Puyo Puyo / Puyo Puyo 2

If you have ever played a competitive puzzler in which opponents flood each other's screens, you have the Puyo Puyo series to thank. This legend from Compile elevated the falling-block genre to the level of a sharp two-player duel and became a phenomenon in Japan whose influence we still feel today.

The principle is delightfully simple and devilishly deep at once: pairs of colored jelly-like creatures called puyo fall from above, and when you connect four or more of the same color, they disappear. The real magic, however, lies in the combos. A cleverly stacked chain causes one clearing to trigger another and another, and each such combo dumps a heap of annoying transparent puyo onto your opponent's field, making their life difficult. The match thus turns into a nail-biting chess duel of reflexes and foresight.

Puyo Puyo 2 (Tsu) refined this formula by adding counterattacks and offsetting mechanics, turning the game into a competitive discipline with incredible depth. This very installment is still considered by many to be the peak of the series' classic era and serves as the foundation of tournament play that even professional players swear by.

Visually, the series relies on cute, distinctive characters and a cheerful, playful mood that contrasts with the merciless tactical depth beneath the surface. Compile managed to combine accessibility with a masterful skill ceiling — you learn to play in a minute, but perfectly mastering the chaining will take you years.

In the West the original licence was little known, so Puyo Puyo often traveled disguised under other brands, yet the core of the fun remained just as brilliant. The series continues to this day, and you will find its DNA in countless competitive puzzle games.

Why play: For one of the deepest and most addictive competitive puzzlers of all time, whose two-player chaining duels remain unsurpassed.