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''Hebereke's Popoitto'' is a puzzle-type
video game A video game or computer game is an electronic game that involves interaction with a user interface or input device (such as a joystick, game controller, controller, computer keyboard, keyboard, or motion sensing device) to generate visual fe ...
in the ''
Hebereke is a video game series developed by Sunsoft that was released primarily in Japan, with a few releases in Europe and one release in North America. It was one of the company's main franchises during the 1990s. Hebe, the main character of the ser ...
'' series developed by
Sunsoft , is a Japanese electronics manufacturer, video game developer and publisher. They are known for their video games under the brand name Sunsoft. History In April 1971, Sun Electronics Corporation (alternatively called Sun Denshi) was founded i ...
for arcades, the
Sega Saturn The is a home video game console developed by Sega and released on November 22, 1994, in Japan, May 11, 1995, in North America, and July 8, 1995, in Europe. Part of the fifth generation of video game consoles, it is the successor to the succes ...
,
PlayStation is a video gaming brand owned and produced by Sony Interactive Entertainment (SIE), a division of Japanese conglomerate Sony. Its flagship products consists of a series of home video game consoles produced under the brand; it also consists ...
and
SNES The Super Nintendo Entertainment System, commonly shortened to Super Nintendo, Super NES or SNES, is a 16-bit home video game console developed by Nintendo that was released in 1990 in Japan, 1991 in North America, 1992 in Europe and Oceania an ...
consoles. Although released in Japan and Europe from 1994 to 1996, it was never released in North America. The gameplay is reminiscent of video game titles like '' Dr. Mario'' and ''
Puyo Puyo , previously known as ''Puyo Pop'' outside Japan, is a series of tile-matching video games created by Compile. Sega has owned the franchise since 1998, with games after 2001 being developed by Sonic Team. ''Puyo Puyo'' was created as a spin-of ...
''. ''Hebereke's Popoitto'' received generally positive reviews, and was mostly recommended for fans of the puzzle genre. In Japan, ''Hebereke Station Popoitto'' was re-released in 1999 under the ''SunKore Best'' label. It was later re-released again in 2001 under the ''Value 1500'' label.


Gameplay

Similar to other
falling block A falling-block action (also known as a sliding-block or dropping-block action) is a single-shot firearm action in which a solid metal breechblock slides vertically in grooves cut into the breech of the weapon and is actuated by a lever. Desc ...
tile-matching A tile-matching video game is a type of puzzle video game where the player manipulates tiles in order to make them disappear according to a matching criterion. In many tile-matching games, that criterion is to place a given number of tiles of the ...
video games, the core gameplay element consists of player-controlled blocks falling from the top of the playing field. In ''Hebereke's Popoitto'', pairs of blocks, where each block in the pair can be any available color, appear from the top of the playing field and continue to fall until they fall on top of the ground or another block. The pair of blocks are, as long as they're still falling, controlled by the player and can be rotated. When a pair of blocks is suspended, a new pair of player-controlled blocks will fall from playing field ceiling. By lining up four or more blocks with the same color in certain formations the whole formation disappears. The available formations can be straight horizontal or vertical lines or simply just any adjoining formation, depending on the set
difficulty level Game balance is a branch of game design with the intention of improving gameplay and user experience by balancing difficulty and fairness. Game balance consists of adjusting rewards, challenges, and/or elements of a game to create the intended pla ...
. What sets ''Hebereke's Popoitto'' apart from other similar games is that moving creatures, named Poro-porous, will float suspended in mid-air on the playing field. Sporadically, Poro-porous will move one space right, left, up or down. Touching a Poro-poro with a pair of blocks will as always suspend the blocks, and consequently the erratic behaviour of Poro-porous makes it more difficult for the player to plan ahead. Each Poro-poro has its own color and can be, just as with any other block, destroyed by making a formation with the same color. A game is won when every Poro-poro on the playing field is eliminated. A game can also be lost when the blocks fill up to the top of the playing field. The
difficulty level Game balance is a branch of game design with the intention of improving gameplay and user experience by balancing difficulty and fairness. Game balance consists of adjusting rewards, challenges, and/or elements of a game to create the intended pla ...
controls, as stated earlier, the possible formations to build. An easier difficulty level will accept any adjoining formation of same-colored blocks, while a harder difficulty level will only accept straight horizontal or vertical lines. A higher difficulty level will also control the number of different available colors for blocks and the number of Poro-porous that are on the playing field at start.


Modes

In a single-player game, there is a story mode feature. It allows the player to travel to different worlds with an on-screen map and meet other characters. If a battle against another character is won, which is accomplished by winning two rounds, the defeated character becomes playable. Additionally, a multiplayer mode is available, where two players battle each other simultaneously. Specific for the two-player mode is a kind of special attack, which can be activated by eliminating more than one formation of blocks with one pair of blocks. A handicap level can be set individually for each player.


Reception

''Hebereke's Popoitto'' was featured in several European video game magazines, and received mixed to positive reviews. The addicting gameplay and two-player mode were especially noted as highlights of the game. Still, the game, which was heavily compared to other
puzzle video game Puzzle video games make up a broad genre of video games that emphasize puzzle solving. The types of puzzles can test problem-solving skills, including logic, pattern recognition, Sequence, sequence solving, Spatial ability, spatial recognition, ...
s, was mostly recommended for fans of the said genre. In ''
Super Play ''Super Play'' was a British Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES) magazine which ran from 1 October 1992 to September 1996. Overview ''Super Play'' covered in great detail the role-playing video game genre. Many of these games were nev ...
'', the reviewer liked the core gameplay, but did not like the game as much as ''Super Puyo Puyo'', another SNES puzzle video game. A critic from ''
Sega Saturn Magazine ''Sega Saturn Magazine'' (originally known as ''Sega Magazine'') was a monthly magazine from the United Kingdom covering the Sega Saturn, a home video game console. It held the official Saturn magazine license for the UK, and some issues incl ...
'' disliked that the special moves in the two-player mode were too difficult to obtain. In addition, the critic thought that the erratic movement of the Poro-porous made it too hard to plan ahead. A reviewer from the French video-gaming magazine ''Super Power'' considered the Poro-poro addition to be charming, but noted that ''Hebereke's Popoitto'' wasn't that strong graphically. Notably, ''Hebereke's Popoitto'' was ranked as the 98th best
SNES The Super Nintendo Entertainment System, commonly shortened to Super Nintendo, Super NES or SNES, is a 16-bit home video game console developed by Nintendo that was released in 1990 in Japan, 1991 in North America, 1992 in Europe and Oceania an ...
game of all time in ''Super Play'''s top 100 best SNES games list.


Notes


References

{{Hebereke series 1994 video games Arcade video games Falling block puzzle games Hebereke Marubeni Multiplayer and single-player video games PlayStation (console) games Sega Saturn games Sunsoft games Super Nintendo Entertainment System games Video games developed in Japan