Puyo Puyo Columns

Puyo Puyo Columns (AKA Past-Future Puzzle Frenzy: Puyo Puyo Columns) is an upcoming puzzle game by Sega for Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, Nintendo 3DS, PC and Arcade

It's based on Compile's Puyo Puyo and Sega's Columns franchises, This game was created due to positives reviews for Puyo Puyo Tetris using a modified engine

Recently a 2.0 update was released including 4 new game modes, 4 new chapters on Story mode and 8 new characters

Story
Time travelling has been one of the biggest mysteries ever, suprising everyone. However, a fantastic creature called Jewel Puyo has been confirmed to be able to travel back and forth in time and space

Finding a Jewel Puyo is not an easy task since it can shapeshift, Knowing this, Arle and Friends decide to do a huge search for the Jewel Puyo to solve this mystery once and forever.

Playable characters
Puyo Puyo Columns has 28 characters available to play being Split into 14 from Puyo Puyo Series and 14 original characters from Columns, 2.0 update added 4 characters from Puyo Puyo and 4 from Columns, Characters in italics must be unlocked on PC and console versions, Bosses are not playable on Arcade version, Characters in bold are exclusive to 2.0 update

Controls
This is the list of controls for each console

Game modes
Puyo Puyo Columns counts with 7 modes available on all versions as well as 3 console exclusive modes
 * Story mode
 * Arcade mode
 * Battle mode
 * Swap mode
 * Mashup mode
 * Classic mode
 * Turnabout mode
 * Party mode (Switch only)
 * Tag team battle (PlayStation 4 only)
 * 1 VS all (Nintendo 3DS only)
 * Task mode (2.0 update only)
 * Role Reversal mode (2.0 update only)
 * High Impact mode (2.0 update only)
 * Relax mode (2.0 update only)

Story mode (1 player)
It's up to you to solve time travel mystery and find the legendary Jewel Puyo on an adventure filled with lots of different trials

Arcade mode (1 player)
Choose a character and reach the top, battle on easy, normal, hard or infinite courses

Battle mode (1 to 4 players)
Battle up to 3 opponents on a puzzle showdown, Choose your style and beat them all

Swap mode (1 to 4 players)
Can you master Puyo Puyo and Columns? Play on both games changing every 20 seconds

Mashup mode (1 to 4 players)
Puyos and jewels mix up in this crazy battle, Master both to rule puzzle world

Classic mode (1 or 2 players)
Endless? Flash? Time Attack? It's up to you to choose your style, available on Puyo Puyo, Columns and Mashup modes

Turnabout mode (1 to 4 players)
Create combos, send distortions, annoy your opponents, counterattack and make your way to victory in this crazy battle

Party mode (1 to 8 players, Switch only)
4 players will play puzzles, meanwhile the other 4 will assist their partners by sending attacks with their votes to any opposing team

Tag team battle (1 to 8 players, PlayStation 4 only)
4 boards and 8 players, Team up with a friend and show them who's the best team in a battle with customizable rules

1 VS all (1 to 8 players, Nintendo 3DS only)
Are you brave enough to take up seven opponents at once? Defeat them all before they defeat you

Task mode (1 to 4 players)
Clear as many puzzles as you can

Role Reversal mode (1 to 4 players)
Jewels and Puyos have completely mixed up! Try to battle using Triple Puyos and Double Jewels for a crazy experience

High Impact mode (1 to 4 players)
No limits, Earn as many attack points as you can within 1 minute to block your opponents

Relax mode (1 player)
No hurries, no limit, no stress, Just clear pieces to your heart's content

Story mode chapters
Story mode is Split into 10 chapters with 10 stages each (14 on 2.0 update) Since 2.0 update reléase, 4 extra chapters have appeared
 * 1) Two worlds merge
 * 2) Lesson from the past
 * 3) Futuristic battles
 * 4) Worlds interaction
 * 5) The real puzzle duel
 * 6) Lost secrets
 * 7) A distorted vision
 * 8) Ultimate competition
 * 9) Last efforts
 * 10) Grand finale
 * Puyo puzzles
 * Columns challenges
 * Revenge of villains
 * Way of the champions

Style interaction
While both games are matching blocks puzzle games, there are some differences on interaction when playing different styles

Puyo Puyo Columns arcade version
An arcade version supporting 2 players was released including Arcade mode, Endless mode and Turnabout mode.

Unlike home versions it lacks 16 bit soundtrack as well as playable villains

Puyo Puyo Columns Plus
Puyo Puyo Columns Plus is an upgraded version of Puyo Puyo Columns arcade with these differences
 * 4 players are supported instead of 2
 * All characters including villains and new characters are playable
 * Single player Turnabout mode was added where the player faces as many opponents as posible before losing
 * Task mode and High Impact mode were added

Trivia

 * Columns characters names are different colors names in different languages
 * Task mode is the only one where players cannot choose different puzzle styles
 * Puyo Puyo Columns Plus was named Puyo Puyo Columns Extra during development
 * English and Japanese voice options were added with 2.0 update
 * 16 bit soundtrack was directly taken from Sega Genesis versions of Puyo Puyo, Puyo Puyo 2, Columns and Columns 3
 * Dr. Mario and Dr. Luigi were planned as guests for Switch and 3DS versions
 * Game subtitle "Past-Future Puzzle Frenzy" refers to Columns being a hit in the past, and Puyo Puyo being a hit nowadays
 * A PlayStation Vita version and an Xbox One version were planned but finally cancelled