Puyo Pop (2001). Play online

Summary

Playing Puyo Pop on the Game Boy Advance feels like a love letter to the series’ early days. It’s the first GBA entry Sonic Team handled, and it merges the classic Puyo Puyo 2 drop mechanics with an entirely new story adventure starring Arle Nadja. The single‑player mode takes you through six themed areas – Hamaji Forest, Gold Town, Gachinko Dungeon, Magical Tower, Dark Prince Castle and the optional Trial Labyrinth – each adding its own rule set. After clearing the story once, a quirky item‑delivery quest opens, letting you revisit each stage to collect items and unlock a card gallery of 20 character cards that play voices and even exclusive music on the last two cards. Multiplayer shines with Double Puyo Puyo for two and Everybody Puyo Puyo for up to four, supporting both single‑ and multi‑cart play, while the Point and Hard rule sets, plus characters like Carbuncle and the Dark Prince, become available as you progress. It’s the last game to use the original Madō Monogatari cast before the series expanded its roster.

Storyline

In Puyo Pop for the Game Boy Advance, the mischievous Dark Prince hatches a new scheme. He shatters five golden runes and distributes them to strangers around the world, then announces a Puyo Puyo contest to lure participants.

When the magical creature Carbuncle darts away with a rune, the heroine Arle pursues it, embarking on a globe‑spanning quest to retrieve each rune and reunite with Carbuncle.

The climax reveals the runes are actually tickets for a hot‑spring bath crafted from fragrant curry powder, intended for the Dark Prince and Arle. Arle smashes the curry blocks, ruining the Prince’s plan and leaving him weeping, while she repurposes the blocks for her own curry.