Original puzzle platformer on Game Gear with a block-moving mechanism to free a character. Fresh and progressive concept. One of the most original puzzles on the console.
Your verdict
Category
Puzzle1 player3+
Description
The player moves coloured blocks on a board to align them according to instructions in this Sega puzzle for Game Gear. Published by Tengen, released in Europe in January 1993. Block-moving puzzle with objectives to meet, time limit, progressively complex levels. European version.
Magical Puzzle Popils review
4/5
Art direction
★★★★★
"Striking"
3/5
Music
★★★★★
"Memorable"
1/5
Story
★★★★★
"Anecdotal"
Gameplay
"Excellent"
Fun
"From the very first seconds"
Digging, pushing and stacking blocks to open a path to the exit: this puzzle-platformer from the creator of Bubble Bobble distils a calm, clever satisfaction. Each board is a little riddle whose solution brings a gleeful click. Readable, smart and nicely paced, a pocket challenge that rewards thinking.
Addictiveness
"Obsessive"
Sculpting the scenery by creating and destroying blocks to carve a path to the exit blends thought and dexterity across short, clever boards. Each solution found immediately frees the next, and the rising cunning sustains the urge to see further. Little-known and a touch rough, this puzzle from the creator of Bubble Bobble hides a formidable hook.
This Tengen puzzler's European release is among the console's most lopsided: loose carts are mundane while complete copies climb sharply, evidence of a slim PAL run and a multilingual manual rarely kept. Derived from Fukio Mitsuji's Popils (the Bubble Bobble designer), it draws connoisseurs of brainy puzzle-platformers, and the wide loose-to-complete gap makes the PAL pressing a genuine market curiosity.
Is Magical Puzzle Popils still worth playing in 2026?
An action puzzle from Sega, Magical Puzzle Popils asks you to move and stack blocks to clear a path and reach each board's exit. Designed by the creator of Tetris, the title marries thinking and dexterity in short but tricky levels where every move counts. The colourful art direction and the well thought out progression appeal. Quiet and barely distributed, the title is sought after today. For a fan of action puzzles or someone curious about overlooked gems, the title keeps a real design intelligence.
