Popoitto Hebereke

Popoitto Hebereke is a falling piece puzzle game that plays almost exactly like Dr. Mario, only with a small difference. The "virus-type" things can move around. That's it. Apart from that small difference, this is Dr. Mario, sans the Mario characters of course. Even the games interface is similar, with the three types of "virus" listed on the side of the screen along with how many of each type are left. The game has a super deformed anime look to it. The Virus creatures are now heads of super deformed animals, aliens and ghosts. I will refer to them as objects from here on to avoid any confusion in the gameplay discussion. Rather than chucking pills at them, you drop little slime balls. These slime balls bear a striking resemblance to those found in Puyo Puyo. As with the objects, I will call these slime balls none other than, balls.

Although I doubt there is anyone reading this that hasn't played Dr. Mario, I'll run through a quick explanation of how the game works. Basically, in the playfield you have a few objects scattered about, each with their own color. You drop a set of two balls from the top of the screen. The balls are connected to each other and you cannot separate them. You do, however, have the ability to guide them left and right on their descent as well as rotate them clockwise and counter clockwise. Like the objects, the balls are color coded as well, though the sets of balls are usually not the same color. More often than not a set of two different colored balls will drop down, though the occasional same color set appears. When you line up a mixture of balls and objects of the same color equal to four, they will vanish resulting in what I call a line, ala Tetris. For example, lining up three balls and one object of the same color will make them vanish. The point of the game is to make all of the objects vanish. So, while lining up four balls of the same color will result in a line, it does not help you in any way, other than clearing the clutter in your playfield. What you want to do is work at least one object into every line. Which brings me to my first complaint about this game, the lines. In Popoitto Hebereke the game only recognizes lines if they are going straight up and down or left to right. It will ignore any lines you make diagonally. This hampers the strategy in my opinion because it means you are unable to plan a large diagonal combo. Sure, you can still perform the standard combos by getting a line with one color and the blocks that were resting atop fall down resulting in another line but it would've been nice to use diagonals. Sure, you couldn't use diagonals in Dr. Mario either, but this is not in the same series, despite how similar the games are. Which reminds me, I am unsure if this was present in Dr. Mario, but if you place too many balls atop an object that is in the air, the weight will cause it to drop down. This can be beneficial because it may result in a line if the object falls down on three like colored balls. It also helps lower the congestion of the screen. As you know, if the balls "overflow" out of the top of the playfield, it's game over.

Now for my second complaint, there is a complete and utter lack of modes in this game. You've got 1 player story, 2 player and options. In the one player mode before each game you get to watch a couple super deformed creatures saying something to each other in Japanese. Then you simply play the game. I have not had a chance to check out the two player mode, so I cannot comment on it. The option mode lets you change various options such as setting which button rotates the balls clockwise and a sound test. Unfortunately, this game is completely in Japanese. Everything, the main menu, the story and even the options menu. To make matters worse, rather than being in Katakana like most games, everything in Popoitto Hebereke is in Hiragana. At least the game is pretty straightforward so language should be no problem. I have to wonder if this is an arcade port as with the lack of modes, it definitely feels like it came straight from the arcade.

The graphics in Popoitto Hebereke are what you'd expect from a puzzle game, nothing spectacular. While playing, the little creatures run around and do various things at the bottom of the screen (under the playfield). This is a nice little touch but it can be distracting. That may be the point though. As far as the graphics for the actual gameplay go, there is some animation to liven things up. The slime balls sleep, wink and perform various actions of that nature. this is a nice change of pace from the boring blocks present in most puzzle games. The soundtrack is also about what you'd expect. Full of upbeat, happy tunes and a nice popping noise when you get a line.

If you loved Dr. Mario, you might as well rush out and snag Popoitto Hebereke. As I've said, they are basically the same game. So fans of Dr. Mario will no doubt enjoy this, especially with the small twist on gameplay. The moving objects really add to it and makes you think more about where you should place the balls. Overall, if you are a fan of puzzle games in general, it wouldn't hurt to check this game out. It can usually be had for under $30 so price isn't a problem. While the lack of modes is a shame, the game does deliver in the gameplay department and that's all that matters. Just keep in mind, this is a falling piece puzzle game and is very similar to Dr. Mario. If you do not enjoy puzzle games or Dr. Mario, logic dictates you won't enjoy this. So use common sense and stay away. There is nothing here to hook non-puzzle fans or those that did not enjoy Dr. Mario.

©2002 Ed Finnegan

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