Sega's Puyo Puyo clone built around Robotnik, surprisingly well done. Addictive, fun in two-player, perfect for newcomers to the genre.
Your verdict
Category
Puzzle1 player3+
Description
Sonic and Dr. Robotnik characters clash in this Sega bean-matching puzzle for Mega Drive. Published by Sega, released in Europe in 1993. Puzzle game with beans to align to burst the opponent's columns, based on Puyo Puyo with Sonic theme.
Dr. Robotnik's Mean Bean Machine review
4/5
Art direction
★★★★★
"Striking"
3/5
Music
★★★★★
"Memorable"
1/5
Story
★★★★★
"Anecdotal"
The dressing transposes a Japanese puzzle into the blue hedgehog's world: enemy robots drawn from the animated series, factory scenery with coloured pipework, beans with expressive faces that grimace as the stack rises. The grid's readability stays absolute despite this deliberate decorative overload.
Gameplay
"Excellent"
Fun
"From the very first seconds"
Behind its colourful looks hides a puzzle of fearsome intensity: stacking beans in pairs, setting off chains and burying your opponent under an avalanche of blocks. The versus against Robotnik's henchmen quickly turns into a breathless duel. Easy to grasp, bottomless to master, it hooks from the first chain and never lets go.
Addictiveness
"Obsessive"
Joining four beans of the same color to set off chains and bury the opponent under nuisances delivers an adrenaline surge with every combo. Watching the counterattack crash down on the rival and aiming for a longer chain instantly relaunch the match. Beneath its Sonic trappings hides pure Puyo Puyo, a touch repetitive, yet its chaining mechanic stays furiously gripping.
