Second series entry, often considered the best for its perfect balance. Clean rules, addictively fun versus mode, likeable characters. Still just as fun to play today. The absolute puzzle game reference on Saturn.
Your verdict
Category
Puzzle4 players3+
Description
Second installment in the Puyo Puyo series with refined chain mechanics and a new cast. Published by Compile, released in Japan in 1995. Double chain system enabling longer combos, characters Arle and companions with entertaining dialogue, solo, versus and tournament modes, catchy music. The definitive Puyo Puyo entry on Saturn.
Puyo Puyo Tsuu review
4/5
Art direction
★★★★★
"Striking"
4/5
Music
★★★★★
"Excellent"
1/5
Story
★★★★★
"Anecdotal"
Compile pushes the contrast between the strictness of the board and the whimsy of the margins: colourful blobs perfectly readable at the centre, vivid characters gesturing at the sides, faces of dismay or triumph commenting on every chain. The heritage of the role-playing series it came from stays visible in the creatures and the dungeon backdrops.
The loops are short and insistent, built to spin through sessions that never really stop: cheerful melodies on bright synth timbres, rounded bass and abrupt shifts when the opponent's stack climbs dangerously high. The main theme became the sonic signature of the whole series, recognisable within the first few bars.
Gameplay
"Masterful"
Stacking blobs in pairs to build chains and bury your opponent under garbage: the addition of the counter turns this puzzle into a pure duel of wits and speed. The handling is immediate, but the mastery ceiling dizzying. Colourful and good-natured, its dressing has barely aged, and the balance of the versus remains an untouchable benchmark of the genre.
Fun
"From the very first seconds"
The counter system makes all the difference: sending back the blobs your rival throws at you adds a fearsome layer of strategy. Feeling one cascade cancel another delivers a thrill of pure tactical genius. Deeper and tenser than the original, this entry stays an absolute benchmark of competitive puzzling, ideal for fierce group duels.
Addictiveness
"Obsessive"
Stacking Puyo in pairs to build long chains and flood the opponent with nuisance blobs sets up a tense duel where the rematch imposes itself. The cancel system adds a layer of strategy that rewards boldness. The formula is famous, but this balance between split-second reading and long-term planning remains a gripping benchmark of competitive puzzle play.
Complete: box, manual and disc/cart very clean. Lightly handled.
Q1 damagedQ6 completeQ10 new
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Collector interest
Original Japanese Saturn edition of Puyo Puyo Tsuu, distributed by Compile in December 1995 with the 1M or 4M tag depending on the run, a conversion of the second Puyo Puyo whose offset and counter mechanics have durably structured the franchise. Compile Japan run was short, jewel case with intact obi, and Tsuu's founding position in the competitive Puyo grammar makes it for Compile completists the most structurally important piece of the Saturn sub franchise. Complete with obi clearly valued.
Better with friends
A benchmark chain puzzler where the art of canceling out enemy attacks creates seesaw duels of wild intensity. The competition rewards anticipation and composure: building your big cascade by risking it all, or countering just in time to flip the situation. Crystal clear to grasp and tricky to master, it strings together last-second reversals and rematches.
Is Puyo Puyo Tsuu still worth playing in 2026?
A direct sequel to the famous Compile puzzle, Puyo Puyo Tsuu offers the classic system founding modern Puyo with its strategic chain system and two player versus mode. The adorable chibi art direction, deep combo system and accessible handling make it an absolutely founding competitive puzzle reference on Saturn. For anyone discovering Puyo Puyo or seeking the roots of Japanese competitive puzzle, an absolutely essential recommendation today still without any hesitation truly here indeed.
