
- ↑ Hidden Palace: Super Columns (Dec 26, 1994 prototype)
- ↑ Hidden Palace: Super Columns (Dec 28, 1994 prototype)
- ↑ Hidden Palace: Super Columns (Jan 6, 1995 prototype)
- ↑ Hidden Palace: Super Columns (Jan 9, 1995 prototype)
and 
and drops them faster with 
. Their colors are cycled with 
, and they are rotated with 
.
+
